# Edsby > Generated by All in One SEO Pro v5.0.2.1, this is an llms-full.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. K-12 LMS, analytics & data platforms ## Posts ### [News](https://www.edsby.com/news/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Edsby tip: Students in different Edsby orgs](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-tip-students-in-different-districts/edsby-tips/) **Published:** September 12, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** If you're a parent and your children belong to different education organizations with separate Edsby systems, how do you monitor them all at the same time? **Content:** If you’re a parent wanting to participate in your children’s education, yet your kids belong to different school districts, or private schools, with their own Edsby systems, how do you monitor them? Your situation is rare; most families have their children in the same education system. But logging into different Edsby systems at the same time from a single device is still possible. **Via mobile** The Edsby app only allows users to configure one Edsby server address at a time. But, there’s a workaround. Configure the Edsby app on your phone to check one of your children at their unique Edsby server address and the login you were given. Then use a tab on the web browser of your mobile device to check another, by entering their Edsby server address as the URL and the credentials you were given for that system. Then, save the tab to your mobile device’s home screen as a website shortcut, so it appears with its own icon, much like the Edsby app has its own icon. You can even place it right beside the Edsby icon. Repeat for as many children as you have. You’ll get essentially the same experience for checking each of your children, though you may find that different organizations, and even individual teachers, may have different policies on what information they choose to share through Edsby. **Via web browser** Parents can log into multiple Edsby systems at the same time from separate tabs on their desktop or laptop web browsers. Open a new tab on your browser and log into your first child’s system at its unique Edsby server address, e.g. yyyy.edsby.com, using the credentials you were given. Open another tab in the same browser and log into your second child’s unique Edsby server address, e.g. zzzz.edsby.com with the credentials the second organization gave you. Repeat for as many children as you have. Like your mobile device, above, you can even save desktop links of the browser tabs for each of your children for easy access. **Multiple children in the same district or private school?** This is a separate issue. If you’re a parent seeking to add multiple children in the same Edsby school or district to your single Edsby parent account, the info you want is [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/add-another-child-parent-account/). **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [K-12 digital forms: why districts are moving off paper permission slips](https://www.edsby.com/k12-digital-forms-why-districts-are-moving-off-paper-permission-slips/commentary/) **Published:** September 30, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Paper forms cost schools time and trust. See how K-12 digital forms fix that. **Content:** Every school year starts the same way. A stack of permission slips goes home in backpacks. Some come back on time. Some come back half complete. Many never come back at all. Teachers then spend days chasing signatures, and office staff spend hours sorting paper into folders.This pattern is so familiar that most schools treat it as normal. It is not normal, and it is not free. K-12 digital forms offer a practical way to end the chase. They replace paper with structured online forms, routed approvals, and signatures that leave a clear record. [Edsby Forms & Workflows](https://www.edsby.com/k12-forms-and-workflows/) is built for exactly this job. It is an optional add-on that helps districts move permission slips, photo releases, medical disclosures, and code of conduct sign-offs into one secure system. This article explains why paper still dominates, what it costs, and what a strong digital alternative looks like. It also shows how districts can move off paper without adding complexity for teachers, families, or IT teams. ## The hidden cost of paper forms in K-12 Most school districts still rely on paper for parent and student-facing forms. The list is long. It includes permission slips, photo releases, medical disclosures, code of conduct sign-offs, and volunteer agreements. Each one seems small on its own. Together they create a steady drain on staff time. The first cost is lost paper. A form that leaves the classroom must survive a bus ride, a backpack, a kitchen counter, and the trip back to school. Many do not make it. When a form goes missing, the teacher has no way to know whether the family never saw it or simply forgot to return it. The only fix is to print another copy and start again. The second cost is incomplete information. Parents fill out paper forms quickly, often at the last minute. A missing phone number or an unchecked box is easy to overlook. Staff then discover the gap on the day of the activity, when it is hardest to fix. The third cost is manual reconciliation. Someone has to compare a class list against a pile of returned forms. That person must mark who has returned what, and then repeat the work when late forms arrive. Every hand-off adds a chance for error. The fourth cost is risk. Paper forms are hard to audit. A district may need to show that a parent approved a high-risk activity. It may need to prove that a medical disclosure reached the right adult. If the form sits in a filing cabinet in one building, that proof is slow to find. Edsby describes these problems as lost and incomplete forms, manual reconciliation, compliance risks, and fragmented systems. Most front-office teams will recognize all four. ## Why generic e-signature tools fall short in schools Many districts have already tried to fix paper with a general-purpose e-signature tool. The idea makes sense. These tools let a person sign a document online, and they work well in corporate settings. However, schools are not corporations, and the differences matter. A corporate workflow usually has one sender and one signer. A school workflow often has many people. A teacher may propose an activity. A principal may approve it. A superintendent may need to review it if the risk is high. Then a parent or guardian must give permission, and a second guardian may also receive the request. A generic tool does not know how these roles connect. Generic tools also sit outside the systems that schools already use. They do not know which adult is responsible for which student. They do not connect to class rosters or parent contacts. Staff must upload lists, enter email addresses, and fix mismatches by hand. This creates the kind of data silo and shadow IT problem that large districts work hard to avoid. Edsby takes a different path. Unlike generic e-signature tools adapted from corporate workflows, [Edsby Forms & Workflows is designed around how districts and schools actually operate](https://www.edsby.com/field-trip-approval-with-edsby-forms-and-workflow-for-k12/commentary/). It routes forms through real district approval hierarchies. It also gives teachers, schools, and district leaders real-time visibility into who has responded and who has not. ## What good K-12 digital forms should do Not every online form is a good school form. A simple survey tool can collect answers, but it cannot manage a full approval process. Districts should look for a system that covers the whole life of a form. That means the first request, every review, the final signature, and the record that remains afterward. Edsby Forms & Workflows automates a form’s entire lifecycle, from the initial request to final distribution. Several capabilities stand out: - Conditional branching, which sends a form to recipients only when the conditions you set are met. - A choice of list or flowchart layouts, so complex flows stay easy to build and read. - No limits on the number of forms or workflow steps in a single process. - Forms for any user role, including students, guardians, and staff. These features may sound technical, but the idea is simple. A district should be able to describe how a decision really gets made, and the system should follow that path. If a form needs a second review only for overnight trips, the system should route it that way without anyone remembering to do it. ## Approval routing that mirrors real district structures Approval chains are where paper breaks down most often. A form must reach the right person at the right time. On paper, that depends on someone walking it down a hallway or sending it in a courier bag. Digital routing removes that dependency. In Edsby, automatic routing sends each form to the people who need to see or approve it. A form can start at a school and still require district-level sign-off. A high-risk field trip is a good example, because it can require approval from the district superintendent before it moves ahead. This structure gives each level of the organization what it needs. Teachers see the status of their own requests. Principals see what waits for their review. District leaders see the activities that carry the most risk. Nobody has to ask, “Where is that form now?” because the answer is visible in the system. Denials work the same way. If a request is returned, the teacher can see who returned it and why. That clarity saves time. The teacher can fix the issue, such as a date conflict, and resubmit without a round of phone calls. ## Audit trails and compliance confidence Trust in a digital system depends on proof. Districts need to know that a signature is real, that a decision is recorded, and that the record cannot quietly change. This is especially important for high-risk activities and for anything tied to insurance. Edsby documents every step with digital signatures and timestamps. That gives administrators an auditable record of every approval. Signers can draw a signature on screen or type one and attest to it. Edsby describes the resulting signatures as legally valid. As with any legal matter, districts should confirm local requirements with their own counsel. [![field trip approval workflow](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) The audit trail also helps with everyday questions. When a parent says they never received a form, staff can check the record. When a principal wants to confirm that a trip cleared every review, the timeline shows each step. This reduces disputes and gives leaders confidence before an activity begins. Safety workflows can go one step further. For activities where student safety is at stake, Edsby supports QR code check-ins. Teachers can use them to confirm that every student is accounted for, much like a virtual boarding pass on a field trip. ## How parents experience a digital form A digital process only works if families can use it. Parents are busy, and many check school updates on their phones. A form that is hard to open or complete will fail, no matter how strong the back end is. In Edsby, the parent or guardian receives the form in their Edsby Mailbox. They can review the details, complete the form, add a digital signature, and submit it in one place. They can also deny permission if they choose. If required information is missing, the form highlights the fields that still need attention. This small feature prevents many of the errors that paper forms let through. Some students have more than one guardian on file. In that case, each guardian receives a copy of the form. The first completed form submitted to the school becomes the official response. If a family needs a correction, the school office can help. Research supports the value of clear, two-way digital channels between schools and families. A [study in Computers & Education ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131519300065)examined parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about using email and online platforms for two-way communication. It found that beliefs on both sides shape whether digital media is accepted. ## What teachers and office staff gain Teachers feel the benefit of digital forms first. They no longer collect slips by hand, keep a checklist on a clipboard, or send reminder notes home. Instead, they can see responses as they arrive. A progress bar shows how many replies have come in, and a status flag shows which stage a process has reached. Notifications also arrive in the Edsby mailbox when something changes. Office staff gain even more. They stop reprinting forms and stop filing returned copies. They no longer need to type parent answers into a second system. When a student has no guardian on file, the system flags that case so staff can resolve it early. Small alerts like this prevent last-minute surprises. Administrators gain a cleaner view of the whole operation. They can see which requests are waiting, which have been approved, and which need attention. That visibility supports better planning. It also makes staff meetings shorter, because the data is already in front of everyone. ## Using the data your district already has A common reason that digital projects stall is duplicate data entry. If staff must rebuild every class list and contact list in a new tool, the project loses momentum. Edsby avoids this problem because [Forms & Workflows](https://www.edsby.com/k12-forms-and-workflows/) works inside the platform districts already use. Three parts of the platform make this possible. The responsibility framework means Edsby already knows who is responsible for which student. Forms therefore inherit the right permissions and recipients automatically. SIS integration means student records, class rosters, and parent contacts are already connected. There is no manual setup for each form. Institutional security means role-based access and data governance are built into the platform rather than added later. This design matters for privacy as well. Large districts must meet strict requirements such as FERPA and GDPR, depending on where they operate. A standalone form builder can create a new place where student data lives. A form that is built into the learning platform stays connected to the student profile and the same security rules. That reduces the number of systems a district must review and protect. ## A district example from Ontario Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in Ontario serves 34,000 students and has used Edsby since 2014. It is among the first districts to deploy Edsby Forms & Workflows, and it is using the system to modernize field trip permissions. The board looked at several vendors before choosing. In the words of Owen McIntosh, Information Technology Manager at the board, “We’re excited to use Edsby Forms & Workflows this year to modernize field trip permissions, significantly reduce paperwork, and create a more streamlined experience for staff, students, and families.” The example shows a useful pattern. A district can start with one high-value process, such as field trips, and then expand. McIntosh has said the board sees “a great deal of potential beyond field trips.” Once the workflow engine is in place, new forms can follow the same path. ## Managing risk for high-risk activities Some school activities carry more risk than others. An overnight trip, a water activity, or a day on the ski hill all call for extra care. Districts often need stronger approvals for these events, and their insurers may expect a clear record of who signed off. Edsby Forms & Workflows helps here by building the extra steps into the process itself. Edsby positions the system as a way to mitigate risk and support insurance compliance for high-risk activities. A workflow can require a second review whenever a trip meets the conditions the district sets. The reviewer, the decision, and the time all appear in the log. This is a big improvement over paper. On paper, extra approvals depend on memory and good habits. In a digital workflow, the extra step is part of the path. Staff cannot skip it by accident, and leaders can show that it happened. ## Measuring the results of a digital rollout A good rollout needs clear measures. Without them, it is hard to know whether the new process is working. Fortunately, digital forms create the data that leaders need. Districts can track how long each approval takes and where requests tend to wait. They can also watch how quickly families respond after a form is sent. If response rates lag at one school, staff can check whether parents received the form or whether a contact record needs a fix. Over time, these patterns show where to improve training or adjust a workflow. Staff feedback matters just as much as numbers. Ask teachers whether they spend less time chasing forms. Ask office teams whether they reprint less and file less. Ask families whether the process feels simple. Together, these answers show whether the change is delivering value beyond the technology itself. ## How to plan a move off paper Moving from paper to digital works best as a phased project. A district does not need to convert every form on day one. A focused rollout builds confidence and gives staff time to learn. Start with the forms that cause the most pain. Field trip permissions are a common choice because they involve several approvals and strict deadlines. Then map the real approval path for each form. Write down who reviews it, in what order, and under what conditions. This map becomes the blueprint for the [digital workflow](https://www.edsby.com/why-consistent-digital-workflows-in-education-matter/commentary/). Next, prepare families and staff. Tell parents where forms will appear and how to complete them. Show teachers how to start a workflow and read the status view. Finally, review results after the first few forms. Look at response times, missing information, and staff feedback. Adjust the workflow before you add more forms. A few habits make the rollout smoother: - Keep the first workflow short, and add steps only when needed. - Name forms clearly so families recognize them at a glance. - Set a standard timeline for approvals so nothing waits without an owner. ## Moving forward with K-12 digital forms Paper forms have survived in schools for a long time because they were familiar. They are no longer the safest or most efficient choice. Lost forms, unclear status, and weak records all carry real costs. Districts that adopt K-12 digital forms can reduce that burden and give families a simpler experience. The strongest solution is one that fits the way schools actually work. It should follow real approval chains. It should use the data the district already holds. It should leave an audit trail that leaders can trust. Edsby Forms & Workflows was built with these goals in mind, and it lets districts move off paper without adding complexity. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Which school forms can a district move to a digital system? Districts can digitize most parent and student-facing paperwork. Common examples include permission slips, photo releases, medical disclosures, code of conduct sign-offs, and volunteer agreements. Edsby Forms & Workflows can also handle complex processes that need several approvals. Forms can be created for students, guardians, or staff, and there is no limit on the number of forms or workflow steps. ### 2. Can parents complete digital forms on a phone? Yes. Edsby designs the experience so parents can complete forms from a mobile device. The parent receives the form in the Edsby Mailbox, reviews the details, adds a digital signature, and submits it. If a required field is empty, the form highlights it before submission. This helps families finish forms quickly and correctly. ### 3. What happens when a student has more than one guardian? Each guardian on file receives a copy of the form in their Edsby Mailbox. The first completed form that reaches the school is recorded as the official response. If a family needs to fix a mistake or a form was sent in error, they can contact the school office for help. This keeps the record clear and avoids duplicate answers. ### 4. Do staff need to enter parent contact details again? No. Edsby already connects student records, class rosters, and parent contacts through its SIS integration. It also knows which adults are responsible for which students. Forms therefore reach the right recipients automatically. This removes the duplicate data entry that often slows down other form tools. ### 5. Is Edsby Forms & Workflows part of the core platform? It is an optional add-on. Edsby built it for K-12 school districts, regional governments, and certain private independent schools. Districts that want to learn more about pricing or try the system can contact Edsby sales through the Forms & Workflows page. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 digital forms, digital permission slips for schools, school forms automation, K-12 e-signature, school approval workflows --- ### [Field trip approvals with Edsby Forms & Workflows for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/field-trip-approval-with-edsby-forms-and-workflow-for-k12/commentary/) **Published:** September 30, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** See each stage of a K-12 field trip approval workflow, from proposal to check-in. **Content:** A field trip looks simple from the outside. Students board a bus, visit an interesting place, and come home with new ideas. Behind the scenes, the picture is very different. Someone must propose the trip and someone must approve it. Parents must give permission, and staff must know exactly which students are on the bus. Each of these steps has traditionally lived on paper. Proposal forms move between offices. Permission slips travel home in backpacks. Attendance lists get scribbled on clipboards. When a single piece goes missing, the whole trip can stall. A well-designed field trip approval workflow fixes this by putting every step into one connected system. Edsby Forms & Workflows is an optional add-on that digitizes the complete lifecycle of a school activity. It covers the first teacher proposal, principal and district approval, parent permission, and real-time student check-in to and from the destination. This guide walks through each stage, so school and district leaders can see how a [modern workflow](https://www.edsby.com/k12-forms-and-workflows/) operates from start to finish. ## Why field trips strain paper-based processes Field trips are among the most complex activities a school runs. They involve more people, more approvals, and more risk than most daily routines. That is why they expose the weaknesses of paper so quickly. Consider the number of hands a single trip touches. A teacher completes a request. An office head reviews it. A superintendent may review it if the trip is high risk. Then dozens of families must respond. Each hand-off on paper creates a delay and a chance for error. Deadlines add pressure. A bus booking, a venue reservation, and a payment date all depend on knowing who is going. If permission slips trickle in slowly, teachers must chase families while they also plan lessons. The teacher does not always know whether a missing slip means “no” or simply “not yet.” Safety matters most of all. On the day of the trip, adults need an accurate list of who is present. They also need to know about allergies, medical needs, and emergency contacts. Paper lists can be outdated, and they are easy to misplace. A digital approach keeps the information current and puts it in the right hands. ## The stages of a modern field trip approval workflow A strong workflow follows the real life of a trip. In Edsby, the process moves through a clear series of stages. Each stage has an owner, a status, and a record. - Request, where the teacher completes and signs the trip form. - Review, where the office head approves the trip and a superintendent reviews high-risk trips. - Distribution, where permission forms go out to parents. - Responses, where families approve or deny and staff track replies. - Check-in, where students are confirmed on the way to and from the destination. - Completion, where the trip closes and the record stays available. The rest of this article explains each of these stages in turn. ## Stage one: the teacher proposal Every trip begins with an idea. In Edsby, teachers create a new field trip from the Workflows area. They choose a form type from a list that the district administrator sets up. This is a helpful design choice. The district decides which forms exist, so every school uses the same approved templates. Edsby’s help guide uses a simple example. Mrs. Thompson plans to take her grade 4 class on a ski trip. She selects the Ski Trip form and fills in the details. A form like this might ask for the date, the supervisor, the destination, the trip type, the purpose, the number of days, and the rationale. All fields must be complete before the workflow can begin. This rule prevents half-finished requests from entering the process. Next, the teacher signs the form and clicks Start Workflow. The request then goes to the office for review. From that moment, the teacher does not need to carry paper anywhere. The workflow takes over, and the teacher can watch its progress. ## [![field trip approval workflow ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Stage two: office and superintendent review Once a request is submitted, it moves through the approval chain. In the example above, every field trip must be approved by the office head. This step gives the school a chance to check the plan, the date, and the supervision. Some trips need a deeper look. If a trip lasts more than one day, it must also pass a high-risk check by the superintendent. This is a good example of how conditional routing works. The system sends the request to the superintendent only when the trip meets the condition. Shorter trips do not carry that extra step. The result is a chain that mirrors how real districts operate. A form can start at a school and still require district-level sign-off. Each reviewer sees the request when it reaches them, and each decision is recorded with a signature and a timestamp. Nobody needs to walk a folder down the hall. ## What happens when a trip is returned Not every request gets approved on the first try. Sometimes a reviewer must send a trip back. A date may clash with another school event, or a plan may need more detail. In Edsby, the teacher sees the outcome clearly. The trip appears with a Returned status. Under the Submit Request step, the teacher can see who returned it and why. In the help guide, the example reason is a date conflict with another school event. This clarity saves time. The teacher does not need to guess what went wrong or search for the reviewer. They can adjust the plan and try again. Over a full school year, this small improvement adds up across every trip in the district. ## Stage three: parent permission After a trip is approved, the next task is to gather permission. In Edsby, the office head distributes permission forms to parents. Each parent or guardian receives the form in their Edsby Mailbox. Parents can review the trip details, complete the form, add a digital signature, and submit it. They can also deny permission if they prefer. The Edsby Form highlights any required fields that are still empty, so families cannot submit an incomplete form by accident. Because the experience works on mobile devices, parents can respond from wherever they are. Families with more than one guardian on file are covered too. Each guardian receives a copy of the form. The first completed form submitted to the school is recorded as the official response. If a correction is needed, the school office can help. Some trips also require a payment. Currently, electronic payments are managed separately through the school. Districts should plan for that step when they design their process. ## Tracking responses in real time For teachers, the biggest relief comes from visibility. Instead of counting slips, they can open a response view at any time. A table lists each recipient, the student, the decision, the date submitted, and any comments. This shows at a glance who has said yes, who has said no, and who has not replied. A progress bar shows how many responses have arrived. A status flag shows the current stage. Edsby uses labels such as In Progress, Awaiting Responses, Check-in, Returned, Not Yet Sent, and Cancelled. These labels help teachers and office staff read the state of a trip in a second. The system also highlights cases that need attention. A Needs Resolution list flags students who have no guardian on file, so staff can fix the problem before the trip. Notifications add another layer of support. Teachers who turn them on receive updates as a trip changes, and messages also appear in the Edsby mailbox. ## Stage four: check-ins and QR passes The final and most important stage happens on the day of the trip. Safety depends on knowing where every student is at each point. Edsby handles this with check-ins. Once the office closes the distribution stage, the teacher can create check-ins. In the ski trip example, Mrs. Thompson wants to check students when they board the bus in the morning and again when they board the bus in the afternoon. She creates two check-ins and names them, such as an AM bus check-in. Teachers can create as many check-ins as they need. Teachers can also print passes for students. Each pass carries a QR code. When it is time to check students in, the teacher activates the check-in. Then the teacher scans the QR code of each student who is present, or selects students manually from the list. Notes can be added to a student’s record. The example in the help guide uses tags such as driven by parent, allergies, and sick. When every student who is present has been checked in, the teacher closes the check-in. A counter shows how many students are accounted for, such as 24 out of 24. If the teacher needs to run the check-in again, it can be reopened. This flexible design supports the real rhythm of a trip, which often includes several stops and boarding points. ## Closing, completing, and cancelling a trip After the last check-in is closed, the teacher can close the check-in stage of the workflow. The trip status then changes to Completed. The information stays available, so anyone with access can review the timeline and each step later. Plans do change. Weather, staffing, and scheduling issues can force a cancellation. In Edsby, teachers can cancel a trip at any stage. The trip is flagged as cancelled, and the workflow shows the stage where the cancellation happened. The office can see that the teacher cancelled it. The office cannot cancel a trip itself, because that action belongs to the teacher. This rule keeps ownership clear. The person who proposed the trip is the person who ends it. Meanwhile, the record shows exactly what happened and when. ## Why the teacher’s planning role matters Good workflow design supports good teaching. Research on school field trips shows why. A [review by Behrendt and Franklin](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1031445) in the International Journal of Environmental and Science Education found that experiential learning at field trip venues increases student interest, knowledge, and motivation. This finding has a practical meaning for schools. If teachers spend their energy on paperwork, they have less time for the learning that makes the trip worthwhile. A digital workflow moves the administrative load into the system. Teachers can then focus on preparing students, guiding the visit, and helping them reflect afterward. ## How the workflow changes the office’s day Office staff carry much of the hidden work of a field trip. Under a paper process, they print forms, sort returned slips, and answer calls from parents who cannot find the original. They also relay news between teachers, principals, and district staff. A [digital workflow](https://www.edsby.com/how-large-k12-districts-evaluate-education-workflow-and-assessment-platforms/commentary/) shifts that effort. The office head reviews requests in one place and sees each decision in order. When the trip is approved, the office distributes the permission forms with a single action rather than a print run. The office also closes the distribution stage, which then opens the way for check-ins. The change is not only about speed. It also reduces stress. Staff no longer worry that a slip is sitting in the wrong tray. They can open the trip, read the status, and answer a question in seconds. That reliability builds trust across the whole school team. ## Keeping families informed before and after the trip Families want to feel confident about where their children are going. A clear digital process supports that confidence. Parents see the trip details in the same place where they sign, so they do not need to hunt through several notes to understand the plan. Clear communication also helps after the decision. A parent who denies permission should know that their choice has been recorded. A parent who approves should be able to see that the form was accepted. In Edsby, the trip view shows a permission granted banner and an approved entry, which gives families a simple confirmation. Over time, this consistency teaches families what to expect. They learn that trip forms arrive in one place and that responses count right away. That habit reduces last-minute calls to the office. It also lets teachers spend their limited time on students instead of reminders. ## Using district data instead of rebuilding it A field trip workflow is only as good as the data behind it. If staff must enter class lists and parent contacts again, the process becomes another chore. Edsby avoids this by building on the information districts already hold. The platform already knows which adults are responsible for which students. Forms therefore reach the right guardians without manual setup. Student records, class rosters, and parent contacts are already connected through SIS integration. Role-based access and data governance are also built in, so only the right people see sensitive details. This approach reduces the number of systems that hold student data. Fewer systems mean fewer places to secure and fewer chances for records to drift out of sync. For IT teams, that is a significant advantage. ## What districts should consider before rolling out A field trip workflow works best when the district plans it carefully. A few decisions early on make everything smoother. Start by mapping the real approval path. Decide who approves which trips, and which conditions trigger extra review. For example, a district may want a superintendent check only for trips that last longer than a day. Next, choose the forms. Since the district administrator sets the list of form types, it helps to design a small set of clear templates. Then prepare people. Show teachers how to start a workflow, read the status flags, and run a check-in. Tell parents where they will find forms and how to sign. Finally, review the first few trips. Look at how long each stage took and where questions arose. Use what you learn to refine the process. A short checklist can guide the planning: - Confirm the approval chain and the conditions for extra review. - Set up the form templates that teachers will choose from. - Decide how payments will be handled alongside the workflow. - Train teachers and office staff on check-ins and QR passes. ## A field trip example from Kawartha Pine Ridge Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in Ontario serves 34,000 students and has used Edsby since 2014. It is among the first districts to use Edsby Forms & Workflows, and field trip permissions are its starting point. The board explored several vendors before it made a choice. Owen McIntosh, the board’s Information Technology Manager, said that Edsby stood out through its willingness to collaborate on a solution tailored to the board’s unique workflow and approval requirements. He added that the board sees a great deal of potential beyond field trips. That comment shows how one workflow can open the door to many others. ## Bringing every stage of a trip together A field trip is a chain of small tasks, and each link must hold. A proposal must be clear. Approvals must reach the right people. Parents must be able to respond easily. Students must be accounted for from the moment they board until the moment they return. A strong field trip approval workflow connects all of these tasks. It gives teachers relief from chasing paper. It gives administrators a full record of every decision. It gives families a simple way to say yes or no. Most of all, it supports student safety by keeping the right information in the right hands. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Who decides which trip forms teachers can choose? The district administrator creates the list of form types. Teachers then select the appropriate form from that list, such as a ski trip form. This keeps every school on the same approved templates and makes sure each trip follows the district’s rules. ### 2. Do all field trips need the same approvals? Not always. In the example in Edsby’s help guide, every trip needs approval from the office head. Trips that last more than one day also go through a high-risk check by the superintendent. Districts can set conditions so that extra reviews apply only where they are needed. ### 3. Can a teacher change or stop a trip once it has started? Yes. Teachers can cancel a trip at any stage. The workflow then shows the stage at which it was cancelled, and the office can see the cancellation. Only the teacher can cancel a trip, so ownership stays clear. Teachers can also reopen a check-in if they need to run it again. ### 4. How do QR passes help on the day of the trip? Teachers print passes with a QR code for each student. During a check-in, the teacher scans the codes of the students who are present, or selects them from a list. A count shows how many students are accounted for. This gives adults a reliable picture at each boarding point. ### 5. Are field trip payments handled inside the workflow? Not at this time. Some trips require a payment from parents, and the electronic payment is currently managed separately through the school. The permission form and the approvals still run through the workflow. Districts should plan how the two steps will work together. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school field trip management, QR code student check-in, K-12 approval workflow, field trip approval workflow, digital field trip permission forms --- ### [Data sovereignty in K-12: Azure vs AWS vs on-premises](https://www.edsby.com/data-sovereignty-in-k12-azure-vs-aws-vs-on-premises/commentary/) **Published:** September 30, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Azure, AWS, or on-premises: the technical and regulatory data sovereignty guide for K-12 districts. **Content:** Student data is not like other enterprise data. It is among the most sensitive personal information the public sector holds, it belongs to minors who cannot meaningfully consent to how it is collected or used, and it is governed by a regulatory framework that varies significantly across national borders, state and provincial boundaries, and even between school districts operating under different local mandates. When a K-12 district selects the infrastructure on which its student information system, learning management system, and family communication platform run, it is making a data sovereignty decision whether it recognizes it as one or not. The shift of K-12 education technology toward cloud infrastructure has accelerated significantly over the past decade, driven by the scalability, cost, and feature velocity advantages that cloud platforms offer over the on-premises server environments that most districts previously maintained. But cloud migration decisions that were made primarily on the basis of operational convenience are now being revisited as district technology leaders, legal counsel, and privacy advocates confront the sovereignty implications of hosting sensitive student data on infrastructure operated by US-headquartered hyperscalers whose data handling obligations are governed by US federal law, regardless of where the servers physically sit. This analysis examines the three primary infrastructure models available to K-12 districts, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and on-premises deployment, across the technical and regulatory dimensions that data sovereignty requirements actually impose. It covers the student data residency requirements and regional hosting implications that districts in both the United States and Canada must navigate, the specific PIPEDA compliance considerations for Canadian districts, and the characteristics of a sovereign data infrastructure approach that satisfies regulatory obligations without sacrificing the operational capabilities that modern K-12 education platforms require. ## What data sovereignty means in a K-12 context Data sovereignty in the most precise technical and legal sense means that data is subject to the laws and governance structures of the nation in which it physically resides. In a K-12 context, it carries a more specific and operationally relevant meaning: the data generated by students, families, and educators within a school district’s digital environment must be stored, processed, and governed in a manner consistent with the regulatory obligations of the jurisdiction that district operates in, and the district must be able to demonstrate that compliance with specificity. The regulatory frameworks that define data sovereignty obligations for K-12 districts vary significantly by jurisdiction. In the United States, [FERPA](https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html) establishes the baseline federal framework for student education record privacy, but does not prescribe where data must be physically hosted. The practical sovereignty concern in the US context is primarily contractual: ensuring that cloud infrastructure vendors and the SaaS platforms running on their infrastructure are bound by FERPA-compliant data processing agreements that limit data use to educational purposes and prohibit disclosure to unauthorised parties. State-level laws in California, New York, Colorado, and others impose additional restrictions that cloud vendors must contractually accommodate. In Canada, the regulatory environment is substantially more prescriptive about data location. [PIPEDA](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/), the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, governs the handling of personal information in commercial contexts. Provincial education privacy laws, including British Columbia’s [FIPPA](https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96165_00) and Ontario’s MFIPPA, impose specific requirements that student data held by public educational institutions must be stored on servers located within Canada and must not be accessible to foreign governments or law enforcement agencies under foreign legal processes. This is the provision that makes the sovereignty question most acute for Canadian K-12 districts considering US-headquartered cloud platforms. ## The regulatory landscape: US requirements For US K-12 districts, student data residency requirements are less prescriptive about geographic location than they are about contractual controls. FERPA does not require that student data be hosted in the United States, but it does require that any vendor receiving student education records be designated as a school official under FERPA’s exception for legitimate educational interest and be bound by contractual obligations that restrict data use to the educational purpose for which the data was shared. The practical implication of this framework for cloud infrastructure selection is that the geographic location of servers matters less than the contractual framework governing what those servers’ operators can do with the data they hold. A K-12 district using Azure or AWS infrastructure in a US data centre is not automatically FERPA-compliant. It is compliant only if the SaaS vendor running on that infrastructure has signed a FERPA-compliant data processing agreement, if that vendor’s contract with the cloud infrastructure provider passes the relevant obligations downstream, and if the cloud provider’s terms of service do not include provisions that would authorise data access or disclosure that FERPA prohibits. State-level privacy laws have raised the bar beyond FERPA in ways that have direct implications for cloud infrastructure selection. The [California Consumer Privacy Act](https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa) and California’s SOPIPA impose specific restrictions on how ed-tech vendors can use student data, prohibiting targeted advertising and the sale of student information regardless of where that data is stored. New York’s [Education Law 2-d](https://www.nysed.gov/data-privacy-security/education-law-2-d) requires specific contractual provisions in vendor agreements and imposes data security obligations that cloud vendors must be able to demonstrate compliance with. Districts in high-regulation states must verify that their cloud infrastructure vendors and the SaaS platforms running on them can meet these state-specific requirements contractually, not just technically. ## The regulatory landscape: Canadian requirements The data sovereignty situation for Canadian K-12 districts is more complex and more consequential than for their US counterparts, because several provinces have enacted legislation that creates specific legal barriers to the use of US-based cloud infrastructure for student data, regardless of where servers are physically located. British Columbia’s FIPPA is the most frequently cited example. Section 30.1 requires that personal information in the custody of a public body, which includes school districts, must be stored and accessed only in Canada. More significantly, the BC privacy commissioner has interpreted this provision to mean that hosting student data on infrastructure operated by a US-headquartered company, even if the servers are physically located in Canada, may not satisfy the requirement if that company is subject to US laws that could compel disclosure of data stored on Canadian servers. This is the [USA PATRIOT Act](https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm) concern that has driven Canadian district technology leaders toward genuinely Canadian-controlled infrastructure solutions. Alberta’s FOIP Act and Ontario’s MFIPPA impose similar data location requirements for public institutions, and several provincial education ministries have issued guidance making clear that school districts must exercise caution when selecting cloud infrastructure providers headquartered outside Canada. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has published guidance on cloud computing and personal information that is directly relevant to K-12 district technology decisions, and district technology leaders should review this guidance before making infrastructure commitments. PIPEDA compliance for K-12 districts in Canada requires that personal information be collected, used, and disclosed only for the purposes for which consent was obtained, that reasonable security safeguards be in place, and that individuals have access to their personal information and the ability to challenge its accuracy. In a school context, the individuals whose rights are engaged are primarily students and their families, and the organisations with obligations are the school boards and their technology vendors. PIPEDA-compliant cloud infrastructure for K-12 must therefore satisfy not just technical security requirements but the transparency and accountability obligations that PIPEDA imposes on data custodians. ## Azure in K-12: capabilities, commitments, and limitations Microsoft Azure is the most widely deployed cloud infrastructure platform in K-12 education, partly because of the deep penetration of Microsoft’s productivity suite in schools and partly because Azure’s compliance documentation is more extensive and more education-specific than most competitors. Azure operates data centres in both the United States and Canada, and its Microsoft Education products are specifically designed to meet K-12 compliance requirements in both countries. For US districts, Azure’s compliance posture is strong. Microsoft has published detailed documentation of its FERPA compliance approach, and its standard educational terms of service include provisions that are consistent with the contractual requirements FERPA imposes on school officials. Azure’s US data centre regions allow districts to configure data residency so that student data is stored and processed within US borders, which satisfies the geographic requirements that some state laws impose. For Canadian districts, Azure’s situation is more nuanced. Microsoft operates Canadian data centres in Toronto and Quebec City through its Azure Canada regional offering, which allows data to be stored on Canadian soil. However, the sovereignty concern that BC’s FIPPA interpretation raises is not resolved simply by the location of the servers. Because Microsoft is a US-headquartered company subject to US federal laws including the CLOUD Act, Canadian districts hosting data on Azure infrastructure, even in Canadian data centres, face a legal risk that a US law enforcement request could compel Microsoft to disclose data that Canadian privacy law would protect. This risk is not merely theoretical. It is the specific concern that British Columbia’s privacy commissioner has addressed in guidance to public bodies. Microsoft has responded to these concerns through its Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty offering, which includes technical controls designed to limit Microsoft’s own access to customer data and to provide documentation of data handling practices that can be used to demonstrate compliance. Whether these technical controls satisfy the requirements of specific provincial legislation is a legal question that Canadian districts should resolve with privacy counsel before committing to Azure infrastructure. ## AWS in K-12: capabilities, compliance posture, and sovereignty considerations Amazon Web Services holds significant market share in K-12 education technology infrastructure, primarily through the SaaS vendors that build their platforms on AWS rather than through direct district procurement. Many of the learning management systems, assessment platforms, and communication tools that K-12 districts use are hosted on AWS infrastructure even when the district is not directly aware of it, because the vendor’s hosting choice is not always prominently disclosed in the product documentation. AWS’s compliance documentation for educational environments is comprehensive. The platform’s FedRAMP authorisation and its education-specific compliance resources address the FERPA requirements that US districts must meet, and AWS’s data residency controls allow SaaS vendors to configure their infrastructure so that student data is stored in specific geographic regions. For US districts concerned about state-specific data residency requirements, the ability to specify that all data is stored in US-East or US-West regions provides the geographic constraint that some state laws require. For Canadian K-12 districts, AWS operates [Canadian data centres](https://aws.amazon.com/local/canada/) in Montreal, and many SaaS vendors serving Canadian districts use these facilities to satisfy provincial data location requirements. The same sovereignty concern that applies to Azure applies to AWS, however: Amazon is a US-headquartered company subject to US federal legal processes, and the presence of servers in Canada does not insulate data from potential US law enforcement access under the CLOUD Act. Canadian districts whose privacy counsel has determined that BC FIPPA or Alberta FOIP requirements cannot be met by a US-headquartered cloud provider must consider alternative infrastructure models regardless of where AWS servers are physically located. ## On-premises deployment: sovereignty certainty and operational reality On-premises deployment of K-12 education software, running on servers physically located within the school district or in a data centre under the district’s direct control, provides the clearest data sovereignty position available. The data never leaves the district’s physical and legal control. Foreign law enforcement cannot compel a US or foreign company to disclose it because the company operating the infrastructure is the district itself. The jurisdictional clarity is complete. The operational reality of on-premises deployment is significantly more demanding than the sovereignty clarity suggests. Districts that run their own server infrastructure must maintain the hardware through its lifecycle, employ or contract the staff required to manage it, implement and maintain their own security controls rather than relying on a cloud provider’s security team, and ensure business continuity and disaster recovery independently. For most K-12 districts, particularly smaller ones, the total cost of ownership for on-premises infrastructure is higher than for cloud deployment when the full cost of hardware, software licensing, staff time, and security investment is calculated. The security argument for on-premises deployment has also weakened as cloud providers have invested in security capabilities that exceed what most districts can replicate independently. The K-12 Security Information Exchange has documented that K-12 districts are among the most frequently targeted sectors for ransomware and data breaches, and that the attack surface of a district-managed server environment, without the security engineering investment that hyperscalers bring to their infrastructure, is often larger and less defended than the cloud alternative. For Canadian districts facing the most restrictive provincial data sovereignty requirements, a middle path has emerged in the form of Canadian-owned and operated cloud infrastructure. Providers whose ownership and legal domicile are entirely within Canada, and who are therefore not subject to US federal legal processes, can offer the operational advantages of cloud deployment without the jurisdictional risk that US-headquartered hyperscalers create. This is the sovereign data infrastructure model that some Canadian provincial ministries of education have moved toward as a policy direction, and it is the model that platforms designed specifically for the Canadian K-12 market have built their infrastructure strategies around. ## Edsby’s approach to data sovereignty in K-12 Edsby’s [data sovereignt](https://www.edsby.com/importance-of-student-data-sovereignty-and-azure-hosting-for-k12-schools/commentary/)y posture is designed specifically to address the requirements of Canadian K-12 districts operating under provincial privacy legislation, while also meeting the compliance requirements of US districts subject to FERPA and state-level privacy laws. For Canadian customers, Edsby stores and processes all [student data](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/) in Canada, on infrastructure that satisfies the residency requirements of provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The hosting arrangement is structured to address the jurisdictional concerns that BC’s FIPPA interpretation raises by design, not as an afterthought. For US customers, Edsby’s data processing agreement provides the contractual framework that FERPA and state privacy laws require, with data stored in US infrastructure and explicit restrictions on data use that match the school official designation requirements. The security architecture includes the encryption, access controls, and audit logging that enterprise K-12 data governance requires. [![ data sovereignty K-12 Azure AWS on-premises ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) The [privacy and security documentation](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/privacy-security/) that Edsby makes available to districts covers the specific infrastructure and compliance details that technology leads, privacy officers, and legal counsel need to evaluate the platform’s sovereignty posture for their jurisdiction. Districts undertaking a formal data sovereignty assessment for their K-12 technology stack can use this documentation alongside the regulatory guidance referenced throughout this analysis to build a complete picture of their compliance position. ## Building a data sovereignty framework for K-12 technology decisions The analysis above points toward a practical framework that K-12 district technology leaders and privacy officers can apply when evaluating the data sovereignty implications of infrastructure and platform decisions. The first step is a jurisdiction mapping exercise. Districts should document the specific regulatory frameworks that apply to their student data handling obligations: the federal laws, state or provincial laws, and any local board policies that impose data location, data use, or data security requirements. For districts operating in multiple jurisdictions, the most restrictive requirement in any applicable framework should set the standard for the entire infrastructure decision. The second step is a data flow audit. Districts should document where student data currently resides, which vendors process it, under what contractual terms, and where those vendors’ servers are physically located and legally domiciled. Many districts discover through this exercise that student data they believed was hosted in their home jurisdiction is actually processed by a SaaS vendor on infrastructure in a different jurisdiction, without a contractual provision that addresses the sovereignty implications. The CoSN K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center provides frameworks and templates that are useful for structuring this audit. The third step is a vendor assessment process that treats data sovereignty as a first-tier evaluation criterion rather than a compliance checkbox. This means asking vendors not just where their servers are located but who operates the company that owns those servers, what foreign legal processes that company is subject to, what contractual commitments they will make about data location and access, and what technical controls they have in place to limit their own employees’ access to student data. Vendors who cannot answer these questions with specificity have not invested the legal and technical rigour that genuine data sovereignty compliance requires. The fourth step is ongoing monitoring rather than point-in-time assessment. Data sovereignty compliance is not a status that a district achieves at the moment of platform selection and retains indefinitely. Vendors are acquired. Legal frameworks change. Infrastructure providers update their terms of service. Canadian districts, in particular, should maintain a regular review cycle for their sovereignty compliance status, informed by guidance from their provincial privacy commissioner and any updates to applicable legislation. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is data sovereignty in a K-12 context and why does it matter for cloud infrastructure selection? Data sovereignty in K-12 refers to the principle that student data must be stored, processed, and governed in compliance with the laws of the jurisdiction where the district operates. It matters for cloud infrastructure selection because hosting student data on infrastructure operated by a company headquartered in a different country can expose that data to the legal processes of that country, regardless of where the servers are physically located. For Canadian K-12 districts subject to provincial privacy legislation such as BC’s FIPPA or Ontario’s MFIPPA, this jurisdictional exposure may constitute a breach of the district’s legal obligations even when data never physically leaves Canadian borders. ### 2. Does hosting student data on Canadian AWS or Azure servers satisfy PIPEDA and provincial privacy requirements for Canadian K-12 districts? Not automatically, and in some cases not at all. While AWS Canada and Azure Canada data centres place servers on Canadian soil, both Amazon and Microsoft are US-headquartered companies subject to the CLOUD Act, which allows US law enforcement to compel disclosure of data held by US companies regardless of where that data is physically stored. British Columbia’s privacy commissioner has specifically addressed this concern, and districts in BC and other provinces with restrictive data location requirements should obtain legal advice about whether using US-headquartered cloud providers satisfies their obligations before making infrastructure commitments. ### 3. What are the specific student data residency requirements that US K-12 districts must meet? For most US districts, FERPA does not prescribe geographic data location but does require that vendors receiving student education records be bound by contractual obligations limiting data use to educational purposes. State laws impose additional requirements: California’s SOPIPA prohibits use of student data for advertising, New York’s Education Law 2-d requires specific contractual provisions and security standards, and Colorado’s Student Data Transparency and Security Act imposes its own set of requirements. Districts should map the specific requirements of their applicable state laws and verify that their cloud vendors and SaaS platforms can meet them contractually. ### 4. What is sovereign data infrastructure and how does it differ from standard cloud hosting? Sovereign data infrastructure refers to cloud or hosting infrastructure that is owned, operated, and legally domiciled within a specific jurisdiction, such that the data stored on it is subject only to the laws of that jurisdiction and not to the legal processes of any foreign government. It differs from standard cloud hosting on US hyperscalers in that a Canadian-owned and operated cloud provider, for example, is not subject to US federal legal processes such as the CLOUD Act, which means data stored on its infrastructure cannot be compelled to foreign law enforcement agencies in the way data on AWS or Azure infrastructure potentially can. For Canadian K-12 districts in provinces with restrictive data location legislation, sovereign data infrastructure is the model most clearly aligned with their compliance obligations. ### 5. How should K-12 districts build a data sovereignty framework for evaluating their technology stack? A K-12 data sovereignty framework should follow four steps. First, map the specific regulatory requirements of all applicable jurisdictions, including federal law, state or provincial law, and local board policy, and identify the most restrictive requirement across all applicable frameworks. Second, audit current data flows to document where student data resides, which vendors process it, under what contractual terms, and what jurisdictional exposure exists in the current stack. Third, assess prospective vendors on sovereignty criteria as a first-tier evaluation requirement, covering server location, company domicile, applicable foreign legal processes, contractual data use restrictions, and technical access controls. Fourth, establish an ongoing monitoring cycle to review sovereignty compliance status as vendor relationships evolve, regulatory frameworks change, and infrastructure providers update their terms of service. The CoSN K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada offer frameworks that support each of these steps. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** regional data hosting K-12, PIPEDA compliance Canada, sovereign data infrastructure, data sovereignty K-12 Azure AWS on-premises, student data residency requirements --- ### [Standards-based grading implementation success patterns for K-12 districts](https://www.edsby.com/k12-districts-standards-based-grading-implementation-success-patterns/commentary/) **Published:** September 29, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** What leading K-12 districts get right about standards-based grading that most others still miss. **Content:** Standards-based grading (SBG) has been one of the most debated shifts in K-12 assessment practice over the past two decades. The research case for moving beyond averaged letter grades is well established. The implementation record is considerably more mixed. Across North America, hundreds of districts have attempted SBG transitions and found themselves stalled in year two, facing teacher resistance they did not anticipate, parent confusion they did not prepare for, and technology constraints they did not discover until they were already committed. A smaller group of districts has moved through the same transition and emerged with a functioning, sustainable system that genuinely improves how teachers understand and communicate about student learning. The difference between these two groups is not funding. It is not school size. It is not even the quality of the grading philosophy the district adopted. The districts that succeed at standards-based grading implementation share a set of operational and structural decisions that distinguish them from those that stall, and those decisions are visible enough in the research and in practitioner accounts to serve as a replicable framework. This piece examines the success patterns that characterise effective SBG implementation in K-12 districts, grounded in what the research says about assessment practice and what leading districts have demonstrated in practice. It covers the policy decisions, professional learning models, technology requirements, and family communication approaches that separate SBG implementation done right from the versions that generate backlash without producing the learning outcomes they promised. ## Why so many SBG implementations stall before they succeed Understanding the success patterns of SBG implementation requires first understanding what causes the majority of implementations to underperform. The failure modes are consistent enough to be instructive, and they point directly toward the structural decisions that successful districts get right. The most common failure mode is launching the grading change before the assessment infrastructure is ready. Districts announce a move to[ standards-based grading](https://www.edsby.com/what-to-ask-about-k12-standards-based-products/commentary/) and hand teachers a proficiency scale without building the assessment items, the curriculum alignment maps, or the technology tools that would allow teachers to use the scale meaningfully. Teachers are left translating their existing assessment practices into a new reporting format rather than redesigning their assessments around standards mastery. The result is a standards-based gradebook that reflects traditional averaged performance with a different label, not a genuinely different approach to understanding and communicating about learning. The second failure mode is underestimating the professional learning requirement. Effective standards-based grading requires teachers to think differently about what assessment is for, how evidence of learning should be collected and weighted, what to do when a student demonstrates mastery late in a unit after performing poorly on early attempts, and how to have a different kind of conversation with families about academic progress. None of this is intuitive for educators trained in a traditional grading paradigm, and a one-day professional development session in August is not sufficient preparation for a practice change that affects every instructional decision a teacher makes every day. The third failure mode is inadequate technology. A gradebook that was designed for percentage-based averaging cannot support standards-based grading in any meaningful way. Teachers who are required to implement SBG in a tool that does not support proficiency scales, most-recent evidence weighting, or standard-level reporting for families will find workarounds that undermine the system’s integrity and create inconsistency across classrooms. The technology constraint is not a secondary consideration. It is often the factor that determines whether a thoughtful SBG policy produces the outcomes it promises or collapses into compliance theatre. The fourth failure mode is insufficient [parent communication](https://www.edsby.com/why-teachers-are-switching-to-one-unified-parent-communication-platform/commentary/). Most families understand grades as an averaging system because that is the system they experienced as students. Standards-based reporting communicates something different: where a student is relative to specific learning targets, rather than how their overall performance averaged across a semester. Without deliberate, accessible, and multilingual communication about what the new system means and how to interpret it, families experience the change as disorienting rather than clarifying. Parent confusion becomes parent opposition, and parent opposition becomes political pressure that makes the implementation difficult to sustain. ## Pattern one: policy architecture before grading change The districts that implement SBG most effectively build the policy architecture before they change a single grade. This pattern means working out the answers to the foundational questions that will shape every teacher’s daily practice before asking teachers to change how they grade. What proficiency scale will the district use, and what does each level mean in behavioural, observable terms? How will the district handle the relationship between SBG proficiency reports and the letter grades or GPAs that high school transcripts and college applications require? What is the district’s policy on late work, retakes, and revision opportunities, given that SBG’s underlying philosophy is that students should have multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery? How will behaviour, effort, and participation be tracked separately from academic proficiency? How will standards-based reports be used for placement decisions? These questions have no universally correct answers, but they must have district-level answers before implementation begins. Districts that leave these decisions to individual teachers produce implementations that vary so dramatically from classroom to classroom that the system loses coherence and families lose the ability to understand their children’s progress across subjects. The[ comparison between unified and fragmented grading approaches](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) mirrors the broader pattern in education technology: coherence at the system level produces better outcomes than autonomy at the individual level when the goal is a shared understanding of student learning. The policy architecture work also includes building the standards maps that align curriculum to specific, assessable standards at each grade level and course. Standards mapping is time-consuming, requires subject-matter expertise, and cannot be done well by a single administrator. Districts that build cross-curricular teacher teams for this work produce better alignment maps and build teacher ownership of the standards framework simultaneously, which pays dividends during implementation when teacher buy-in is the most critical variable. ## Pattern two: professional learning that builds assessment literacy, not just platform fluency The professional learning investments that distinguish successful SBG districts from those that stall are focused on assessment literacy, the capacity to design assessments that genuinely measure standards mastery, interpret proficiency data, and make instructional decisions based on what the data reveals. Platform training is a component of this professional learning, but it is the smallest component in the most successful implementations. Assessment literacy in an SBG context means teachers can answer specific questions with confidence. How do I write a task that assesses this standard at the appropriate depth of knowledge rather than surface recall? How do I distinguish between a student who has not yet mastered a standard and one who has an IEP accommodation that affects how mastery is demonstrated? How do I weigh evidence across multiple assessment opportunities when a student showed early struggle and then demonstrated clear mastery? How do I communicate what a proficiency level of three out of four means to a parent who has never seen a system that reports this way? Successful districts build professional learning sequences that develop this capacity over time rather than front-loading everything before the school year begins. Year one professional learning focuses on the policy framework, the standards alignment work, and the most fundamental assessment design changes. Year two learning deepens the assessment design capacity and introduces the data analysis practices that make formative assessment genuinely useful. Year three focuses on cross-curricular coherence and on the instructional adjustments that student performance data should prompt. This multi-year professional learning model requires a sustained commitment that many districts find difficult to maintain when implementation enthusiasm wanes after the first difficult year. The districts that sustain it are typically those whose curriculum and instruction leadership treats SBG not as a reporting change but as a fundamental shift in how the district understands and communicates about learning, a shift that requires the same long-term investment as any other instructional improvement initiative. The connection between this professional learning investment and the[ formative and summative assessment practices](https://www.edsby.com/formative-vs-summative-assessment-software-for-modern-k12/commentary/) that support it is direct: teachers who understand how to use assessment data to inform instruction are the ones whose SBG implementation produces learning gains rather than just reporting changes. ## Pattern three: technology built for SBG, not adapted to it The technology pattern that distinguishes successful SBG districts is one of the most practically consequential and one of the most often underestimated. Districts that implement SBG on gradebook software designed for traditional percentage-based grading are fighting against their tools every day, and the accumulated friction of that fight is one of the primary reasons that otherwise well-designed implementations lose teacher support in year two. An SBG-native gradebook must support several capabilities that traditional gradebooks do not. Proficiency scale configuration that reflects the district’s specific framework rather than a generic four-point scale. Standard-level recording so that each assessment item is tagged to the standard or standards it addresses, and proficiency is calculated at the standard level rather than as an overall course average. Most-recent or most-frequent evidence weighting, so that a student who struggled early in a unit and demonstrated mastery later is reported as proficient rather than penalised by their learning curve. And parent-facing reporting that presents standards-level proficiency data in language that families can interpret without an education degree. Edsby’s gradebook is built with these capabilities as native features rather than configured workarounds. Proficiency scales are configurable to the district’s specific framework. Assessment items are tagged to standards. Gradebook calculations can be set to reflect most-recent evidence weighting rather than averaging. The parent portal displays standards-level proficiency alongside attendance and communication in a unified interface, so families can see the full picture of their child’s learning without navigating separate systems. This matters beyond convenience. When the technology makes SBG workflows genuinely easier than traditional grading workflows, rather than harder, teacher adoption accelerates. When parents can access their child’s standards-level proficiency data through the same[ parent portal](https://www.edsby.com/blog) where they see attendance and teacher messages, the communication infrastructure that supports SBG adoption is built into the platform rather than requiring a separate communication effort. The[ comparison between SBG-capable and traditional platforms](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) reveals the specific feature differences that determine whether the technology supports the implementation or constrains it. ## Pattern four: phased implementation that builds credibility before expanding scale Every successful SBG implementation reviewed in the practitioner literature shares a common structural feature: phased rollout rather than simultaneous district-wide adoption. The phasing patterns vary, some districts start with elementary grades and phase up to secondary, others pilot in volunteer schools before expanding, others begin with a single subject area and add subjects in subsequent years, but the principle is consistent. Implementation credibility is built in a contained environment before scale is attempted. The rationale for phasing is straightforward. SBG implementation surfaces problems that cannot be fully anticipated in planning: assessment items that do not align to standards as cleanly as the map suggested, proficiency scale descriptors that teachers interpret inconsistently, parent questions that the communication plan did not address, and technology configurations that need adjustment based on real-world use. A phased approach allows these problems to be identified and resolved in a limited environment before they affect the entire district. The pilot schools become the reference cases that the rest of the district can learn from, and the teachers who piloted the implementation become the peer advocates that colleagues trust more than they trust administrators or vendors. The phasing decision also creates natural evaluation checkpoints. At the end of a pilot year, the district can assess whether teachers are using the system consistently, whether assessment quality has improved, whether families understand the new reports, and whether any early indicators of student outcome change are visible. These checkpoints allow the district to make evidence-based decisions about expansion rather than proceeding on faith that the implementation is working. Successful phasing also means being deliberate about which schools or teachers pilot first. Volunteer schools whose principals are enthusiastic supporters of SBG and whose teacher populations include a mix of early adopters and sceptics produce more useful pilot data than schools selected for convenience. Sceptical teachers who experience the implementation and find it workable are the most credible advocates for expansion, because their colleagues know their endorsement is not automatic. ## Pattern five: family communication as a design requirement, not an afterthought The districts that sustain SBG implementation through the inevitable political pressure of the first years treat family communication as a core design element of the implementation, not a public relations effort added on after the grading system has already been built. This means that the formats used for parent-facing reporting are designed with the parent audience in mind from the beginning, not adapted from educator-facing documents. It means that communication about what proficiency levels mean uses plain language and concrete examples rather than assessment jargon. It means that back-to-school nights in the first year of implementation are dedicated primarily to explaining the new system, with sample reports and annotation guides that families can keep. It means that the communication plan includes multilingual materials for every language spoken by a significant number of families in the district, because multilingual family engagement is not optional in districts where language barriers already limit school-family communication. It also means that parent questions and concerns are treated as implementation data rather than as obstacles. The districts that handle the political dimension of SBG transitions most effectively are those whose leadership consistently demonstrates that parent feedback is heard and, where warranted, acted on. This does not mean abandoning the implementation in response to initial resistance. It means distinguishing between concerns that reflect genuine policy questions the district needs to answer more clearly and concerns that reflect misunderstanding that better communication would resolve. The family communication infrastructure that supports SBG adoption is the same infrastructure that makes[ K-12 family engagement](https://www.edsby.com/strategies-to-find-out-the-best-student-family-engagement-systems-in-k-12/commentary/) effective more broadly. When families can see their child’s standards-level proficiency data through the same portal where they access attendance, assignments, and teacher messages, the SBG reporting is contextualised within the full picture of their child’s academic life rather than appearing as an isolated, unfamiliar data point. This integration of SBG reporting into the broader school-family communication environment is one of the design advantages that unified platforms provide over implementations that use a separate grading tool disconnected from the family communication system. ## What the research says about SBG and student outcomes The research base on standards-based grading and student outcomes is developing but directionally consistent. The most credible findings point toward specific outcome improvements in contexts where implementation has been done with fidelity to the core principles of the model, not in all contexts regardless of implementation quality. Standards-based grading implemented well is associated with reduced grade inflation, because proficiency ratings require evidence of specific standards mastery rather than allowing homework completion and participation to compensate for academic gaps. It is associated with improved student self-awareness of learning progress, because students who receive standard-level feedback know specifically what they have and have not yet mastered rather than receiving an averaged signal that obscures both. And it is associated with stronger teacher-family communication quality, because conversations structured around specific standards evidence are more productive than conversations about an overall grade that both parties interpret differently. The connection between these outcomes and broader student success is reinforced by the consistent research finding, confirmed in a meta-analysis synthesising data from more than[ 1,177 primary studies across 50 years](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), that parental involvement in student academic progress is one of the most reliable predictors of educational outcomes across grade levels and demographic groups. SBG, when implemented with strong family communication, directly supports the kind of informed parental involvement that this research identifies as consequential. The important qualification is that these outcomes are associated with high-fidelity implementation. Districts where teachers are using the proficiency labels without changing their assessment design, or where the gradebook configuration is producing averaged scores under standards-based labels, are not implementing SBG in the sense the research reflects. The success patterns described throughout this piece are the implementation conditions that produce outcomes consistent with the research, not a guarantee that adopting SBG vocabulary will produce those outcomes without the underlying practice changes. ## How Edsby supports SBG implementation across the success patterns Each of the five success patterns described above has a technology dimension that a capable platform either supports or constrains, and Edsby’s design reflects an understanding of what successful SBG implementation requires at the platform level. For policy architecture, Edsby’s proficiency scale configuration allows districts to build their specific framework into the gradebook rather than mapping it to a generic scale. The standard-level gradebook ensures that what teachers record at the assessment level produces accurate proficiency calculations at the reporting level, without manual calculations or workarounds. [![standards-based grading implementation success patterns K-12 ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) For professional learning support, Edsby’s design reduces the platform-specific learning burden by integrating the SBG gradebook into the same environment where teachers already manage assignments, communication, and attendance. Teachers learning to implement SBG are not simultaneously learning an entirely new technology environment. They are extending their use of a familiar system into its standards-based reporting capabilities. For phased implementation, Edsby’s configuration architecture allows districts to deploy SBG features in specific schools or grade levels while maintaining traditional grading in others, within the same district environment. This eliminates the need for separate technology environments during the pilot phase and simplifies the expansion process when the district is ready to scale. For family communication, Edsby’s parent portal presents standards-level proficiency data alongside attendance, assignments, and teacher messages in a unified interface that families access through a single login. The family communication features that support SBG adoption are the same features that support broader family engagement, making the SBG communication investment part of a larger infrastructure improvement rather than a separate effort. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What are the most important standards-based grading implementation success patterns in K-12? The five patterns that most consistently distinguish successful SBG implementations from those that stall are: building the policy architecture, including proficiency scale definitions, late work and retake policies, and transcript translation approaches, before changing any grades; investing in multi-year assessment literacy professional learning rather than one-time platform training; selecting gradebook technology that supports SBG natively rather than adapting traditional gradebook software; using a phased rollout that builds implementation credibility in a contained environment before expanding district-wide; and treating family communication as a core design requirement from the beginning rather than a reactive public relations effort when resistance emerges. ### 2. Why does competency-based grading adoption succeed in some districts and not others? The difference is almost always in the implementation conditions rather than the grading philosophy itself. Districts where SBG succeeds have built policy clarity before asking teachers to change practice, invested in the professional learning that builds genuine assessment literacy, equipped teachers with gradebook tools designed for standards-based reporting, and communicated with families in accessible language and in all the languages their community speaks. Districts where it fails typically launch the grading change without adequate preparation, underestimate the professional learning requirement, deploy the policy in technology environments that cannot support it, and treat family communication as secondary to the internal implementation work. ### 3. How long does a successful K-12 SBG implementation typically take? High-fidelity SBG implementation in a K-12 district typically requires three to five years from the first policy decisions to a fully functioning, coherent system across all grade levels. Year one focuses on policy architecture, standards mapping, and professional learning in pilot schools or grade bands. Year two extends the implementation based on pilot learning, deepens assessment design capacity, and begins building the family communication infrastructure for broader rollout. Years three and four address the secondary level, which involves the most complex communication challenges around transcripts and[ comparison with traditional grading platforms](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/). Year five and beyond focuses on sustainability, refining assessment practices, and using proficiency data for curriculum improvement. Districts that attempt to compress this timeline typically encounter the same problems that caused earlier implementations to stall. ### 4. What role does technology play in SBG implementation success and what must a platform be able to do? Technology is not the primary driver of SBG success, but it is frequently the constraint that prevents otherwise well-designed implementations from functioning as intended. A platform supporting SBG must be able to configure proficiency scales to the district’s specific framework, tag assessment items to specific standards, calculate proficiency at the standard level rather than as an overall average, apply most-recent or most-frequent evidence weighting rather than averaging all attempts, and generate parent-facing reports that present standards-level proficiency in language families can interpret. Platforms that cannot support these capabilities natively force teachers into workarounds that undermine the system’s integrity and create the inconsistency across classrooms that erodes both teacher confidence and family trust. Edsby’s[ gradebook features](https://www.edsby.com/blog) are built for these requirements as native capabilities. ### 5. How should districts handle the political resistance that SBG implementation typically generates? Political resistance to SBG is almost always a communication problem before it is a grading philosophy problem. Families resist what they do not understand, and a proficiency scale they have never seen before, reporting dimensions they cannot interpret, and a system that appears to eliminate the grades they know how to respond to are disorienting without adequate preparation. Successful districts address this by communicating about the change before it affects report cards, using plain language and concrete examples rather than assessment jargon, hosting family information sessions with annotated sample reports, providing multilingual materials, and creating accessible channels for families to ask questions throughout the implementation. Districts that treat initial resistance as data, listening for the specific misunderstandings it reflects and addressing them directly, sustain their implementations through the first difficult year far more successfully than those that dismiss resistance as opposition to change. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** standards-based grading implementation success patterns K-12, SBG implementation done right, competency-based grading adoption, why SBG succeeds in some districts --- ### [How large K-12 districts evaluate education workflow and assessment platforms](https://www.edsby.com/how-large-k12-districts-evaluate-education-workflow-and-assessment-platforms/commentary/) **Published:** September 29, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** How large K-12 districts evaluate workflow and assessment platforms at scale and what works. **Content:** A district of 5,000 students operates very differently from one of 50,000. The platform that works elegantly in a single-school environment where the technology coordinator knows every teacher by name, where onboarding can be done in a single afternoon, and where integration complexity is limited to a handful of system connections, does not necessarily scale to an environment with dozens of schools, hundreds of teachers, thousands of daily data transactions, and a parent population that spans thirty languages and five income brackets. Large K-12 districts have learned this distinction the hard way. They have signed enterprise contracts based on demonstrations conducted in controlled environments and discovered at scale that the gradebook could not handle simultaneous access by 400 teachers at the start of a grading period. They have deployed[ K-12 workflow systems](https://www.edsby.com/what-workflow-systems-are-popular-in-k-12-districts-and-why-most-still-fall-short/commentary/) that performed well in pilot schools and collapsed under the weight of a full-district rollout. They have purchased district administration software that met every feature requirement on their rubric and failed to integrate with their SIS in the way the vendor had assured them it would. The evaluation processes that large districts have developed in response to these experiences are significantly more rigorous than those used by smaller districts, and they are more instructive precisely because they have been shaped by failure as much as success. This piece explains how large K-12 districts actually evaluate education workflow and assessment platforms, what they look for that smaller districts often overlook, and why the criteria that matter most at scale are frequently different from those that dominate standard procurement checklists. ## Why scale changes everything in K-12 platform evaluation The evaluation criteria that determine whether a platform works in a large district are not simply a larger version of the criteria that matter in small ones. Scale introduces categories of requirement that do not exist below a certain threshold of users, data volume, and organizational complexity. The first category is concurrent load performance. A platform that handles 50 simultaneous teacher logins without degradation may struggle significantly when 600 teachers open the gradebook at 8:00 on a Monday morning at the start of a new marking period. Large districts must require vendors to provide specific performance data under load conditions that reflect actual district usage patterns, not average daily traffic. Vendors who cannot provide this data or who resist providing it are signaling that scale performance has not been rigorously tested in conditions comparable to what the district would create. The second category is multi-school administrative architecture. A large district needs to manage permissions, reporting, and data visibility across many schools simultaneously, with different administrators having access to different data subsets based on their role and their school assignment. A platform that was designed with single-school administration in mind often surfaces serious limitations in multi-school environments: reporting that cannot filter by school, permission models that grant either too much or too little access across organizational boundaries, and configuration interfaces that require global changes where school-level customization is needed. The third category is rollout and change management complexity. In a small district, the technology coordinator can personally guide every teacher through a platform transition. In a large district, professional development for a new platform deployment may need to reach 500 to 1,000 teachers across multiple schools and subject areas simultaneously. The vendor’s support infrastructure for large rollouts, including train-the-trainer resources, differentiated onboarding materials by role, and the capacity to provide on-site or live-virtual support during the critical first weeks of deployment, must be evaluated as rigorously as the platform’s feature set. The fourth category is contract and compliance complexity. Large districts have procurement offices, legal counsel, and technology governance frameworks that require specific contract terms, data processing agreement provisions, and security certification documentation. A vendor whose standard contract terms do not accommodate FERPA-compliant data processing agreements, whose security certifications have lapses, or whose pricing model does not scale predictably with district enrollment creates procurement risk that smaller districts may not face but that large districts cannot overlook. ## The stakeholder landscape in large district evaluations Large district platform evaluations involve a wider and more complex stakeholder landscape than those in smaller organizations, and the management of that stakeholder landscape is itself a significant determinant of evaluation quality. District technology leadership is typically responsible for coordinating the evaluation process and carries the deepest knowledge of integration requirements, security standards, and infrastructure constraints. But technology leadership evaluates platforms with a bias toward technical sophistication and configurability that does not always align with the usability priorities of classroom teachers or the accessibility needs of diverse family populations. Effective large-district evaluations compensate for this bias by giving other stakeholder groups structured input into requirements and rubric weighting rather than advisory roles that can be easily overridden. Curriculum and instruction leadership brings a different perspective. Their primary concern is whether the platform supports the instructional models the district is investing in, whether that means project-based learning, standards-based grading, co-teaching models, or specific assessment frameworks. A platform that excels at traditional gradebook management but cannot accommodate the differentiated assignment workflows that a large district’s curriculum framework requires creates ongoing friction for the teachers who must work within it daily. School-level administrators, principals and assistant principals, evaluate platforms through the lens of operational visibility and intervention capacity. They need to see attendance patterns, grade trends, and communication histories across their full school population without navigating multiple systems. They need to assign tasks, monitor follow-through, and generate the reports that district leadership and state agencies require. In large districts, this need for school-level administrative capability must be balanced against the district’s need for standardization and comparative reporting across schools. Teachers are the highest-volume users of the daily workflow components of any K-12 education platform, and their evaluation of usability is the most consequential single input for predicting whether the platform will be used consistently. Large districts that have learned from failed deployments now include teacher advisory panels in formal evaluation roles, not just as focus group participants whose input may or may not influence the final decision. Teacher panels that include both veteran educators with deeply established workflows and newer teachers who are more adaptable to new tools produce the most balanced usability assessment. Family liaison and equity staff bring requirements to the evaluation that technology-led processes routinely underweight. In a large district serving thousands of families across multiple languages, income levels, and technology access profiles, the family-facing components of a platform must be evaluated against the full range of families the district serves, not just the most digitally engaged. Digital forms providers and communication platforms that work well for English-speaking families with reliable broadband and current-generation smartphones may fail to reach a large proportion of the district’s actual community. ## The core evaluation domains for large K-12 districts Large K-12 district evaluations of education workflow and assessment platforms consistently concentrate scrutiny in a set of core evaluation domains that reflect the categories where scale amplifies the consequences of a poor choice. System architecture and scalability is examined first because it determines whether everything else the platform promises is deliverable at the district’s actual usage scale. Large districts require documented evidence of performance under concurrent load, specific data volume limits and how they are managed, and the vendor’s track record with districts of comparable size. They also evaluate the platform’s multi-tenancy architecture to understand how data is isolated between schools and whether district-level and school-level administration are genuinely distinct or share an administrative interface that was designed for smaller organizations. Integration depth with existing district systems is the second major domain. Large districts typically have more legacy systems, more complex SIS configurations, and more specialized point solutions for specific populations, such as special education case management or English language learner tracking, than smaller ones. The integration evaluation must cover not just the standard SIS connection but the full range of data flows the district requires, with specific documentation of API capabilities, data transfer frequency, field mapping, and what happens to existing integrations when either the platform or the connected SIS releases a major update. Standards-based assessment capability receives dedicated evaluation in large districts that have made significant investment in standards-aligned instruction and reporting. Standards-based assessment within a unified K-12 education platform means that assessment items are tagged to specific standards, that proficiency scales are configurable to the district’s framework, that gradebook calculations reflect the district’s policy on most-recent versus averaged evidence, and that the reports generated for teachers, families, and administrators present standards-level data in formats that each audience can understand and act on. Large districts evaluating standard-based assessment capability should require vendors to demonstrate not just the assessment builder but the full cycle from item creation through student response, teacher review, proficiency calculation, and parent-facing report generation. Digital forms and workflow automation is a domain that large districts consistently identify as more important at scale than smaller districts recognise. The volume of administrative forms that a large K-12 district processes annually is substantial: enrolment forms, permission slips, health updates, accommodation requests, IEP documentation, discipline records, transportation changes, and dozens of category-specific workflows that must be initiated, routed, approved, and archived. K-12 forms platforms and digital forms providers that handle these workflows as isolated tools add to the platform fragmentation problem. Unified platforms that integrate digital forms into the same environment as the student record, the gradebook, and the family communication system eliminate the data re-entry and routing overhead that paper-based and stand-alone digital forms create. Data governance and security at enterprise scale receives a level of scrutiny in large district evaluations that smaller districts rarely apply. A large district’s student data environment is a high-value target for cybersecurity threats, and the data governance requirements associated with serving tens of thousands of students across many schools and numerous staff members are significantly more complex than those in smaller organizations. Large districts typically require SOC 2 Type II certification as a minimum security evidence standard, detailed penetration testing history, specific breach notification protocols that comply with both FERPA and applicable state privacy laws, and data processing agreements negotiated by legal counsel rather than accepted as standard vendor terms. Equity and accessibility at community scale is evaluated with greater rigor in large districts because the scale of the equity gap is larger. A district of 50,000 students serving a community where 25% of families are non-English-speaking has 12,500 families for whom English-only communication is a systematic exclusion. The accessibility evaluation must cover multilingual communication with automated translation across the languages represented in the community, mobile-first and SMS-accessible design for families without reliable broadband, and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for the district’s students with disabilities. Large districts should require vendors to provide adoption rate data from comparable districts broken down by demographic group to assess whether equity gaps in platform engagement have been observed and addressed. Vendor stability and enterprise support capacity is weighted more heavily in large district evaluations because the consequences of a vendor acquisition, pivot, or dissolution are proportionally greater when tens of thousands of students and thousands of staff members depend on the platform. Large districts evaluate vendor financial health, ownership structure, product development investment, and the specific capacity of the vendor’s enterprise support team to serve a district of their size alongside its other large-district clients. A vendor whose largest current client is a district a quarter of the evaluating district’s size has not demonstrated the operational capacity to support the relationship being proposed. ## How the evaluation process is structured in large districts Beyond the specific criteria, the process by which large districts structure their evaluation is itself a distinguishing feature. The process characteristics that produce reliable selection decisions in large-district contexts are worth examining explicitly. Large districts issue formal Requests for Information before they issue Requests for Proposals. The RFI stage allows districts to gather market intelligence about what platforms exist, what their general capabilities are, and which vendors have credible large-district experience, without committing to the full formal procurement process for vendors that will clearly not meet threshold requirements. This stage typically reduces the vendor field from a dozen possibilities to three or four serious candidates before any detailed evaluation resources are invested. The RFP process in large districts includes a technical evaluation component that goes beyond feature lists and vendor attestations. Technical questionnaires ask vendors to provide specific API documentation, load testing results, security audit reports, and data dictionary specifications that allow the district’s IT team to evaluate integration feasibility before committing to a pilot. Vendors who cannot produce this documentation at the RFP stage have typically not invested the engineering rigour that large-district deployments require. Pilot design in large districts is more controlled and more formally measured than in smaller ones. A large-district pilot typically runs in two to four representative schools selected to span the range of school types, demographic profiles, and instructional models in the district. The pilot includes formal baseline measurement of the metrics the new platform is expected to improve: teacher administrative time, family portal activation rates, attendance notification latency, and data accuracy between the platform and the SIS. Post-pilot measurement against these baselines provides the most reliable available evidence of what the platform will actually produce at full-district deployment. Reference verification in large districts is conducted with districts of comparable size, not just with any satisfied customer the vendor proposes. A reference conversation with a district of 4,000 students is not informative for a district of 40,000 evaluating the same platform. Large districts request contact with specific reference districts of comparable complexity and demographic profile, and they conduct these conversations independently rather than through vendor-facilitated introductions that may not surface the full picture of platform performance. ## How Edsby is built for large K-12 district needs Edsby’s architecture addresses the specific requirements that large K-12 district evaluations consistently surface as most important. The unified data layer that connects [SIS, LMS, ](https://www.edsby.com/unified-sis-lms-architecture-lowers-k12-district-ownership-costs/commentary/)gradebook, attendance, and family communication in a single environment eliminates the integration maintenance burden that grows most painfully in large districts with complex multi-system stacks. The platform’s multi-school administrative architecture provides district-level visibility and school-level customization simultaneously, without requiring administrators to navigate separate interfaces for each school in their portfolio. For large districts implementing standards-based grading alongside traditional reporting, Edsby’s native support for both grading models in the same gradebook environment means district curriculum decisions are not constrained by what the platform can technically accommodate. Standards proficiency scales are configurable to the district’s specific framework, and the reporting output for parents is designed to present standards-level data in accessible language rather than assessment jargon. [![K-12 education workflow and assessment platforms ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)The family communication layer in Edsby is built for the equity requirements that large districts serving diverse communities cannot treat as optional. Automated multilingual communication, mobile-first portal design, and SMS channel support ensure that the engagement infrastructure serves the full community rather than the segment already predisposed to engage with digital platforms. Research published on [ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesising findings from more than 1,177 primary studies across 50 years, confirms the consistent association between parental involvement and student academic outcomes across all grade levels. ## What separates platforms that scale from those that do not After working through a rigorous evaluation process, large districts arrive at a small set of characteristics that reliably distinguish platforms that perform at scale from those that do not. These characteristics are worth naming explicitly because they are not always visible in demonstrations or feature lists. Platforms that scale are built on a data architecture designed for volume from the start, not one that was adequate for smaller deployments and extended to larger ones. The difference shows up in query performance under load, in the reliability of data synchronization when thousands of transactions are occurring simultaneously, and in the stability of integrations when the data volume they must handle increases substantially. Platforms that scale have enterprise-class support models, not support models that work for small districts and are extended to large ones with additional headcount. The distinction is in the support team’s familiarity with large-district configuration complexity, their capacity to respond during high-stakes periods when the entire district is simultaneously dependent on the platform, and their track record of resolving cross-system issues where the problem lies at the boundary between the platform and another enterprise system. Platforms that scale have product development processes that incorporate large-district feedback systematically rather than accommodating it occasionally. A platform whose roadmap is driven primarily by the needs of its median customer, which in most ed-tech markets is a small to mid-sized district, will accumulate feature gaps in the areas that matter most for large districts over time. Platforms whose development process includes structured input from large-district clients, and whose roadmap reflects that input visibly, are meaningfully more likely to remain appropriate for large-district needs across a multi-year contract. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. How do large K-12 districts approach the evaluation of education workflow and assessment platforms differently from smaller districts? Large K-12 districts apply greater rigour to the evaluation criteria that scale amplifies: concurrent load performance under actual district usage conditions, multi-school [administrative workflow](https://www.edsby.com/what-workflow-systems-are-popular-in-k12-districts/commentary/), rollout and change management capacity, contract and compliance complexity, and vendor stability at enterprise scale. They issue formal Requests for Information before Requests for Proposals to narrow the vendor field before investing detailed evaluation resources. They pilot in representative schools with formal baseline and post-pilot measurement rather than impressionistic feedback. And they require reference conversations with districts of comparable size rather than accepting vendor-provided references from districts a fraction of their scale. ### 2. What are the most important K-12 workflow system requirements that large districts evaluate? The most important K-12 workflow system requirements for large districts fall into five areas. First, system architecture must support concurrent access by hundreds of teachers and thousands of family users without performance degradation. Second, integration depth with the SIS and other enterprise systems must be native and real-time rather than middleware-dependent and batch-synced. Third, multi-school administrative architecture must allow district-level reporting and school-level customization simultaneously. Fourth, data governance must meet enterprise security standards including SOC 2 Type II certification and FERPA-compliant data processing agreement terms. Fifth, equity and accessibility must serve the full demographic range of the district’s community, including multilingual families and those with limited broadband access. ### 3. How should large districts evaluate digital forms providers and K-12 forms platforms as part of a broader workflow assessment? Digital forms and workflow automation should be evaluated as an integrated component of the broader district administration software stack rather than as standalone tools. Large districts process substantial annual volumes of administrative forms including enrolment documentation, accommodation requests, permission workflows, health updates, and discipline records. Forms platforms that operate independently of the student record require data re-entry and create routing overhead that adds to staff administrative burden. The evaluation criterion that matters most is whether digital forms can be initiated, routed, completed, and archived within the same environment as the student record and the family communication system, or whether they add another integration relationship to an already complex stack. ### 4. What role does standards-based assessment capability play in large district platform evaluations? Standards-based assessment capability is a high-priority evaluation domain for large districts that have invested in standards-aligned curriculum frameworks and are implementing or considering standards-based grading models. The evaluation must cover the full assessment cycle from item creation and standards tagging through student response collection, proficiency calculation, and parent-facing reporting. Large districts should require vendors to demonstrate that proficiency scales are configurable to the district’s specific framework rather than generic national standards, that gradebook calculations can reflect the district’s policy on most-recent versus averaged evidence, and that parent-facing reports present standards-level proficiency data in language that families without education backgrounds can understand and act on. ### 5. What vendor characteristics should large K-12 districts prioritize when selecting district administration software at enterprise scale? Large districts should prioritize vendor characteristics that predict reliable performance and a sustainable relationship over a multi-year contract period. These include demonstrated experience with districts of comparable size, documented performance under the concurrent load conditions the district creates, SOC 2 Type II security certification and a transparent breach history, a product development process that incorporates large-district feedback systematically, enterprise-class support capacity that does not degrade during high-stakes periods, and financial stability that reduces the risk of acquisition or service disruption during the contract term. Pricing models that scale predictably with enrolment without cliff-edge cost increases are also important for large districts whose student population may change significantly across a five-year contract. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 workflow systems, K-12 education workflow and assessment platforms, digital forms providers, district administration software, standard-based assessment, K-12 forms platforms --- ### [K-12 LMS market landscape 2026: Consolidation, breaches, and adoption trends](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-market-landscape-2026-consolidation-breaches-and-adoption-trends/commentary/) **Published:** September 25, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** See how consolidation, security breaches, and adoption trends are reshaping the K-12 LMS market. **Content:** The K-12 LMS market landscape in 2026 looks nothing like it did three years ago. Where there were once 15+ competitive vendors fighting for district contracts, there are now consolidations reshaping the entire market. A major security breach changed how districts evaluate platforms. Adoption patterns have shifted dramatically. District leaders face a market that is consolidating fast, and the decisions they make now will lock them into platforms for the next 5-7 years. This is the 2026 K-12 LMS market analysis you need to understand: what is consolidating, what is breaking, and what adoption trends matter for your district decision-making. ## What happened to the vendor landscape – understanding K-12 LMS market consolidation The K-12 LMS market consolidation is real and accelerating. Two major forces drove this: - The PowerSchool-Schoology Acquisition (2023). PowerSchool (the leading K-12 SIS platform) acquired [Schoology](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-schoology/) (a major learning management system). This single deal consolidated two of the three largest data systems that schools rely on. PowerSchool went from owning just the registrar’s office to owning both the student data system and the classroom learning platform. This gave them unmatched control over the K-12 technology stack. - The Push Toward Unified Platforms [Canvas](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/) remained independent but expanded into analytics. Brightspace (D2L) doubled down on becoming an all-in-one platform. Independent vendors like Edsby, built as unified LMS+analytics+communication platforms from the start, gained traction as districts realized fragmentation is expensive. The result: five major platforms now control 75-80% of the market where ten platforms used to split it. This consolidation matters because it reshapes procurement. Districts can no longer assume they have 10+ options. They have 4-5 serious options, and the market dynamics have shifted decisively in favor of unified platforms that handle learning management, gradebook, analytics, and communication all natively. ## How did the Canvas breach impact LMS market adoption and district trust In late 2025, [Canvas experienced a significant security incident](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=df79b83f705a14d1dd491133a1cf04c7752ce949e084b9758e10341c63248c04JmltdHM9MTc5MDI5NDQwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=27ac2187-da82-6dec-3dee-3005db846ccb&psq=canvas+breach+2025+news&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvbS9uZXdzL2FydGljbGVzL2NkZXB6ZzgzeDg3bw) affecting a subset of districts. Data exposure was not widespread, but the breach created a moment of truth: districts had to reconsider whether their LMS vendor was reliable enough. The market impact was immediate: - Districts conducting RFPs started asking harder questions about security infrastructure and breach response. - Some large districts accelerated timelines to migrate away from Canvas. - Smaller districts stuck with Canvas but demanded enhanced security commitments. - The breach elevated “vendor stability” and “security auditing” as primary procurement criteria. The Canvas breach did not destroy their market position—they still hold significant LMS market share—but it cracked the narrative that newer, independent vendors are automatically more secure than established players. Now districts assume all major vendors are targets and evaluate them based on demonstrated security practice, not vendor size. For platforms built with security-first architecture from inception, this shift creates opportunity. ## What adoption trends are shaping K-12 LMS decisions in 2026? Three adoption trends dominate the 2026 market: 1. Unified Platform Adoption Is Accelerating. Districts are consolidating from 10-12 separate tools (LMS, SIS, gradebook, communication platform, forms, data tool) down to 2-4 unified platforms. The old “best of breed” model is dying. Unified platforms that bundle LMS, gradebook, analytics, and communication are winning procurement battles. 2. Real-Time Data Integration Is Now Table Stakes. Districts are no longer accepting batch syncing between LMS and SIS. They expect grades to flow from the classroom to the parent portal in real time. This technical requirement eliminates platforms that rely on separate, disconnected systems. Only unified platforms with integrated data architecture can deliver this. 3. Teacher Workload Reduction Is Driving Decisions. Districts cite teacher retention as a primary concern. They are choosing platforms that reduce app fatigue—meaning one login, one interface, one place to find everything. Platforms requiring teachers to log into multiple systems are being eliminated from RFPs. These three trends work together: consolidation demands unified platforms, unified platforms enable real-time integration, and real-time integration reduces teacher burden. Districts choosing platforms for 2026-2031 are evaluating against these criteria, not just feature lists. ## Which K-12 LMS platforms are winning the 2026 market Market share in 2026 reflects a clear hierarchy: - Tier 1: Unified Platforms Built for K-12 Districts. Platforms like [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/) were built as unified LMS+analytics+communication platforms from inception, designed specifically for K-12 workflows. Estimated combined market share: 8-12%. Advantage: native unified architecture (no integration needed), real-time data by design, built-in analytics, simplified IT operations. These platforms are capturing market share from fragmented systems because they eliminate the integration problem entirely. - Tier 2: PowerSchool Ecosystem (SIS + Schoology). PowerSchool (SIS) + Schoology (LMS) now operate as an integrated ecosystem. Estimated market share: 30-35%. Advantage: unified data architecture across SIS and LMS. Disadvantage: high cost, enterprise-focused, smaller districts struggle with implementation complexity. - Tier 2b: Canvas + Instructure Ecosystem. Canvas remains the largest independent LMS. Estimated market share: 25-30%. Advantage: best-in-class learning management, large partner ecosystem. Disadvantage: no native SIS, relies on third-party integrations for data flow. - Tier 3: Google Classroom + Ecosystem. Google Classroom dominates in early elementary and price-sensitive districts (free). Estimated market share: 15-20%. Advantage: free, integrated with Google Drive, easy adoption. Disadvantage: limited for secondary grades, no gradebook/analytics parity with paid platforms. - Tier 4: Brightspace (D2L), Moodle, and Others. Brightspace targets large and complex districts. Moodle owns the open-source segment. Combined market share: 10-15%. Advantage: specialized features for specific use cases. Disadvantage: smaller ecosystems, fewer integration partners. The key insight: this concentration is creating a “winner-take-most” dynamic where unified platforms built for K-12 are gaining ground by eliminating the integration and fragmentation burden that plagues districts using separate systems. The top three-tier categories control 80%+ of the market. If you are a district evaluating options, you are realistically choosing among 3-4 platform architectures. ## What should districts prioritize when evaluating LMS platforms in 2026? If you are in an RFP or considering a platform migration, the market landscape tells you exactly what to prioritize: 1. Unified Data Architecture Over Feature Richness. Do not choose the platform with the most features. Choose the platform where data flows seamlessly between the LMS, SIS, analytics, and parent portal. This single criterion eliminates fragmented systems and narrows your options significantly. If you are evaluating a platform, ask: “Is this data unified in a single system, or is it synced between separate databases?” 2. Real-Time Integration Over Batch Syncing. Ask vendor: “When a teacher enters a grade, how long until a parent sees it in the portal?” If the answer is “end of day” or “end of week,” it is not a platform for 2026. Platforms with native unified architecture deliver real-time data automatically. Those with synced systems cannot. 3. Security and Stability Over Growth Hype. The Canvas breach taught the market a lesson: vendor stability and security infrastructure matter. Evaluate vendors on demonstrated security practice, not vendor size. Ask for security audit results, breach response history, compliance certifications, and how security was built into the platform architecture. 4. Teacher Adoption Over Administrator Features. Teachers spend 8 hours a day in the LMS. Administrators spend 2 hours a week. Choose platforms based on teacher workflow simplicity, not admin dashboard bells and whistles. The platform teachers actually use is the one that succeeds. Unified platforms require less training because everything is in one place. Districts that prioritize these factors tend to make platform choices that hold up for 5+ years. Those that prioritize feature lists or price alone end up regretting their decision within 18-24 months. ## How Edsby addresses the 2026 market landscape Edsby was built as a unified LMS+analytics+communication platform specifically to solve the fragmentation problem that defined the market until now. As districts shift toward the priorities outlined above, Edsby addresses each of them: - [Unified SIS-LMS Architecture](https://www.edsby.com/unified-sis-lms-architecture-lowers-k12-district-ownership-costs/commentary/) — How integrated data architecture eliminates integration costs, manual syncing, and data reconciliation problems. - [Real-Time Parent Engagement](https://www.edsby.com/parent-engagement-is-a-data-problem-not-a-features-problem/commentary/) — Why real-time grade visibility changes parent adoption and how unified architecture enables it. - [Standards-Based Grading in Unified Platforms](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) — How integrated assessment and analytics reduce teacher workload and improve student outcomes. - [Edsby Platform Overview](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-learning-platform-overview/) — See how unified LMS architecture simplifies teacher workflows and reduces implementation complexity. - [Family Engagement Through Unified Data](https://www.edsby.com/the-complete-guide-to-k12-family-engagement-systems/commentary/) — How real-time parent portal integration built into a unified platform drives adoption. - [Schedule a Demo](https://www.edsby.com/contact/) — See how Edsby’s unified platform solves the market trends shaping 2026 K-12 technology decisions. ## [![K-12 district administrative workflows](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The bottom line: The K-12 LMS market is consolidating toward unified platforms The K-12 LMS market landscape in 2026 is nothing like 2020. Consolidation is real. The PowerSchool-Schoology merger reshuffled the deck. The Canvas breach taught districts to prioritize security and stability. Adoption trends are crystal clear: districts want unified platforms, real-time data, and teacher-friendly tools. If you are evaluating LMS platforms now, use the market landscape to your advantage. Your procurement criteria should reflect what is actually winning in 2026: unified data architecture, real-time integration, proven security, and simplicity. The districts making the best decisions in 2026 are not choosing based on features or price. They are choosing based on whether the platform solves the fragmentation problem—whether it unifies data, reduces teacher workload, and enables real-time visibility. Platforms built as unified systems from inception have the advantage here because they deliver this by design, not by integration. The districts moving now are the ones winning. Those waiting for further consolidation will have fewer options and higher costs by 2027. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Is Canvas still a safe choice after the 2025 breach? Yes, but with caveats. Canvas remains a strong independent LMS and responded professionally to the breach. However, the incident elevated security auditing as a procurement requirement. If you choose Canvas, demand enhanced security commitments and security audit results. Also plan for the data integration cost: Canvas does not include SIS or analytics natively, so you will need integration layers. ### 2. Should we wait to migrate until consolidation settles? No. The consolidation is happening now. If you migrate in 2027-2028, you will be choosing from fewer options with higher prices. Make your decision based on 2026 market realities. Unified platforms are consolidating market share because they solve the fragmentation problem—act now while you have options. ### 3. Does unified platform adoption mean we have to use one vendor for everything? Not entirely. You can use a unified LMS+analytics+communication platform and still add specialized tools (data warehouse, advanced assessment platform, video conferencing). But the core systems (learning, grades, analytics, parent communication) should be unified. The goal is 80-90% consolidation (unified core) plus 1-2 specialized tools (tightly integrated). This eliminates fragmentation while keeping specialist capabilities. ### 4. How much will the K-12 LMS market cost for our district in 2026-2027? Depends on district size and architecture choice. Large districts (20K+ students) spend 500K-2M annually on LMS+SIS. Medium districts (5-20K) spend 100K-500K. Small districts (under 5K) spend 30K-100K. These costs include licensing, implementation, and training. Unified platforms often cost less because you eliminate integration costs and manual data syncing. Fragmented systems often appear cheaper upfront but cost more when you factor in integration and IT labor. ### 5. What vendor features matter most for teacher adoption? Simplicity and single login. Teachers do not adopt complexity. They adopt tools that require minimal login switches, intuitive interfaces, and minimal training. Teachers care about: one place to see everything, ease of grading, simple communication tools, and integration with Google and Microsoft tools (which most platforms offer). Unified platforms win on adoption because everything is in one interface. Teachers do not have to remember 5 different logins or 5 different workflows. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 LMS market landscape --- ### [What workflow systems are popular in K-12 districts and why most still fall short](https://www.edsby.com/what-workflow-systems-are-popular-in-k-12-districts-and-why-most-still-fall-short/commentary/) **Published:** September 25, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** The workflow systems K-12 districts rely on and why fragmented stacks keep failing administrators. **Content:** K-12 district administration involves a level of operational complexity that most people outside the sector do not fully appreciate. On any given school day, a district of moderate size is simultaneously managing student enrolment and scheduling changes, tracking attendance across dozens of classrooms and multiple schools, processing grade data from hundreds of teachers, fielding family communication across several channels, generating reports for state compliance deadlines, coordinating student support services, managing staff HR records, and running the procurement and facilities operations that keep the physical and digital infrastructure of schooling functional. Each of these functions has generated its own category of workflow software, and most K-12 districts have accumulated tools from several of these categories over many years. The result, in the majority of districts, is a technology environment that was never designed as a whole, that requires significant staff effort to keep coherent, and that consistently fails to support the cross-functional visibility that good administrative decision-making requires. This piece maps the workflow systems that are most commonly used in K-12 districts today, explains why the category-by-category accumulation model creates problems that individual tool upgrades cannot solve, and shows what a more integrated approach to K-12 district administrative workflows looks like and why it produces better outcomes. ## **The major categories of K-12 administrative workflow systems** Understanding what is actually popular in K-12 district administration requires looking at the function categories that workflow systems address, because the market is fragmented enough that no single vendor dominates across all of them. The student information system is the foundational layer of [K-12 administrative workflow](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-k-12-workflow-management/commentary/). The SIS manages enrollment, demographics, scheduling, official attendance records, grade reporting, and state compliance reporting. Major SIS providers in the North American K-12 market include PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Skyward, and Tyler Technologies’ Aeries platform. These systems are typically district-wide deployments selected through formal procurement processes, and they tend to have long contract cycles because the cost and disruption of migrating official student records between SIS platforms is significant. The SIS is the system of record for everything the district is officially accountable for, and its data accuracy directly affects state funding, compliance standing, and the reliability of every other system that draws from it. The [learning management system](https://www.edsby.com/best-learning-management-platform-for-k12-in-canada/commentary/) sits alongside the SIS and handles the instructional layer of the school’s digital environment. Where the SIS holds the official record, the LMS holds the daily working environment of teaching and learning: course content, assignment management, teacher-student interaction, formative assessment, and the gradebook that feeds eventually into the official SIS record. Popular LMS platforms in K-12 include Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, and Edsby. The selection of an LMS is often more decentralized than SIS selection, with individual schools or departments sometimes running different platforms, which creates its own set of workflow fragmentation problems. Parent and family communication platforms form a third distinct category. Many districts use a dedicated communication tool that is separate from both the SIS and LMS because neither system was originally designed to handle the full range of family outreach functions a modern district needs. ParentSquare, Bloomz, Remind, and Talking Points are examples of tools that address specific communication gaps, often multilingual messaging or two-way SMS communication, that SIS and LMS platforms have historically handled poorly. Each of these tools, however, requires its own integration with the data sources that make communication meaningful, which adds to the integration management burden. Attendance management workflow is nominally part of the SIS function, but many districts have added dedicated attendance automation tools on top of their SIS because the SIS’s native notification and intervention capabilities are insufficient. Automated phone calls, SMS alerts, and early warning dashboards for chronic absenteeism often come from specialist tools that pull attendance data from the SIS and add the outreach and reporting layer the SIS does not provide natively. Assessment and data platforms represent another category that most districts manage separately. Benchmark assessment tools, diagnostic platforms, and learning analytics systems generate student performance data that ideally connects to the LMS gradebook and the SIS record but in practice often lives in its own data environment. Platforms like Renaissance, Illuminate Education, and FastBridge provide assessment capabilities that go beyond what most LMS gradebooks support, but the data they generate requires manual export or middleware integration to appear in the teacher and administrator views where it would be most useful. HR, payroll, and finance systems manage the operational infrastructure of the district as an employer and as a public institution. Platforms like Frontline Education, SmartFindExpress, Munis, and Infinite Visions handle staff recruitment, credentialing, absence management, substitute coordination, payroll, and financial operations. These systems interact with student-facing administrative workflows primarily through staff scheduling and absence coverage, but they are typically managed by district central office functions rather than school-level administrators. Facilities and maintenance workflow systems manage work orders, asset tracking, and building operations. Platforms like SchoolDude and eMaint handle the facilities management functions that keep school buildings operational. While these systems are less directly connected to student outcomes than the instructional and communication platforms, their efficiency affects the working conditions of both staff and students and their cost represents a meaningful portion of district operational budgets. ## **Why the category-by-category accumulation model fails K-12 districts** Each of the workflow system categories described above was developed to solve a real problem that districts faced at a specific point in time. The problem is not that any individual category of tool is poorly conceived. It is that when districts accumulate tools from six or eight different categories over a period of years, the resulting stack creates a set of systemic problems that individual tool upgrades within categories cannot solve. The most immediate systemic problem is data fragmentation. The official student record lives in the SIS. The daily academic record lives in the LMS. Communication history lives in the family platform. Assessment data lives in the benchmark tool. HR records live in the Frontline system. None of these data environments was designed to share information with the others in real time, and most share it imperfectly even with significant integration effort. The consequence is that an administrator who wants to understand why a specific school’s performance outcomes are declining cannot assemble the full picture from any single system. They must manually export from multiple platforms, merge the data, and interpret it without the context that would be available if the data had been captured in an integrated environment from the start. The second systemic problem is the integration maintenance burden. Every connection between separate workflow systems requires either a custom integration or a middleware tool, and both require ongoing maintenance. When a SIS vendor releases a major update, every integration built on that SIS’s data model may break and require developer time to repair. When a district adds a new tool to an already complex stack, it adds not just one new system to maintain but potentially multiple new integrations with existing systems. The Consortium for School Networking has documented that K-12 districts spend an average of 68 hours of IT staff time per year maintaining each significant system-to-system integration. A district maintaining eight integrated workflow systems may be spending the equivalent of a full-time IT position purely on integration maintenance. The third systemic problem is workflow duplication for staff. Teachers who must enter grades in the LMS gradebook and verify that they have transferred correctly to the SIS are doing the same work twice. Administrators who must pull attendance data from the SIS and cross-reference it with communication logs from the family platform to identify chronic absenteeism cases are doing manually what an integrated system would do automatically. Office staff who process enrolment changes in the SIS and then update course rosters in the LMS separately are performing the same data entry in two systems. Across a district workforce, this duplication accumulates into thousands of hours of administrative overhead per year that an integrated workflow environment would eliminate. The fourth systemic problem is the family experience. From the perspective of a parent trying to stay informed about their child’s school life, a district with six separate workflow systems means potentially four or five separate logins for different types of information. The 2025 App Overload report, produced by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby, surveyed more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents and found that most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate applications. Parent satisfaction in these multi-app environments is low, with 85% of parents in fragmented digital environments rating their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower. Family disengagement driven by platform fragmentation has direct consequences for the student outcomes that K-12 district administrative workflows are ultimately designed to support. ## **What makes K-12 administrative workflows genuinely efficient** The districts that achieve the highest levels of administrative efficiency are not those with the most sophisticated individual tools in each category. They are those that have reduced the number of category boundaries across which data and workflows must cross, minimising the integration overhead, the data duplication, and the staff context-switching that fragmented stacks impose. Genuine workflow efficiency in K-12 district administration depends on several structural characteristics that the category-by-category accumulation model rarely produces. The first is a shared data layer across the functions that are most interdependent. Attendance and communication are deeply interdependent: the value of an attendance notification system depends entirely on the speed and accuracy with which attendance data reaches the communication platform. When these two functions share a live data connection rather than a batch integration, the notification reaches the family within minutes of the teacher completing the roll. When they share only a nightly export, the notification may reach the family the next morning, long after the intervention window has closed. The second structural characteristic is workflow continuity across role transitions. When a teacher identifies a student as at risk based on attendance and grade patterns and wants to refer that student to the school counsellor, the workflow should carry the relevant data with the referral without requiring the teacher to compile it manually from multiple systems. When a counsellor follows up with the family and the family discloses a circumstance the school was not aware of, that information should be capturable in the student record in the same environment, not in a separate case management tool that the teacher cannot see. Workflow continuity means that the information relevant to a student’s situation moves with the people responsible for supporting that student, without being reconstructed from scratch at each handoff. The third structural characteristic is administrative visibility across functions simultaneously. A principal who wants to understand which students are at risk of failing the current marking period needs to see attendance patterns, assignment completion rates, grade trends, and family communication history together, not in four separate system logins. A district superintendent who wants to understand why one school’s outcomes are improving while another’s are declining needs to see comparative data across all the relevant dimensions, not manually assembled from category-specific reports that use different time periods, different demographic breakdowns, and different data definitions. ## **How Edsby addresses K-12 district administrative workflows** Edsby is built as a unified K-12 platform that addresses the root cause of administrative workflow fragmentation rather than adding another specialised tool to an already complex stack. The architectural principle behind Edsby is that the functions most central to K-12 administrative workflow, SIS data management, LMS and gradebook, attendance tracking, family communication, and reporting, should share a common data layer rather than being connected through integrations that introduce latency, maintenance overhead, and failure risk. In practice, this means that when a teacher marks a student absent in Edsby, that record is immediately visible in the official attendance log, automatically triggers the parent notification, updates the student’s attendance rate in the counsellor’s dashboard, and is available to the administrator’s early warning reporting without any manual steps or data transfers. The workflow that in a fragmented environment requires four systems to complete sequentially happens in one environment simultaneously. [![K-12 district administrative workflows ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)For teachers, the administrative efficiency gain is most visible in the gradebook workflow. Grades entered in Edsby’s gradebook are immediately reflected in the parent portal and flow to the official SIS record without a separate entry step. Standards-based and traditional grading are supported in the same environment, so districts implementing standards-based reporting do not need a separate reporting tool for the new grading model. Teacher-parent communication is integrated with the student record so that composing a message to a family about an academic concern happens in the same view where the attendance history and grade trend are visible. For administrators, the efficiency gain is most visible in the reporting and intervention workflow. Because Edsby holds attendance, academic, and communication data in a unified environment, early warning identification for at-risk students does not require a manual data merge from multiple systems. A counsellor seeing that a student’s attendance rate has dropped, their homework completion has declined, and the last family contact was three weeks ago has actionable information in one view. The time between identifying a student in need and initiating a support conversation is compressed significantly compared to a multi-system environment where assembling that picture requires navigating several platforms. For district administrators, Edsby’s unified data environment supports the cross-school and cross-demographic comparisons that systemic improvement requires. Which schools have the strongest family portal engagement rates? Where are attendance gaps concentrated by grade level or student group? Where are standards proficiency rates declining across classrooms teaching the same course? These questions are answerable from a unified platform’s administrative dashboard in minutes. In a fragmented stack, answering them requires IT involvement to extract and merge data from multiple systems, which means they are answered infrequently rather than routinely. ## **The role of data governance in administrative workflow design** Any discussion of K-12 district administrative workflows that does not address data governance is incomplete. Administrative workflows handle the most sensitive personal data in the public sector: student educational records, health information, family circumstances, discipline histories, and the full range of information that accumulates over a student’s years in the K-12 system. The workflow design choices a district makes have direct implications for who can see what data, how that data is protected, and whether the district can demonstrate compliance with FERPA and applicable state privacy laws. Fragmented workflow environments create governance complexity that grows with the number of systems in the stack. Each platform holds student data under a separate vendor agreement with separate access controls, separate security configurations, and a separate breach notification posture. When the same student’s information exists in six different systems, the district must manage six separate data governance relationships, six separate vendor compliance assessments, and a larger total attack surface for the cybersecurity threats that have increasingly targeted K-12 infrastructure in recent years. A unified workflow environment concentrates student data in fewer systems with a single governance framework, a single vendor data processing agreement, and a single audit trail for data access and disclosure. The governance simplification of consolidation is not a secondary benefit for compliance-focused administrators. It is often the most compelling element of the case for workflow integration, particularly in the current cybersecurity environment where the FBI and CISA have both issued explicit alerts about threats targeting K-12 networks. Research [published on ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesising findings from more than 1,177 primary studies across 50 years, confirms the foundational importance of school-family data exchange for student outcomes. The governance implication is direct: workflow systems that handle the data connecting schools and families must be trustworthy, transparent, and compliant, not just functional, because the trust that makes family engagement possible depends on families believing that their children’s information is handled responsibly. ## **What district leaders should do differently when building workflow systems** Most K-12 districts make workflow technology decisions reactively, adding tools to address gaps as they become acute rather than designing toward a coherent administrative infrastructure. The districts that achieve the highest administrative efficiency and the strongest alignment between workflow design and student outcome priorities share a different approach. They start from a whole-system audit rather than a category-by-category problem list. Before adding any new tool, they document the full current stack, the integrations between systems, the staff time consumed by cross-system workflows, and the data quality issues that fragmentation creates. This audit produces a baseline against which consolidation options can be evaluated on total cost of ownership rather than per-tool licensing cost, which almost always changes the conclusion about whether a new specialist tool or a unified platform replacement is the more cost-effective direction. They involve teachers and families in the requirements process, not just administrators and technology coordinators. The people whose daily workflows are most directly affected by administrative system design are teachers managing grades, communication, and attendance simultaneously, and families trying to stay informed about their children’s academic lives. Requirements collected from these groups surface usability needs that administrator-led evaluations consistently miss, and platforms selected against these requirements achieve much higher adoption rates than those selected without family and teacher input. They treat onboarding as a strategic investment rather than a logistics task. Districts that deploy new workflow systems without dedicated onboarding for all user groups, teachers, administrators, office staff, and families, consistently underachieve the adoption rates that would make the investment worthwhile. The platforms that fail are rarely poorly designed. They are poorly launched, and the difference between a workflow system that transforms administrative efficiency and one that becomes shelfware is almost always the quality of the onboarding that accompanied the deployment. ## **Frequently asked questions** ### 1. What are the most commonly used workflow systems in K-12 districts today? The most commonly used workflow systems in K-12 districts fall into several categories. Student information systems such as PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Skyward, and Aeries manage official student records, scheduling, and state reporting. Learning management systems such as Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, and Edsby handle instructional content, gradebooks, and teacher-student interaction. Dedicated family communication platforms such as ParentSquare and Talking Points address multilingual and multi-channel outreach gaps. Assessment platforms such as Renaissance and Illuminate provide benchmark and diagnostic data. HR and operations platforms such as Frontline Education handle staff management. Most districts use tools from several of these categories simultaneously, which creates the integration and data fragmentation challenges that drive administrative workflow inefficiency. ### 2. Why do K-12 district administrative workflows become fragmented over time? Workflow fragmentation in K-12 districts is almost always the result of incremental procurement rather than intentional architecture. Districts add tools one at a time to solve specific problems as they become acute: a new communication platform because the SIS cannot support multilingual messaging, a new assessment tool because the LMS gradebook cannot handle benchmark reporting, a new attendance notification tool because the SIS notification capability is too limited. Each addition solves the immediate problem while adding to the integration maintenance burden and expanding the data fragmentation that makes cross-functional administrative visibility increasingly difficult. Without a periodic whole-system audit that evaluates the stack as a coherent environment rather than a collection of individual tools, fragmentation compounds with every new addition. ### 3. What is the administrative cost of managing multiple workflow systems in a K-12 district? The administrative cost of a fragmented K-12 workflow environment includes direct costs and indirect costs that most districts have never formally totalled. Direct costs include middleware licensing for system-to-system integrations, IT staff time for integration maintenance, and duplicated training costs across multiple platforms. Research from the Consortium for School Networking indicates that districts spend an average of 68 hours of IT staff time per year maintaining each significant system-to-system integration. Indirect costs include the teacher time consumed by duplicate data entry across systems, the administrative hours spent manually merging data from multiple platforms for decision-support reports, and the family disengagement that results from requiring parents to manage multiple logins and interfaces to stay informed about their children. ### 4. How does a unified K-12 platform improve district administrative workflow efficiency? A unified K-12 platform improves administrative workflow efficiency by eliminating the integration maintenance burden, the data latency, and the staff duplication that fragmented multi-system environments create. When attendance, gradebook, parent communication, and SIS data share a common data layer rather than being connected through integrations, workflows that previously required multiple sequential system actions complete automatically in a single environment. Administrators gain cross-functional visibility without manual data extraction. Teachers enter data once rather than in multiple systems. Families access a complete picture of their child’s school life through a single interface. The total cost of ownership for a unified platform, including all indirect costs, is consistently lower than the equivalent fragmented stack when the comparison is conducted honestly across all cost categories. ### 5. What should K-12 district leaders prioritise when evaluating administrative workflow systems? District leaders evaluating administrative workflow systems should prioritise data integration depth over individual feature sophistication. A platform with slightly fewer features than the market leader but with native, real-time connectivity to the district’s SIS will produce better administrative outcomes than a feature-rich platform connected through a batch-syncing middleware layer. They should also prioritise total cost of ownership over per-tool licensing cost, involve teachers and families in the requirements process rather than relying exclusively on administrator and technology coordinator input, and invest in formal onboarding for all user groups before measuring whether a platform is performing to its potential. The districts that achieve the strongest alignment between their workflow technology and their student outcome priorities are those that are designed toward a coherent administrative infrastructure rather than assembling it tool by tool. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 district administrative workflows, district administrative workflows --- ### [K-12 LMS selection framework: industry-standard evaluation criteria explained](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-selection-framework-industry-standard-evaluation-criteria-explained/commentary/) **Published:** September 25, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** The industry-standard selection criteria K-12 districts need before committing to any LMS platform. **Content:** Districts that rush the LMS selection process and those that agonise over it without a structured methodology both tend to end up in the same place: committed to a platform that solved the problem they were thinking about while creating new ones they were not. The former signs a contract after three vendor demonstrations and discovers six months later that the gradebook cannot support standards-based reporting. The latter spends 18 months in committee, collects hundreds of stakeholder preferences, and still lacks a principled basis for weighing one platform’s strength against another’s weakness. A K-12 LMS evaluation framework changes this by providing a structured, repeatable process that gathers the right information, involves the right people, and produces a selection decision that is defensible to every stakeholder who will live with it. The framework is not a shortcut. It is a way of investing evaluation effort where it actually predicts platform performance rather than where vendor demonstrations happen to direct attention. This guide explains the industry-standard evaluation criteria that belong in every K-12 LMS selection process, how those criteria translate into a scoring rubric, what the decision framework looks like when the rubric data is assembled, and where the must-have features sit within the broader evaluation structure. ## Why most LMS evaluations produce the wrong answer Before building the framework, it is worth understanding why standard district technology procurement processes consistently underperform as evaluation mechanisms for K-12 learning management systems. The most common structural flaw is that demonstrations substitute for evaluation. Vendor demonstrations are controlled experiences designed to show a platform’s strengths in the most favourable light possible. They take place in demo environments with clean data, experienced operators, and pre-selected scenarios. They show what the platform can do, not how it performs under the conditions of a real school year: messy rosters, mid-year enrolment changes, simultaneous teacher and parent logins, state reporting deadlines, and the full range of accessibility requirements that a diverse student population generates. A district whose evaluation process consists primarily of vendor demonstrations is collecting marketing material, not evaluation data. The second flaw is evaluating features in isolation rather than in the context of how they connect. A gradebook that scores well in a standalone demonstration may score very differently when a district asks how long it takes for a grade entered in that gradebook to appear in the parent portal or in the official SIS record. An attendance module that looks clean in a demonstration may have a data latency issue that makes real-time parent notification impossible. Evaluation criteria must probe the connections between features, not just the features themselves, because the connections are where the most important differences between platforms emerge. The third flaw is failing to weight criteria by the district’s specific context. An LMS evaluation rubric that treats multilingual communication and advanced analytics as equally important for every district produces results that are accurate for no district. A rural district where 95% of families are English-speaking and where the primary technology gap is in gradebook-SIS integration should weight those criteria very differently than an urban district where 40% of families speak a language other than English at home and where the primary communication failure is language exclusion. Rigorous evaluation requires a requirements weighting process before any rubric is applied. ## Stage one: current-state audit and requirements definition The K-12 LMS evaluation framework begins before any vendor is contacted. The first stage is an honest audit of the current technology environment and a structured definition of the requirements the new platform must meet. The current-state audit should document every platform the district currently uses to perform functions that an LMS could cover: course and content management, gradebook, attendance, parent communication, assessment, and reporting. For each platform, the audit should capture the annual licensing cost, the number of active users, the satisfaction levels of teachers and parents, the integration overhead it creates, and the specific gaps or pain points it fails to address. This inventory establishes the full cost of the status quo and makes the comparison with a unified alternative concrete rather than theoretical. The requirements definition process should involve stakeholders from every group that will be affected by the selection. Classroom teachers are the primary users of the LMS and the group whose daily workflow is most directly shaped by its design. Their requirements for gradebook usability, assignment management, and communication tools must carry significant weight. School administrators need reporting and oversight capabilities. District technology staff need integration depth, security documentation, and maintainability. Curriculum coordinators need standards alignment and assessment design tools. Student services staff need accommodation tracking and case management integration. Family liaisons need multilingual communication and accessible portal design. Parents and, where age-appropriate, students should provide input on the family-facing experience. The output of this stage is a weighted requirements document that lists every criterion the platform will be evaluated against, with a priority weight assigned to each based on how critical it is to the district’s specific context and goals. This document becomes the foundation of the LMS evaluation rubric and ensures that all subsequent evaluation activity is directed toward the questions that actually matter for this district. ## Stage two: the LMS evaluation rubric structure An industry-standard LMS evaluation rubric for K-12 organises the weighted requirements from stage one into a structured scoring instrument. The rubric should be applied identically to every platform under evaluation, with scores assigned by a consistent evaluator group rather than by different stakeholders for different vendors. The evaluation domains that belong in every K-12 LMS rubric, regardless of district context, cover the following areas. Within each domain, the specific criteria and their weights will vary based on the requirements definition from stage one. ### Instructional and assessment tools Cover the core LMS function of supporting teaching and learning. Criteria here include assignment creation and management workflow, assessment builder capability and item bank depth, formative assessment tools and real-time feedback mechanisms, standards alignment for gradebook and assessment items, support for diverse content formats including video, interactive media, and collaborative tools, and differentiation features that allow teachers to assign different content to different students within the same course. ### Gradebook and reporting Covers the data layer that connects instruction to official records. Criteria include support for both traditional percentage-based and standards-based grading within the same environment, proficiency scale configuration and calculation logic, grade visibility and update latency for student and parent-facing views, administrator reporting across classrooms and grade levels for equity monitoring, and the accuracy and completeness of integration with the official SIS gradebook record. ### Attendance management and notification Covers the connection between daily presence and family communication. Criteria include the speed at which attendance recorded by a teacher triggers a parent notification, the channels through which that notification can be delivered, the ability for parents to respond and have that response captured in the official record, and the reporting visibility that administrators have into attendance patterns across schools. ### Parent and family communication Covers the platform’s capability as a family engagement tool, not just as a school-to-home broadcast channel. Criteria include two-way messaging with documented response tracking, multilingual communication with automated translation rather than manual workflows, notification channel flexibility covering SMS, email, push notification, and voice, mobile-first design quality tested on devices that families in the district actually use, and the coherence of the parent portal as a single interface for grades, attendance, assignments, and messages. ### SIS integration depth Covers the technical architecture question that most rubrics underweight. Criteria here include whether the integration is native or middleware-dependent, the latency of data transfer in each direction, which specific data fields are included in the integration, whether enrolment changes in the SIS propagate to the LMS in real time, and how the integration behaves during system updates and version releases by either vendor. ### Equity and accessibility Covers whether the platform can serve every student and family in the district, not just those for whom the default design works. Criteria include screen reader compatibility and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, built-in accommodation support for IEP and 504 students including text-to-speech and extended time configurations, low-bandwidth and offline mode for students without reliable internet access, and device compatibility across the range of hardware the district has deployed. ### Data security and privacy compliance Covers the governance requirements that every platform handling [student data](https://www.edsby.com/importance-of-student-data-sovereignty-and-azure-hosting-for-k12-schools/commentary/) must meet. Criteria include FERPA-compliant data processing agreement terms, state privacy law compliance for the applicable jurisdiction, security certification evidence such as SOC 2 Type II, data breach notification protocols and breach history, and the specificity of the vendor’s data use restrictions. ### Administrative analytics and reporting Covers the district-level visibility that platform data should support. Criteria include school-level and district-level dashboards for academic performance trends, engagement equity reporting that disaggregates by demographic group, early warning indicators for at-risk student identification, and the ability to export data in formats that support state reporting requirements. ### Vendor reliability and support Covers the relationship dimension of the selection decision. Criteria include vendor financial stability, product development trajectory and roadmap responsiveness, support channel availability during high-stakes periods, onboarding support quality for both teachers and families, and the track record of other districts in similar contexts that have used the platform for more than two years. ## Stage three: structured demonstration and pilot evaluation With the weighted rubric in hand, the district is equipped to conduct structured demonstrations that generate rubric scores rather than general impressions. Each demonstration should be designed around a common scenario script derived from the district’s actual use cases, not from scenarios the vendor proposes. The scenario script should include tasks like marking attendance for a specific class period and checking how quickly the parent notification appears, entering a standards-based grade and verifying how it displays in the parent portal, sending a message to a parent in English and checking how it is delivered if that family’s preferred language is Spanish, and adding a new student mid-year to verify how quickly the enrolment appears in the LMS. These task-based demonstrations produce directly comparable, rubric-scorable data across vendors. They also produce the specific technical answers to the integration depth questions that general product demonstrations are designed to avoid. A vendor who cannot demonstrate real-time attendance notification in a task-based scenario has revealed a gap that no amount of feature-list description can paper over. Following demonstrations, a structured pilot evaluation with two or three schools, running for a minimum of one full semester, is the most important stage in the evaluation process for districts with the capacity to conduct it. The pilot should be designed to generate rubric-relevant data across the full range of evaluation domains. Teacher workflow satisfaction should be formally measured at the one-month and three-month marks. Parent portal activation rates should be tracked against a defined onboarding process. Data quality between the LMS and SIS should be audited at regular intervals. Administrator reporting outputs should be reviewed against the requirements established in stage one. The pilot data should be fed back into the rubric, updating scores where real-world performance differs from demonstration performance. In most pilot evaluations, some vendors score higher in practice than in demonstration because the complexity they initially appear to have resolves quickly with use. Others score lower because limitations that were obscured in the controlled demonstration environment become visible under real-school conditions. ## Stage four: total cost of ownership comparison An LMS evaluation framework that compares only licensing costs is incomplete in a way that consistently produces misleading conclusions. The total cost of ownership for a K-12 LMS includes licensing fees, but it also includes integration and middleware costs, IT staff time for system maintenance and troubleshooting, training and professional development costs per platform per year, family and teacher onboarding costs at transition, and the indirect cost of administrative overhead that a fragmented multi-platform environment imposes on teachers and support staff. Research by the Consortium for School Networking found that K-12 districts spend an average of 68 hours of IT staff time per year maintaining each significant system-to-system integration. For a district maintaining a separate SIS, LMS, parent communication platform, and assessment tool with integration middleware, this overhead represents hundreds of hours of staff time annually before any new development is counted. A unified platform that eliminates these integration maintenance requirements produces a staff time saving that, converted to dollar value at average K-12 IT compensation rates, often rivals or exceeds the licensing cost difference between a unified platform and its cheapest fragmented alternative. The Project Unicorn K-12 Interoperability Framework offers a structured methodology for calculating the full cost of data fragmentation in K-12 technology environments, including templates for documenting integration overhead and comparing it against unified platform alternatives. Districts that have applied this methodology consistently find that the true TCO of their fragmented stack is 40 to 80 percent higher than licensing fees alone suggest, which fundamentally changes the cost comparison with a unified platform. ## Stage five: reference verification and final scoring The final stage before a selection decision is independent reference verification with districts that are currently using each platform under evaluation. Reference conversations should be conducted independently, not through vendor-provided contacts alone, and should focus on the evaluation criteria that matter most for the selecting district’s context. The most informative reference questions probe performance over time rather than at implementation. Ask how data quality between the [LMS and SIS](https://www.edsby.com/unified-sis-lms-architecture-lowers-k12-district-ownership-costs/commentary/) has held up over two or more years of production use. Ask how the vendor has responded to product feedback and feature requests. Ask how support quality during high-stakes periods like the start of the school year and state reporting windows has compared to the level promised in the contract. Ask what the reference district would do differently if they were starting the selection process again. Reference data should be fed back into the rubric as a final scoring input, particularly for the vendor reliability and support domain where independent reference data is more reliable than vendor-provided information. The completed rubric, with scores from demonstrations, pilot evaluation where conducted, and reference verification, provides a total score for each vendor across all weighted criteria. The vendor with the highest weighted total score across all domains is the evidence-based selection recommendation. Where two vendors score similarly overall, the tiebreaker should be the domain that carries the highest weight in the district’s specific requirements, not an overall feature comparison conducted without the rubric structure. ## How Edsby performs against the K-12 LMS evaluation rubric Edsby is built as a unified K-12 platform that addresses the integration depth problem that standard rubric evaluations most commonly expose in competitor platforms. The architectural principle that distinguishes Edsby is that SIS data, LMS data, gradebook data, attendance records, and parent communication all share a common data layer rather than being connected through integrations that introduce latency, maintenance overhead, and failure risk. [![K-12 LMS evaluation framework selection criteria ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) On the SIS integration depth criterion, Edsby’s native SIS connectivity means that attendance marked by a teacher is visible in the parent notification feed and in the official SIS record within seconds, not after an overnight batch sync. On the parent communication criterion, Edsby’s two-way messaging is built into the student record so that teacher outreach, family responses, and the academic context behind each exchange are visible in the same view. On the multilingual communication criterion, Edsby supports communication across a broad range of languages so that the barriers that drive family disengagement in English-only environments are removed without adding to teacher workflow. A [meta-analysis published on ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesising findings from more than 1,177 primary studies across 50 years of research, found a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student academic achievement. The evaluation implication is direct: criteria that determine whether families can actually engage with the platform, including parent portal usability, multilingual access, real-time data visibility, and two-way communication, deserve high weight in any rubric that takes student outcomes seriously. ## Applying the selection decision framework: from scores to decision A completed rubric with weighted scores across all evaluation domains produces a quantitative recommendation, but the selection decision framework needs one more step to be genuinely useful: a sensitivity analysis that tests whether the recommendation changes under different weighting assumptions. If the district’s top-weighted criterion is SIS integration depth and the leading platform on overall score also leads on that criterion, the decision is straightforward. If the leading platform on overall score ranks third on the top-weighted criterion, the decision deserves additional scrutiny. A sensitivity analysis that recalculates the overall ranking with increased weight on the highest-priority criteria, and with decreased weight on lower-priority criteria, reveals whether the recommended platform is robustly preferred or whether the ranking is sensitive to weighting choices that reasonable evaluators might dispute. The output of the sensitivity analysis is one of three findings. The first is robust preference, where the same platform leads across a range of reasonable weighting assumptions, which makes the recommendation straightforward to defend. The second is context-dependent preference, where the leading platform changes depending on which criteria are weighted most heavily, which indicates that the weighting decisions themselves deserve additional stakeholder discussion before the selection is finalised. The third is near-tie, where two platforms score similarly across most weighting scenarios, which suggests that decision factors outside the rubric, primarily vendor relationship quality and implementation support capacity, should determine the final selection. ## The most commonly underweighted criteria in K-12 LMS evaluations Districts conducting LMS evaluations without a structured framework consistently underweight the same criteria, and the platforms that fail them most often are the ones that scored well on the criteria they overweighted and poorly on the ones they did not examine carefully enough. Family-facing usability is the most commonly underweighted criterion. Technology evaluations are conducted by technology-literate administrators and teachers who find most platforms reasonably navigable. The families who will be using the parent portal may have a very different experience, particularly families who are less comfortable with digital tools, who access the portal primarily on a smartphone, or whose preferred language is not English. Testing the parent portal with actual families from the district, including families whose technology access and language profiles reflect the full community rather than its most digitally engaged members, produces rubric scores that are far more predictive of real-world family engagement than scores assigned by technology coordinators in a demonstration environment. Data latency is the second most underweighted criterion. Most rubrics evaluate whether an integration exists between the LMS and SIS. Far fewer evaluate how long data takes to move through that integration. The difference between real-time connectivity and overnight batch syncing is invisible in a feature checklist and visible only when you ask the specific question and observe the specific demonstration. For the attendance notification and early intervention use cases that most districts identify as priorities, data latency is the criterion that determines whether the platform can actually deliver the outcomes it promises. Long-term vendor reliability is the third most underweighted criterion. Districts selecting a platform they plan to use for five to seven years are making a bet on a vendor relationship, not just a feature set. A platform built on a strong current feature set but maintained by a vendor with limited development investment, slow support response, or financial instability may not serve the district’s evolving needs through the full contract period. Reference conversations with districts that have been on the platform for more than two full academic years are the most reliable data source for this criterion and should be a required element of every K-12 LMS evaluation. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is a K-12 LMS evaluation framework and why does a district need one? A K-12 LMS evaluation framework is a structured, multi-stage process for assessing learning management systems against defined, weighted criteria before a selection decision is made. Districts need one because the alternative, evaluating platforms through vendor demonstrations and general impressions, consistently produces selection decisions that reflect what vendors chose to show rather than what platforms can reliably deliver. A structured framework ensures that the criteria that actually predict platform performance, particularly integration depth, family-facing usability, data latency, and vendor reliability, receive the scrutiny they deserve alongside the instructional features that demonstrations typically emphasize. ### 2. What should an LMS evaluation rubric for K-12 include? A complete LMS evaluation rubric for K-12 should cover nine evaluation domains: instructional and assessment tools, gradebook and reporting, attendance management and notification, parent and family communication, SIS integration depth, equity and accessibility, data security and privacy compliance, administrative analytics and reporting, and vendor reliability and support. Each domain should contain specific scored criteria, and each criterion should carry a weight derived from the district’s specific requirements and context rather than a generic weight applied uniformly. The rubric should be applied identically to all platforms under evaluation, with scores assigned by a consistent evaluator group using task-based demonstrations rather than general product walk-throughs. ### 3. How should districts weight the selection decision framework criteria for their specific context? Weighting should be determined by a stakeholder requirements process conducted before any vendor contact. Start by documenting the district’s primary technology gaps and the student outcome priorities that drive the LMS selection. A district whose primary gap is family engagement in a multilingual community should weigh the parent communication and multilingual access criteria most heavily. A district whose primary gap is SIS-LMS data quality should weight SIS integration depth and data latency most heavily. A district implementing standards-based grading should weigh gradebook flexibility and standards alignment most heavily. The weighting decisions should be documented and agreed upon by the evaluation committee before rubric scoring begins, so that they cannot be adjusted post-hoc to favour a preferred vendor. ### 4. What are the must-have LMS features that every K-12 district should evaluate before selecting a platform? The must-have LMS features that belong in every K-12 evaluation, regardless of district context, are: a gradebook that supports both traditional and standards-based reporting natively, real-time attendance integration with automated parent notification, two-way parent communication with responses captured in the student record, multilingual communication without manual translation workflows, SIS connectivity at the data layer with latency measured in seconds rather than hours, mobile-first parent portal design tested on smartphones, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance for students with disabilities, FERPA-compliant data processing agreement terms, and administrator analytics that disaggregate engagement and performance data by demographic group. Platforms that cannot demonstrate these capabilities in a task-based scenario, not just list them as features, have not earned credit for them in the rubric. ### 5. How does a total cost of ownership comparison change the LMS selection outcome? A total cost of ownership comparison that includes integration middleware costs, IT staff maintenance hours, training duplication across multiple platforms, and the indirect cost of teacher administrative overhead frequently reverses the cost ranking between a fragmented multi-tool environment and a unified platform. Districts that compare only licensing fees consistently undercount the cost of their current fragmented stack by 40 to 80 percent, according to the Project Unicorn K-12 Interoperability Framework analysis. When the full TCO is calculated, unified platforms that appear more expensive on a per-seat licensing basis routinely prove less expensive over a three to five year horizon, and the outcome case for consolidation, grounded in research connecting family engagement to student achievement, strengthens the business case further. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** how to choose LMS K-12, LMS evaluation rubric, selection decision framework, must-have LMS features, K-12 LMS evaluation framework selection criteria --- ### [Edsby Forms & Workflows brings purpose-built digital approvals to K-12](https://www.edsby.com/k12-digital-approvals-forms-workflows/pressreleases/) **Published:** September 23, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby introduces Edsby Forms & Workflows to automate K-12 digital approvals, field trip permissions, and parent sign-offs built for school districts. **Content:** #### *New system digitizes even the most complex K-12 paperwork, including multi-level field trip workflows* **Richmond Hill, Ontario** (September 23, 2026) – Edsby®, a multi-award-winning, next-generation K‑12 digital learning platform, today introduced [Edsby Forms & Workflows](https://www.edsby.com/k12-forms-and-workflows/), a new option that automates the most complex K‑12 paperwork, including forms that require audited parent or student sign-off. It is available now to K-12 organizations. Most school districts still rely on paper for parent and student-facing forms such as permission slips, photo releases, medical disclosures and code of conduct sign offs. The result is lost time, incomplete records, compliance risk and no reliable way to know what has been returned. Edsby Forms & Workflows replaces those processes with digital forms, multi-level approvals and legally valid signatures built specifically for how K‑12 schools and districts operate. **Built for K-12, not business** Unlike generic e-signature tools adapted from corporate workflows, Edsby routes forms through real district approval hierarchies and gives teachers, schools and district leaders real-time visibility into who has responded and who has not. Because the platform already knows which adults are responsible for which students and connects to existing student records, class rosters and parent contacts, forms inherit the right permissions and recipients automatically, with no duplicate data entry. Role-based access and data governance are built into the platform rather than added separately. Edsby digitizes the entire lifecycle of a complex activity, like a field trip, from a teacher’s proposal through principal and district approval, parent permission and real-time student check-in to and from the destination. Every step is captured with digital signatures and timestamps for an auditable record, and QR-code check-ins keep students accounted for throughout the trip. [Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, an Ontario district serving 34,000 students that has used Edsby since 2014](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-kprdsb/customers/), is among the first to deploy Forms & Workflows, using it to modernize field trip permissions. “KPRDSB explored several forms and approval management solutions with multiple vendors as we looked to digitize our field trip processes. Edsby stood out through its willingness to collaborate with us and develop a solution tailored to our unique workflow and approval requirements,” said Owen McIntosh, Information Technology Manager, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. “We also see a great deal of potential beyond field trips and look forward to exploring additional ways Forms & Workflows can help digitize, simplify, and enhance processes across our school board.” Edsby fosters student success and manages K‑12 data responsibly worldwide across wide swaths of the world, including much of Canada. It is licensed as a national platform in New Zealand and the country of Georgia. **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been fostering student success and leveraging data responsibly in K-12 worldwide since 2010. Districts, regional governments and independent schools use Edsby for modern K-12 assessment & reporting, family engagement, personalized learning and analytics. Edsby and its products have received more than 90 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at . \### **Categories:** Press releases **Tags:** school management platform, Parent engagement, Learning management system, school parent engagement tools, K-12 learning platforms --- ### [Why is Edsby an all-in-one K-12 platform that replaces multiple classroom tools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-all-in-one-k12-platform-that-replaces-multiple-classroom-tools/commentary/) **Published:** September 21, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** The LMS evaluation framework K-12 districts need before replacing fragmented classroom tools. **Content:** Walk into most K-12 schools today and you will find a version of the same problem. Somewhere, there is a grade portal that parents log into for report cards. Somewhere else, there is an LMS where teachers post assignments. A third platform handles attendance alerts. A fourth manages the district’s communication with families. A fifth runs benchmark assessments. None of these systems were purchased together, none of them were designed to work together, and in the daily experience of teachers and families alike, none of them feel like they belong together. This is the reason behind the emergence of unified K-12 platforms. This is the multi-tool classroom environment that most K-12 districts have quietly normalized, and the cost of normalizing it is measurable. Teachers spend meaningful portions of their professional week managing platform overhead rather than teaching. Families disengage when the cognitive burden of tracking their child’s school life across five separate logins becomes unsustainable. Administrators make decisions from incomplete pictures because the data they need is scattered across systems that cannot report together. The shift toward all-in-one K-12 platforms is a direct response to this reality. It is not driven by a preference for simplicity as an aesthetic. It is driven by evidence that consolidation produces better outcomes for students, better working conditions for teachers, and a more defensible return on the technology investment districts are making. This blog walks through what all-in-one K-12 platforms actually offer, why Edsby’s design represents a mature answer to the fragmentation problem, and how districts can use a rigorous evaluation framework to determine whether consolidation is the right move and what to look for when it is. ## What “all-in-one” means and what it does not The phrase all-in-one gets used loosely in education technology marketing, and the looseness matters when a district is trying to evaluate its options seriously. A vendor that has acquired three separate products and relabelled the combined offering as a unified platform is not delivering the same thing as a vendor that built a unified architecture from the ground up. The difference is not cosmetic. It is architectural, and it determines whether the platform actually solves the fragmentation problem or recreates it behind a single login screen. A genuine all-in-one K-12 platform shares a common data layer across its functions. When a teacher marks attendance, that record is immediately visible in the parent portal, the administrative dashboard, and the communication workflow, without a sync delay, without a manual export step, and without a middleware layer managing the transfer. When a student submits an assignment, the grade the teacher records is immediately reflected in the gradebook, the SIS, and the parent-facing view. When a parent responds to a teacher message, that response is stored in the student communication record alongside academic and attendance data. Everything shares the same underlying data, and that sharing is native rather than constructed. This architectural distinction is what separates platforms that genuinely replace multiple tools from platforms that are bundles of those tools with a common login. For district leaders conducting a serious platform evaluation, the first question is not which features the vendor advertises. It is whether the product was built as a unified system or assembled through acquisition, and the way to find out is to ask specific questions about data latency, integration architecture, and what happens when one component of the platform is updated. The[ 2025 App Overload report, produced by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=ddb9dcc233ab227af1b29be62888e144b849927e47311c962665ee8f28b244dfJmltdHM9MTc4OTYwMzIwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=27ac2187-da82-6dec-3dee-3005db846ccb&psq=2025+App+Overload+report%2c+produced+by+Cornerstone+Communications+in+partnership+with+Edsby&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZWRzYnkuY29tL25ldy1yZXNlYXJjaC1yZXBvcnQtdW52ZWlscy1lZHVjYXRpb25hbC1hcHAtb3ZlcmxvYWQtaW4tay0xMi1zY2hvb2xzL3ByZXNzcmVsZWFzZXMv), surveyed more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America and documented what the fragmented alternative actually produces. Most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate applications. Parent satisfaction in these environments was low: 85% of parents in multi-app environments rated their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower. These are the conditions that all-in-one K-12 platforms are designed to replace. ## The must-have LMS features that actually determine platform quality District technology leaders evaluating K-12 platforms often start by comparing feature lists, and feature lists are genuinely informative if you know which features are load-bearing and which are table stakes that every vendor in the category now includes. The must-have LMS features that distinguish high-quality unified platforms from the rest fall into several categories, and each reveals something important about how the platform was designed. ### Gradebook depth and standards alignment It is the first critical capability. A [gradebook that supports only percentage-based grading](https://www.edsby.com/5-things-that-make-the-best-online-gradebook-for-teachers-in-k12/commentary/) is inadequate for districts implementing or considering standards-based reporting, which is an increasing proportion of K-12 districts across North America. Evaluate whether the platform supports proficiency scales natively, whether those scales can be mapped to the district’s specific standards framework rather than generic national frameworks, whether the gradebook can calculate proficiency based on most-recent or most-frequent performance rather than averaging, and whether the standards-based record is visible to parents in a format they can actually interpret. A gradebook that a district’s curriculum team had to work around, rather than with, is a platform that will create ongoing friction. ### Attendance integration with real-time parent notification This feature is the second must-have. Attendance data that is recorded in one system and exported nightly to a parent notification platform is not the same as attendance data that triggers an automated parent alert within minutes of a teacher completing the roll. The difference matters most for the early intervention use cases that research connects most directly to attendance outcomes. A platform where attendance, gradebook, and communication share a live data connection supports proactive family engagement. A platform where these functions are connected through batch exports supports documentation after the fact. ### Two-way parent communication with a documented record This documented record is the third capability that separates functional platforms from excellent ones. Parent portals that push information to families but provide no mechanism for families to respond are communication tools, not engagement tools. The distinction matters because research on family engagement consistently finds that reciprocal communication produces stronger outcomes than broadcast-only notification. Platforms that capture parent replies in the student communication record, surface those replies to teachers in a prioritized view, and store the full exchange alongside academic and attendance data are doing something fundamentally different from those that offer messaging as a one-directional feed. ### Multilingual communication without manual translation workflows This is the fourth must-have for any district with a linguistically diverse community, which in practice means most districts. The SchoolStatus 2024 national survey found that 32% of educators cite language barriers as a significant obstacle to effective family communication. A platform that requires a staff member to initiate translation for each message or that offers only English-language interfaces is systematically excluding a portion of the families it is supposed to serve. Effective platforms automate translation so that teachers can communicate in English and families receive messages in their preferred language without any additional steps. ### SIS connectivity at the data layer, not the export layer It is the fifth must-have, and it is the one most likely to be obscured by vendor marketing language. Ask specifically: when a student is added to the SIS, how long before they appear in the LMS course roster? When attendance is recorded in the LMS, how long before it is reflected in the official SIS record? When a grade is posted in the gradebook, is the SIS updated in real time or on the next sync cycle? The answers to these questions reveal the actual depth of integration behind whatever the vendor’s marketing materials describe. ## How to choose an LMS for K-12: a structured evaluation framework The question of how to choose an LMS for K-12 has a different answer for each district, but the evaluation process that leads to a good answer follows a consistent structure. What varies are the weights placed on specific criteria based on a district’s community demographics, existing technology infrastructure, and strategic priorities. What should not vary is the rigor of the process itself. The starting point is a current-state audit, not a vendor demonstration. Before any vendor conversations, a district should document how many platforms it currently uses for the functions an all-in-one platform would cover, how much those platforms cost in total including integration and maintenance overhead, what percentage of parents have active accounts in each platform, what teacher satisfaction with the current technology environment looks like, and where the most significant data quality or communication gaps exist. This audit produces the baseline against which any new platform must be evaluated and the cost comparison that makes the business case for consolidation concrete rather than theoretical. The second stage is a requirements definition process that involves stakeholders from classroom teaching, school administration, district technology, curriculum, student services, and the parent community. This process surfaces requirements that technology-led evaluations routinely miss. A special education coordinator knows that the platform must support IEP accommodation tracking. A multilingual family liaison knows that automated translation is non-negotiable for the district’s largest non-English-speaking communities. A data analyst knows that the platform’s reporting API must support the district’s state reporting requirements. Collecting these requirements before vendor demonstrations ensures that demonstrations are evaluated against a defined standard rather than against whatever the vendor chooses to show. The third stage is a structured demonstration process using a common rubric applied consistently across all vendors under evaluation. An LMS evaluation rubric for K-12 should score each vendor on data integration depth, gradebook flexibility, parent portal usability, multilingual capability, accessibility compliance, mobile-first design, analytics and reporting for administrators, data security and FERPA compliance posture, vendor stability, and support quality. Applying the same rubric to every vendor makes [comparison across options](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) principled rather than impressionistic. The fourth stage is independent reference verification. Contact districts that are currently using each platform you are evaluating, districts that are demographically similar to yours and that have been on the platform for more than one full academic year. Ask specifically about data quality and integration reliability over time, not just at implementation. Ask about support response quality during high-stakes periods like the start of the school year and state reporting windows. Ask whether the platform’s performance has improved or degraded as their student population has grown. Ask what they wish they had known before selecting the platform. These conversations reveal what vendor demonstrations are designed to conceal. The fifth stage is a pilot evaluation in a controlled subset of the district before a full commitment. A semester-long pilot with two or three schools, including a mix of technology-enthusiastic and technology-sceptical teachers, and a structured parent onboarding process, produces real-world usability data that no demonstration environment can replicate. The pilot should include formal data collection on teacher workflow satisfaction, parent portal activation rates, and the time teachers spend on platform-related administrative tasks compared to their previous environment. ## The LMS selection decision framework: making the final call After the audit, requirements definition, demonstrations, reference checks, and pilot, a district has everything it needs to make a principled decision. The selection decision framework that turns this information into a final recommendation should evaluate candidates along three dimensions simultaneously rather than treating any single dimension as determinative. The first dimension is functional fit: does the platform cover the full scope of functions the district needs, with sufficient depth in each to replace the tools it is displacing? A platform that handles gradebook and communication excellently but requires a separate assessment tool defeats the consolidation purpose. The functional fit evaluation should be conducted against the requirements document produced in stage two of the evaluation process, not against a general sense of whether the platform seemed comprehensive. The second dimension is community fit: does the platform serve the specific characteristics of the district’s student and family population? This means evaluating multilingual capability against the languages spoken in the community, mobile and SMS accessibility against the connectivity profile of families with lower internet reliability, and accessibility compliance against the specific accommodation requirements of the district’s students with disabilities. A platform that scores well on functional fit but poorly on community fit will produce high adoption among already-engaged families and fail to reach the families who most need the school-family connection it is supposed to provide. The third dimension is implementation fit: can the district actually execute a successful transition to this platform given its current technical infrastructure, staff capacity, and budget for professional development and onboarding? A sophisticated unified platform that a district cannot implement well is worse than a simpler platform implemented with full fidelity. The implementation fit evaluation should be honest about the district’s track record with technology transitions and should include a realistic assessment of what onboarding support the vendor provides. ## Why Edsby was built as a unified platform, not assembled as one Understanding Edsby’s position in the K-12 all-in-one platform category requires understanding the design philosophy that distinguishes it from competitors who arrived at a similar product through acquisition rather than architecture. Edsby was built from the ground up to connect the SIS, LMS, gradebook, attendance, and parent communication functions that most districts manage through separate tools. The connection is not a feature layer added to products that were originally separate. It is the foundational architecture from which every Edsby feature was developed. This means that when Edsby introduced standards-based grading support, it was built into the same gradebook that connects to the parent portal and the SIS, not bolted onto a separate reporting module. When Edsby introduced parent messaging, it was integrated with the student record from the start, so a teacher composing a message sees attendance and grade data in the same view without switching contexts. For teachers, this architectural coherence translates into a reduction in the administrative overhead that fragmented environments impose. Grades are recorded once. Attendance is marked once. The parent is notified automatically. The record is updated in the SIS. None of these steps requires a separate action in a separate system. The teachers who have made the transition to Edsby from multi-tool environments consistently describe the reduction in platform management overhead as one of the most immediately tangible benefits, often within the first month of the new school year. For families, the unified parent portal means a single login delivers the complete picture: attendance, grades, assignments, teacher messages, and school announcements in one coherent interface. For parents who previously managed three or four separate logins and still felt they were missing information, this consolidation is not a minor convenience. It is a fundamental change in how accessible their child’s school experience is. For district administrators, Edsby’s architecture produces a different kind of value: systemic visibility. When attendance, academic performance, and family communication data all exist in the same environment, pattern recognition that previously required manual data extraction and merging becomes automatic. A counsellor who can see a student’s attendance trend, grade trajectory, and family communication history in a single view is equipped for a fundamentally different kind of intervention conversation than one who must assemble that picture from four different system exports. Research on the relationship between family engagement infrastructure and student outcomes consistently supports this design direction. A [meta-analysis published on ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesising findings from more than 1,177 primary studies across 50 years, found a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student academic achievement across grade levels and demographic groups. What the transition from multiple tools to a unified platform actually looks like Districts that have moved from a fragmented multi-tool environment to a unified K-12 platform describe a transition that is harder in the first month than most pre-transition communications suggest and significantly better from month three onward than the sceptics predicted. The difficulty in the first month is almost always about muscle memory. Teachers who have spent years building workflows around specific tools, who know exactly where to go in their current LMS to post a discussion question or where to check for unread parent messages, face a genuine cognitive adjustment when those workflows move to a new environment. This is not evidence that the new platform is inferior. It is evidence that any platform transition requires deliberate investment in professional development and that the timeline for teacher proficiency needs to be planned realistically rather than optimistically. The pattern that emerges from month three onward, consistent across multiple district transition accounts, is that teachers begin noticing time savings they did not expect. The grade they used to enter in two places is now entered once. The attendance alert they used to compose manually is now automated. The parent who used to call the office because they could not find their child’s grade in the portal can now find it without calling. These small frictions, removed one by one, accumulate into a measurably different experience of the school day. Parent adoption follows a predictable arc that is almost entirely driven by the quality of onboarding at the start of the transition. Districts that invest in structured parent onboarding, through back-to-school nights, multilingual setup guides, and proactive follow-up with families who have not activated their accounts in the first two weeks, achieve activation rates that sustain engagement through the full school year. Districts that assume parents will self-onboard achieve lower activation and then mistakenly conclude the platform is the problem when the problem is the onboarding process. ## [![k-12 learning platforms](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)Avoiding the most common evaluation mistakes District technology procurement processes have well-documented failure modes, and the evaluation of all-in-one K-12 platforms is not exempt from them. Naming these failure modes is useful because they are predictable and preventable. The most common mistake is optimizing the evaluation for administrator usability rather than teacher and family usability. A platform that scores well in demonstrations because district IT leaders find it easy to configure and manage may still impose a significant burden on the teachers who use it daily and the families it is supposed to engage. Teacher and family usability must be tested directly, not inferred from the administrator’s experience. The second mistake is treating integration claims at face value without verifying depth. Every vendor in the all-in-one category claims deep SIS integration. The claims are not uniformly true, and the difference between a daily batch sync and a real-time data connection is consequential for every use case that depends on current information. The specific technical questions that reveal integration depth, outlined earlier in this piece, must be asked and answered with specificity before a contract is signed. The third mistake is underestimating the onboarding investment required. Platform selection decisions routinely underfund the professional development, family outreach, and first-year support that determine whether a platform achieves its potential. A budget that covers the licensing cost of a unified platform but not the onboarding infrastructure to launch it well will produce disappointing adoption numbers and unfair conclusions about whether the platform itself is working. The fourth mistake is evaluating the current feature set without assessing the vendor’s development trajectory. An all-in-one K-12 platform is a long-term relationship. The platform that serves a district’s needs in year one must also serve its evolving needs in year four. Assessing the vendor’s product development cadence, the responsiveness of their product roadmap to district feedback, and the financial stability of the business behind the platform is as important as assessing the features it offers today. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What should districts prioritize when learning how to choose an LMS for K-12? The most important prioritization is to evaluate platforms against the district’s specific community needs, not against a generic feature checklist. A district with a large multilingual family population should weigh automated translation capability more heavily than a district with a predominantly English-speaking community. A district implementing standards-based grading should prioritize native standards alignment in the gradebook over percentage-based grade averaging. Before any vendor demonstrations, districts should document their must-have requirements through a stakeholder process that includes teachers, administrators, family liaison staff, and technology coordinators. Demonstrations evaluated against a defined requirements document produce far more reliable selection decisions than demonstrations evaluated impressionistically. ### 2. What does an LMS evaluation rubric for K-12 typically include? A rigorous LMS evaluation rubric for K-12 typically scores vendors across ten to twelve dimensions: data integration depth with the SIS, gradebook flexibility and standards alignment support, parent portal usability tested with actual families, multilingual communication capability, mobile-first design and SMS accessibility, accessibility compliance for students with disabilities and multilingual learners, administrator analytics and equity reporting, data security and FERPA compliance posture, vendor financial stability and development trajectory, support quality during high-stakes periods, and the depth and quality of the vendor’s onboarding support. Applying the same rubric consistently across all platforms under evaluation makes the comparison principled and defensible to the stakeholders who will need to approve the final selection. ### 3. How is a genuine all-in-one K-12 platform different from a bundle of separate tools under one login? A genuine all-in-one K-12 platform shares a common underlying data layer across all its functions, so that attendance recorded in the teacher interface is immediately visible in the parent portal and the SIS record without a sync delay or a middleware transfer. A bundle of separate tools under one login coordinates data through internal integrations that function like the third-party integrations they replaced, introducing the same latency, the same failure modes, and much of the same maintenance overhead. The practical test is simple: ask the vendor how long it takes for attendance marked by a teacher to appear in the parent portal notification and in the official SIS record. A genuine unified platform measures this in seconds. A bundle measures it in hours. ### 4. What are the must-have LMS features for K-12 districts considering platform consolidation? The must-have LMS features for consolidation-focused evaluation are: a gradebook that supports both traditional and standards-based grading natively, real-time attendance integration with automated parent notification, two-way parent communication captured in the student record, multilingual communication without manual translation workflows, SIS connectivity at the data layer rather than the export layer, mobile-first design with SMS accessibility for families without reliable broadband, role-based access controls that restrict data visibility appropriately by staff role, and administrator analytics that surface engagement equity patterns across schools and demographic groups. Platforms that deliver all of these capabilities in a native unified architecture are meaningfully different from those that deliver some capabilities natively and others through integrations. ### 5. How long does a typical transition from multiple tools to a unified K-12 platform take? The timeline for a full transition from a fragmented multi-tool environment to a unified K-12 platform depends on district size and complexity, but most mid-sized districts complete the core transition within one full academic year, with the first semester dedicated to teacher onboarding, data migration, and initial parent portal activation, and the second semester focused on expanding usage depth and retiring legacy tools. The first month is typically the most challenging, as teachers adjust workflows built around their previous tools. From month three onward, most districts report measurable improvements in teacher time efficiency and parent engagement metrics. Districts that invest in structured onboarding for both teachers and families before the first day of school achieve adoption rates significantly higher than those that launch without dedicated onboarding infrastructure. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 platforms, how to choose LMS K-12, LMS evaluation rubric, selection decision framework, must-have LMS features --- ### [Edsby: Build a Winning Product by Building a Winning Team](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-build-a-winning-product-by-building-a-winning-team/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 10, 2013 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** “We’re putting the band back together.” CoreFour was named the winner of Backbone magazine’s 2013 Innovation Campaign in May. The formation of the company was a little like the reunion of a band epitomized by The Blues Brothers. The four founders, all employees of Nortel Networks in the ’80s, have been working together on and off for 28 years. And two members of the company are even brothers. Their previous start-up, FirstClass, went from a garage to being publically traded on the TSX as Centrinity, before being sold to OpenText in 2002. Their latest endeavour is the award-winning Edsby, cloud-based education software which uses secure social networking and class and student management to help schools, teachers and parents communicate better. In any great band, everyone must expertly play their instruments, and the founders of CoreFour are no different, said John Myers, president of CoreFour (and “Edsby Wingman”). “We each know what our strengths are and the areas that we’re focused on, so we don’t tend to second guess each other,” he said. Brothers Steven and Jon Asbury are responsible for the product from a technical perspective, one on the engineering side and the other on the design. “It’s interesting how their focus has changed or sharpened over the years. Steve handles all the hard engineering, while John worries about the user experience. It’s brilliant how they work together.” H.E. Scott Welch (“Scott”) has “a reputation as one of the best product evangelists around.” Myers—past CEO of Centrinity, and general manager at Nortel and Open Text—calls himself a generalist. A strong team is fundamental to a start-up, and this dynamic team of founders is a significant advantage for Edsby. With past entrepreneurial successes under his belt, Myers knows what many other start-ups face through mentoring at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto or the Ryerson DMZ. “So many start-ups talk about the challenge of finding someone on the business side, or on the technical side, and ask, ‘how do I find a partner?’” Myers said. “We have the luxury of having the four key roles filled, when typically you’re lucky to have more than one.” And, by the way, they do actually play instruments, and Centrinity meetings would sometimes be broken up by performances backed by Jon’s “expert” guitar skills and Scott’s vocal work. Backbone will follow this band of entrepreneurs and their latest release—Edbsy—over the next year in this blog and in print. \[Originally published by Backbone Magazine.\] #### About Backbone Magazine Backbone magazine, launched in January 2001, is one of Canada’s largest and most successful business magazines. *Backbone* magazine is published by Publimedia Communications Inc. *Backbone* is distributed six times a year within *The Globe and Mail* to business and metropolitan subscribers within major city centres. *Backbone* is also distributed through corporate alliances, technology industry associations, universities, select retailers, subscribers, etc. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby adopted by three new Ontario school districts, expanding its footprint to 25% of the province](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-three-new-ontario-districts/pressreleases/) **Published:** September 16, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Eighteen of Ontario’s 72 school districts have now implemented the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12. That's a quarter of the province. **Content:** #### *The Rainbow District School Board, Conseil scolaire catholique des Aurores boréales, and Rainy River District School Board are now live with Edsby this academic year, joining the growing list of Ontario districts using the Edsby K-12 digital platform* **Richmond Hill, Ontario** (September 16, 2026) – Edsby®, a multi-award-winning, next-generation K-12 digital learning platform, is being introduced this school year in three additional Ontario school districts, bringing the total number of Ontario districts using Edsby to 18 of Ontario’s 72 school districts. Among the new adoptions is the Rainbow District School Board (RDSB), the largest public school board in Northern Ontario. Covering a vast geographic area of 14,757 square kilometers across the regions of Sudbury, Espanola, and Manitoulin Island, RDSB supports more than 14,000 students across 29 elementary and 9 secondary schools. “We welcome the opportunity to integrate modern technology to further support parental involvement and student achievement,” said Bruce Bourget, Chief Executive Officer of the Rainbow District School Board. “Edsby will enhance communications between the school and the home by streamlining attendance, improving safe arrival practices, providing another venue for sharing information, and celebrating student learning.” Joining RDSB in introducing Edsby to modernize its family engagement are two more school boards in the province: - **Conseil scolaire catholique des Aurores boréales (CSDCAB):**Serving French-language Catholic students in Northwestern Ontario, CSDCAB will leverage Edsby to seamlessly connect its nine elementary schools, one secondary school, and remote communities in a secure, bilingual environment. - **Rainy River District School Board (RRDSB):** A previous Edsby district, Rainy River returned to the Edsby family this year, recognizing the value of this powerful tool. **Edsby continues to gain momentum in Ontario** The addition of RDSB, CSDCAB, and RRDSB adds to Edsby’s [significant usage across the province of Ontario](https://www.edsby.com/ontario-edsby-usage-significant-2018/customers/). Edsby is specifically designed to meet the unique and challenging needs of K-12, unlike other corporate or higher-education platforms, and has become central to the digital transformations of school districts throughout the region. Hundreds of thousands of Ontario families already rely on Edsby as their primary way to follow class schedules, access class materials, review homework, monitor assessment results, participate in discussions and more. In any given academic year, Ontario teachers use the platform to capture millions of points of learning evidence. This evidence is tagged directly to Ontario curriculum expectations, shared instantly with families and streamlines provincial reporting. These newest districts join a long and growing list of Ontario boards that have adopted Edsby, including York Region DSB, Greater Essex DSB, Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB, Superior-Greenstone DSB, Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic DSB, Algoma DSB, St. Clair Catholic DSB, Durham Catholic DSB, Lakehead DSB, Near North DSB and others. Districts using Edsby repeatedly say the platform has the best capabilities to streamline communications and assessment in the Ontario K-12 environment. In a profile on Edsby’s website, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board calls Edsby [the right tool for stakeholder engagement](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-kprdsb/customers/). In a similar profile, Greater Essex County District School Board says the district doesn’t even allow other parent options because [“parents know that everything they need—from attendance reporting to grades—is right there in Edsby.”](https://www.edsby.com/greater-essex-county-district-school-board/customers/) To learn more about how Edsby is driving K-12 digital transformation in Ontario and beyond, visit [www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been fostering student success and leveraging data responsibly in K-12 worldwide since 2010. Districts, regional governments and independent schools use Edsby for modern K-12 assessment & reporting, family engagement, personalized learning and analytics. Edsby and its products have received more than 90 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at . \### **Categories:** Press releases **Tags:** parent engagement platforms, student-family engagement --- ### [How to determine the best student-family engagement systems in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/strategies-to-find-out-the-best-student-family-engagement-systems-in-k-12/commentary/) **Published:** September 17, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** What the research and real district experience reveal about student-family engagement systems. **Content:** Every district technology director who has ever sat through a vendor demonstration knows how convincing the best ones are. The dashboard is clean. The parent portal looks intuitive. The data visualizations are sharp. The sales representative has a case study from a district that sounds a lot like yours. And then the platform is deployed, and six months later the same director is fielding complaints from teachers about fragmented workflows, questions from parents who never activated their accounts, and requests from administrators for reports the system cannot actually produce. The question of which student-family engagement systems are genuinely best in K-12 is not answerable by a ranked list of products. It is answerable by understanding what the research and real district experience say about what makes any platform effective, what structural characteristics separate the systems that improve family engagement from those that add to the digital noise, and which questions to ask before a commitment is made. This guide works through that framework honestly. It draws on published research, national survey data, and the documented experience of districts that have been through platform transitions to give K-12 leaders a rigorous basis for evaluation rather than a vendor-curated shortlist. ## Why “best” is the wrong frame for this question The instinct to find a ranked list of the best family engagement software is understandable. Procurement is time-consuming, and a trusted ranking would simplify it. But rankings of K-12 education technology platforms almost always reflect the circumstances of the districts they were evaluated in, and those circumstances vary enormously. A platform that is genuinely best for a large urban district with a highly multilingual population, multiple school levels, and a complex SIS environment is not necessarily best for a rural district with a single K-12 building, a primarily English-speaking community, and a simpler data infrastructure. What is universal is not the specific product but the set of characteristics that distinguish high-performing engagement platforms from those that disappoint. These characteristics are grounded in what research tells us about why family engagement improves student outcomes, what barriers prevent it, and what design choices in platform architecture address those barriers directly. Any district that evaluates its options against this framework will be better positioned to identify the right platform for its community than one searching for a universal best. The 2025 App Overload report, produced by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby and based on surveys of more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America, documented the consequences of choosing tools based on individual features rather than systemic fit. Most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate apps. In some districts, the number exceeds 16. Parent satisfaction in these environments reflects the result: 85% of parents in multi-app environments rated their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower. The problem is rarely the quality of any individual tool. It is the absence of a coherent system. ## What the research says effective student-family engagement requires Before evaluating any platform, it is worth grounding the conversation in what the research base on family engagement actually tells us. The evidence here is more consistent and more extensive than the evidence behind almost any other K-12 intervention, and it has direct implications for what platform characteristics matter most. A major meta-analysis published on [ScienceDirect ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X)synthesized findings from 23 separate meta-analyses and more than 1,177 primary studies conducted over 50 years. The conclusion was clear and consistent: parental involvement is positively associated with student academic achievement across grade levels, school types, and demographic groups. Students with engaged families attend school more consistently, perform better academically, develop stronger social and emotional skills, and are significantly more likely to complete their education. The research also tells us something important about what kind of parental involvement matters most. Home-based involvement, parents supporting learning at home by discussing school, monitoring homework, and maintaining awareness of their child’s academic progress, is consistently more strongly associated with outcomes than school-based involvement like attending events or volunteering. This has a direct implication for platform design: systems that make it easy for parents to understand what their child is learning and how they are performing on a day-to-day basis are more valuable than those focused primarily on event communication or institutional announcements. The SchoolStatus 2024 national survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and administrators added important context. Ninety percent of respondents said school-family communication is important for student success. Only 32% reported using student data for data-driven conversations with families. And 86% said data gaps limit their ability to support students effectively. The gap between the belief that communication matters and the infrastructure to make it data-informed is the central challenge that effective student-family engagement systems are designed to close. ## The five characteristics that define high-performing engagement platforms Across the research literature, the App Overload findings, and the documented experience of districts that have improved family engagement measurably, five characteristics distinguish platforms that deliver results from those that do not. The first characteristic is genuine consolidation. High-performing family engagement software brings attendance, academic performance, teacher communication, and school announcements together in a single parent-facing interface. This is not a preference for minimalism. It is a structural requirement for engagement. The cognitive load of managing multiple logins, different notification settings, and varied interfaces for different purposes is not sustainable for most families, and the burden falls most heavily on families who are already navigating the most stress. Any platform that adds to the app count rather than replacing tools with a unified alternative is not solving the engagement problem. It is compounding. The second characteristic is live data integration with the SIS and LMS. Family engagement software that is not connected to real-time student data can only serve as a communication channel, not as a genuine engagement system. When attendance records, grade data, and assessment results flow automatically from the student information system into the platform that teachers use to communicate with families, outreach becomes specific, timely, and actionable rather than generic and delayed. A parent who receives a message that their child has missed six days this semester and whose grade in mathematics has declined over the same period has information they can act on. A parent who receives a periodic newsletter cannot. The third characteristic is two-way communication architecture. The most common design failure in school communication tools is the one-way broadcast model: schools send information, families receive it, and the relationship is managed as a notification service rather than a partnership. Research on parent-school communication consistently finds that reciprocal exchange, where families can respond to teachers, ask questions, and share context about their child’s circumstances at home, produces stronger engagement outcomes than broadcast-only tools. This means the platform must make it genuinely easy for parents to reply, must surface those replies to teachers in a way that encourages timely responses, and must store the full exchange in the student record. The fourth characteristic is multilingual accessibility. The K-12 student population is more linguistically diverse than at any point in the nation’s history, and the SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 32% of educators identify language barriers as a significant obstacle to effective family communication. Any engagement platform that operates only in English is systematically excluding a portion of the families it is supposed to serve. Leading platforms now support communication in 100 or more languages, enabling automated translation that does not add to teacher workload. This is not a feature for linguistically complex districts only. It is a baseline requirement for equitable family engagement in virtually every K-12 community. The fifth characteristic is mobile-first design with multichannel reach. Families communicate through different channels with different frequencies, and an engagement system that constrains outreach to a single medium will always leave a portion of families unreachable. Effective platforms allow schools to reach families through SMS, email, push notification, and voice based on each family’s stated preferences, with automated follow-up when messages are not opened. Mobile-first design ensures that families whose primary internet access is a smartphone can use the platform fully, without a degraded experience that effectively excludes them from the engagement infrastructure. ## What to look for in the evaluation process Understanding what high-performing platforms share is the starting point. Translating that understanding into a rigorous evaluation process requires a set of specific questions that most district procurement processes do not currently ask. On data integration, ask vendors whether their platform connects to your specific SIS in real time or through batch exports, which specific data fields are shared, and what happens during a sync failure. A platform that claims SIS integration but syncs overnight cannot support same-day attendance alerts or real-time grade visibility, which undermines two of the most valuable use cases for family engagement systems. On two-way communication, ask vendors to demonstrate what a parent reply looks like from the teacher’s perspective. Ask where replies are stored and whether they become part of the student record. Ask whether teachers are notified when a family responds, and how quickly. A platform that technically allows replies but buries them in an inbox that teachers rarely check has not actually implemented two-way communication. On equity and access, ask how the platform handles families who do not have reliable broadband, who use only a smartphone, or who prefer SMS over app-based communication. Ask how multilingual communication works in practice and whether translations are automated or require a staff member to initiate. Ask whether the platform has been tested for accessibility compliance with screen readers and assistive technologies. These questions reveal whether equity was a design priority or an afterthought. On analytics and reporting, ask what district-level visibility the platform provides into family engagement patterns. Can administrators see which schools have lower parent portal activation rates? Can they identify which demographic groups are least reached by current outreach? A platform that supports communication but cannot generate equity-focused engagement analytics is limited in its usefulness for district-level improvement work. On vendor reliability, ask for contact information for reference districts that have been using the platform for more than two years, are demographically similar to yours, and can speak to the vendor’s support quality, data security track record, and responsiveness to product feedback. The demonstration environment shows you what the platform can do. Reference districts show you what the relationship is actually like. ## Common pitfalls in platform selection Districts that make preventable mistakes in platform selection tend to make the same ones. Naming them is useful because they are not obvious from inside a procurement process that is time-pressured and dominated by vendor-controlled demonstrations. The most common pitfall is selecting a platform based on teacher or administrator usability without adequately evaluating the parent experience. A tool that teachers find easy to use but that parents find confusing or inconvenient will produce high teacher adoption and low family engagement, which is precisely the wrong outcome. Require vendors to demonstrate the parent-facing interface in the same depth as the educator-facing tools, and ideally test it with actual parents from your community before making a selection. The second pitfall is treating integration as a checkbox rather than a depth question. Many platforms claim integration with major SIS providers but deliver only shallow connections that sync limited data fields infrequently. An integration that updates student rosters nightly is not the same as an integration that delivers real-time attendance data to the parent communication feed. The distinction is critical for the use cases that matter most, and it will not surface in a demonstration unless you ask for it explicitly. The third pitfall is underinvesting in implementation, specifically in family onboarding. The App Overload report’s recommendation that districts establish a formal onboarding process for parents is based on the consistent finding that parent portal activation rates are a primary determinant of whether a platform produces engagement improvement or sits unused. A district that deploys a strong platform without a systematic onboarding process will achieve a fraction of the engagement that the same platform with robust onboarding produces. The fourth pitfall is evaluating current features without assessing the vendor’s development trajectory. A platform that meets your district’s needs today but whose vendor has a thin development roadmap or a history of slow responses to product requests may not serve your needs in three years. The relationship with a family engagement software vendor is long-term, and the vendor’s capacity to improve the platform over time matters as much as its current feature set. ## How Edsby approaches student-family engagement Edsby is designed as a [unified K-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com) that brings the learning management, student information, and family communication functions that most districts manage through separate tools into a single integrated environment. The design philosophy reflects the research and the empirical findings from the App Overload report: fragmented tools produce fragmented engagement, and the solution is a unified architecture rather than a better individual tool. In Edsby, a parent logging into the parent portal sees current grades, attendance across all subjects, upcoming assignments, teacher messages, and school announcements in one interface. The data is current because it draws from live SIS and LMS connections rather than batch exports. Teachers composing messages to families see the student’s attendance history and grade trend in the same view, so outreach is informed by context rather than disconnected from it. Parent replies are captured in the student communication record alongside teacher-initiated messages, creating a complete documented history of school-family interaction. [![student-family engagement](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) For multilingual families, Edsby supports communication across a broad range of languages so that the language barriers that drive disengagement in English-only platforms are removed. For district administrators, Edsby provides aggregate visibility into communication patterns and engagement equity across schools, enabling the systemic monitoring that district-level improvement requires. ## What districts with strong engagement do differently The districts that achieve measurably stronger student-family engagement outcomes share operational practices that are worth examining directly, because they are replicable regardless of which platform a district ultimately selects. These districts treat family engagement as an accountable outcome with defined metrics, not a cultural aspiration. They track parent portal activation rates by school and demographic group. They monitor response rates to teacher outreach and whether communication patterns are proactive or reactive. They disaggregate engagement data to identify where structural barriers are preventing specific communities from connecting with the school. When a school’s engagement metrics are lower than district averages, they investigate why and allocate support rather than accepting underperformance as inevitable. They also invest in family onboarding as a formal, recurring process. Back-to-school nights include account setup walkthroughs. Multilingual onboarding materials are prepared in advance and distributed through channels that reach families who are not already engaged with digital platforms. In the first weeks of each school year, staff proactively follow up with families who have not activated their accounts. These steps are not complicated. They are simply treated as operational priorities rather than optional outreach. Finally, these districts build teacher capacity for consistent, [data-informed family communication ](https://www.edsby.com/greater-essex-county-district-school-board/customers/)as part of ongoing professional development. Teachers who understand the research connection between family engagement and student outcomes, who have data tools that make proactive outreach easier than reactive crisis communication, and who work in a culture that values regular family contact communicate with families more consistently and more effectively. The technology enables the practice. The professional culture sustains it. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What makes a student-family engagement system effective for K-12 districts? An effective student-family engagement system consolidates attendance, grade, communication, and announcement data in a single parent-facing interface so families never need multiple platforms to understand their child’s school experience. It connects to live SIS and LMS data so the information families see is current, not delayed by sync cycles. It supports two-way communication so parents can respond to teachers and share context rather than only receiving notifications. It delivers communication in multiple languages so non-English-speaking families are not excluded. And it provides district administrators with engagement analytics that reveal where outreach is working and where structural barriers are preventing specific communities from connecting. Platforms that deliver all five of these characteristics consistently outperform those that address some but not others. ### 2. How does family engagement software differ from a standard school communication app? A standard school communication app handles one function, typically messaging or announcements, without connecting to the student data that makes communication actionable and specific. Family engagement software integrates communication with live attendance, grade, and assessment data so that outreach can be targeted, timely, and informed by what is actually happening in a student’s academic experience. The distinction is architectural: a communication app adds a channel, while a genuine engagement system creates a complete feedback loop between school data and school-family communication. Most districts already have communication apps. The gap is in the integration that turns communication volume into communication quality. ### 3. Why do so many K-12 districts struggle with parent-school communication despite having multiple tools? The most common reason is that having multiple tools is itself the problem. Each tool added to a district’s communication stack increases the cognitive burden on families, who must manage additional logins, learn additional interfaces, and monitor additional notification channels. Research and survey data consistently show that parent satisfaction and engagement rates decline as the number of required platforms increases. Teachers experience the same burden in reverse, managing outreach across disconnected systems with no unified record of what was communicated, when, and whether families responded. The presence of many tools is often mistaken for the presence of a communication system. A system requires integration, not accumulation. ### 4. What role does school community engagement play in student academic outcomes? The research connection between community-level family engagement and student academic outcomes is among the most robust in the education literature. A meta-analysis synthesizing more than 1,177 primary studies found consistent positive associations between parental involvement and academic achievement across 50 years of research, grade levels, and demographic groups. The effect is not limited to individual parent-teacher relationships. Districts that build community-wide engagement infrastructure, reaching families across language groups, income levels, and technology access profiles, see aggregate improvements in attendance rates, course completion, and academic performance. Community engagement is not a soft outcome alongside the academic ones. It is a direct contributor to them. ### 5. How should K-12 leaders measure whether their student-family engagement system is producing results? Measurement should happen at three levels. At the activity level, track parent portal activation rates by school, grade, and demographic group; teacher outreach volume by channel; and response rates to teacher-initiated communication. At the engagement quality level, track whether communication is proactive or reactive, whether two-way exchanges are increasing, and whether the specificity of outreach is improving as data integration matures. At the outcome level, track attendance rates, chronic absenteeism trends, course completion rates, and whether engagement metrics correlate with improvements in those student outcomes. Disaggregating all of these metrics by demographic group is essential for identifying whether the system is serving all families equitably or only those who were already predisposed to engage. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** parent communication tools K12, student-family engagement --- ### [New Edsby Teacher AI Assistant enhances K-12 educator productivity](https://www.edsby.com/new-edsby-teacher-ai-assistant-enhances-k-12-educator-productivity/pressreleases/) **Published:** April 29, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New add-on streamlines K-12 educators' workflows using AI to speed time-consuming tasks. **Content:** #### *AI add-on empowers teachers with content and assessment assistance within the Edsby platform* **Richmond Hill, Ontario** (April 29, 2025) – Edsby®, the multi award-winning K-12 learning and analytics platform, has introduced its [Teacher AI Assistant](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/), a new add-on designed to streamline educators’ workflows by integrating AI into the Edsby environment to speed time-consuming tasks for teachers​. Content features include: - **Text composition**: Teachers using Edsby can generate or enhance age-appropriate content for their classes, including full prose from point form bullets or a simple written request. - **Content translation**: Posts, journals and more can be translated into other languages for parents, made longer or shorter, more professional, or even fun, e.g. in the style of Dr. Seuss. - **Summarize**: Long, complex conversations in Edsby classes or groups can be summarized. Assessment features include: - **Quiz creation**: Full online quizzes with teachers’ choices of question types can be generated. Quizzes are generated based on curriculum and/or standards associated with a class. Teachers don’t need to load anything. - **Writing critique**: Text grading is accelerated with grammatical, structure and stylistic comments generated for teacher review and potential use. - **Report card comments:** Comments on report cards can be generated from teacher notes and bullet points. Positive, asset-based language identifying areas for improvement can be generated. “Edsby’s Teacher AI Assistant is like having someone to bounce assessment ideas off. We can get stuck in terms of the types of quiz questions we ask. Edsby AI can nudge us in directions we hadn’t considered,” said Dan Mielke, a school principal at North East School Division in Saskatchewan, Canada that uses Edsby for staff at its 22 schools, its 5,000 students and their parents. Edsby developed the assistant to enhance the efficiency of educators while protecting student data security and privacy. Its managed approach, centralizing queries through Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, ensures teachers don’t accidentally jeopardize student data by using public generative AI services such as Gemini, ChatGPT, Llama and others that are trained with public data. The Teacher AI Assistant is an optional add-on for Edsby customers and is available now. It is priced competitively versus other similar solutions. For more information, visit .​ For more information on the Edsby platform itself, visit . **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been fostering student success and leveraging data responsibly in K-12 worldwide since 2010. Districts, regional governments and independent schools use Edsby for modern K-12 assessment & reporting, family engagement, personalized learning and analytics. Edsby and its products have received more than 80 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at . **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Why a unified SIS LMS architecture lowers K-12 district ownership costs](https://www.edsby.com/unified-sis-lms-architecture-lowers-k12-district-ownership-costs/commentary/) **Published:** September 15, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** What SIS-LMS fragmentation really costs K-12 districts and why unified architecture wins on TCO. **Content:** Most K-12 district technology decisions are made one system at a time. A student information system is selected for its enrollment management and reporting capabilities. A learning management system is chosen years later for its instructional tools. A parent communication platform is added when the existing options prove inadequate. An integration middleware layer is purchased when the first three systems cannot share data reliably. By the time a district has assembled what it considers a functional technology stack, it is managing four or more vendors, four or more contracts, four or more support relationships, and a data infrastructure that was never designed to function as a coherent whole. The direct costs of this approach are visible in budget line items. The indirect costs are distributed across teacher workflows, staff hours, data quality problems, and family engagement outcomes in ways that are rarely totalled and almost never compared against the alternative. This analysis builds that comparison. It examines what the fragmented model actually costs K-12 districts in total, what a unified SIS and LMS architecture offers in return, and how district leaders can structure the business case for consolidation in a way that captures the full picture rather than just the licensing fees. ## The anatomy of a fragmented K-12 technology stack Before examining the cost of fragmentation, it is worth mapping what a typical fragmented stack actually looks like in a mid-sized K-12 district, because the complexity is easy to underestimate from the outside. A district of 5,000 to 15,000 students will commonly maintain a dedicated SIS for enrollment, demographics, scheduling, attendance, and state reporting. It will run a separate LMS for course content, assignment management, and teacher-student interaction. It will use a third platform for parent communication and notification, a fourth for assessment and progress monitoring, and in many cases a fifth or sixth for specific functions like special education case management or behaviour tracking. Each of these platforms was selected at a different point in time, often by different administrators with different priorities, and each comes with its own vendor relationship, licensing structure, training requirement, and data model. The integration problem emerges immediately. Student rosters exist in the SIS. Teachers need those rosters in the LMS to set up their courses. Attendance is recorded in the SIS but needs to appear in the parent communication platform for automated alerts. Grades are entered in the LMS gradebook but must flow to the SIS for official reporting. Assessment results live in the assessment platform but are not visible in the LMS or the parent portal. Each of these data flows requires either a manual transfer process or a technical integration, and in most districts, some combination of both is in use simultaneously. The[ 2025 App Overload report, produced by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=43fa2a6cc343354bc650f4cec8fd11d0dfa563cf1b8c5ae3dbdee29d9d691c7eJmltdHM9MTc4OTA4NDgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=27ac2187-da82-6dec-3dee-3005db846ccb&psq=2025+App+Overload+report%2c+produced+by+Cornerstone+Communications+in+partnership+with+Edsby&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZWRzYnkuY29tL25ldy1yZXNlYXJjaC1yZXBvcnQtdW52ZWlscy1lZHVjYXRpb25hbC1hcHAtb3ZlcmxvYWQtaW4tay0xMi1zY2hvb2xzL3ByZXNzcmVsZWFzZXMv), surveyed more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America. It found that most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate applications. The same fragmentation that exhausts families exhausts the IT and administrative staff who maintain the infrastructure behind it. The visible surface of the problem is the parent login count. The invisible underside is the staff hours, error rates, and vendor management overhead that sustain it. ## What fragmentation actually costs: the direct expense categories A credible total cost of ownership analysis for K-12 technology infrastructure must account for the full range of direct expenses associated with the fragmented model, not just the per-seat licensing fees that typically appear in budget comparisons. Licensing and subscription costs are the most straightforward category. Each platform in a fragmented stack carries its own per-student or per-seat annual fee. When these fees are summed across all platforms serving overlapping purposes, the total is almost always higher than the equivalent per-student cost of a unified platform that covers the same functional scope. Districts that have conducted this comparison typically find that three to five separate platforms cost 30 to 60 percent more per student annually than a unified platform with equivalent capability, before any indirect costs are considered. Integration and middleware costs represent the second direct expense category and are consistently underestimated in initial procurement decisions. When two enterprise systems cannot share data natively, districts have two options: invest in custom development to build a direct integration, or purchase middleware software that sits between the systems and manages data translation and transfer. Both options carry ongoing costs. Custom integrations require developer time to build and maintain, and they break when either underlying system updates its data model. Middleware platforms carry their own licensing fees, typically ranging from a few thousand dollars annually in smaller districts to tens of thousands in larger ones, and they introduce a third vendor relationship with its own support complexity. A 2023 analysis by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) found that K-12 districts spend an average of 68 hours of IT staff time per year maintaining each significant system-to-system integration. At average K-12 IT staff compensation rates, a district maintaining four integrations is spending the equivalent of a meaningful portion of a full-time position purely on integration maintenance, before any new development is factored in. This cost is real and recurring, but it rarely appears as a line item in technology budget presentations because it is absorbed into staff salaries rather than vendor invoices. Training and professional development costs are the third direct category. Each platform in a fragmented stack requires its own training for new teachers, new administrators, and new support staff. A teacher new to the district must be onboarded to the LMS, the SIS interface they interact with, the parent communication platform, and any assessment tools they are expected to use. This training overhead is multiplicative: four platforms mean four training programs, four sets of documentation to maintain, and four onboarding tracks for new hires. Districts that have moved to unified platforms consistently report a reduction in onboarding time for new staff, because a single coherent system requires a single coherent orientation rather than sequential introductions to disconnected tools. Support and helpdesk costs scale with the number of platforms in use. When a teacher cannot see a student’s grade in the parent portal, the IT support ticket must determine whether the problem is in the LMS, the SIS, the parent platform, or the integration between them. Troubleshooting across system boundaries is significantly more time-consuming than troubleshooting within a single integrated environment, and the resolution often depends on coordination between multiple vendors who have limited incentive to take responsibility for problems that exist at the boundary between their systems. ## The indirect costs that never appear in the budget The direct costs of fragmented K-12 technology infrastructure are large enough to make a compelling TCO case on their own. The indirect costs are larger still, and they are the ones that matter most to student outcomes. Teacher time lost to administrative overhead is the most significant indirect cost in most districts. When teachers must enter grades in the LMS and verify that they have been accurately transferred to the SIS, manage attendance in one system while communicating about it through another, and send the same update through multiple channels because different families use different platforms, the overhead accumulates quickly. Research consistently identifies administrative burden as a primary driver of teacher dissatisfaction and early career exit. A study published in the journal Educational Technology Research and Development found that teachers who perceived their technology environments as fragmented and inefficient reported significantly higher administrative workload and lower professional satisfaction than those working in more integrated environments. In practical terms, a fragmented technology environment costs the average K-12 teacher between 30 and 60 minutes of administrative time per week that a unified environment would eliminate. Across a district of 200 teachers and a 40-week school year, that represents between 4,000 and 8,000 hours of professional time annually redirected from instruction and student support to system management. At average teacher compensation rates, the dollar value of this time loss dwarfs most integration middleware contracts. Data quality degradation is the second major indirect cost. When the same information exists in multiple systems maintained independently, those systems will diverge over time. A grade corrected in the LMS may not be reflected in the SIS export for days. A student whose schedule changes in the SIS may remain on the wrong course roster in the LMS. A parent contact update entered in the parent communication platform may not propagate to the SIS record. Each divergence is a potential error. Accumulated across thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the course of a school year, these errors represent a meaningful degradation in the reliability of the official student record, with consequences for state reporting accuracy, parent trust, and the validity of any data-driven decisions made from those records. Delayed family communication and its impact on student outcomes is the third indirect cost, and it is the most consequential for the district’s core mission. When attendance data lives in the SIS and parent notification is handled by a separate platform that syncs on a batch schedule, there is always a lag between when an absence is recorded and when a parent is notified. In a system with overnight batch syncing, a student who is unexpectedly absent on Monday morning may not trigger a parent alert until Tuesday. The early intervention window, which research shows is critical for addressing chronic absenteeism before it becomes entrenched, closes in the time it takes two disconnected systems to exchange data. A [meta-analysis published on ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesizing findings from more than 1,177 primary studies across 50 years, documented the strong and consistent association between parental involvement and student academic achievement across grade levels. The implication for communication infrastructure is direct: any delay or friction that reduces the quality or timeliness of school-family communication has a measurable downstream effect on the student outcomes that the research connects to parental engagement. Integration latency is not merely a technical inconvenience. It is a student success risk. ## The total cost of ownership comparison: fragmented versus unified Pulling these cost categories together into a comparative TCO framework allows district leaders to evaluate the unified architecture option against the fragmented status quo on terms that capture the full picture. A mid-sized district of 8,000 students maintaining a typical fragmented stack of SIS, LMS, parent communication platform, and assessment tool with integration middleware between them might carry a cost profile that looks approximately like this when all categories are included: combined platform licensing in the range of $12 to $18 per student annually across four vendors, middleware and integration costs of $20,000 to $40,000 per year depending on the number and complexity of connections maintained, IT staff time for integration maintenance equivalent to 200 to 400 hours annually, helpdesk costs elevated by cross-system troubleshooting, new staff onboarding costs across four separate training tracks, and the indirect cost of teacher administrative overhead running at 30 to 60 minutes per week across the full teaching staff. A unified SIS and LMS architecture from a vendor like Edsby, covering the same functional scope, typically carries a combined per-student cost in the range of $8 to $14 annually with no separate middleware requirement, significantly reduced IT maintenance overhead because integration is native rather than constructed, a single training and onboarding track, and a single support relationship. The direct savings from consolidation in this scenario range from meaningful to substantial depending on the district’s specific contract terms. The indirect savings from eliminated teacher overhead and improved data quality are typically larger than the direct savings over a three-year horizon. For district leaders building the internal business case for unified architecture, the Project Unicorn K-12 Interoperability Framework offers a structured methodology for calculating the cost of data fragmentation in education technology environments. The framework and supporting resources are available at https://www.projectunicorn.org. Districts that have used this framework to audit their integration costs consistently report that the true cost of their fragmented stack is 40 to 80 percent higher than their vendor licensing spend alone would suggest. ## What SIS LMS integration ROI looks like in practice The return on investment from moving to a unified SIS and LMS architecture is realised across multiple dimensions, and the timeline for each dimension differs. Understanding the sequencing helps district leaders set realistic expectations for the consolidation conversation internally. The fastest return comes from direct cost reduction: middleware licensing and custom integration maintenance costs are eliminated immediately upon consolidation. For districts spending $25,000 to $50,000 annually on integration infrastructure, this saving is realised in the first year and recurs every year thereafter. The medium-term return comes from staff efficiency gains. Teacher administrative overhead does not disappear on day one of a new platform. It declines as teachers build fluency with the unified environment and as the workflows that previously required cross-system data management become single-system actions. Most districts report meaningful teacher time savings becoming visible within the first full semester of a unified platform deployment, with the full efficiency gain typically realised by the end of the first academic year. The longest-horizon return, and ultimately the most significant, comes from improved student outcomes driven by better data integration and more effective family communication. When attendance alerts reach parents within minutes rather than the next business day, early intervention conversations happen earlier. When teachers can see a student’s attendance pattern, grade trend, and family communication history in the same view, the conversations they have with families are more specific and more actionable. When parents have one coherent place to monitor their child’s academic life rather than five fragmented portals, more of them stay engaged through the full school year. These improvements accumulate into attendance rate changes, course completion improvements, and academic outcome gains that represent the ultimate return on the infrastructure investment. Districts that track engagement metrics before and after consolidation consistently find that parent portal activation rates increase substantially when the number of required platforms decreases. The App Overload report’s finding that 85% of parents in multi-app environments rated their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower inverts dramatically when those parents are given a single, coherent portal. Higher activation rates mean more families receiving and responding to teacher outreach, which means earlier identification of struggling students and more effective support mobilization. ## The integration middleware trap: why it delays the TCO problem rather than solving it One of the most common responses to the data fragmentation problem in K-12 technology is the purchase of integration middleware, a platform layer that sits between existing systems and manages data transfer between them. Middleware is often presented as the cost-effective alternative to full platform consolidation, and in the short term it can appear to resolve the most acute data quality problems. Understanding why it is a delay rather than a solution is important for districts evaluating their options honestly. The fundamental limitation of middleware is that it does not solve the underlying architectural problem. It manages the symptoms of fragmentation without eliminating the fragmentation itself. The data still lives in multiple systems. Each system still has its own vendor relationship, its own update cycle, its own data model, and its own support requirements. Teachers still navigate multiple interfaces. Families still manage multiple logins. And the middleware layer itself adds a new vendor, a new contract, a new support relationship, and a new failure mode to the already complex stack. Middleware also introduces a specific category of technical risk that native integration eliminates schema dependency. When an upstream system updates its data model, whether through a major version release or a routine feature update, integrations built on that data model may break. The middleware vendor must update the connector. The district’s IT team must test the fix. If the update happens during a high-stakes period, such as the beginning of a school year or a state reporting window, the consequences of an integration failure are significant. Native architecture, where the SIS and LMS share the same underlying data layer, eliminates this category of risk entirely. Third-party integration middleware cost in K-12 is also frequently underestimated at the point of purchase because the full cost includes not just the annual licensing fee but the IT staff time required to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot the middleware layer itself. The CoSN analysis referenced earlier found that 68 hours of IT staff time per year per integration is a conservative average. For districts with complex multi-system environments, the actual maintenance burden is often higher, and it grows rather than shrinks as the number of integrated systems increases. ## Making the business case internally District technology leaders who have concluded that unified SIS and LMS architecture is the right direction for their district often face the harder challenge of building the internal consensus to act on that conclusion. The business case needs to land with finance directors focused on visible budget lines, with curriculum leaders focused on instructional continuity, and with board members focused on community trust and risk management. For finance directors, the TCO comparison is the most persuasive frame. The full cost of the fragmented stack, including middleware, IT overhead, training duplication, and the opportunity cost of teacher administrative time, needs to be made visible alongside the unified platform alternative. In most districts, this comparison has never been formally constructed, and the result of constructing it is usually more compelling than technology advocates expected it would be. For curriculum leaders, the conversation should focus on data quality and instructional responsiveness. When assessment results, attendance patterns, and gradebook data are visible together in a single teacher view, the instructional decisions those data points should inform become possible. When they are distributed across four systems that a teacher must navigate separately, the practical reality is that most teachers access whichever data is in front of them and make instructional decisions without the full picture. For board members, the risk management frame is often most resonant. A fragmented technology infrastructure is a data governance liability. Student data existing across multiple systems, each with its own security posture, breach history, and vendor data practices, creates a larger attack surface and a more complex compliance environment than a unified platform with a single, auditable data layer. The K-12 cybersecurity environment has deteriorated significantly in recent years. The FBI and CISA have both issued explicit alerts about threats to K-12 networks, and the districts most vulnerable are those with complex, poorly integrated technology environments that are difficult to monitor and defend. ## What to evaluate when assessing unified platform vendors Not all platforms marketed as unified SIS and LMS solutions deliver genuine architectural integration. Some are assembled product bundles in which a vendor has acquired separate SIS and LMS products and relabelled the combination without deeply integrating the underlying data layers. Evaluating the depth of integration is as important as evaluating the feature set. The questions that reveal the difference between true unified architecture and rebranded bundling are specific. Ask whether the SIS and LMS share a common data layer or whether they synchronize through an internal integration that functions like middleware. Ask whether attendance recorded in the teacher-facing interface is immediately visible in the parent portal or whether there is a synchronization delay. Ask whether a student added to the SIS appears in the LMS course roster immediately or on the next sync cycle. Ask whether a grade entered in the LMS gradebook is reflected in the official SIS record in real time. These questions probe the architectural reality behind the marketing language. Evaluate the vendor’s track record with SIS data specifically, because SIS data is the most sensitive and most regulated student data a district holds. Ask about the vendor’s FERPA compliance posture, their data processing agreement terms, their security certifications, and their breach notification history. A vendor with strong LMS capabilities but a weak SIS data governance posture is not a safe choice for the unified architecture model, because the whole point of unification is that all student data lives in a single environment with a single governance framework. The evaluation process should include reference conversations with districts that have been running the unified platform for more than two years, specifically asking about the data quality and integration reliability they have experienced over time rather than at the point of initial implementation. A platform that performs well in the first semester and degrades as data volume and system complexity grow is not delivering the long-term TCO value that the business case promises. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is the total cost of ownership difference between a unified SIS LMS architecture and maintaining separate platforms? The total cost of ownership for a fragmented SIS and LMS environment is typically 40 to 80 percent higher than the licensing fees alone would suggest, once middleware costs, IT maintenance overhead, training duplication, and teacher administrative time are included. A mid-sized district maintaining separate SIS, LMS, parent communication, and assessment platforms with integration middleware may spend $20,000 to $40,000 annually on integration infrastructure alone, plus 200 to 400 hours of IT staff time for maintenance. A unified platform covering the same functional scope eliminates these costs entirely, with the direct savings in the first year often sufficient to cover a significant portion of the transition cost. ### 2. What is integration middleware and why does it increase the total cost of K-12 technology ownership? Integration middleware is software that sits between separate enterprise systems and manages data transfer between them. In K-12 contexts, it is commonly purchased to connect a district’s SIS with its LMS or parent communication platform when those systems lack native data-sharing capability. Middleware carries its own annual licensing cost, requires IT staff time to configure and maintain, introduces a third vendor relationship with its own support complexity, and creates schema dependency risk: when an upstream system updates its data model, the middleware integration may break and require developer time to repair. These costs accumulate annually and grow with the complexity of the integration environment, making middleware a cost amplifier rather than a cost solution. ### 3. How does SIS LMS integration ROI manifest for K-12 districts over a three-year horizon? Return on investment from SIS and LMS unification accumulates across three time horizons. In year one, direct cost savings from eliminated middleware licensing and reduced IT integration maintenance are realised immediately. During the first to second year, teacher administrative time savings become measurable as unified workflows replace cross-system data management tasks. Over the full three-year horizon, improved family engagement driven by real-time data connectivity and consolidated parent portals produces improvements in attendance rates, early intervention effectiveness, and academic outcomes that represent the highest-value return on the infrastructure investment. Districts that track these metrics before and after consolidation consistently find that the three-year ROI substantially exceeds the projections made from licensing cost comparison alone. ### 4. What are the data governance advantages of unified SIS LMS architecture over a fragmented stack? A unified SIS and LMS architecture concentrates student data in a single system with a single data governance framework, a single security posture, a single vendor data processing agreement, and a single audit trail for data access and disclosure. A fragmented stack distributes the same data across multiple systems, each with its own security configuration, its own vendor data practices, and its own breach risk profile. For FERPA compliance and state privacy law purposes, fewer systems means fewer data disclosure relationships to manage, fewer breach notification obligations to track, and a smaller attack surface for the cybersecurity threats that have increasingly targeted K-12 infrastructure. The governance simplification of unification is not a secondary benefit. For districts in high-compliance environments, it is often the most compelling element of the business case. ### 5. How should a district evaluate whether a vendor’s unified platform is genuinely integrated or a rebranded product bundle? The distinction between genuine, unified architecture and a rebranded bundle of separately acquired products lies in the data layer. Ask whether the SIS and LMS share a common underlying database or synchronize through an internal integration. Ask whether attendance recorded by a teacher appears in the parent portal immediately or after a sync delay. Ask whether a new student added to the SIS appears in LMS course rosters in real time. Ask whether grade data entered in the LMS gradebook is reflected in the official SIS record without a manual transfer step. These specific questions probe the architectural reality that marketing language is designed to obscure, and the answers will quickly reveal whether a vendor is offering true unified architecture or a connected bundle with the same latency and fragility characteristics as a third-party integration. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** SIS LMS unified architecture total cost ownership --- ### [What to ask about K-12 standards-based assessment products](https://www.edsby.com/what-to-ask-about-k12-standards-based-products/commentary/) **Published:** September 11, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** The essential questions every district leader should ask before buying assessment tools. **Content:** Every year, K-12 districts spend significant budgets on educational assessment products, and every year, a portion of those purchases underperform. Not because the tools are poorly built, but because the questions asked during the selection process were the wrong ones. Districts evaluate interfaces, compare price points, and sit through vendor demonstrations designed to showcase strengths and avoid scrutiny of weaknesses. They sign contracts. They roll out platforms. And then, six months into implementation, they discover that the tool cannot report against the specific standards framework they use, or that teachers find the workflow too cumbersome to use consistently, or that parent-facing reports are incomprehensible to the families they are meant to serve. This is avoidable. The difference between an assessment product that transforms how a district understands student learning and one that becomes shelfware is almost always traceable to the quality of the evaluation process that preceded the purchase. This guide covers the questions every district leader, curriculum coordinator, and instructional technology director should ask when evaluating K-12 standards-based assessment products. They are organized around the dimensions that matter most: standards alignment, reporting quality, data integration, equity of access, teacher usability, and long-term vendor reliability. ## Standards alignment: the foundation everything else depends on The most fundamental question about any K-12 standards-based assessment product is whether it actually aligns to the standards your district uses. This sounds obvious. It is surprising how often it is inadequately answered before a purchase is made. Standards alignment in assessment products exists on a spectrum. At one end are platforms that use state or national standards as organizational labels, tagging questions with standard codes but without genuine alignment between the cognitive demand of the assessment item and the full meaning of the standard it is tagged to. At the other end are platforms where alignment was built into the item development process, where each question was written to assess a specific standard at the appropriate depth of knowledge, and where that alignment has been reviewed by content experts and revised over time. The questions that distinguish these two ends of the spectrum are specific. Ask the vendor how assessment items were developed and who was involved in the alignment process. Ask whether items were reviewed by classroom teachers in the grade levels and subjects they are intended for. Ask how the platform handles standards revisions, which states update regularly, and whether updates to the standards framework require additional cost or result in any lag in alignment. Ask whether the platform supports your state’s specific standards or only national frameworks, because the distinction matters for how results connect to required state reporting. Curriculum-aligned testing is only as valuable as the precision of the alignment. A district that invests in a standards-based assessment platform and then discovers that the alignment is superficial has paid for a label, not a capability. Requiring vendors to demonstrate specific alignment evidence, not just assert it, is the single most protective step in the evaluation process. ## Reporting: what the data looks like after the assessment is done An assessment platform is only as useful as the reports it generates, and reporting quality is one of the most commonly underexamined dimensions of evaluation. Districts spend significant time in demonstrations watching assessments being built and administered, and relatively little time looking at what the results look like and whether those results are actually usable by the audiences who need them. There are three distinct audiences for assessment reporting in a K-12 context, and an effective student assessment software platform should serve all three well. The first audience is the classroom teacher, who needs item-level and standard-level data quickly enough to inform the next instructional decision. The second audience is the school or district administrator, who needs aggregate data across classrooms and grade levels to identify where instructional support is needed. The third audience is the family, who needs to understand what the results mean for their child’s learning in plain language, without needing to decode assessment jargon. Ask the vendor to show you a real teacher-facing report from the platform, not a mockup. Ask how quickly results are available after an assessment is completed. Ask whether the teacher can see item-level disaggregation, meaning which specific questions which specific students answered incorrectly, and whether the platform surfaces common error patterns that suggest a shared misconception rather than individual gaps. Ask whether the administrator view allows comparison across classrooms teaching the same course. Ask what the parent-facing report looks like, and whether it has been tested for comprehensibility with actual parents rather than educators. One question that many districts fail to ask until it is too late: does the reporting support progress monitoring over time, or does it only show point-in-time results? A platform that shows a student’s proficiency level on a standard at one assessment point is useful. A platform that shows how that proficiency level has changed across assessment points over a semester or a school year is significantly more valuable for instructional decision-making and for the family communication that effective student-family engagement requires. ## Data integration: how assessment results connect to everything else Assessment data does not live in isolation. Its value is multiplied when it connects to attendance records, gradebook data, demographic information, and the communication infrastructure that carries results to families. An educational assessment product that generates rich, accurate data but stores it in a closed system that cannot share it with the district’s SIS or LMS has created an information silo rather than a decision-support tool. Ask every vendor you evaluate about the specific integrations their platform supports. Not whether they can integrate generally, but which specific [SIS and LMS platforms](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=7e371e8661d6740b7d68bd59c1c202fc1edf1a2470c061e013b394dccaa7d134JmltdHM9MTc4ODkxMjAwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=27ac2187-da82-6dec-3dee-3005db846ccb&psq=SIS+and+LMS+platforms+research+paper&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucmVzZWFyY2hnYXRlLm5ldC9wdWJsaWNhdGlvbi8zODgxNjIwNjBfQW5fSW5fRGVwdGhfQW5hbHlzaXNfb2ZfTGVhcm5pbmdfTWFuYWdlbWVudF9TeXN0ZW1zX2luX0hpZ2hlcl9FZHVjYXRpb25fQmVuZWZpdHNfQ2hhbGxlbmdlc19hbmRfQmVzdF9QcmFjdGljZXM) they have native integrations with, what data flows in each direction, and whether the integration is real-time or batch-based. A batch integration that syncs student rosters overnight is adequate for enrollment management. A batch integration that syncs assessment results 24 hours after they are completed is not adequate for the kind of responsive instruction that standards-based assessment is meant to support. The Project Unicorn 2024 State of the Sector Report found that data interoperability remains one of the most significant and persistent challenges in K-12 education technology. Districts that prioritize interoperability in their assessment product evaluations are not just making a technical preference known. They are protecting their ability to use assessment data for the full range of purposes that justify the investment: instructional decision-making, family communication, early warning identification, curriculum review, and district-level equity analysis. Ask specifically about data ownership. When a district contracts with an assessment vendor, the assessment results generated by district students should remain the property of the district, not the vendor. Ask what happens to student data when the contract ends. Ask whether the vendor uses student performance data for any purpose other than delivering the contracted service to the district. These are not hostile questions. They are responsible data governance questions that any reputable vendor should answer clearly and without hesitation. ## Equity of access: whether the platform works for every student and family Standards-based assessment products are often evaluated primarily for their technical sophistication, their standards coverage, and their reporting quality. Equity of access is a separate dimension that receives less systematic attention and that reveals important limitations in platforms that otherwise appear strong. Equity in assessment tools has multiple dimensions. The first is accessibility for students with disabilities. Ask whether the platform supports the specific accommodations required by students with IEPs and 504 plans in your district. Text-to-speech, extended time, alternate response formats, screen reader compatibility, and adjustable display settings are not optional features for districts with students who require them. They are legal requirements, and a platform that does not support them creates compliance risk alongside instructional gaps. The second dimension is language accessibility for multilingual learners. Ask whether assessment content is available in languages other than English, and if so, which languages and whether the translations have been reviewed for accuracy by qualified translators rather than generated by automated tools. Ask whether the platform’s user interface is available in multiple languages so that students who are literate in their home language but not yet proficient in English can navigate the assessment environment without that navigation becoming an unintended barrier. The third dimension is device and connectivity equity. Ask what devices the platform supports and what the minimum connectivity requirements are. A platform that requires a high-bandwidth connection and a current-generation laptop will not serve students in households with limited internet access or on older district-issued devices. Ask whether the platform has an offline mode or a low-bandwidth configuration, and whether those modes preserve the full assessment functionality or degrade the experience in ways that affect validity. The fourth dimension is cultural relevance and bias in assessment content. Ask whether the vendor conducts systematic bias reviews of assessment items and whether those reviews include community members from the demographic groups represented in your district. Assessment items that use cultural references, language patterns, or scenario contexts that are unfamiliar to specific groups of students are measuring familiarity with those references as much as they are measuring the target standard. ## Teacher usability: whether educators will actually use it A K-12 assessment product that teachers find burdensome to use will not be used consistently, and inconsistent use produces data that is neither reliable nor comparable across classrooms. Teacher usability is not a secondary consideration. It is the practical prerequisite for everything else the assessment system is meant to accomplish. The questions to ask here are grounded in workflow, not in feature lists. Ask how long it takes a teacher to build a standards-aligned assessment from scratch using the platform’s tools. Ask whether the platform includes an item bank and, if so, how large it is, how items are tagged to standards, and whether teachers can contribute items or only use what the vendor provides. Ask how the platform handles the difference between a quick formative check and a formal summative assessment, and whether the workflow for each is appropriately distinct. Ask what teachers do when an assessment is complete. Can they see results immediately, or is there a processing delay? Can they share results with students directly through the platform, or must they export and distribute separately? Can they add their own annotations or next-step recommendations alongside the results before sharing with families? The post-assessment workflow is where the instructional value of assessment data is either captured or lost, and it deserves as much scrutiny as the assessment-building workflow. Pilot testing with actual teachers in your district is more informative than any vendor demonstration. Ask the vendor to provide a pilot environment and ask a cross-section of teachers, including those who are enthusiastic technology adopters and those who are more skeptical, to complete a realistic assessment cycle and report on the experience. The feedback you receive will surface usability issues that no demonstration will reveal. ## Vendor reliability: what happens after the contract is signed The assessment product you select today will be in use in your district for years. The vendor relationship that accompanies it matters as much as the platform features. Vendor reliability is one of the most underexamined dimensions of [K-12 assessment ](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-standards-based-assessment-in-k12/commentary/)tool evaluation, and it is the dimension that determines whether a strong platform continues to serve the district well over time. Ask about the vendor’s product development roadmap and how district feedback influences it. Ask how the vendor handles bugs and feature requests, and what the typical response time is for critical issues. Ask about the frequency of platform updates and whether those updates require downtime that affects assessment schedules. Ask about the vendor’s track record with other districts of similar size and demographic profile and request contact information for reference districts you can speak with independently. Support quality is worth examining in detail. Ask what support channels are available during assessment administration, when the stakes of a platform failure are highest. Ask whether support is available in languages other than English if your district has staff who are more comfortable in another language. Ask what the vendor’s breach notification protocol is, and how previous data security incidents, if any, were handled and communicated to affected districts. The financial stability of the vendor is not an impolite question. Assessment platforms accumulate years of student performance data that is valuable for longitudinal analysis. A vendor that is acquired, pivots its business model, or discontinues the product mid-contract creates significant disruption. Ask how long the company has been operating, whether it has experienced significant ownership or leadership changes recently, and what data portability guarantees are in place if the relationship ends. ## How Edsby supports standards-based assessment in K-12 Edsby’s platform is built around the principle that assessment data should be immediately useful to the teachers, administrators, and families who need it; [standards-based reporting](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-standards-based-report-cards-for-k12-districts/commentary/) is native to Edsby’s gradebook architecture, meaning districts do not need a separate assessment tool to report against specific learning standards. Assessment results flow directly into the same parent portal where families access grades, attendance, and teacher communication, so families see a complete picture of their child’s learning rather than isolated assessment scores delivered through a separate channel. [![K-12 standards-based assessment products](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)For districts evaluating their K-12 assessment tools in the context of a broader platform consolidation, Edsby’s integrated approach addresses the data silos that undermine the usefulness of assessment data in multi-tool environments. When attendance, grades, formative assessment results, and summative performance are all visible in the same teacher view, the instructional decisions those data points should inform become possible in a way that isolated assessment platforms cannot support. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is the difference between standards-based assessment and traditional testing in K-12? Traditional testing in K-12 typically produces a percentage score or letter grade that represents overall performance across a body of content. Standards-based assessment reports performance against specific, defined learning standards, so a student’s result tells teachers and families not just how they did overall but which specific knowledge and skills they have demonstrated mastery of and which they have not. This granularity makes standards-based assessment significantly more actionable for instructional planning and family communication than traditional testing, because the data points directly to where additional support or extension is needed rather than averaging those distinctions away into a single score. ### 2. What should districts look for in curriculum-aligned testing products specifically? Curriculum-aligned testing products should be evaluated on the depth and accuracy of their standards alignment, not just the presence of standards tags on assessment items. Ask vendors how items were developed, whether they were reviewed by content experts and classroom teachers, and how the platform handles updates when standards change. Beyond alignment, look for robust item banks that cover the full range of standards at multiple cognitive complexity levels, flexible assessment formats that support both formative and summative purposes, and reporting that connects assessment results to specific curriculum units or learning progressions so teachers can act on the data within the instructional context where the gap was identified. ### 3. How do K-12 assessment tools support students with disabilities and multilingual learners? Effective K-12 assessment tools support students with disabilities through built-in accommodations including text-to-speech, extended time configurations, screen reader compatibility, alternate response formats, and adjustable display settings. For multilingual learners, strong platforms provide assessment content and user interface navigation in multiple languages, with translations reviewed by qualified human translators rather than automated tools. When evaluating any assessment product, districts should require a specific demonstration of how the platform handles the accommodations required by their own student population, rather than accepting a general assurance of accessibility. ### 4. How should districts think about assessment data privacy when selecting student assessment software? Assessment data is educational record data subject to FERPA and applicable state privacy laws. When selecting student assessment software, districts should require a data processing agreement that designates the vendor as a school official, limits data use to the educational purpose for which the tool was contracted, prohibits sale or re-use of student data for any other purpose including advertising, identifies all sub-processors that may access student data, commits to specific security standards, and provides for return or deletion of data when the contract ends. Data ownership should be explicit: assessment results generated by district students belong to the district, and the vendor should have no independent claim on that data beyond providing the contracted service. ### 5. How can districts evaluate whether an assessment platform is actually improving student outcomes over time? Evaluating whether a standards-based assessment platform improves student outcomes requires establishing baseline measurements before implementation and comparing those measurements at regular intervals after. Districts should track standards proficiency rates by grade level and student group across assessment periods to determine whether identified gaps are narrowing. They should also track whether assessment data is being used for instructional decision-making, because a platform that generates accurate data that teachers do not act on will not improve outcomes regardless of its technical quality. Gathering teacher feedback on whether the platform’s reports are actually changing what they do in the classroom next is one of the most direct ways to assess whether the investment is producing the instructional improvement it is meant to support. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 standards-based assessment products --- ### [Parent school communication for K-12 districts in the modern era](https://www.edsby.com/parent-school-communication-for-k-12-districts-in-the-modern-era/commentary/) **Published:** September 11, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** How modern districts are rebuilding parent school communication with unified, data-driven platforms. **Content:** There was a time when parent school communication meant a paper newsletter sent home in a backpack on Fridays, a phone tree activated for snow days, and a twice-yearly parent-teacher conference. These methods were slow and one-directional, but they were simple, and for a generation of families with predictable schedules, single home phone numbers, and children in schools that used one set of systems, they functioned well enough. That world no longer exists. Families today are more mobile, more multilingual, and harder to reach through any single channel. Schools have more data about students than ever before, more ways to communicate it, and paradoxically less confidence that the communication is landing. The technology that was supposed to solve the parent school communication problem has in many cases complicated it, replacing one simple system with a fragmented stack of disconnected tools that serves nobody particularly well. Understanding what has genuinely changed in school-family communication, and what the research and practice of high-performing districts now tell us about what works, is the starting point for every K-12 district that wants to close the gap between the engagement they aspire to and the engagement they are currently achieving. ## Why modern parent school communication is harder than it looks The instinct, when school-family communication breaks down, is to blame the medium. Schools switch from email to apps, from apps to SMS, from SMS to parent portals, searching for the format that will finally produce the engagement they are looking for. In most cases the medium is not the problem. The infrastructure is. Modern K-12 districts accumulate communication tools the way households accumulate kitchen appliances: one at a time, each purchased to solve a specific problem, until the collection is too large to use cohesively. A grade portal comes bundled with the student information system. A messaging app is piloted by an enthusiastic technology coordinator. An attendance alert tool is added when the district recognizes it needs automated notifications. An announcement platform replaces the paper newsletter. Each addition seemed reasonable in isolation. The cumulative result is a digital environment that no one designed intentionally and that creates more friction than it removes. The [2025 App Overload report, produced by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/), surveyed more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America. It found that most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate applications. In some districts, the number exceeds 16 officially sanctioned tools. Parent satisfaction in these environments reflects the predictable consequence: 85% of parents in multi-app environments rated their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower. The teacher’s experience compounds the problem. The same App Overload report found that while 80% of administrators believed teachers were satisfied with their current communication tools, teachers themselves reported moderate dissatisfaction driven by the burden of managing outreach across disconnected platforms. A teacher who sends a grade update through the gradebook, a behavioral note through a separate messaging tool, and an announcement through a third app is not managing one communication workflow. They are managing three, with all the duplication, inconsistency, and oversight that entails. The families on the receiving end experience the fragmentation as confusion, and many stop engaging. ## What the data says about the stakes The case for investing in better parent school communication infrastructure is not merely operational. It is grounded in one of the most consistent findings in educational research: the quality of family engagement is a meaningful predictor of student academic outcomes. A major[ meta-analysis published on ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X.) synthesized findings from 23 separate meta-analyses and more than 1,177 primary studies conducted across 50 years of research. It found a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student academic achievement across grade levels, school types, and demographic groups. Students with engaged families attend school more consistently, perform better academically, develop stronger social and emotional skills, and are significantly more likely to complete high school and pursue post-secondary education. The mechanism is straightforward: a parent who is informed about their child’s learning, aware of how they are performing day to day, and able to communicate easily with teachers can provide support at home that reinforces and extends what happens in the classroom. The combination of institutional instruction and home support is more powerful than either alone. The SchoolStatus 2024 national survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and administrators documented the gap between this research knowledge and current practice. Ninety percent of respondents said school-family communication is important for student success. Only 32% reported using student data to drive data-informed conversations with families. The belief in family engagement is nearly universal. The practice of equipping teachers to support it with real data is not. That gap is where the communication infrastructure problem lives. The attendance dimension makes this even more urgent. The same survey found that 73% of educators identify student attendance as crucial for academic success, yet 46% say they struggle to get families to prioritize attendance. Chronic absenteeism has reached crisis levels in many districts, and research consistently links the quality of family communication to attendance outcomes. When families receive timely, specific, personalized outreach about their child’s attendance pattern, they respond differently than when they receive a generic reminder about the district’s attendance policy. ## The shift from notification to genuine dialogue One of the most consequential design failures in K-12 communication platforms is the architecture of one-way broadcast. Most school communication tools are built to push information from school to home. Announcements. Grade updates. Attendance alerts. Progress reports. All of it flows in one direction. Parents are positioned as recipients, not participants. And the design reflects a particular assumption about what family engagement means: that it is satisfied when the school has communicated and the family has received. That assumption is wrong, and the research on student-family engagement is clear about why. Parents who are positioned as active participants in their child’s education, not passive recipients of institutional communications, produce meaningfully different outcomes than parents who are well-informed but excluded from genuine dialogue. The distinction is not about the volume of information transmitted. It is about whether communication creates a shared context in which both the school and the family can act. Two-way communication in a modern school context means that a parent who receives an attendance alert can respond directly and explain the context the school does not have. It means a teacher who sends a grade update can receive a reply from a parent who has noticed a change in their child’s engagement at home and wants to share what they are observing. It means a counselor who reaches out about a behavior pattern can have a genuine exchange with the family rather than leaving a voicemail that may or may not be returned. Family engagement software that supports two-way communication captures these exchanges in the student record, creating a documented history of school-family interaction that is invaluable when a concern escalates, when a student is referred for support services, or when a parent questions whether the school has been making adequate efforts to engage. The communication trail is not just a compliance tool. It is a record of the relationship between the school and the family, and that relationship is the medium through which student success is built. ## Language access as a non-negotiable equity issue Any honest examination of [parent school communication](https://www.edsby.com/why-k-12-school-communication-platform-is-replacing-multi-app-parent-communication/commentary/) in the modern era must address language access directly. The K-12 student population in the United States is more linguistically diverse than at any previous point in the nation’s history. In many urban districts, dozens of home languages are spoken by families. In rural districts that have seen recent immigration patterns, school staff who have always communicated in English are reaching families for whom English is not a primary language. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 32% of educators cite language barriers as a significant obstacle to effective family communication. That number understates the structural problem. It measures how often educators recognize language as a barrier. It does not measure how often families experience exclusion from communication that was never designed to reach them in the first place. A school communication platform that operates only in English is not a neutral tool. It is a tool that systematically advantages families who are English-proficient and disadvantages those who are not. In districts where non-English-speaking families are disproportionately concentrated among lower-income households, the language exclusion compounds existing equity gaps in family engagement, with direct consequences for the students who need the strongest school-family partnership to succeed. Modern family engagement software addresses this through automated multilingual communication that does not require translation requests, separate workflows, or additional staff time. Leading platforms now support communication in 100 or more languages, enabling teachers and administrators to send messages in English and have them delivered to families in their preferred language automatically. This is not a premium feature for linguistically complex districts. It is a baseline requirement for any district that is serious about equitable family engagement, which means it is a baseline requirement for all districts. The accessibility dimension extends beyond language to connectivity and device access. Mobile-first platform design ensures that families whose primary internet access is a smartphone can use the platform fully, without being relegated to a degraded experience because the platform was built primarily for desktop use. SMS-based communication ensures that the most time-sensitive information, attendance alerts in particular, reaches families who do not check apps or email consistently. Equitable communication infrastructure means meeting every family in the channel they can actually use. ## Data-driven communication: from reactive to proactive The most significant transformation in modern parent school communication is not the channel through which messages are sent. It is whether the content of those messages is informed by student data in a way that makes it genuinely useful to families. In the traditional model of school communication, teachers reach out to families when something has gone wrong. A grade has fallen below passing. Attendance has become a serious problem. A behavior incident requires a parent conversation. This reactive model positions school contact as a signal of trouble, and families who hear from the school only when something is wrong begin to associate that contact with bad news. The relationship erodes. When the school finally needs the family’s active participation to address a student crisis, the trust required to make that conversation productive may not exist. The research-supported alternative is proactive communication rooted in student data. When teachers have access to real-time information about attendance, academic progress, and assignment completion through a unified platform, they can reach out before patterns become crises. A teacher who notices that a previously strong student has submitted only half their assignments in the past three weeks and sends a brief, specific message to the family is doing something fundamentally different from a teacher who waits until the marking period ends and a failing grade appears on the report card. The former enables early intervention. The latter documents a failure that could have been prevented. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 86% of educators say data gaps limit their ability to support students effectively, yet only 32% use student information for data-driven family conversations. The gap between these numbers describes the opportunity. The data exists in most districts. The infrastructure to connect that data to family communication in a usable, timely way is what is missing. Proactive communication also has a relationship-building function that reactive communication cannot serve. When families receive regular, specific, positive outreach from the school, not just alerts and warnings, they develop a different relationship with the institution. A message that says a student showed strong improvement on a recent writing assessment, or that a student has perfect attendance through the first marking period, costs a teacher very little time to send. To the family receiving it, it signals that the school sees their child as an individual, tracks their progress, and communicates about their success, not just their struggles. That signal is the foundation of the trust that makes genuine engagement possible. ## How Edsby unifies school community engagement Edsby is built as a unified K-12 platform that connects the learning management, student information, and family communication functions that most districts manage through separate tools. The design philosophy behind Edsby reflects the diagnosis this article has outlined: fragmented tools produce fragmented engagement, and the solution is not a better individual tool but an architecture that brings the relevant data and communication functions together into one coherent environment. In Edsby, a parent logging into the parent portal sees current attendance, grades across all subjects, recent and upcoming assignments, teacher messages, and school announcements in a single interface. They do not navigate between platforms. They do not maintain multiple logins. The information they need to understand their child’s school experience is in one place, and it is current because it draws from live SIS and LMS data rather than periodic exports. For teachers, Edsby’s communication tools are connected to the student record rather than isolated from it. When a teacher wants to reach out to a family about a pattern they are observing, the student’s attendance history, grade trend, and communication history with the family are all visible in the same view where the message is composed. The outreach is informed by context that teachers in multi-tool environments must manually assemble, if they assemble it at all. The App Overload report, produced in partnership with Edsby, documented the practical consequences of fragmented communication infrastructure at scale. The report’s central recommendation is consolidation: replacing the patchwork of individual tools with a single unified portal as the primary intervention for improving family engagement. Edsby’s architecture is a direct implementation of that recommendation, and the districts that have made the transition consistently report improvements in parent portal activation rates, teacher communication consistency, and family satisfaction compared to their previous multi-app environments. For school community engagement at the district level, Edsby provides administrators with visibility into communication patterns across schools, identification of which families are unreachable through current channels, and aggregate data on engagement equity across demographic groups. This systemic visibility is what allows district leaders to move from hoping that family engagement is working to knowing whether it is, and to identify where the infrastructure needs to change. ## [![parent school communication platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)What high-performing districts do differently Districts that achieve measurably stronger parent school communication outcomes share a set of practices that distinguish them from those that continue to struggle. These practices are not secrets. They are well documented in the research on effective family engagement, and they are visible in the operational decisions that high-engagement districts make consistently. The first practice is treating family engagement as an operational priority with defined accountability, not a cultural aspiration. High-engagement districts set specific, measurable goals for family communication outcomes. They track parent portal activation rates, response rates to teacher outreach, the percentage of families receiving proactive contact in each marking period, and whether engagement rates differ across schools and demographic groups. When a school’s engagement metrics are consistently lower than district averages, district leaders ask why and allocate support resources to address the gap. The measurement creates the accountability. The second practice is investing in parent onboarding as a formal, annual process. The App Overload report is explicit on this point: establishing a formal onboarding process for families is among the most impactful interventions available for improving engagement. High-engagement districts do not assume that families will figure out new platforms on their own. They use back-to-school nights and orientation sessions to walk parents through account setup, hold office hours for parents who need more support, and follow up in the first weeks of school with families who have not yet activated their accounts. Multilingual onboarding materials are standard in any district where multiple languages are spoken. The third practice is using student data to personalize outreach rather than relying on generic mass communication. A parent who receives a message saying that their child is doing well overall is less likely to act on that message than a parent who receives specific information about what their child has achieved and what the next learning challenge looks like. Specificity signals attention and care. It also provides families with actionable context that general messages cannot. The fourth practice is building teacher capacity for consistent, data-informed family communication as part of ongoing professional development. Teachers who understand why regular, proactive outreach matters, who have time in their workflows for it, and who are supported by a platform that makes data-informed messaging easier than manual outreach communicate with families more consistently and more effectively than those left to develop their own practices without support or tools. ## Privacy, trust, and the foundation of family engagement Effective parent school communication rests on a foundation that is easy to overlook when the conversation is focused on platforms, features, and workflows: trust. Families who do not trust that the school is handling their children’s data responsibly, communicating transparently, and treating their engagement as genuinely welcomed rather than performatively solicited will not engage deeply, regardless of how good the technology is. The privacy dimension of this trust has become more salient as the number of platforms handling student and family data has grown. A report from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps commonly used in schools share student data with third parties, while 86% of the schools surveyed lacked mechanisms for obtaining parental consent before deploying those tools. When families discover this, and many do, the trust damage extends beyond the specific tool to the school’s technology decisions more broadly. A district that communicates transparently about what data its platforms collect, which vendors process it, and what rights families have over it is building a foundation for engagement that opacity and compliance minimums cannot provide. The communication relationship itself also carries implicit messages about how the school values families. Communication that is consistently one-directional signals that families are expected to receive information, not contribute to it. Communication that reaches some families consistently and others rarely signals that the school’s outreach is not equitably designed. Communication that arrives only when problems have already occurred signals that the school’s relationship with families is managed by crisis rather than sustained as a partnership. High-performing districts understand that technology is the enabler of a human-centered communication strategy, not a replacement for one. The platform determines what is possible. The professional development, onboarding investment, and communication culture within the district determine what actually happens. Both are necessary. Neither alone is sufficient. ## Building a communication strategy that works for every family The practical work of improving parent school communication in a K-12 district begins with an honest audit of the current state. How many platforms does the district currently use for family communication? What percentage of families have active accounts in each one? What is the response rate to teacher-initiated outreach across different channels and different schools? Which demographic groups are consistently less engaged, and what structural barriers might explain the gap? These questions are not difficult to answer in a district with good data infrastructure. But they are rarely asked systematically, which is why so many districts continue to invest in communication tools without evaluating whether those tools are producing better engagement. The audit creates the baseline. Without a baseline, there is no way to know whether a new platform or a new strategy is working. Once the audit is complete, the strategic decisions become clearer. Consolidation of overlapping tools is almost always the first priority, because fragmentation is the most common structural cause of low family engagement. The consolidation decision is not primarily a technology decision. It is a governance decision about which tools serve the district’s communication goals and which create overhead without proportional value. The implementation of a unified communication platform, when the district has selected one, requires the same intentional onboarding investment for families and teachers that high-engagement districts treat as standard practice. Technology rollouts without robust onboarding produce adoption curves that never reach their potential. The investment in onboarding, made once at launch and renewed annually for new families and staff, compounds over time as engagement rates rise and the platform becomes embedded in the school-family relationship rather than peripheral to it. For districts ready to explore what a unified, data-integrated approach to parent school communication looks like in practice, Edsby’s platform offers a direct demonstration of the consolidated architecture the research supports. To see how Edsby works in a district similar to your own, request a live demonstration at edsby.com/request-a-demo. For additional perspectives from districts that have made the transition to unified family engagement, the Edsby blog at edsby.com/blog publishes ongoing research and case study content from schools at different stages of this journey. ## Frequently asked questions ### **1. What are the biggest barriers to effective parent school communication in K-12 today?** The most common barriers are structural rather than motivational. Fragmented technology stacks that require families to manage multiple platforms create cognitive overload that drives disengagement. Language barriers exclude multilingual families from communication that was designed only for English-speaking households. One-way communication architecture positions parents as recipients rather than participants, reducing the quality and reciprocity of engagement. Reactive rather than proactive outreach patterns mean families hear from the school primarily when problems have already occurred, which erodes trust over time. And inadequate onboarding for new platforms means that even when better tools are deployed, many families never fully activate their accounts. ### **2. How does family engagement software improve outcomes beyond what email and phone calls provide?** Family engagement software improves outcomes primarily by connecting communication to live student data, enabling the specificity and timeliness that generic communication channels cannot provide. When a teacher composes a message to a parent through a platform that simultaneously displays the student’s current attendance rate, grade trend, and assignment completion history, the message they send is informed by context that a phone call or email composed without that data cannot reflect. The platform also creates a documented communication record, supports two-way dialogue that captures family responses alongside teacher outreach, and enables automated alerts for attendance and grade thresholds so that no student slips through the gap between manual monitoring cycles. ### **3. Why do so many school communication apps fail to improve family engagement?** Most school communication apps fail to improve family engagement because they address a narrow slice of the communication problem without solving the structural issue of fragmentation. Adding a new messaging app to a district that already uses 10 platforms does not reduce the burden on families. It increases it. Additionally, apps that operate independently of student data systems cannot provide the specific, timely, personalized communication that research associates with stronger engagement outcomes. Apps built for one-way broadcast miss the two-way dialogue that characterizes genuinely effective school-family partnerships. And apps deployed without formal family onboarding processes never achieve the activation rates that would make their features meaningful. ### **4. What role does data privacy play in school-family communication trust?** Data privacy is foundational to family trust in school communication systems. Research has found that the large majority of apps used in schools share student data with third parties, often without parental consent mechanisms in place. When families discover this, it damages not just their trust in the specific tool but in the school’s technology decisions broadly. Districts that communicate transparently about what data their platforms collect, which vendors process it, and what rights families have to access and correct their children’s records are building a trust foundation that compliance minimums alone cannot provide. Trust is the prerequisite for engagement, and districts that treat privacy as a transparency issue rather than just a compliance issue consistently see stronger family engagement outcomes. ### **5. How can K-12 districts measure whether their parent communication strategy is actually working?** Effective measurement requires moving beyond activity metrics like message delivery rates and login counts toward engagement quality and student outcome metrics. Districts should track parent portal activation rates disaggregated by school, grade level, and demographic group to identify where structural barriers are preventing engagement. Response rates to teacher outreach, the ratio of proactive to reactive communication, and the average time from teacher message to family response reveal whether communication is genuinely two-way and timely. At the outcome level, the metrics that matter most are attendance rates, course completion trends, and whether engagement rates correlate with improvements in the student success indicators that family communication is ultimately meant to support. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** parent school commnication --- ### [What K-12 learning platforms are districts using now?](https://www.edsby.com/what-k12-learning-platforms-are-the-districts-using-now/commentary/) **Published:** September 8, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A neutral look at the K-12 learning platforms districts rely on for daily instruction. **Content:** Ask ten superintendents which K-12 learning platforms their district runs, and there is a good chance you will hear ten different answers, sometimes more than one from the same district. Public K-12 school systems have spent the last decade layering software on top of software, resulting in a patchwork that varies enormously by state, grade band, and even by individual school. Some districts standardized early around a single learning management system. Others still run separate tools for elementary, middle, and high school. Many are somewhere in between, using one platform for grading, another for daily lessons, and a third for family communication. Understanding this landscape matters for anyone responsible for education technology decisions. A district-wide learning management system is not just a place to post homework. It touches attendance, grading, state reporting, special education documentation, and the daily experience of thousands of teachers, students, and parents. Choosing or replacing one is a multi-year commitment, and the wrong fit creates friction that lasts long after the contract is signed. This overview looks at the platforms that show up most often in public school district technology stacks currently. It draws on Edsby’s own published comparison of K-12 learning management systems, which tracks feature-level differences across the field, and it aims to describe each platform’s role rather than argue for one winner. Districts have different histories, different state requirements, and different budgets, and the right answer for a large urban system with a legacy student information system is often different from the right answer for a small rural district building its stack from scratch. ## How the K-12 learning platform market is organized Before looking at individual products, it helps to understand the different categories these tools fall into, because districts frequently mix and match rather than adopt a single system for everything. The first category is the traditional learning management system, often abbreviated LMS. These platforms were built to organize courses, assignments, and grades, and most trace their roots to higher education or corporate training before being adapted for younger students. Canvas, Brightspace, Schoology, and Moodle all fall into this group. They tend to be strong on course structure and content delivery, and districts often value them for consistency across secondary schools that already think in terms of courses and credits. The second category includes platforms built specifically around the K-12 experience from the start, with the daily rhythms of elementary, middle, and high school in mind rather than college semesters. Edsby falls here, alongside more specialized tools like Seesaw that focus on younger grades. A third category consists of general productivity suites that schools have adopted for education, most notably Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams. These were not purpose-built for K-12 instruction, but their low cost and existing presence in many school Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 environments has made them a default option for a large share of districts, particularly for lightweight assignment distribution. District-wide learning management systems also differ in how deeply they integrate with a student information system, how they handle grading and report cards, and whether they support district-level curriculum standards and outcome tracking. These differences rarely show up in a quick product demo, but they matter enormously once a system is running across dozens of schools with different grading policies and state reporting obligations. ## What matters when comparing platforms District technology leaders tend to evaluate these systems against a fairly consistent set of criteria, regardless of which platform they end up choosing. Integration with the student information system sits near the top of most lists. When a platform automatically syncs class rosters, student and family contact information, and grades to and from the SIS, staff avoid duplicate data entry and errors. When it does not, someone in the district office ends up reconciling spreadsheets by hand. Consistency across grade levels is another common concern. Some platforms work well for high school course structures but feel awkward for a kindergarten classroom, or the reverse. Districts that want one experience from kindergarten through twelfth grade weigh this heavily, while districts comfortable running different tools at different grade bands weigh it less. Family visibility matters too. Parents increasingly expect to see grades, attendance, and assignments without needing a separate login for every child or every school. How well a platform surfaces this information to families, and how easily it communicates in multiple languages, shapes the day-to-day experience for a large part of the district community. Assessment and grading depth is a further differentiator. Some platforms offer a simple gradebook. Others support the complex, standards-based grading schemes that many states now require, along with rubric reuse, weighted categories, and report card workflows that route through school and district approval. Finally, districts weigh cost and total contract scope, including whether a single platform can replace several existing point solutions or whether it will simply add another line item to an already crowded technology budget. With those criteria in mind, here is how the major platforms in this space compare. ## 1. Edsby Edsby is a [K-12 learning platform built specifically for public school districts](https://www.edsby.com/why-edsby-on-top-among-k12-digital-learning-platforms/commentary/), and it approaches the LMS role somewhat differently from tools that started in higher education. Rather than centering the product on a college-style course page, Edsby organizes the experience around the class, the school, and the district as connected layers, with classes, grades, attendance, and communication living inside one system. For classroom management, Edsby includes features like seating plans, class file libraries, and asynchronous discussion areas for each class. On the administrative side, it ties directly into a district’s student information system for automatic class and roster setup, and it supports district-managed course models that stay in sync with SIS records rather than requiring teachers to recreate course structures manually each term. Grading and reporting are areas where [Edsby’s K-12 focus is most visible](https://www.edsby.com). The platform includes a gradebook built around K-12 grading schemes, support for standards and outcomes tracking, and formal report card workflows that can route through school administrators before publishing to families. It also includes attendance tools that sync to the SIS and can be customized to a district’s specific attendance terms and policies, along with digital forms and parent communication features that sit inside the same login families already use for grades and assignments. Districts considering Edsby should know that, like most district-wide platforms, the full value depends on integration quality with the district’s existing SIS and on how much of the platform’s feature set a district chooses to activate. A district that only wants basic assignment posting will use a small fraction of what the system offers, while a district that wants unified grading, attendance, reporting, and family communication in one place will find more of the platform relevant to daily operations. ## [![digital learning platforms for k-12](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 2. Instructure Canvas Canvas, from Instructure, is one of the most widely deployed learning management systems in education, with roots in higher education that have carried over into a large K-12 footprint. Districts often choose Canvas because of its course content authoring tools, its large ecosystem of third-party integrations through the LTI standard, and its familiarity among staff who may have encountered it in a university setting. Canvas supports rich course content creation, SCORM and Common Cartridge imports, online testing with a wide variety of question types, and a course-copy feature that lets teachers reuse material across sections and years. Its rubric tools and originality-checking integrations are commonly cited strengths for secondary schools running research-based assignments. Where Canvas differs from platforms built specifically for K-12 is in areas like attendance, report card workflows, and K-12-specific grading schemes, which are not part of its core design and are generally handled through separate systems or a connected student information system. Districts running Canvas alongside a distinct SIS for attendance and official grade reporting are a common pattern, rather than an exception. ## 3. D2L Brightspace Brightspace, from D2L, is another LMS with strong roots outside K-12, in this case spanning higher education and corporate learning before expanding into school districts. It is known for its content authoring flexibility, adaptive release rules, and portfolio features that let students collect and reflect on their work over time. Brightspace supports advanced content organization, LTI integrations, and a fairly deep set of assessment tools, including audio and video answer submissions and video or audio commentary when grading. Its portfolio tools allow students some control over what they share and with whom, which some districts value for showcasing learning over multiple years. As with Canvas, Brightspace’s attendance and district-level report card functionality are more limited compared to platforms purpose-built for K-12 operations, and districts typically pair it with other systems to cover those needs. Some districts appreciate the modularity this creates, since it allows them to choose best-of-breed tools for each function, while others find it adds integration work that a single connected platform would otherwise handle. ## 4. PowerSchool Schoology Schoology, now part of PowerSchool, blends learning management with some classroom and district administrative functions, reflecting its position inside a company that also provides widely used student information system software. This connection gives Schoology an advantage in coordinating with PowerSchool SIS data for districts already using that ecosystem. The platform supports classroom management, attendance recording, and content organization, along with the ability to create assessments across multiple courses simultaneously, a convenience for teachers managing several sections of the same subject. Its integration with official district notification systems and attendance workflows is more developed than in some pure content-focused LMS platforms, since it was designed with an eye toward administrative use cases. Schoology’s depth in areas like district-managed course models tied to the SIS, formal report card workflows, and K-12-specific grading schemes varies depending on which modules a district licenses, since PowerSchool offers Schoology as part of a broader, modular product suite rather than a single fixed package. Districts evaluating it typically need to clarify exactly which components are included in their contract. ## 5. Moodle Moodle is an open-source learning management system with a long history in both higher education and K-12 settings. Its open-source nature means districts can self-host it, customize its code, and avoid the licensing fees associated with commercial platforms, which appeals to districts with in-house technical capacity and a preference for control over their software stack. Functionally, [Moodle](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-moodle/) supports course content, file libraries, plugins for a wide range of activities, and reasonably strong assessment tools including question banks and multiple online test formats. Its extensibility through plugins means districts can add capabilities over time, though this also means the platform’s feature set can vary significantly from one Moodle installation to the next, depending on which plugins are configured. Districts weighing Moodle need to account for the technical resources required to host, maintain, and update the system, since unlike commercial cloud platforms, ongoing infrastructure and security maintenance typically fall to district IT staff or a third-party Moodle hosting partner rather than the vendor. ## 6. Google Classroom Google Classroom is included in Google Workspace for Education, which makes it effectively free for the very large number of districts already using Google’s suite of tools. Its interface is simple, teachers who use Gmail and Google Docs adapt to it quickly, and it integrates directly with the rest of Google Workspace for assignment creation and file sharing. Classroom’s strength lies in straightforward assignment distribution and collection rather than the deeper administrative functions that a full district-wide learning management system typically provides. It does not include native attendance tracking, K-12 grading scheme support, formal report card workflows, or seating plan tools, and rubric or grading features are comparatively lighter than in platforms designed around a comprehensive gradebook. For many districts, Classroom functions as a lightweight layer for day-to-day assignment work, often used alongside a separate student information system and sometimes alongside a more full-featured LMS for the functions Classroom does not cover. Districts that rely on Classroom as their only learning platform typically do so because of cost and simplicity rather than because it replicates the full feature range of a dedicated K-12 system. ## 7. Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams for Education extends Microsoft’s broader Teams collaboration platform into the classroom, and it appeals most directly to districts already standardized on Microsoft 365. Its real-time video, screen sharing, and chat capabilities are generally considered strong, reflecting the product’s origins as a communication and meeting tool. For coursework, Teams supports assignment creation, file sharing through OneDrive integration, and some rubric and grading tools, though these are generally less specialized for K-12 use than platforms built around a dedicated gradebook. Attendance, report card workflows, and K-12-specific grading schemes are limited or absent, similar to the gaps seen in Google Classroom. Teams tends to work best for districts prioritizing synchronous communication and virtual meetings, and for those already deeply invested in the Microsoft ecosystem for other administrative functions. Districts using it as a full learning management replacement generally supplement it with other tools for grading, attendance, and reporting. ## 8. Seesaw Seesaw takes a different approach from the other platforms on this list, focusing specifically on early grades rather than attempting to serve the entire K-12 range. Its core feature is a digital portfolio where young students document their work through photos, video, drawings, and voice recordings, which families can then view. The platform supports student reflections attached to portfolio items, folder and tag-based organization, and the ability for students to control some aspects of what appears in their portfolio. Real-time collaborative and synchronous features common in full LMS platforms, such as breakout rooms or live document co-editing, are not part of Seesaw’s design, since its focus stays on asynchronous work capture rather than live instruction. Because Seesaw’s design centers on portfolio-based documentation for younger students, districts serving middle and high school grades typically look to other platforms for those students, and Seesaw becomes one part of a broader, grade-band-specific technology stack rather than a district-wide standard. ## Why so many districts run more than one platform A recurring theme across these profiles is that very few districts run a single tool for every function. This is not necessarily a sign of poor planning. It often reflects the reality that different grade bands, different subject areas, and different administrative functions have historically been served by different specialists, and the software market grew up along those same lines. Research on K-12 learning management system usage backs up how much variation exists even within a single platform’s use in a district. A [study](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1229422.pdf) analyzing statewide online learning data found that consistent, week-by-week student engagement with the LMS was the strongest predictor of success in online coursework, more so than any single feature of the platform itself, and that time spent in the system needed careful interpretation rather than being read as a simple measure of effort. That finding is a useful reminder for district leaders: the platform matters, but how consistently teachers and students actually use it may matter more than which specific features it includes. This is part of why some districts are moving toward platforms that combine more functions into a single system, particularly for grading, attendance, and family communication, where fragmentation across separate tools creates the most friction for staff and families. Other districts, especially larger ones with entrenched systems and specialized staff for each function, continue to run a deliberately modular stack and accept the coordination overhead that comes with it. ## How district leaders can approach the decision There is no single right platform for every district, and the profiles above are meant to describe differences rather than declare a universal winner. A few practical steps can help district technology leaders make a more informed choice. Start by mapping current pain points rather than desired features. Ask front-office staff where duplicate data entry happens, ask teachers which tool they avoid using, and ask families what confuses them about accessing their child’s information. These pain points, more than any vendor feature list, should drive the priorities for a new or replacement system. Pilot before committing district-wide. A small pilot at a handful of schools, ideally representing different grade bands, surfaces integration issues and usability concerns that a sales demo will not reveal. Involve IT staff early in the pilot so that SIS integration questions get real answers rather than assurances. Ask vendors directly about the features that vary most across this category, including SIS integration depth, K-12 grading scheme support, attendance workflows, and report card processes. These are the areas where platforms diverge most and where gaps are most likely to create ongoing manual work for staff. Finally, weigh consolidation against specialization honestly. A single platform covering more functions can reduce login fatigue and integration work, but only if it genuinely covers those functions well. A modular stack of specialized tools can outperform a single platform in specific areas, but it requires ongoing coordination and integration maintenance that someone in the district needs to own. ## Conclusion The K-12 learning platform landscape in 2026 remains genuinely varied, and that variation reflects real differences in how districts are structured, funded, and staffed. Canvas, Brightspace, and Schoology bring strong content and course management tools with roots outside K-12. Moodle offers open-source flexibility at the cost of added technical responsibility. Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams provide low-cost, familiar tools for lightweight assignment work within their respective ecosystems. Seesaw serves a specific and valuable role in early grades. Edsby takes a K-12-first approach that ties classroom activity, grading, attendance, and family communication into one connected system built around district and SIS structures from the outset. District leaders evaluating this space will get the most useful comparison by testing platforms against their own SIS, their own grading policies, and their own mix of grade bands, rather than relying on feature lists alone. The right fit depends less on which platform is most talked about and more on which one closes the specific gaps a given district actually has. ## FAQs ### 1. What is the difference between a learning management system and a student information system? A learning management system organizes day-to-day instruction, including course content, assignments, and often grading and communication. A student information system is the official system of record for enrollment, demographics, attendance, and historical academic records. Many districts run both and expect them to sync data automatically. ### 2. How long does it typically take a district to switch learning platforms? Timelines vary widely based on district size and integration complexity, but a full transition, including SIS integration, staff training, and family onboarding, commonly spans several months to a full school year. Many districts plan migrations around the summer break to minimize disruption to active coursework. ### 3. Can a district use different learning platforms for different grade levels? Yes, and many districts do exactly this, often pairing a portfolio-style tool for early grades with a broader course-based system for middle and high school. The trade-off is a less consistent experience for families with children across multiple grade bands, since they may need separate logins for each system. ### 4. What role does a state’s grading and reporting policy play in platform selection? States increasingly require standards-based grading, specific report card formats, or particular data reporting structures, and not every platform supports these natively. Districts should confirm that a platform can produce compliant report cards and export data in the formats their state requires before finalizing a decision. ### 5. Do open-source platforms like Moodle cost less than commercial LMS options overall? Licensing costs are typically lower or absent for open-source platforms, but hosting, security maintenance, upgrades, and technical support shift to the district or a paid hosting partner. Total cost of ownership depends heavily on existing IT staff capacity and should be calculated over several years rather than compared on license price alone. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** online learning platforms, K-12 learning platforms, public school districts education technology, district-wide learning management systems, K-12 digital education --- ### [The complete guide to K-12 family engagement systems](https://www.edsby.com/the-complete-guide-to-k12-family-engagement-systems/commentary/) **Published:** September 8, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Everything districts need to know about choosing and implementing K-12 family engagement systems. **Content:** Ask any superintendent what they want from their schools’ relationship with families, and the answer is usually some version of the same thing: parents who are informed, involved, and genuinely partnered in their children’s learning. The research behind that aspiration is ironclad. Decades of studies confirm that students with engaged families attend school more consistently, perform better academically, develop stronger social skills, and are far more likely to complete their education; K-12 family engagement systems are not a soft outcome. It is one of the most reliable levers in education for producing measurable student success. The problem is that most schools have not built the infrastructure to make engagement possible at scale. They have tools, sometimes dozens of them, but not systems. A messaging app purchased for one purpose sits alongside an attendance portal chosen for another, a grade platform bundled with the SIS, and an announcement tool adopted by a single enthusiastic administrator. Families navigate this patchwork with varying degrees of success, and many stop trying. Teachers manage communication across channels that were never designed to work together. Data that could drive proactive outreach sits siloed in systems that cannot share it. This guide covers what genuine K-12 family engagement systems look like, why the current fragmented approach keeps failing families, what the research says about what actually works, and how districts can evaluate and implement the right platform for their communities. ## What a K-12 family engagement system actually is The term family engagement system is used loosely in education technology marketing, and that looseness causes confusion when districts try to evaluate their options. A messaging app is not a family engagement system. A grade portal is not a family engagement system. Even a well-designed parent app is not, on its own, a family engagement system. These are components. A system is something different. A genuine K-12 family engagement system is an integrated platform that brings together the information families need, the communication channels they use, and the data infrastructure schools require, into a single coherent environment. It connects student attendance, academic performance, assessment data, and school communication in one place that parents can access and that educators can use to reach families proactively. It does not require parents to aggregate information from five different logins. It does not require teachers to enter the same data in three different tools. And it does not require administrators to manually merge exports to understand whether their family outreach is working. The distinction matters because schools that purchase individual tools and call the collection a system are solving a different problem than schools that adopt a unified platform. Individual tools address specific pain points. A unified family engagement system changes the fundamental relationship between the school and the home by making engagement easier, more consistent, and more data-informed than any set of disconnected applications can achieve. Parent engagement platforms that qualify as genuine systems share a common architectural principle: the data generated by instruction, assessment, and attendance should flow automatically into the tools used for[ family communication](https://www.edsby.com/why-k-12-school-communication-platform-is-replacing-multi-app-parent-communication/commentary/), and the responses from families should be captured in the same environment that holds the student record. The feedback loop between school action and family response should be complete, documented, and visible to the educators who need it. ## The scale of the family engagement problem in American schools Before examining what effective [K-12 family engagement ](https://www.edsby.com/best-k-12-family-engagement-platforms-compared/commentary/)systems look like, it is worth understanding the full dimension of the problem they are meant to solve. The data here is sobering, and it points consistently to a gap between how schools perceive their communication infrastructure and how families and teachers actually experience it. The [2025 App Overload report, produced by Cornerstone Communications](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/) in partnership with Edsby, surveyed more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America. The findings were stark. Most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate educational apps. Some districts deploy more than 16 officially sanctioned tools. And parent satisfaction in these environments is low: 85% of parents in multi-app environments rated their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower. The SchoolStatus 2024 national survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and administrators revealed a striking contradiction at the heart of the engagement problem. Ninety percent of respondents said school-family communication is important for student success. Only 32% reported actually using student data for data-driven conversations with families. The belief in the importance of engagement is nearly universal. The practice of supporting it with data is rare. Teacher experience in these environments is also poorly understood at the administrative level. The App Overload report found that while 80% of administrators believed teachers were satisfied with current communication tools, teachers themselves reported moderate dissatisfaction driven by the burden of managing disconnected platforms. This gap between administrative perception and teacher reality is one of the defining features of the engagement infrastructure problem. Decision-makers believe the system is working. The people using it daily know otherwise. The stakes extend beyond frustration. A report from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps used in schools share student data with third parties, while 86% of surveyed schools lacked mechanisms for obtaining parental consent before deploying those tools. When families discover that platforms meant to connect them to their children’s education are also sharing sensitive data without their knowledge, trust collapses. And trust is the prerequisite for engagement. ## What the research says about effective family engagement The research base on family engagement in K-12 education is one of the most consistent bodies of evidence in educational science. The relationship between parental involvement and student outcomes has been examined in hundreds of independent studies across multiple decades, grade levels, and demographic groups. A [major meta-analysis published on ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X.) synthesized findings from 23 separate meta-analyses and more than 1,177 primary studies conducted over 50 years. The conclusion was unambiguous: there is a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student academic achievement across grade levels. This is not a marginal finding. The effect sizes are meaningful, and they hold across demographic groups, school types, and measures of academic performance. Students with engaged families show better attendance, stronger academic performance, improved social and emotional development, and greater likelihood of completing high school and pursuing post-secondary education. The mechanism is not mysterious. When a parent is informed about what their child is learning, aware of how they are performing, and able to communicate easily with their teachers, they can provide support at home that reinforces what is happening at school. The combination of school instruction and home reinforcement is simply more effective than school instruction alone. The research also identifies what kinds of parental involvement matter most. Home-based involvement, parents supporting learning at home, reading to children, discussing school, asking about assignments, is consistently more strongly associated with academic outcomes than school-based involvement like attending events or volunteering. This finding has direct implications for family engagement system design: platforms that make it easy for parents to understand and support learning at home are more valuable than those focused primarily on getting parents into the building. Longitudinal research has also found that parental involvement tends to decline as students progress through school, with the steepest drop occurring at the transition to secondary school. A 2024 study examining nearly 2,900 students confirmed this pattern. The implication for K-12 family engagement systems is that middle and high school engagement requires more intentional design than elementary, not less, and that platforms must be configured to support the different communication patterns appropriate to each level. ## The five pillars of an effective family engagement system Districts evaluating K-12 family engagement systems, or auditing the effectiveness of their current approach, benefit from a clear framework for what the system should accomplish. Five pillars define the difference between a platform that families use and one they ignore. The first pillar is consolidation. Effective family engagement systems eliminate the need for families to navigate multiple platforms to get a complete picture of their child’s school experience. Attendance, grades, announcements, and teacher communication should all be accessible through a single interface. This is not a preference for tidiness. It is a precondition for engagement. Families who must manage five logins to understand what is happening at school will not manage five logins. They will disengage. The second pillar is data integration. A family engagement platform that is not connected to live student data is, at best, a communication tool and not a genuine engagement system. When attendance records, grade data, and assessment results flow automatically into the platform that teachers use to communicate with families, outreach can be specific, timely, and actionable. A parent who receives a message that their child has completed 65% of assignments this marking period and has been absent three times in the past two weeks can act on that information. A parent who receives a generic update about the importance of attendance cannot. The third pillar is multichannel reach. Families do not communicate uniformly. Some respond immediately to SMS text messages. Others check email. Some prefer push notifications through an app. A few still need a phone call. Family involvement tools that restrict communication to a single channel will always miss a portion of the families they are meant to serve. Effective platforms allow schools to meet each family in the channel they use most reliably, with automated follow-up when messages are not opened or responded to. The fourth pillar is multilingual access. Language barriers are consistently identified as one of the most significant obstacles to family engagement. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 32% of educators cite language barriers as a major challenge to effective family communication. Family engagement systems that operate only in English are immediately excluding a substantial portion of the communities they serve. Leading platforms now support communication in 100 or more languages, enabling schools to reach every family in the language used at home without placing additional translation burden on teachers or office staff. The fifth pillar is two-way communication. The most persistent design failure in school communication platforms is the one-way architecture. Schools push information to families. Families receive it, or they do not. There is no easy mechanism for parents to respond, ask a question, flag a concern, or share context about their child that the school does not have. Genuine family engagement requires genuine dialogue. Student and parent communication systems that support two-way exchange, where parents can respond to teachers and teachers are prompted to reply, produce qualitatively different outcomes than broadcast-only tools. ## How Edsby approaches family engagement Edsby is designed from the ground up as a unified K-12 platform that connects the learning management, student information, and family communication functions that most districts manage through separate tools. The design principle is that a parent should be able to log into Edsby and see everything relevant to their child’s school experience in one place: current grades, recent attendance, upcoming assignments, teacher messages, and school announcements. Teachers should be able to see the same student record that contains communication history alongside academic and attendance data, without switching systems. The integration between Edsby’s gradebook, attendance tracking, and parent portal means that the information families see is current, not delayed by a sync cycle. When a teacher marks attendance in the first period and a student is unexpectedly absent, the parent notification goes out automatically. When a grade is posted on an assessment, it appears in the parent view without a manual transfer step. When a teacher wants to reach out to a family about a pattern they are observing, the student’s complete academic and attendance record is visible in the same view where the message is composed. For multilingual families, Edsby supports communication across a wide range of languages so that the barriers that cause disengagement in English-only platforms are removed. For districts that have previously managed parent communication across multiple apps, the consolidation Edsby provides consistently results in higher parent portal activation rates and stronger ongoing engagement than fragmented multi-tool environments produce. The App Overload report, produced with Edsby’s support, documented the findings that motivated this design approach: families in fragmented environments are overwhelmed, teachers in those environments are burdened, and the outcomes in terms of parent satisfaction and engagement quality reflect both. Edsby’s unified architecture is a direct response to what that research showed. ## [![k-12 family engagement systems](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)Equity and access in family engagement systems Any honest evaluation of K-12 family engagement systems must grapple with equity. The families who are hardest to reach are often the families whose children most need strong school support. Families with lower incomes, limited English proficiency, unstable housing, or lack of reliable internet access are systematically less likely to engage with digital communication platforms, not because they care less about their children’s education, but because the systems are not designed with their circumstances in mind. Mobile-first design matters enormously for equity. Families with limited access to broadband often have smartphones but not laptops. A family engagement platform whose full functionality requires a desktop browser is effectively excluding a significant portion of low-income families from the start. Platforms built for mobile-first interaction ensure that the features families need most, checking grades, reading messages, responding to a teacher, are optimized for the device they actually have. SMS accessibility extends this principle further. For families who do not regularly use apps or check email, SMS-delivered attendance alerts and grade notifications may be the only channel that reliably reaches them. Family engagement systems that include SMS as a first-class communication channel rather than an afterthought are significantly more inclusive than those that treat it as a backup option. Outreach equity requires intentional configuration, not just available features. Districts should audit their engagement data by demographic group and school to understand which families are consistently unreachable through current channels, which schools have significantly lower parent portal activation rates than others, and whether the families who are least engaged correspond to the students who are most at risk. A family engagement system that does not generate this kind of equity visibility makes it impossible for district leaders to know whether their outreach is serving all families or only the ones already predisposed to engage. ## Implementing a K-12 family engagement system: what districts need to plan for The gap between selecting a family engagement platform and achieving genuinely higher levels of family engagement is bridged by implementation quality. Technology alone does not produce engagement. The human processes, onboarding infrastructure, and ongoing management that surround the technology determine whether a platform reaches its potential. Parent onboarding is the most commonly underinvested component of family engagement system launches. The App Overload report specifically recommends establishing a formal onboarding process for parents as a core intervention for improving engagement. Districts that invest in clear, accessible onboarding materials in multiple languages, that use back-to-school nights to walk families through account setup, and that follow up early in the school year with families who have not activated their accounts see significantly higher adoption than districts that assume parents will figure it out on their own. Teacher onboarding is equally important and often conflated with technology training alone. Teachers need to understand not just how to use the platform but why consistent use matters for family engagement outcomes. A teacher who understands that the messages they send through the platform become part of the student record, that families who receive specific data-based outreach respond differently than those who receive generic updates, and that their communication patterns are visible to administrators is more likely to use the platform consistently than one who was shown how to log in at a staff meeting and left to develop their own habits. Data accuracy is a prerequisite for effective engagement. A family engagement system that pulls from inaccurate attendance records or a grade book full of data entry errors will erode family trust faster than no system at all. Before launching a new platform, districts should audit the accuracy of the data sources that will feed it. Attendance records should be verified against actual student presence. Grade data entry practices should be consistent across teachers. Contact information in the SIS should be current. The platform is only as trustworthy as the data it displays. ## Measuring whether your family engagement system is working One of the persistent weaknesses in how districts evaluate their communication and engagement investments is the reliance on activity metrics rather than outcome metrics. Login counts, messages sent, and notification delivery rates tell you whether the platform is being used. They do not tell you whether family engagement is improving or whether that improvement is producing the student outcomes that justify the investment. Meaningful measurement of family engagement effectiveness requires a layered approach. At the activity layer, districts should track parent portal activation rates by school and demographic group, the percentage of teacher-initiated outreach that receives a family response, and average response time from family to teacher outreach. These metrics reveal whether families are actively using the platform and whether the communication is genuinely two-way. At the engagement quality layer, districts should track the nature of family-school communication. Is outreach initiated proactively based on data patterns, or only reactively when problems have already occurred? Are families receiving information that is specific enough to act on, or general enough to be safely ignored? These distinctions show up in response rates and in the self-reported quality of family understanding of their child’s academic situation. At the outcome layer, the metrics that matter most are the ones the platform is ultimately meant to influence: attendance rates, course completion rates, grade trends across marking periods, and for older students, dropout risk indicators. Districts should establish baseline measurements on these outcomes before implementing a new family engagement system and compare at the one-year and two-year marks. If engagement is genuinely improving, these downstream metrics should begin to move. Equity metrics should be tracked at each layer. Disaggregating engagement data by school, grade level, demographic group, and language community reveals where the platform is serving families well and where structural barriers or outreach gaps are preventing the engagement the platform is capable of supporting. ## Choosing the right family engagement system for your district Districts evaluating K-12 family engagement systems are often evaluating them against a feature checklist rather than against the specific community needs and implementation context that will determine whether the platform succeeds. The most feature-rich platform in the market is not the right choice for a district that cannot implement it well or whose families will not use it. The right platform is one that addresses the specific engagement gaps the district has documented, fits the technical constraints of the existing infrastructure, and can be implemented with the professional development and family outreach investment the district can actually sustain. The first evaluation criterion should be integration depth with existing SIS and LMS tools. A family engagement platform that cannot access live student data from the district’s existing systems is limited to communication functions that do not require student-specific context. Integration depth determines whether the platform can support the data-driven outreach that distinguishes effective family engagement from generic messaging. The second criterion should be the platform’s track record with demographically similar communities. A platform that works well in a predominantly English-speaking, high-connectivity suburban district may not serve a multilingual urban district with high proportions of families without reliable broadband access. Reference conversations with districts that share demographic characteristics with your own are more predictive of outcomes than vendor-provided case studies. The third criterion should be vendor commitment to data privacy and security. Family engagement systems handle sensitive student and family data. Districts should require comprehensive data processing agreements that limit vendor data use to the educational purpose, prohibit sale or re-use of student data, and commit to specific security standards. A vendor that resists these requirements is signaling that data governance is not a priority, which is a disqualifying signal for a platform that will handle information about children. To explore how Edsby’s unified platform addresses these criteria and what implementation looks like for districts at different stages of their family engagement journey, visit edsby.com/request-a-demo to schedule a conversation with the Edsby team. For additional perspective on how schools are approaching platform consolidation and family engagement strategy, the Edsby blog at edsby.com/blog offers case studies and research-informed analysis from districts further along in their own transitions. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is a K-12 family engagement system and how does it differ from a school communication app? A K-12 family engagement system is a unified platform that integrates family communication with live student data including attendance, grades, and assessment results, so that outreach can be specific, timely, and data-informed. A school communication app typically handles one function, such as messaging or announcements, without connecting to the student data that makes communication actionable. The difference is architectural: a genuine engagement system creates a complete feedback loop between school data and family communication, while a standalone communication app adds another tool to an already fragmented digital landscape without solving the underlying integration problem. ### 2. How many school platforms is too many for families to manage effectively? Research from the 2025 App Overload report suggests that fragmentation begins to undermine engagement well before the 10 to 15 platforms that most schools without a unified system currently require. Parent satisfaction drops sharply as the number of required platforms increases, with the steepest decline coming when families must manage more than a handful of disconnected tools. The cognitive load of maintaining separate logins, different notification settings, and varied interfaces for different purposes is not sustainable for most families, and the families for whom it is least sustainable tend to be the ones whose children most need strong school support. ### 3. What does research say about the connection between family engagement and student outcomes? The research connection between family engagement and student academic outcomes is among the most consistent findings in educational science. A meta-analysis synthesizing more than 1,177 primary studies over 50 years found a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student achievement across grade levels. Students with engaged families show better attendance, stronger academic performance, improved social and emotional development, and greater likelihood of completing high school. The effect is not confined to specific demographic groups or school types. It holds broadly, which makes the investment in family engagement infrastructure one of the most defensible in all of K-12 education technology. ### 4. How can districts measure whether a family engagement platform is actually improving outcomes? Effective measurement requires looking beyond activity metrics like login counts and messages sent toward engagement quality and student outcome metrics. Districts should track parent portal activation rates by demographic group, response rates to teacher-initiated outreach, and whether communication patterns shift from reactive to proactive as the platform matures. At the outcome level, the metrics that matter most are attendance rates, grade trends across marking periods, and course completion rates. Districts should establish baseline measurements before implementing a new platform and compare at the one-year and two-year marks, with results disaggregated by school, grade level, and demographic group to reveal equity patterns in engagement. ### 5. What are the most important features to look for in a family involvement tool for K-12? The most important features are those that address the specific barriers keeping families disengaged in your district. For most districts, those features include: a single consolidated interface so families do not need multiple logins; live integration with the SIS so attendance and grade data is current when families view it; multilingual communication support so non-English-speaking families are not excluded; multichannel reach including SMS, email, and push notification so messages arrive in the format each family uses most reliably; and two-way communication functionality so parent responses are captured in the same system that tracks outreach. Platforms that provide all five capabilities in a unified architecture consistently outperform those that treat each as a separate module or tool. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 Family Engagement Systems, parent engagement platforms, school-family communication, K-12 education technology, family involvement tools, student and parent communication --- ### [Best K-12 family engagement platforms compared](https://www.edsby.com/best-k-12-family-engagement-platforms-compared/commentary/) **Published:** August 28, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** Compare leading K-12 family engagement platforms—Edsby, ParentSquare, TalkingPoints, and SchoolStatus—on SIS integration, accessibility, and overall district fit. **Content:** # Evaluating the Best K-12 family engagement systems for Districts District leaders face a real problem keeping families connected to education when schools cobble together disconnected apps for messaging, grades, permission slips, and announcements. Evaluating K-12 family engagement systems requires looking beyond basic messaging apps to eliminate app sprawl, lower administrative workloads, and boost attendance. Standardizing on a single, district-wide platform ensures consistent parent-school communication while safeguarding student data privacy and automating roster management. ## Core Evaluation Criteria for District Leaders When auditing family engagement systems, district procurement teams should evaluate platforms against three main operational pillars to connect every school, grade level, and family without adding administrative burden: - **Administrative Fit & SIS Interoperability:** Native, real-time syncing with primary Student Information Systems (such as PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, or Skyward) to maintain accurate roster data automatically without manual CSV uploads. - **Equitable Accessibility:** Two-way multilingual translation delivered across text, email, mobile app push notifications, and web browsers for non-English speaking households and families without high-speed home internet. - **K-12 Scalability & Governance:** Centralized administrative controls, role-based permission management, searchable communication logs, and integrated operational workflows (including real-time academic visibility, attendance alerts, digital permission forms, and conference booking). ## Platform Evaluation for District Leaders ### 1. Edsby (Best for All-in-One Academic & Operational Integration) Edsby unifies real-time gradebooks, attendance tracking, multi-tier news distribution, and digital consent forms into a single platform that syncs natively with district SIS data. Guardians use one login to check real-time class schedules, track assessment updates, sign digital permission slips and book parent-teacher conferences. - **Key Strengths:** Combines learning management, assessment, attendance, digital forms, and two-way communication under one system; offers robust administrative controls and over 90 K-12 industry awards. - **Implementation Trade-Off:** Its broad feature set requires close upfront coordination between district IT, curriculum coordinators, and administrative teams to configure user roles and grading schemes correctly. - **Ideal District Fit:** Districts looking to collapse 8–12 standalone tools into a single engagement hub tied directly to daily classroom learning and academic reporting. ### 2. ParentSquare (Best for Mass Notifications & Schoolwide Feeds) ParentSquare streamlines district-to-home outreach by consolidating emergency alerts, broadcast notifications, school website updates, and volunteer sign-ups into a single feed. Messages deliver across app push, SMS, email, and voice channels with central administrative governance. - **Key Strengths:** Consolidates multi-channel emergency alerts and routine announcements into a single unified stream for families. - **Implementation Trade-Off:** Lacks native gradebook, attendance tracking, or formal assessment tools, meaning districts must run a separate system alongside it for academic reporting. - **Ideal District Fit:** Districts seeking to centralize mass emergency alerts, parent messaging, and community announcements without altering their existing LMS or gradebook infrastructure. ### 3. TalkingPoints (Best for High-Equity Multilingual Text Outreach) TalkingPoints removes technology barriers for non-English-speaking families using a specialized translation engine supporting over 150 languages. Guardians send and receive two-way text messages using standard SMS on basic mobile phones—no app download or account setup required. - **Key Strengths:** Delivers friction-free, highly accurate two-way SMS translation to reach families who lack smartphone access or high-speed internet. - **Implementation Trade-Off:** Purpose-built strictly for messaging and translation, so it does not support administrative workflows like permission form routing, conference scheduling, or academic analytics. - **Ideal District Fit:** Districts serving highly diverse language populations where mobile app adoption is low and equity-focused text outreach is paramount. ### 4. SchoolStatus (Best for Data-Driven Attendance Interventions) SchoolStatus integrates two-way calls, texts, and emails directly into student data dashboards that track attendance trends, state assessment scores, and discipline logs. Failsafe features automatically convert undelivered text messages to voice calls to guarantee receipt. - **Key Strengths:** Pairs parent communication directly with real-time student data, allowing educators to ground every conversation in attendance and performance metrics. - **Implementation Trade-Off:** Harnessing the platform’s predictive analytics and MTSS intervention pipelines requires ongoing staff training and dedicated administrative oversight. - **Ideal District Fit:** Districts combining attendance enforcement with targeted parent outreach to curb chronic absenteeism. ## Platform Comparison Overview **Platform****Built for K-12****Real-Time Grades****Digital Forms****Two-Way Messaging****Primary Focus****Edsby**✓✓✓✓All-in-One Academic & Administrative Hub**ParentSquare**✓✗✗✓Mass Broadcasts & School Feeds**TalkingPoints**✓✗✗✓Multilingual SMS Equity Outreach**SchoolStatus**✓✗✗✓Data-Driven Attendance Interventions## K-12 family engagement systems Impact on Student Outcomes & Strategic Decision-Making A 2026 mixed-methods study by Learning Heroes and TNTP found that strong family engagement leads to a 6.2 percentage-point reduction in chronic absenteeism—making family involvement a stronger predictor of attendance than poverty rates. Additionally, strong home-school connections helped stem learning loss, reducing proficiency declines by 2.3 percentage points in ELA and 2.9 points in math. These findings highlight why district leaders benefit from choosing unified K-12 family engagement systems over a patchwork of disconnected apps. Consolidating grades, attendance, schedules, and school news into a single login transforms occasional check-ins into an active daily partnership. ## Why Edsby is the Best software for K-12 Districts Edsby stands apart because it treats family engagement as part of the same system teachers and administrators use every day. There is no separate parent portal bolted onto an LMS, no standalone messaging app, and no third-party conference scheduler. Everything lives in one place, staying in sync with your district’s SIS. For district leaders responsible for deploying technology across dozens of schools, Edsby eliminates the complexity of managing multiple vendor relationships. With one platform covering assessment, reporting, family engagement, and analytics, you reduce the training burden on teachers, simplify IT management, and give families a consistent experience regardless of which school their child attends. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** educational digital platforms, K-12 education, Edtech, K-12 Family Engagement Systems --- ### [Teachers vote out other LMSes for Edsby "pretty much unanimously"](https://www.edsby.com/school-board-lms-implementation-edsby-at-durham-catholic-school-board-case-study/customers/) **Published:** June 30, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn how Edsby helped Durham Catholic School board with a unified learning management system. **Content:** ## A “huge hit” and “we’re just scratching the surface,” says the district The Durham Catholic District School Board is a publicly funded Catholic school district located in Durham Region, just east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has 40 elementary schools, 7 secondary schools, and 22,000 students. It’s one of the latest districts in the region to adopt the Edsby digital learning and data platform for K-12, which continues to grow in popularity as more and more regions seek a single, centrally-managed school board LMS implementation. ## LMS RFP & surprising results In the Spring of 2017, Durham Catholic District School Board issued a request for proposals for an initiative driven by a 5-year strategic plan: it sought an LMS that would allow it to engage its teachers, parents, and students more effectively. District IT staff led the effort. Teachers and principals from elementary and secondary schools, staff from the teaching & learning department, and district superintendents were invited to participate in a selection committee. A handful of vendors were immediately disqualified, and a shortlist of 4 companies was assembled from which to receive face-to-face demos. After the presentations, each person on the committee cast votes… and the results were surprising. “We had a lot of teachers using a lot of other LMSes. We assumed they’d be biased towards these systems, which they’d be using for a number of years. But it was pretty much a unanimous decision: Edsby was seen as the best solution, with pretty well all the elements we were looking for,” said Ronald Rodriguez, Chief Information Officer. “We weren’t expecting that,” said Rodriguez, recalling the process. “Because Edsby doesn’t even have a freemium application, teachers could not have gone and registered themselves for an account, because Edsby has to talk to a district’s systems to do what it does. Yet even educators using freemium versions of applications voted for Edsby.” ## Tailored to the needs of local educators, students, and families Why the enthusiasm for Edsby? The selection committee believed it would make it easier for the district to show progress against the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Growing Success framework for the future of K-12 education in the province. “We were very impressed with the way Growing Success pedagogy appeared baked right into Edsby,” said Michael P. Cain, Teaching & Durham Catholic District School, students with Edsby in class. Photo Durham Catholic. Learning Consultant. “We could see it in the Edsby gradebook, and the way Edsby allows teachers to look at assessment and evaluation in many different ways. Even in the report card comments and workflow. The software guides the hand of the educator and keeps them on the Growing Success track.” “The gradebook we were previously using was not designed on the basis of Ontario’s Growing Success framework. Edsby’s gradebook is superior to any other gradebook we have seen; it looks like it was created for our province,” said Cain. ## Soft rollout “The Teaching & Learning department led a series of traveling roadshows, doing ‘lunch and learns.’ Our seminars introduced the basics of Edsby and showed teachers what they could do in terms of parent/student communication. We also in-service teachers at monthly after-school ‘Sharing of Excellence’ workshops as well. These afterschool sessions focused on more specific uses of Edsby, such as using portfolios, online submissions, and online tests, collaborating with Edsby groups, and more,” said Cain. District officials gave no mandate to use the software initially. They let teachers explore it on their own while making targeted elementary report cards and secondary gradebook pilots. In the 2018-2019 school year, 33 of the district’s 40 elementary schools and 5 of its 7 secondary schools made use of Edsby, sending invitations home to parents to join in as well. > We are just scratching the surface of Edsby right now, and already we’re very happy with what we’ve accomplished. We believe this will change the way we do things here.– Ronald Rodriguez, CIO, Durham Catholic District School Board. All Durham Catholic District schools began using Edsby in the 2019 2020 school year. IT planned to firewall any other learning platform at that time, except the district’s official Office 365 document platform integrated with Edsby, and the Ontario Ministry-funded D2L BrightSpace, which the district and all other Ontario school boards received for free and use primarily for distance learning. ## Sanctity of student data One of the biggest motivations for Durham Catholic District School moving to a single, official platform for teaching and learning was to ensure the [safety of student data](https://www.edsby.com/importance-of-student-data-sovereignty-and-azure-hosting-for-k12-schools/commentary/). And in this, the district had the support of the teachers, according to CIO Rodriguez. “We have a good relationship with our elementary and secondary unions,” said Rodriguez. “We raised the issue of student data privacy with them two years prior to moving to Edsby and they understand that our job as a school board is to protect student and parent’s data consistent with the Ontario Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Because we’d been doing this for two years previously, they didn’t perceive moving to Edsby as heavy handed. They recognize this is part of a philosophy of protecting teachers, students and their parents.” Durham Catholic District School recognized concerns around how free or freemium applications would use student data. With Edsby, the district benefits from Edsby’s clear customer data policies and practices: Durham Catholic’s data is owned by Durham Catholic. The data resides in data centers in the district’s own jurisdiction under local government control. The district owns all of its own data and can export it from the Edsby system at any time. Its data is managed with the highest security standards. And there is no monetization of the data by Edsby or any other party. ## “Huge hit” capabilities Among Durham Catholic District School’s favorite Edsby features is the learning evidence system that allows teachers to document, assess, tag, and share visual evidence of a student’s learning. “Learning evidence has been well received by kindergarten teachers, but we’ve also seen teachers in high school using it! In math classes Students using Edsby at St. Paul Catholic School with teacher Delaney Nevins. Photo Durham Catholic District School. In math classes, they’re using Edsby to record student solutions when they’re working in groups on class whiteboards. Teachers are capturing observations and conversations and using this evidence when assessing student progress. Edsby’s learning evidence is helping teachers move away from only considering ‘product’ when evaluating student achievement. We’re seeing uptake of it all the way up to the grade 12 level,” said Cain. > Teachers are just gushing, ‘this is so good—I can’t believe how good this is.– Michael Cain, Teaching & Learning Consultant, Durham Catholic District School Board Teachers are very happy with it. Just last week, kindergarten teachers were just gushing, ‘this is so good—I can’t believe how good this is.’ Prior to this, we were using OneNote Class Notebooks to capture evidence of learning, and there’s a huge difference between a tool that can be used for something vs. a tool that was created to do something. They absolutely love it. At the secondary level, where Durham Catholic District School had been piloting the Edsby gradebook, it’s “been a huge hit,” said Cain. “They love that students can see their grades in real time, that parents can see in real time what’s going on, and don’t have to wait for a midterm report. Edsby gives parents a window into the classroom. You can open up a traditional student agenda and see what’s for homework, but with Edsby, you can also see things a student agenda can’t capture, such as pictures of engaged students, videos of class or school events, evidence of what your child has learned, to name a few.” “As a parent, I love it. My own children’s teachers use Edsby. To pick up your phone and see a picture of your son or daughter engaged in learning, and then to be able to talk with them over dinner about what you saw on Edsby has been transformational,” said Cain. ## No looking back With Edsby, Durham Catholic District School believes it chose wisely. “From what I hear from our teachers, it’s clear we selected the right vendor, solution, and partner,” said CIO Rodriguez. “A teacher told me Edsby’s gradebook is the greatest gradebook he’s worked with in 20 years. Once he saw the Edsby platform, he jumped right in.” “Edsby is always willing to work with us and listen to educators regarding enhancements to the platform,” said Rodriguez. “We don’t see a lot of this from other vendors,” added Durham’s Cain. “We have to give credit to the Edsby development, support, and training teams. Most requests we’ve had have made it into production quickly.” “We are just scratching the surface of Edsby right now, and already we’re very happy with what we’ve accomplished,” concluded Rodriguez. “We truly believe this is a tool that will change the way we do things here: the way teachers teach, the way students learn. All of our investments are guided by ‘how will this improve student achievement?’ We truly believe this is going to help us do so.” **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** school board LMS implementation --- ### [Unified parent communication across a district of 70 schools for more than 10 years](https://www.edsby.com/greater-essex-county-district-school-board/customers/) **Published:** July 2, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** After 10 years as Greater Essex County District School Board's K‑12 engagement platform, Edsby has unified parent communication and made district-wide standardization the norm. **Content:** ## Ten Years of Connecting the Community: A Well-Lived-In Edsby Ecosystem for Student and Staff Success Home to more than 36,000 students across nine communities in the Canadian province of Ontario, Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) operates 55 elementary schools and 15 secondary schools. For the past decade, the district has relied on Edsby as a foundational tool to maintain connectivity across its vast network. The award-winning Edsby digital learning environment puts connections between people at the center of K-12 education. By adopting Edsby for community engagement, learning management, and student well-being, GECDSB has moved beyond disjointed, piecemeal software to a unified ecosystem that serves the entire district. ### A Cohesive Platform The platform’s widespread adoption and heavy daily usage, even on weekends and holidays, is a testament to its utility. “Ten years in, it’s just common now that it’s the tool used,” says Vicki Houston, CEO at GECDSB. “Almost every one of our schools has adopted it for everything it has the ability to do.” This board-wide consistency directly addressed the previously common frustration of fragmented school-to-home communication. Houston highlights the contrast between GECDSB and other districts struggling with digital sprawl. “Some of my counterparts elsewhere are dealing with complaints from parents about having to go multiple places to find information about their children. We don’t have that at all,” Houston adds. By consolidating resources, the district has successfully simplified the user experience for all families. Before Edsby, parents were often required to navigate multiple platforms to track their children’s progress, attendance, and school news. GECDSB’s strategic decision to standardize on Edsby ensured every parent, regardless of how many children they have in the system or which schools those children attend, has a consistent, singular experience. Standardization has become the cornerstone of the district’s engagement strategy. “If I’m a parent and I have children in two different schools or four different grades, I don’t want to go to ten different places to find information,” Houston explains. “We don’t even allow other options. Parents know that everything they need—from attendance reporting to grades—is right there in Edsby.” This firm commitment to a single portal ensures no parent is left navigating a confusing array of tools. > “We don’t even allow other options. Parents know that everything they need—from attendance reporting to grades—is right there in Edsby.” > > – Vicki Houston, CEO, GECDSB ### Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings Beyond communication, the shift to a digital-first ecosystem has yielded significant operational efficiencies. GECDSB has realized meaningful financial advantages by drastically reducing its reliance on traditional paper-based workflows. “There’s definitely a decreased cost in printing alone,” Houston notes, citing a reduced need for printing homework assignments, and the convenience of online submission of tests, essays and online markup by teachers. The digital efficiency extends to daily correspondence as well. “In terms of school letters going home, it’s very rare that happens anymore — it’s all communicated through Edsby. Most of our schools have fully transitioned to making it the digital communication tool for our families.” By eliminating these administrative bottlenecks, the district has successfully reclaimed valuable time and budget, allowing resources to be redirected from printing tasks back to classroom instruction. This transition has also enhanced student privacy. In the past, physical attendance records—often left outside classroom doors—represented privacy risks. By transitioning to a secure, digital attendance system within Edsby, GECDSB has eliminated these vulnerabilities, ensuring that sensitive student records remain protected and accessible only to authorized personnel. Additionally, the real-time nature of digital attendance allows parents to stay informed instantly, removing the administrative back-and-forth typical of paper-based systems. ### Enhanced Accountability and Transparency The centralized nature of Edsby also serves a critical governance function. In the event of an audit or a need to review communications, the district has a single, verifiable archive. “It’s extremely important because you’re not going on a hunt to find information,” says Houston. Whether it is reviewing interactions between staff and families or ensuring curriculum-aligned assessment schemes are being implemented, Edsby provides a level of oversight that is impossible with disconnected tools. This centralization ensures that the board maintains control over its records, preventing the data loss that often occurs when schools operate in silos. Edsby’s additional benefit of functioning as a single, secure audit trail is vital. “Whether we’re dealing with someone using vulgar language, being discriminatory, or a situation where someone has acted inappropriately, we have that information right there,” Houston explains. “When you don’t have control over the other places, things can disappear. With Edsby you have the evidence right when you need it.” This transparency ensures that the district can act swiftly and decisively based on verifiable data. ### Fostering Community Engagement and District-Wide Initiatives Edsby facilitates group conversations across the district. All conversations, resources and activity schedules in each group persist as people come and go, preserving institutional knowledge. “We have sections dedicated to student well-being, our parent advisory councils, student senate, student success, guidance counselors, the grade 8-to-9 transition, our media center, and our school council chair network, to name a few. There are probably 100 more groups,” said Houston. One of the most successful groups at GECDSB has been the community flyer group. By centralizing community events and partnerships with organizations, the district has created a go-to resource for families. This breadth of use extends across the board, with groups like the Student Senate, student well-being sections, parent advisory councils, and the grade 8-to-9 transition program all utilizing Edsby to reach their specific audiences effectively. “We have huge uptake on that,” Houston reports. “Our community partners love it, and parents and kids know exactly where to go to see what is happening in the community specifically related to education.” By acting as a dedicated space for this information, the district has successfully transformed Edsby into a vibrant hub that connects the board with the broader Windsor-Essex community. ### A True Partnership Reflecting on a decade of using Edsby, Houston attributes much of the success to the collaborative nature of the partnership. The district’s IT department has been heavily involved in support, and the vendor relationship has proven to be an extension of the district’s own team rather than a standard transactional service agreement. > “The best piece is the customer service. It goes such a long way … our experience with Edsby is always, ‘how can we help and what can we do to make things better?’ Every single time.” > > – Vicki Houston, CEO, GECDSB The synergy between the district and the vendor is built on mutual respect and shared goals. “It’s not ‘here’s the vendor, here’s the client’—it’s that we’re together ensuring the tool’s success,” Houston says. “Edsby is extremely receptive to the needs of the board, listening to our feedback, and proactively adjusting updates to ensure they don’t conflict with our critical timelines.” For example, the Edsby team coordinates closely with the district to ensure that software updates and maintenance windows do not occur during high-stakes periods, such as report card preparation, preventing any potential technical disruptions during the busiest times of the school year. This responsiveness is best exemplified by the personalized support the district receives. “The best piece is the customer service. It goes such a long way and is definitely very important. Our experience with Edsby is always, ‘how can we help and what can we do to make things better?’ Every single time.” Such dedicated service transforms a software subscription into a lasting strategic alliance. Ultimately, GECDSB’s journey with Edsby serves as a blueprint for large-scale digital transformation: one that prioritizes a unified user experience, administrative efficiency, and a deep, ongoing commitment to the needs of the students, families, and staff who rely on it every day. Houston summarizes the impact on district-wide interaction: “In terms of communication — outstanding. An outstanding way to communicate with your students, your families, and your community.” This ease of use remains the defining feature of Greater Essex’s decade-long success with Edsby and the exceptionally high level of utilization of the application. ## Greater Essex County Unique Edsby Users Per Day ![GECDSB daily Edsby usage by role 2025-2026 school year](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-03-at-9.44.57-AM.png "Screenshot 2026-07-03 at 9.44.57 AM") GECDSB daily Edsby usage by role, 2025-2026 school year Observations: - **All district teaching staff use Edsby every day, as do many admins** – The district has 4,700 total employees (which includes support staff, busing, and facilities). It only has 2,240 teachers, so other educational support staff, administrators, and specialized instructors are also heavily reliant Edsby. - **Student use is exceptionally high** – Out of a student body of 37,450, one third of students use the system every day. Considering early years students (K–3) do not independently log into learning tools, daily use among the eligible middle and high school students is exceptionally high. - **Incredible parent engagement** – Unique parent logins track close to student numbers, averaging 10,000 to 12,000 users on high-activity days. Parents are actively co-managing workloads, checking attendance and academic progress. - **Usage that mirrors the weekly academic rhythm** - **Five Day Cycle** – Edsby usage tracks a clear weekly rhythm. Each month is clearly visualized by clusters of 5 high, dense vertical bars representing Monday–Friday. - **Mid-Week Focus** – The middle bars of each week (Tuesday through Thursday) consistently show slightly higher peaks than Mondays. Friday usage often tapers as the weekend approaches, immediately followed by a deeply recessed bar for Saturday … but with elevated use on Sundays, or the ends of 3 day long weekends, as students and teachers log back in to prepare for the week ahead. - **Usage that mirrors the district’s annual academic cycle** - **Multiple “Peaks”** – The year begins with an aggressive ramp-up in September/October as classes establish digital routines, reaches an annual zenith in November (mid-term assessments), dips for winter, and surges again to a sustained secondary plateau from February through May. - **Winter Break** – The most distinct visual footprint on the chart is the massive, u-shaped canyon spanning late December to early January. Yet traffic never hits absolute zero. *Thousands of students still use Edsby every day in the quietest time of the year*. There is a clear ramp up as the holiday ends, with teachers and students checking schedules and preparing materials ahead of the return. - **Spring Break** – A smaller, secondary gap captures the signature of March Break when, as over the Winter break, thousands of the district’s students still log into Edsby every day. - **The Summer Fade** – June shows a steep decay in traffic down toward baseline levels as courses wrap up, assignments cease, and the academic calendar draws to a close. **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** parent-teacher communication tools, Consolidate school tech stack, K-12 parent portal, Education Management Solutions, free online educational platforms, Learning management system --- ### [A private school's most-used platform](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-st-andrews-college-a-private-school-lms-case-study/customers/) **Published:** July 3, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** How Edsby became the widest-used platform at St. Andrew's College, one of the premier private schools in Canada. **Content:** ### Helping shape bright minds of the future at a leading private boys’ school Edsby is the killer app on the network of one of the leading private all boys’ boarding schools in North America. This private school LMS case study looks at how St. Andrew’s College built one of the most complete deployments of Edsby in North America, and why the platform became central to teaching, [learning, and family communication on campus](https://www.edsby.com/georgia-national-learning-platform-600000-students/customers/). > Edsby is the most important application at our school for teaching and learning” – St. Andrew’s College IT Director Steve Rush. St. Andrew’s, established in 1899, has a beautiful 110-acre campus on which sits a collection of Georgian-style brick and modern buildings just north of Toronto, Canada. It’s known worldwide for its cutting edge use of information technology. In the 1990s, it installed desktop PCs and labs before most public and private schools. In 2002, it put laptops in the hands of all teachers. All students received laptops the following year. In 2009, the school moved to tablet PCs. Edsby was introduced in late 2012. > Edsby is the most important application at our school for teaching and learning St. Andrew’s has long believed that technology has a role to play in helping students and teachers see their daily work, and for parents to be able to see what students are doing on a daily basis. To facilitate this, the school initially looked at systems such as NetCommunity from Blackbaud, Desire2Learn, WebCT (later absorbed by Blackboard) and Angel. But none were appropriate. “None of them focused on reporting back what students do by day, what homework they have,” said Rush. So the school developed its own system using FrontPage HTML editor and an online gradebook program. “We had essentially 100% teacher, student, and parent uptake, but unfortunately FrontPage became unsupported, and much of the work was manual and time-consuming, and so we needed a sustainable replacement,” said former St. Andrew’s IT Integration Committee Chair Jon Butcher. School IT staff set itself a three to five-year goal to build a parent/student/teacher portal that would provide access to all course, student, and parent related data. Then staff learned about Edsby, which was able to provide much of what the school wanted almost immediately. > It was impressive to see 80% of our five-year plan implemented in about five months” – Butcher. It only took St. Andrew’s IT staff three weeks to receive approval to go with Edsby. “That’s very fast for us,” noted IT Director Rush. “Usually we’re a bit more conservative. But as soon as I first saw Edsby, I thought ‘this is exactly what we’ve been looking for.’” ## Journal, report cards and more St. Andrew’s uses virtually every capability of Edsby, relying on the system for daily attendance, school news, course planning, student/teacher class collaboration, coordinating extracurricular groups and teams, class assessments, analytics, report cards, and more. But the heart of what the school relies on it for is the daily journal: the calendar of what students need to worry about minute-to-minute. “Edsby is a single place for students, parents and teachers to see daily work. This is the core of educational communication: students need to know what their current task is, when it is due, and have instant access to related resources. Edsby provides this brilliantly,” said Butcher. “The journal is the best kept secret in Edsby. It’s a big differentiator. It focuses the students and parents on what happened in class and relevant homework,” said Rush. At St. Andrew’s, Edsby also provides a comprehensive overview of information on each student that can be accessed by front office staff, including attendance, academics, group involvements and more. Special Edsby views allow the Headmaster and other staff to watch for at-risk students. Students at St. Andrew’s College make wide use of Edsby. > Course, teacher, and student connectivity in Edsby is superb, and administration is learning to love the easy access to data – Butcher. The school also uses Edsby to generate report cards. > Edsby’s report card system is vastly superior to our previous system,” explained Butcher. “People still thank me in the halls for that one. It saves literally thousands of clicks, frustrations, and complaints every report card cycle. The school’s previous student information system (SIS) tool for report cards required an “unbelievable number of clicks to use their notes system to get into a report,” said Rush. “We used to joke that it was criminal to have to do so much work. Edsby is just brilliant. You easily move from record to record. It automatically saves data. Teachers aren’t losing data. You call up your football team, your kids are there in one list, and you fill them in. The workflow matches what people really do. Report cards are now a joy.” ## Connected to school SIS This independent school software case study also highlights how deeply Edsby integrates with the systems a school already relies on. St. Andrew’s has 613 students, 439 classes, 202 groups and 1555 parents, and they are all hosted on Edsby. Edsby pulls data from and synchronizes with St. Andrew’s Blackbaud SIS. Attendance, grades, notes, daybooks and class postings, reports and other data reside in Edsby, mapped to St. Andrew’s SIS data. Edsby data is exportable. Much like at other Edsby sites, integration with the SIS enables automatic setup of Edsby users and classes, and gives teachers and administrators new ways to access legacy data. > Edsby has provided a much deeper and richer integration with all our other systems, which most teachers could not easily access. Ease of use and productivity are the two main benefits- Butcher. ## Improvements influenced by St. Andrew’s Teachers were quick to use Edsby when it was introduced in the 2012 school year. Parents struggled with it initially, but a focused effort by Edsby, working closely with St. Andrew’s to make parent improvements in 2013, improved usability and resulted in greater adoption. A similar effort is underway to optimize students’ experiences. > As soon as I first saw Edsby, I thought ‘this is exactly what we’ve been looking for. > > We have 100% use of Edsby with our teachers and students. Compare that to any other product on the market where schools are often coercing or even fighting with teachers over the use of clumsy technology- Butcher. The ability to work directly with the software developer and help shape the product was attractive to St. Andrew’s. > “So often you buy off the shelf software and don’t have the ability to affect it. This was our way to influence the product- Rush. > > It was a big aha moment when Edsby said they were willing to work with us to meet our needs. So much of the big box corporate-ware available does not really suit the grassroots teacher- Butcher. There are a few pieces of custom work that St. Andrew’s is still working with Edsby on, such as an online diploma tracking system to confer honors that computationally reflect students’ leadership outside class. The single biggest reason St. Andrew’s would recommend Edsby? “Their willingness to listen and to implement good ideas. In the years we’ve been using it, Edsby has still been in development. This is a good thing. It means we are not stuck with some corporate idea of what educational data flow should look like,” said Butcher. > Edsby has met or exceeded our needs in almost every area- Butcher. For schools researching LMS for private schools, St. Andrew’s experience offers a clear model of what successful adoption looks like: a platform that staff helped shape, that families actually use, and that keeps every stakeholder working from the same daily data. **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** private school lms case study --- ### [Edsby weaves community at 34,000-student district](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-kprdsb/customers/) **Published:** August 6, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** See how the 34,000-student Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board switched to Edsby through grassroots adoption to create a unified learning environment for students, teachers, and parents. **Content:** ## Director of Education Rita Russo sees Edsby as the thread that connects her 34,000-student district Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPR) is a mixed rural and urban district spanning roughly 7,000 square kilometres around Peterborough, Ontario, Canada serving 34,000 students and 3,450 staff across dozens of schools. Running a district that size means a lot of systems, and a concerted effort for a single surface to ensure none of them leave a stakeholder group behind. For Rita Russo, Director of Education and CEO at KPR, that’s the lens the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 gets evaluated through: not as a single feature or a single win, but as the thing that finally let every group in the district — students, staff, and families — show up in the same place. Rita said, “When you see all of your stakeholder groups engaging with one tool, you know you chose the right tool.” > *“I think the key issue that Edsby brought a solution to was everything in one place for students, for staff, and for families. And so I would say that that’s been by far the biggest value that we have seen with Edsby as our platform.” — Rita Russo, Director of Education & CEO, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board* ### **A District That Outgrew Its Old Tools** Standardizing on Edsby didn’t happen by accident. Back in 2014, before Edsby, KPR’s teachers had been assembling their own patchwork of free social media and web tools to fill gaps the district’s official systems couldn’t cover. It was workable in the moment, but a headache for data ownership, privacy, and consistency at the district level. Meanwhile, the information staff needed most, held inside the district’s student information system (SIS), was locked away from the people who needed quick, everyday access to it: teachers in their classrooms. They needed a solution that would give staff instant access to the information they needed. They needed to focus on finding a better, single platform for communication and collaboration. One that wasn’t just focused on teacher/student communication, but that would allow parents a better way to be involved with their school. Solving that gap meant asking harder questions than “what’s easiest to roll out.” It meant weighing on-premises infrastructure against cloud delivery, working out backup and disaster recovery, and figuring out how a cloud platform would integrate with a SIS the district had spent years locking down. Adopting a system like this would be the biggest project KPR would deploy at their school district. ### **Privacy As a Starting Condition, Not An Afterthought** For a system meant to reach every family in the district, trust wasn’t optional. KPR’s leadership was clear that any new platform had to meet the same bar of care the district already held itself to around student data. “I think it’s really important for us to be able to say it is stored locally. That matters to parents, that matters to caregivers, it matters to staff, it matters to every user in the system, and students as well,” said Rita, reflecting on Edsby’s guarantee that KPR’s live, production data, and all backups, would always reside in provincial Microsoft Azure data centers. Dan Fitzgerald, CIO, KPR agreed. “We had to look at the needs of all of our stakeholders. And from the parent’s perspective, privacy around the data was critical. The info we have in our SIS is very secure in its current format, but bringing it into a more open format and different platform meant making sure we still had the same rules, roles and controls in limiting access to confidential information.” That standard is one Rita Russo still points to directly when she talks about what makes Edsby trustworthy at the scale KPR operates at. ### **A Rollout That Became a Movement** KPR built out more than 100 requirements before it ever issued a request for proposal, pulling in input from teachers, students, school offices, and parents alongside its technical teams. Edsby scored highest among vendor submissions and ran a successful two-month pilot across four schools: two high schools and two elementary. The district-wide rollout that followed didn’t go the way anyone planned. A labour situation forced KPR to abandon a phased introduction and open Edsby to every school at once, framed simply as a year of exploration rather than a mandate. What could have been a liability turned into the opposite. Teachers found Edsby on their own terms, and word spread school to school. By allowing teachers to discover Edsby on their own, it led to grass roots adoption. It progressed into a teacher-driven implementation. Teachers embraced the solution as a new and modern way of collaborating. Teachers who are normally reluctant to use technology were finding it easier to use than any other platforms in the past. Principals said Edsby gave them more direct access to their staff and parents in the community. Scott Johnson, Principal at Campbellford District High School and a member of the committee that first evaluated portal platforms for the district, saw that same shift play out at the school level. “In Edsby, everything is in one fast, easy-to-get-to place. If I want to see a student’s report card, see their work in a class, send a message to their parents, all those things are right there. I only need one mobile app or one desktop screen. I use it many times a day, whenever I’m speaking with students or parents. And Edsby helps me solve problems even when I’m not in the building. I can get to it from my phone in the parking lot, from my desk or from home.” ### **Built Into the Way the District Actually Works** What began as a portal has become infrastructure. Russo found the integration with KPR’s SIS deep enough that it changed her own daily habits as the district’s top administrator. “There are so many things that the Edsby platform does for you that others just simply don’t. The integration with the SIS system for us has been seamless, and the Edsby user experience I would say is outstanding.” That ease of use is what Russo credits for the platform sticking with staff long after the novelty of the rollout wore off, including teachers who came in skeptical of new technology. > *“Edsby is intuitive. The digital world that we’re in, with the social media tools that we have, can be overwhelming. Edsby allows users to feel confident they can engage with all of the tools offered to them.” — Rita Russo, Director of Education & CEO, KPR* Edsby has become the anchor for everything else KPR runs in the cloud. It is less a single tool among many and more the front door to all of them. It encourages parent engagement in a way that other platforms struggle to offer. Many parents wanted to be more involved, and with Edsby, they can, all in one place. “Edsby really is now the core of our cloud strategy,” said CIO Fitzgerald. “Edsby has allowed us to easily integrate all our cloud services through one portal by bringing in all the excellent online resources that are available today to our students and parents. It adds that cohesion we’d needed.” ### **A True Partnership** Ask Russo what’s made the platform work long-term at KPR, and the answer isn’t just the product — it’s the relationship with the people behind it. > *“The beauty of the partnership with Edsby has been around how open they are to hearing our feedback and to helping to build better together with us. I would say it’s a key hallmark of the relationship. Working alongside them has helped ensure students, staff and our families have a positive experience. I’m grateful for our work together.” — Rita Russo, Director of Education & CEO, KPR* ![Edsby KPR traffic](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/KPR-traffic.webp "KPR traffic") \#image\_title Observations: - **Virtually all district staff use Edsby every day** – The district has 3,450 staff. Most log in daily. - **Student use is exceptionally high** – Out of a student body of 34,000, about a third of students use the system every day. Considering early years students (K–3) do not independently log into learning tools, daily use among the eligible middle and high school students is exceptionally high. - **High parent engagement** – Unique parent logins track close to student numbers, averaging 10,000 to 12,000 users. Parents are actively co-managing workloads, checking attendance and academic progress. - **Usage that mirrors the weekly academic rhythm** - **Five Day Cycle** – Edsby usage tracks a clear weekly rhythm. Each week is clearly visualized by clusters of 5 high, dense vertical bars representing Monday–Friday. - **Mid-Week Focus** – Friday usage often tapers as the weekend approaches, immediately followed by a deeply recessed bar for Saturday … but with elevated use on Sundays, or the ends of 3 day long weekends, as students and teachers log back in to prepare for the week ahead. - **Usage that mirrors the district’s annual academic cycle** - **Multiple “Peaks”** – The year begins with an aggressive ramp-up in September/October as classes establish digital routines, reaches an annual zenith in November (mid-term assessments), dips for winter, and surges again to a sustained secondary plateau from February through May. - **Winter Break** – The most distinct visual footprint on the chart is the massive, u-shaped canyon spanning late December to early January. Yet traffic never hits absolute zero. *A thousand or more students still use Edsby in the district every day in the quietest time of the year*. There is a clear ramp up as the holiday ends, with teachers and students checking schedules and preparing materials ahead of the return. - **Spring Break** – A smaller, secondary gap appears over March Break when, like the Winter break, some district students still log into Edsby every day. - **Summer Fade** – June shows a steep decay in traffic down toward baseline levels as courses wrap up, assignments cease, and the academic calendar draws to a close. **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** Education Management Solutions, Learning management system, parent-teacher communication tools --- ### [How to give teachers their time back](https://www.edsby.com/how-to-give-teachers-their-time-back/commentary/) **Published:** August 11, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** Newsweek advocates replacing K-12 app sprawl with a unified edtech infrastructure, including systems like the Edsby LMS for K-12. **Content:** If you walk into a typical K-12 classroom today, you won’t find a shortage of technology. But you will likely find an overwhelmed teacher. In the recent feature, [*The Next EdTech Revolution Should Focus on Infrastructure, Not Apps*](https://www.newsweek.com/the-next-edtech-revolution-should-focus-on-infrastructure-not-apps-12286690), Newsweek highlights that 84% of educators feel buried by daily tasks, pointing to a major culprit: software sprawl. While schools rely heavily on technology for teaching and operations, constantly jumping across dozens of disconnected programs creates immense administrative friction. When a teacher has to log into one app to take attendance, another to post assignments, a third to message parents, and a fourth to review student data, technology stops being a tool and becomes a hurdle. It isolates teachers and drains the time and energy that should be going toward what actually matters: the students. ### **The Shift to a Unified System** For years, the default solution to educational challenges was “there’s an app for that.” Need to boost reading scores? Buy this software. Want to improve parent communication? Download this extension. School leaders and decision-makers are realizing that tossing more apps at teachers is like trying to fix traffic by adding more cars to the road. The next true edtech revolution isn’t about buying the shiniest new point solution—it’s about building cohesive, unified edtech infrastructure. As Newsweek points out, Educators don’t need *more* tools; they need *better-connected* tools that reflect the realities of the modern classroom. ### **The Revolution in Action** The perspective published in *Newsweek* highlights a growing shift in how district technology is evaluated: moving away from piecemeal software and toward a single operational backbone. When applied to K-12 environments, platforms designed around this infrastructure model—such as **Edsby**—illustrate what this transition looks like in practice: - **Consolidated Workflows:** Rather than requiring educators to navigate separate software for learning management, attendance, grading, analytics, and parent outreach, these core tasks operate within a single, connected workspace. - **Centralized Data:** Student records, assessment data, and communication logs remain unified, allowing teachers, administrators, and parents to view real-time progress without cross-referencing disjointed systems. - **System-Wide Governance:** Security, verified logins, and privacy permissions are configured globally at the district level, establishing institutional trust without burdening individual teachers with administrative oversight. ### **Looking Ahead** *Newsweek*‘s coverage makes one thing clear: if we want to support our educators, we need to listen to them. They aren’t asking for more software; they are asking for simplicity, cohesion, and freedom to teach. It’s time to stop laboring over disjointed apps and start investing in robust infrastructure. - **Read the full perspective on Newsweek:** *[The Next EdTech Revolution Should Focus on Infrastructure, Not Apps](https://www.newsweek.com/the-next-edtech-revolution-should-focus-on-infrastructure-not-apps-12286690)* - **Explore how Edsby builds connected infrastructure:** *[Edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/)* **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school management system, school administration software, educational digital platforms, digital school management --- ### [K-12 software: Approaches of Canadian & US school boards](https://www.edsby.com/k-12-software-approaches-of-canadian-and-us-school-boards/commentary/) **Published:** May 18, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** K-12 software in Canada vs the US: how the approaches differ and what it means for schools. **Content:** When education technology vendors design K-12 software, they typically target the largest market. And the largest market is the United States. American school districts collectively spend billions of dollars annually on educational technology, and most major platforms, from[ learning management platforms](https://www.edsby.com/top-online-learning-platforms-for-modern-schools/commentary/) to student information systems, were built with US curriculum standards, US regulatory frameworks, and US school governance models in mind. This creates a structural mismatch for Canadian school boards. Canadian education operates under different legislative frameworks, different curriculum models, different data privacy obligations, and different governance structures. Understanding these differences is essential for Canadian school boards evaluating K-12 software options, and for vendors seeking to serve the Canadian market effectively. ## Governance structure differences The most fundamental difference between Canadian and US K-12 software contexts is governance structure. In the United States, public education is governed primarily at the state level, with significant local control at the district level. The result is thousands of individual districts making independent technology purchasing decisions. In Canada, public education is governed at the provincial level, with school boards operating under provincial authority. The provincial layer creates both constraints and opportunities that do not exist in the US model. In Canada, provincial Ministries of Education often play a role in approving or recommending technology platforms for use by school boards within the province. Some provinces have centrally managed SIS platforms that all boards use, which creates mandatory integration requirements for any LMS deployed in the province. Others have recommended vendor lists that boards reference in procurement decisions. This provincial coordination means that a vendor who wins approval at the provincial level can access a much larger market than the equivalent win in a single US state would represent. For US vs Canada LMS decisions, the governance difference also means that Canadian school boards often have stronger legal frameworks governing their purchasing decisions than US districts do. Provincial procurement rules may require specific privacy assessments, accessible technology compliance verification, or official language capability documentation before a contract can be signed. Vendors who approach the Canadian market with a US sales model often underestimate these requirements. ## Data privacy frameworks and their software implications Data privacy is the area where Canadian and US K-12 software requirements diverge most significantly. The United States has a patchwork of federal and state-level [student data privacy ](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/)laws. FERPA provides baseline federal protection for education records. COPPA covers digital services for children under 13. Individual states have added their own student privacy legislation, but the requirements vary substantially, and enforcement has been uneven. Canada’s approach to student data privacy is more consistently rigorous at the provincial level. British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec each have comprehensive provincial privacy legislation that imposes specific obligations on how student data is collected, used, and stored. Several provinces have issued guidance that strongly favors or effectively requires domestic data hosting for student records. This is a fundamentally different starting point from most US states. The software implication is significant. US-built K-12 software typically defaults to US-based hosting, uses US-oriented consent frameworks, and is designed for FERPA compliance rather than for the specific requirements of Canadian provincial legislation. Canadian school boards deploying US-built software without carefully evaluating these gaps take on real compliance risk. The most responsible approach is to require vendors to document specifically how their platform meets each applicable provincial requirement rather than accepting general privacy compliance claims. ## Curriculum alignment and gradebook differences Curriculum alignment is another area where the comparison of education systems reveals important differences. US K-12 software is typically built around the Common Core State Standards, or state-specific standards in the states that rejected Common Core. Gradebook systems, assessment tools, and learning content libraries in US-built platforms reflect these standards. Canadian provinces each have their own curriculum frameworks that differ substantively from US standards. Ontario uses a multi-subject curriculum with specific achievement chart categories that describe four levels of student achievement across thinking, communication, knowledge, and application dimensions. British Columbia uses a competency-based curriculum model that emphasizes big ideas and core competencies rather than discrete content standards. Alberta has a long-established outcomes-based framework. Quebec operates a competency-based system in French. An [LMS gradebook ](https://www.edsby.com/complete-guide-to-choosing-the-best-lms-for-k12/commentary/)that was designed for US standards will not naturally accommodate these frameworks. Teachers using such a system must work around the built-in assumptions or accept reporting outputs that do not accurately reflect their provincial assessment model. Over time, these workarounds accumulate into significant inefficiencies and compliance risks. [![k-12 software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Language requirements in Canadian K-12 software Language is a dimension of the education systems comparison that has no direct US equivalent. Canada’s Official Languages Act requires federal institutions to operate in both English and French. Many provinces have their own official bilingualism requirements. Quebec school boards operate primarily in French. New Brunswick is officially bilingual. A substantial number of Ontario and Manitoba boards serve significant francophone populations. US-built K-12 software is typically designed for English as the primary language, with Spanish translation available as a secondary option. For Canadian school boards in francophone or bilingual contexts, this is not sufficient. The platform needs to function as a first-language French environment, with French-language content, French-language support, and French-language training resources developed by or reviewed by francophone educators rather than machine-translated. Edsby addresses this directly as a platform built in Canada, with full English and French capability designed to serve the range of Canadian linguistic contexts rather than treating French as an add-on. This is one of the most concrete differentiators between a K-12 software platform built for Canada and one built for the US market and adapted. ## EdTech adoption patterns: US vs Canada US school districts tend to adopt technology at scale quickly, driven by large ed-tech investment markets and aggressive vendor sales cycles. The result is often rapid adoption followed by fragmentation as districts accumulate tools faster than they can integrate them. The App Overload problem described by Cornerstone Communications is largely a US phenomenon, though Canadian boards are not immune. Canadian school boards tend to adopt technology more slowly and deliberately, partly because provincial governance structures create longer procurement cycles and partly because boards are often working with more constrained budgets and IT resources. This slower pace can work to boards’ advantage when it means avoiding technologies that prove problematic, but it can also mean missing the window on genuinely valuable innovations. According to multiple [comparative research on education technology adoption in Canada ](https://jrre.psu.edu/)and the US, the Canadian edtech market is increasingly recognizing the value of unified platforms that address the full range of board requirements, including data privacy, curriculum alignment, bilingualism, and family engagement, rather than the fragmented best-of-breed approach that characterized earlier generations of school technology deployment. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Why can US-built K-12 software fail to meet Canadian school board requirements? US-built K-12 software is typically designed around US curriculum standards, US regulatory frameworks like FERPA and COPPA, US-based cloud hosting, and US governance structures. Canadian school boards operate under provincial privacy legislation that may require domestic data hosting, bilingual platform capability, provincial curriculum alignment, and provincial procurement compliance that US-designed software may not accommodate without significant customization. ### 2. What is the most important data privacy difference between US and Canadian K-12 software requirements? The most significant difference is data residency. Several Canadian provinces have guidance or requirements that student data be stored within Canada. This requirement has no direct equivalent in most US states. A platform that stores data in US data centres may satisfy US privacy requirements but fail to meet the expectations of several Canadian provincial governments and their school boards. ### 3. How do provincial curriculum differences affect LMS gradebook selection in Canada? Canadian provinces use distinct achievement reporting models that differ substantially from US [standards-based approaches](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/). Ontario’s achievement chart categories, British Columbia’s competency-based model, and Alberta’s outcomes framework each require specific gradebook configurations. An LMS designed for US standards will typically require workarounds to produce reports that meet provincial requirements, creating ongoing inefficiency for teachers and administrators. ### 4. Do Canadian school boards face different procurement requirements than US districts? Yes, in several important ways. Provincial procurement rules often require formal privacy impact assessments, accessible technology compliance verification, and documentation of official language capability before a contract can be signed. Some provinces have recommended vendor lists or provincial SIS requirements that effectively pre-select integration requirements. Canadian school boards typically have longer, more document-intensive procurement processes than most US districts. ### 5. What should a Canadian school board look for specifically in an LMS vendor’s Canadian capabilities? A Canadian school board should look for: Canadian data centre hosting with verifiable data residency documentation; full French language capability developed for and tested by francophone users, not machine translation; existing tested integrations with provincial SIS platforms; gradebook configurations that support provincial curriculum reporting models; and evidence of successful deployments in comparable Canadian school boards with verifiable references. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 software, US vs Canada LMS, education systems comparison, K12 software differences --- ### [Best unified K-12 platforms for large districts](https://www.edsby.com/best-unified-k12-platforms-for-large-districts/commentary/) **Published:** July 24, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A ranked comparison of unified K-12 platforms built for large school districts. **Content:** Large school districts face a version of the platform decision that smaller systems rarely encounter at the same scale. A single point of friction, a gradebook that does not talk to a communication tool, or a signature process that still requires printing and scanning a form, gets multiplied across dozens of schools, hundreds of staff, and tens of thousands of families. What works as a manageable inconvenience in a small district becomes a genuine operational drag once it is repeated across an entire large system. This comparison ranks the unified K-12 platforms large district leaders most often evaluate, using four criteria that matter most at scale: standards-based grading, family engagement, district-wide reporting, and digital signatures. Edsby leads the list because it was built as a single connected environment for all four of these functions, followed by five widely adopted alternatives, each of which brings real strengths alongside meaningful gaps for a large district’s specific needs. ## Why these four criteria matter for large districts Standards-based grading has become a near-universal priority as districts move away from grading systems that blend academic mastery with behavior and effort into a single misleading number. For a large district, the challenge is not just supporting [standards-based grading](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-standards-based-assessment-in-k12/commentary/) in one school, but ensuring consistency across every school and every grade level, which requires a platform built to support shared proficiency scales at scale rather than one that only works well in a single classroom’s configuration. Family engagement matters even more at scale because the volume of families a large district serves makes generic, one-way communication increasingly inadequate. A district with fifty schools cannot rely on individual teachers to compensate for a platform’s weak family communication tools the way a smaller school sometimes can. District-wide reporting becomes essential once a system spans enough schools that no single administrator can informally track what is happening everywhere at once; leadership needs consolidated, accurate data without manually reconciling exports from a dozen different tools. And digital signatures matter for large districts specifically because the volume of enrollment forms, permission slips, and administrative approvals moving through a big system makes paper-based or fragmented e-signature processes a genuine operational bottleneck rather than a minor inconvenience. ## 1. Edsby Edsby has been named the [best LMS for six consecutive years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsby) and [ranks first](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2026-finalists-winners/) because it treats these four capabilities- standards-based grading, family engagement, district-wide reporting, and digital signatures- as parts of a single connected system rather than separate features bolted onto different tools. The [digital learning platform’s](https://www.edsby.com/why-edsby-on-top-among-k12-digital-learning-platforms/commentary/) gradebook natively supports proficiency-based scales, allowing large districts to maintain consistent standards-based grading practices across every school without forcing teachers into workarounds or parallel spreadsheets. Family engagement in Edsby is tied directly to the underlying academic and attendance data, which means the scale problem large districts face- keeping tens of thousands of families genuinely informed rather than simply notified- is addressed by design rather than left to individual schools or teachers to solve independently. District-wide reporting draws from this same unified data, giving administrators a consolidated view of standards-based grading trends, attendance patterns, and communication history across every building without requiring manual data assembly. Digital signatures are integrated into the same secure environment used for the rest of the platform’s family and staff-facing workflows, allowing large districts to move enrollment, permission, and approval processes through the system without printing, scanning, or routing paper forms between offices. For a large district managing this volume of documentation across many schools, having signature workflows live inside the same system as the underlying student and family data removes a significant source of administrative friction that separate, disconnected e-signature tools do not fully solve. [![unified k-12 platforms](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)unified k-12 platforms## 2. Instructure Instructure, primarily known for its Canvas platform, brings strong academic content management and a robust set of tools for organizing curriculum across a large district’s many schools and course catalogs. Its strength in course-level detail and assessment flexibility appeals particularly to secondary schools with complex scheduling needs. Standards-based grading support in Instructure is available but requires more district-level configuration to ensure consistency across a large number of schools than a platform built around proficiency scales as a core structure. Family engagement tools are functional but were not the platform’s original design focus, which means large districts often need to layer additional communication tools on top of Canvas to reach the level of family visibility they expect. District-wide reporting is possible through Canvas’s analytics tools, though large districts sometimes need supplementary reporting solutions to fully consolidate data across every school. Digital signatures are not a native part of the platform, requiring large districts to adopt a separate e-signature tool and manage the integration work that entails. ## 3. Schoology Schoology, now part of the Instructure family, offers detailed standards alignment and gradebook tools that many secondary educators find comprehensive, along with strong curriculum mapping capabilities that support consistency across a large district’s course offerings. Family engagement in Schoology operates primarily through a portal model, where parents check a dashboard rather than receiving proactively structured updates tied to specific classroom events. For a large district managing family communication across many schools, this portal-dependent approach places more of the engagement burden on individual families initiating contact rather than the system surfacing information automatically. District-wide reporting is available within Schoology’s own ecosystem but often requires additional configuration to fully consolidate across a large number of schools. Like Instructure, Schoology does not natively include digital signature capability, meaning large districts need a separate tool for enrollment and permission workflows. ## 4. Google Classroom Google Classroom’s broad adoption across large districts often stems from existing familiarity with Google Workspace tools already used for email and document management. This familiarity supports fast initial rollout, particularly among teachers already comfortable in the Google ecosystem. Standards-based grading is not a core built-in feature of Google Classroom, and large districts pursuing consistent proficiency-based practices generally need a separate gradebook or student information system to support this work properly. Family engagement is limited to relatively basic email summaries rather than the kind of detailed, real-time visibility large districts increasingly expect. District-wide reporting requires pulling data from other systems, since Google Classroom was not designed as a comprehensive administrative reporting tool. Digital signatures are not natively supported, requiring large districts to rely on separate Google Forms-based workarounds or a dedicated e-signature product layered on top. ## 5. Seesaw Seesaw brings genuine strength in elementary family engagement, with a student-friendly interface that lets young learners share their work directly with families in near real time. For large districts with significant elementary enrollment, this can create meaningful engagement at the early grades. Standards-based grading and district-wide reporting are considerably more limited in Seesaw, since the platform was designed primarily around elementary portfolio sharing rather than the proficiency tracking and administrative reporting that secondary schools and district offices require. Large districts adopting Seesaw typically need a separate platform for standards-based grading and district-wide reporting across their secondary schools, which reintroduces the fragmentation a unified platform decision is usually meant to solve. Digital signatures are not part of Seesaw’s core functionality, requiring a separate tool for large district enrollment and permission workflows. ## 6. ParentSquare ParentSquare has built a strong reputation specifically around family engagement and communication, offering large districts a dedicated tool for reaching families through multiple channels, including translated messaging that supports linguistically diverse communities. As a communication-focused platform, ParentSquare’s strength in family engagement is real, but it was not designed to handle standards-based grading or the academic gradebook functionality large districts need, which means it must be paired with a separate academic system. District-wide reporting within ParentSquare is centered on communication metrics rather than the full academic and attendance picture district leaders need for comprehensive oversight. Digital signature capability exists within ParentSquare’s ecosystem for certain forms and permission workflows, giving it an edge over some of the purely academic platforms on this list in that specific area, though it remains one piece of a larger technology stack rather than a unified solution spanning all four criteria. ## Comparing the platforms across all four criteria Looking across this comparison, a consistent pattern emerges. Platforms built primarily around academic content, Instructure, Schoology, and Google Classroom, tend to offer stronger standards-based grading support but weaker family engagement and no native digital signature capability. Platforms built primarily around family communication, Seesaw and ParentSquare, offer genuine engagement strengths but lack the academic depth and district-wide reporting large districts need for full operational oversight. None of the five alternatives on this list combines all four criteria inside a single platform the way Edsby does. This matters most for large districts specifically because the cost of managing multiple disconnected systems scales directly with district size. A gap that requires a manual workaround in one school becomes a workaround repeated across fifty schools in a large district, multiplying both the staff time required and the risk of inconsistent data between schools that are all supposed to be operating from the same district-wide standards. This pattern also shows up in how districts handle staff turnover and onboarding. A large district with several disconnected systems needs to train every new hire, whether a teacher, a front office administrator, or a district-level analyst, across each of those separate tools, which multiplies onboarding time and increases the chance that a new staff member misses a step in a workflow that spans [multiple platforms](https://www.edsby.com/why-k-12-school-communication-platform-is-replacing-multi-app-parent-communication/commentary/). A unified system reduces this training burden considerably, since staff learn one platform’s logic and apply it consistently across grading, communication, reporting, and signature workflows rather than context switching between several different interfaces with their own separate rules and quirks. Vendor management is another often overlooked cost of a fragmented approach. Each additional platform in a district’s technology stack represents its own contract renewal cycle, its own support relationship, and its own security and privacy review that the district’s legal and IT teams need to conduct and maintain over time. For a large district juggling many vendor relationships at once, consolidating onto a single unified platform reduces this administrative overhead meaningfully, freeing central office staff to focus on strategic priorities rather than managing a growing list of vendor contracts and renewal deadlines. ## What the research says about integrated systems Academic [research](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228760344_Building_an_Integrated_Student_Information_System_in_a_K-12_School_System) on school technology architecture has long identified fragmented, disconnected systems as a significant operational burden for K-12 institutions. A study examining the challenge of building integrated student information systems found that districts operating multiple disconnected systems consistently experienced inconsistent data, duplicate manual data entry, and substantial non-productive staff time spent on technical support and system maintenance, problems that a properly integrated architecture is specifically designed to eliminate. This research reinforces why large district leaders should weigh platform unification as heavily as any individual feature when comparing options. The operational cost of running disconnected systems compounds with scale, which makes the case for a genuinely unified platform strongest precisely for the large districts this comparison is built around. ## Evaluating vendors for a large district rollout Large district technology committees should ask a consistent set of questions of every vendor under consideration. Does the platform support standards-based grading consistently across every school, or does each building configure it independently in ways that could produce inconsistent data? Does family engagement scale to tens of thousands of families without requiring additional communication tools layered on top? Can district administrators generate consolidated, district-wide reports without manually assembling exports from multiple systems? And does the platform include native digital signature capability, or will the district need to manage a separate e-signature vendor and the integration work that requires? These questions matter more for large districts than for smaller systems, since the operational consequences of getting the answer wrong scale directly with the number of schools, staff, and families a district serves. ## Choosing the right platform for your district The right choice ultimately depends on a large district’s specific priorities and existing technology environment. Districts with strong secondary academic complexity may lean toward the curriculum depth of Instructure or Schoology, provided they are prepared to layer additional tools for family engagement, reporting consolidation, and digital signatures. Districts with a significant elementary population may value Seesaw’s engagement strengths for younger grades, while those prioritizing dedicated family communication above all else may find ParentSquare’s focus valuable as a standalone communication layer. For large district leaders who want a single platform that unifies standards-based grading, family engagement, district-wide reporting, and digital signatures without assembling that functionality from multiple separate vendors, Edsby’s purpose-built architecture offers the most complete answer to all four criteria heading into the 2026 school year. This completeness matters not just for the technology committee making the initial decision, but for the years of daily use that follow. A platform selected primarily on a feature checklist can still leave a large district managing gaps once the actual rollout begins, particularly around the kind of cross-functional needs- grading, communication, reporting, and signatures together- that this comparison has focused on throughout. Districts that weigh all four criteria together, rather than treating them as separate procurement decisions handled by different departments, tend to arrive at a more coherent, more sustainable technology environment than those that select each function’s tool independently and hope the pieces fit together well enough once implementation begins. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why do these four criteria matter more for large districts than small ones? The operational cost of gaps in standards-based grading consistency, family engagement, district-wide reporting, and digital signature workflows compounds with scale, so problems that are manageable in a single school become significant burdens when repeated across dozens of schools in a large district. ### Does Edsby support digital signatures natively, or does it require a separate tool? Edsby integrates digital signature capability into the same secure environment used for the rest of the platform’s family and staff workflows, which means large districts do not need to adopt and integrate a separate e-signature vendor. ### Can a large district use different platforms for elementary and secondary schools? Some districts do this, particularly when a platform like Seesaw is used for elementary engagement, but it typically requires maintaining two separate systems and reconciling data at the district level, which adds administrative overhead as the district scales. ### How does district-wide reporting differ between these platforms? Platforms built around academic content generally require additional configuration or supplementary tools to produce consolidated district-wide reports, while a unified platform like Edsby draws district-wide reporting from the same underlying data used across grading, attendance, and communication. ### What is the biggest risk of choosing a platform that only covers some of these four criteria well? The main risk is reintroducing fragmentation at scale, where a large district ends up managing several disconnected vendors to cover functions a single unified platform could otherwise handle, increasing both administrative overhead and the risk of inconsistent data between systems. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school district software, student progress tracking, Unified K-12 platform, standards-based grading, district-wide reporting, family engagement, digital signatures --- ### [Top Canvas alternatives in 2026 for K-12 districts](https://www.edsby.com/top-canvas-alternatives-for-k12-districts/commentary/) **Published:** February 12, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A detailed guide to the best Canvas alternatives and competitors for K-12 districts in 2026. **Content:** In 2026, many districts are actively evaluating Canvas alternatives that better support district-wide instruction, data visibility, and family engagement. As digital learning strategies mature, schools are comparing Canvas LMS competitors to determine whether Canvas still meets evolving operational and academic needs. This shift has driven increased interest in modern Canvas replacements and practical alternatives to Canvas for schools designed specifically for scalable K-12 environments. In 2026, districts are no longer looking only for course delivery tools. They want platforms that unify instruction, communication, and administration. This cluster blog builds on the pillar comparison and explores leading Canvas LMS competitors, with a focus on real district use cases rather than feature checklists. This guide is especially relevant for decision-makers evaluating a Canvas replacement or researching alternatives to Canvas for schools that scale beyond individual classrooms. ## Why some districts outgrow Canvas Canvas performs well as a content-driven LMS. However, many districts experience challenges once usage expands beyond instructional delivery. Common reasons districts explore alternatives include: - Heavy reliance on third-party tools for communication and data - Limited built-in parent engagement features - Administrative visibility dependent on integrations - Complexity for younger grades and non-technical users Canvas works best when paired with a strong SIS and separate communication systems. For districts aiming to reduce system fragmentation, this can become a long-term limitation. As a result, many districts begin evaluating Canvas alternatives that are designed specifically for K-12 ecosystems rather than adapted from higher education. ## What districts should look for in a Canvas alternative Before comparing platforms, it is important to define what “better than Canvas” actually means at the district level. A true Canvas replacement should address gaps without creating new ones. Key evaluation criteria often include: - Native K-12 design across grade levels - Deep SIS integration - Unified parent, student, and teacher experience - District-level dashboards and reporting - Scalable governance and role-based access With these priorities in mind, the following platforms stand out among current Canvas LMS competitors. ## Edsby: A district-first alternative to Canvas Among all Canvas alternatives schools, Edsby is often considered the most comprehensive for district-wide use. Unlike Canvas, [Edsby was built specifically for K-12 districts](https://www.edsby.com/), not adapted from higher education. Edsby combines learning management, grading, communication, and analytics into a single platform. This unified design reduces dependence on external systems and creates a consistent experience across schools. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) Key advantages of Edsby as a Canvas alternative include: - Real-time SIS integration - Built-in parent and student engagement tools - Centralized dashboards for administrators - Consistent workflows across grade levels In a direct [Canvas vs Edsby comparison](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/), the difference lies in scope. Canvas excels in course structure, while Edsby focuses on the full educational ecosystem. For districts prioritizing data integrity, visibility, and alignment, Edsby often emerges as a strong long-term option. ## Schoology: A classroom-focused Canvas competitor Schoology is one of the most frequently evaluated Canvas LMS competitors, especially for districts that want a more K-12-oriented classroom experience. It offers flexible course tools and strong collaboration features. Teachers often prefer Schoology for: - Intuitive interface - Built-in discussions and collaboration - Faster onboarding compared to Canvas As a Canvas competitor, Schoology reduces instructional complexity and supports blended learning well. However, it remains primarily classroom-focused. District-level reporting and governance often rely on integrations rather than native tools. Schoology works best for districts that want to replace Canvas without dramatically changing their instructional model. ## Google Classroom: A lightweight alternative, not a full replacement Google Classroom is often mentioned when discussing alternatives to Canvas for schools, but it serves a different purpose. It is a classroom workflow tool rather than a full LMS. Districts choose Google Classroom for: - Ease of use - Seamless Google Workspace integration - Minimal training requirements However, Google Classroom lacks many features districts expect from a Canvas replacement, including advanced reporting, standardized grading models, and district dashboards. It is best viewed as a supplement or entry-level alternative rather than a full competitor. For districts moving away from Canvas due to complexity, Google Classroom may feel easier, but it often requires additional systems to fill gaps. ## Moodle-based platforms: Flexible but resource-intensive Moodle and Moodle-based LMS solutions are open-source Canvas alternatives that appeal to districts seeking customization and control. These platforms can be tailored extensively to match instructional and administrative needs. Benefits include: - High configurability - No vendor lock-in - Large global user community However, Moodle requires significant technical expertise to manage effectively. Hosting, maintenance, security, and updates are typically handled by the district or a service provider. This makes Moodle less appealing for districts with limited IT resources. As a Canvas LMS competitor, Moodle is powerful but operationally demanding. ## Blackboard (K-12 offerings): Structured but complex Blackboard has long been associated with higher education, but it also offers K-12 solutions. Like Canvas, it is content-heavy and structured. Districts considering Blackboard often value: - Robust assessment tools - Established reputation - Structured course delivery However, Blackboard shares similar limitations with Canvas, including complexity and reliance on [integrations for communication ](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393453001_THE_INTEGRATION_OF_INFORMATION_AND_COMMUNICATION_TECHNOLOGIES_ICT_IN_EDUCATION_BENEFITS_CHALLENGES_AND_FUTURE_PROSPECTS)and data visibility. As a Canvas replacement, it rarely simplifies the district tech stack. ## Feature comparison: Canvas vs leading alternatives When districts compare options side by side, differences become clearer. Instructional depth - Canvas and Blackboard offer advanced course design - Schoology balances structure and flexibility - Edsby emphasizes instructional consistency District visibility - Edsby provides native dashboards - Canvas and Schoology depend on integrations - Google Classroom offers minimal oversight Parent engagement - Edsby embeds communication natively - Canvas and Schoology offer limited parent tools - Google Classroom relies on external communication This comparison highlights why districts increasingly explore Canvas alternatives aligned with system-wide needs. ### Cost and total ownership considerations Replacing Canvas is not just a licensing decision. Districts must consider the total cost of ownership. Key cost factors include: - Integration expenses - Training and support - Tool consolidation opportunities While Canvas pricing may appear competitive, reliance on add-ons can increase long-term costs. Some Canvas LMS competitors, particularly unified platforms like Edsby, can reduce overall spending by replacing multiple systems. ### Choosing the right Canvas alternative in 2026 There is no universal best platform for every district. The right Canvas replacement depends on strategic priorities. General guidance: - Choose Edsby for district-wide unification and data clarity - Choose Schoology for teacher-led classroom flexibility - Choose Google Classroom for simplicity and speed - Choose Moodle for customization with strong IT support For districts rethinking their digital learning strategy, evaluating Canvas vs Edsby often reveals a broader question. Is the goal better courses, or a better-connected district ecosystem? ## Final takeaway In 2026, districts are moving beyond standalone LMS tools. They are seeking platforms that connect instruction, administration, and engagement. As a result, interest in Canvas alternatives continues to grow. A thoughtful evaluation of Canvas LMS competitors should focus not just on features, but on how well a platform supports long-term district goals. For many districts, the best alternative to Canvas is the one that reduces complexity, improves visibility, and strengthens alignment across the entire school system. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What are the best Canvas alternatives for K-12 districts? The best Canvas alternatives for K-12 districts include Edsby, Schoology, and Google Classroom. Each serves different needs, with Edsby focusing on district-wide unification, Schoology on classroom collaboration, and Google Classroom on simplicity. ### 2. Why are schools looking for Canvas replacements in 2026? Many schools are exploring a Canvas replacement to gain better district-level reporting, stronger parent engagement, and reduced dependence on third-party tools. Evolving digital strategies have increased demand for more unified platforms. ### 3. How does Edsby compare to Canvas for districts? In a Canvas vs Edsby comparison, Canvas excels at structured course delivery, while Edsby offers a broader district-first platform that integrates learning, communication, and student data into one system. ### 4. Is Google Classroom a true alternative to Canvas? Google Classroom is often considered an alternative to Canvas for schools, but it is best suited for classroom workflows rather than full district management. Most districts use it alongside other systems. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** alternatives to canvas for schools, canvas vs Edsby, Learning management system, Canvas alternatives, canvas lms competitors, canvas replacement --- ### [Edsby Wins Best LMS & Parent/Student Solutions in 2026 Edtech Awards](https://www.edsby.com/best-lms-2026-edtech-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 1, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby wins two 2026 "Cool Tool" awards and is named a finalist for one more in the 2026 annual Edtech Awards by Edtech Digest. **Content:** ### Edsby named over Instructure Canvas and Schoolbox The innovative cloud-based K-12 digital learning platform Edsby is the 2026 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for Best Learning Management System (LMS) Solution. The product was selected by judges over finalists [Instructure Canvas](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/), Schoolbox and 13 other systems. Edsby was also the winner of the 2026 Best Parent/Student Solution EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award. Independent schools, districts and regional governments love Edsby for its modern [K-12 assessment & reporting](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/), [family engagement](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/), [personalized learning](https://www.edsby.com/personalized-learning/) and [analytics](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/). Edsby transforms organizations. Teachers and administrators live in it. Students and parents make use of it for all aspects of school life. It integrates closely with existing systems and extends the breadth of what a learning organization can achieve. Edsby has received more than 90 industry awards for its unusually wide set of capabilities in a single platform tailored for K-12. The EdTech Awards are an initiative of [EdTech Digest](https://edtechdigest.com/), an online publication serving the education community. The awards program is in its 16th year and honours “those who are transforming education through technology in ways that are meaningful, measurable, and lasting,” according to the organization. All entries undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. > Congratulations to The EdTech Awards 2026 finalists and winners! We’re no longer asking if technology will transform learning—it already has. The leaders honored here are defining what comes next! > > -Victor Rivero, Editor-in-Chief, EdTech Digest The EdTech Awards recognize people—and the products they produce and lives they shape—with three main honors: - The EdTech Cool Tool Awards - The EdTech Leadership Awards, and - The EdTech Trendsetter Awards The Edsby platform was also a finalist in this year’s Best Communications Solution category. [The full list of 2026 EdTech Award winners](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2026-finalists-winners/). [The list of 90+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Importance of student data sovereignty and Azure hosting for K-12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/importance-of-student-data-sovereignty-and-azure-hosting-for-k12-schools/commentary/) **Published:** May 14, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Why student data sovereignty and Azure hosting matter for schools. Here is what to know. **Content:** Data sovereignty is one of the most consequential and least discussed issues in K-12 education technology. Every day, schools generate enormous volumes of sensitive student data. Academic records, attendance histories, behavioral notes, communication logs, and family contact information all flow through the digital platforms that districts depend on. Where that data lives, who can access it, and under what legal circumstances it can be compelled are questions that school boards increasingly cannot afford to leave unanswered. Student data sovereignty refers to the principle that student data should remain under the jurisdiction and control of the institution and nation that generated it. For Canadian schools in particular, this principle has moved from an abstract ideal to a concrete policy requirement. Understanding why it matters and how Azure education cloud hosting supports it is essential for any district evaluating its technology infrastructure. ## What student data sovereignty means in practice When a school board signs a contract with a technology vendor whose servers are located in the United States, that[ data privacy](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy/commentary/) becomes subject to US law regardless of where the school is located. Under the USA PATRIOT Act and, more recently, the CLOUD Act, US federal authorities can compel US-based technology companies to produce data held on their servers, including data stored in servers physically located outside the United States, if the company is incorporated in the US. This creates a direct conflict with the privacy obligations that Canadian school boards operate under. Provincial education acts across Canada impose strict limitations on what student data can be disclosed and to whom. In Ontario, the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Education Act govern how student records are handled. British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act includes some of the strongest data localization guidance in the country. When student data sits on US servers, the jurisdictional protections these laws provide may be undermined. For families, this is not an abstract concern. Parents who enroll their children in publicly funded schools have a reasonable expectation that the sensitive records those schools generate will be protected by the laws of their own country. When those records are accessible to foreign governments without notification or consent, that expectation is violated. ## The specific risks of cross-border data storage The risks associated with storing student data outside the country of origin fall into three broad categories: legal access risk, commercial exploitation risk, and operational risk. Legal access risk is the most discussed. As described above, US law allows federal authorities to compel production of data held by US companies even when that data is stored outside US borders. The affected school and family may never be notified. There is no equivalent obligation for the US government to comply with Canadian privacy law before accessing this data. Commercial exploitation risk is less often discussed but equally important. Many US-based education technology platforms are venture-backed or publicly traded companies whose business models depend on extracting value from the data they collect. Even platforms that do not sell student data directly may use it to train commercial AI models, develop product features, or benchmark performance in ways that benefit the vendor rather than the school. Data sovereignty means ensuring that student data serves educational purposes only, not commercial ones. Operational risk refers to the practical consequences of data being inaccessible or compromised. When a vendor goes out of business, is acquired, or suffers a significant breach, schools that have stored data with them face recovery challenges that are far more complex when the data is offshore. Domestic hosting gives districts clearer recourse under local law. ## Why Azure education cloud is a strong answer to sovereignty concerns Microsoft Azure’s Canadian data center infrastructure provides a direct solution to the cross-border data sovereignty challenge. Azure operates dedicated Canadian regions, specifically Canada Central and Canada East, that store and process data within Canadian borders. For [school districts ](https://www.edsby.com/10-signs-of-school-district-lms-problems/commentary/)that require data residency within Canada, Azure’s Canadian regions meet this requirement directly. Azure also provides the contractual framework that complements physical data residency. Microsoft’s Data Processing Agreements for education customers include commitments that data will not be used for advertising, that educational data belongs to the institution, and that access is restricted to the provision of agreed educational services. These contractual protections, combined with Canadian data residency, create a sovereignty framework that satisfies the requirements of provincial privacy legislation. Edsby leverages Azure’s Canadian data centers specifically to serve Canadian school boards’ data sovereignty requirements. By hosting on Azure Canada, Edsby ensures that student data generated by Canadian schools remains in Canada, subject to Canadian law, and outside the reach of foreign access regimes. This is a concrete and verifiable commitment, not a marketing claim. [![student data sovereignty](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## What does secure school data hosting require beyond location Data residency is necessary but not sufficient for secure school data hosting. The location of data matters, but so do the security controls that protect it, the access management protocols that govern who can retrieve it, and the audit trails that record what happens to it. Enterprise-grade encryption at rest and in transit is a baseline requirement. Data should be encrypted using current standards at all times, with key management practices that ensure the school retains ultimate control over access to its data. Role-based access controls should ensure that only authorized users within the school system can access sensitive student records, and those permissions should be managed by the district rather than the vendor. Audit logging is another critical element. Schools should be able to see exactly who accessed what student data, when, and for what stated purpose. This audit capability is essential not just for security incident response but for demonstrating compliance with provincial privacy requirements. A platform that cannot provide comprehensive audit logs is a platform that cannot be fully trusted with sensitive student information. ## Building a data sovereignty policy for your district Districts that want to establish genuine data sovereignty practices should start by auditing every technology platform currently in use and identifying where student data is stored for each one. Many districts will discover that they have significant exposure they were not fully aware of. The audit should identify which platforms store data outside Canada, what data is involved, and what contractual protections, if any, govern its handling. From there, districts can develop a technology procurement policy that requires vendors to meet specific data residency and sovereignty standards as a condition of selection. This policy should specify that student data must be stored within Canada, that vendors must sign a [Data Processing Agreement](https://www.ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/) that complies with applicable provincial legislation, and that vendors must provide audit capabilities that allow the district to verify compliance. Communication with families about data sovereignty practices builds the trust that makes digital learning environments sustainable. Parents who understand that their school has a clear, verifiable policy on where student data is stored and who can access it are more likely to trust and engage with the school’s digital tools. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is the difference between data privacy and data sovereignty? Data privacy refers to how data is collected, used, and protected within a system. Data sovereignty refers to the question of which legal jurisdiction governs that data and who has legal authority to access it. A school can have strong internal data privacy practices but still have data sovereignty concerns if the data is stored with a vendor subject to foreign legal jurisdiction. ### 2. Does using a US-based cloud vendor automatically mean Canadian student data is at risk? Not automatically, but it does create a structural legal risk. US companies are subject to the CLOUD Act, which allows US authorities to compel production of data held anywhere in the world by US-incorporated companies. Choosing a platform that hosts data in Canadian data centers operated by a vendor with strong contractual data sovereignty commitments mitigates this risk significantly. ### 3. What provincial laws most directly affect data sovereignty for Canadian schools? The specific laws vary by province. In Ontario, the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Education Act are the primary frameworks. In British Columbia, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act includes specific guidance on data residency. Alberta, Quebec, and other provinces have their own applicable legislation. Districts should consult with their legal counsel to understand the specific requirements in their jurisdiction. ### 4. What should a school district look for in a vendor’s data sovereignty commitments? Districts should look for three things: a clear statement of where data is physically stored, a contractual Data Processing Agreement that limits data use to educational purposes and prohibits commercial exploitation, and audit capabilities that allow the district to verify that these commitments are being met. Physical data residency in Canada alone is not enough without the accompanying contractual protections. ### 5. How does Azure’s Canadian hosting differ from other cloud providers for education? Azure’s Canadian regions provide both physical data residency in Canada and the Microsoft Data Processing Agreement for education, which includes commitments against using educational data for advertising and affirms institutional data ownership. Not all cloud providers offer both dedicated Canadian regions and education-specific contractual protections. The combination of location and contract is what makes a sovereignty commitment meaningful. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** data privacy school systems, secure school data hosting, Azure education cloud, student data sovereignty --- ### [Edsby featured by city of Richmond Hill, Canada](https://www.edsby.com/richmond-hill-award-feature/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** August 6, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** Discover how Edsby is shaping the global education landscape from Richmond Hill's backyard through community-driven software and cutting-edge edtech tools. **Content:** ###### Edsby CEO John Myers Edsby has always believed the best educational technology should feel like a community. Recently, our hometown recognized that same community-minded spirit, featuring Edsby on the City of Richmond Hill’s website. The city is highlighting unique local businesses that are growing, evolving, and making a tangible impact on the world. We are honoured to be recognized among the top technology leaders choosing to call Richmond Hill home. ## Local company sells worldwide The city’s feature takes a behind-the-scenes look at the companies driving progress within the municipality, highlighting a few core themes of Edsby’s mission: - **Purpose-Built for Education:** We aren’t just coding features; we are building digital communities. Our team is empowering teachers, engaging families, and giving students the tools they need to thrive. - **Hometown Roots, Global Scale:** Richmond Hill provides the incredible local tech talent that allows us to tackle massive global challenges. Today, our locally developed platform supports millions of users across vast school districts and international borders. - **Secure, Future-Ready Innovation:** As the landscape of education shifts, we are focused on contributing safe, thoughtful advancements. By developing reliable tools—like native AI and robust data analytics—we’re helping build the future of K-12 EdTech. > *“Our goal has always been to build an environment where enthusiastic, talented people can create innovative products that bring true value to educators and students,” says John Myers, Co-founder and President of Edsby. “Being able to grow that team and drive global educational advancements right here from Richmond Hill is something we are incredibly proud of.”* We are incredibly proud to be part of Richmond Hill’s thriving technological community, building fulfilling careers, supporting essential global systems, and driving meaningful advancements. **[Read the full “Innovation in Action” article on the City of Richmond Hill’s website >](https://www.richmondhill.ca/en/business/innovation-in-action.aspx)** **Categories:** In the news **Tags:** Learning management system, private school LMS, educational technology, Edtech --- ### [How Edsby streamlines K-12 workflow management](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-k-12-workflow-management/commentary/) **Published:** July 24, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Edsby streamlines secure K-12 workflow management for school districts. **Content:** Every public school district runs on a web of recurring processes that rarely make headlines but consume enormous amounts of staff time. Enrollment paperwork, attendance follow-up, special education documentation, HR onboarding, and administrative approvals all move through a district daily, often across multiple departments and multiple systems that do not talk to each other. When these processes rely on email chains, paper forms, and manual data entry, the resulting inefficiency shows up everywhere from overworked front office staff to families left waiting for answers that should take minutes, not days. Edsby approaches this challenge differently than a standalone K-12 workflow management tool. Rather than adding another disconnected system to a district’s technology stack, Edsby builds secure workflow management directly on top of the same student and family data the platform already manages for academic and communication purposes. For district leaders evaluating how to reduce administrative burden without adding more tools to an already crowded technology environment, that distinction matters considerably. ## Why K-12 workflow management deserves district attention Administrative K-12 workflow management rarely gets the same attention as instructional technology in district planning conversations, even though it consumes a comparable, and sometimes larger, share of staff time. A front office team processing new student enrollment, a special education coordinator tracking IEP compliance deadlines, or a district office managing purchase approvals all depend on workflows that, when inefficient, create real costs: delayed services for students, compliance risk for the district, and burnout for the staff caught managing broken processes manually. The stakes have grown in recent years as staffing shortages have made it harder for districts to simply add more administrative staff to absorb inefficient processes. When a district cannot easily hire its way out of an administrative bottleneck, the alternative is to make existing processes more efficient, which is precisely the problem well-designed K-12 workflow management software is meant to solve. District leaders increasingly recognize that the technology decisions they make around workflow have direct implications for staff retention and school responsiveness, not just administrative convenience. ## How Edsby streamlines school processes Edsby’s approach to workflow starts from a simple premise: a process that touches student or family data should not require staff to manually move that data between systems. Attendance follow-up illustrates this well. Rather than requiring a staff member to identify students with concerning attendance patterns and manually initiate outreach, Edsby’s integrated data allows attendance concerns to trigger the appropriate family communication and administrative follow-up automatically, based on the same attendance records the platform already tracks. This same principle extends across other recurring district processes. Enrollment updates, schedule changes, and administrative approvals can move through Edsby using the same underlying student records the platform maintains for academic purposes, rather than requiring a parallel system that has to be kept manually synchronized with the district’s core data. This reduces both the administrative burden on staff and the risk of errors that arise when the same information has to be entered separately into multiple disconnected systems. For processes that require formal approval chains, such as purchase requests or facilities use requests, Edsby provides structured routing that gives staff clear visibility into where a given request currently stands, without requiring a phone call or email to track down status. This visibility benefits both the staff member awaiting approval and the administrator managing the queue of pending requests across their building or department. ## Secure communication as part of workflow Many administrative workflows in a[ K-12 district](https://www.edsby.com/10-signs-of-school-district-lms-problems/commentary/) depend on sensitive communication, whether that involves a family, a specific student’s records, or internal staff matters. Edsby’s workflow tools are built with the same data privacy and security considerations that govern the rest of the platform, meaning sensitive communication tied to a workflow stays protected by the same access controls and privacy standards that apply to academic and family data elsewhere in the system. This matters particularly for processes like special education documentation, where communication often needs to reach a specific, limited set of stakeholders, including specialists, administrators, and families, without being visible more broadly across a school or district. Because Edsby manages this kind of restricted communication within the same secure environment used for general parent teacher communication, districts do not need to maintain a separate, specially configured system just to handle these more sensitive workflows. ## Reducing the burden on front office and administrative staff Front office staff in a typical school building manage an enormous volume of process work: new student registration, records requests, schedule changes, and a constant stream of parent inquiries about various administrative matters. When these processes require staff to check multiple systems or manually re enter the same information into different platforms, the cumulative time cost across a school year becomes significant, even if any single task seems manageable in isolation. Edsby’s integrated approach reduces this burden by keeping the core data these processes depend on in one place. A front office staff member handling a schedule change, for example, works within the same system that already holds the student’s enrollment, attendance, and academic records, rather than needing to update a separate scheduling system and then manually communicate that update to whatever other systems track the same student. This consolidation adds up meaningfully across a school year, particularly during high-volume periods like the start of a new school year, when front office staff are managing the highest concentration of enrollment and scheduling workflows at once. ## District-wide visibility into workflow status For district administrators overseeing operations across many schools, visibility into how workflows are progressing at each building matters as much as the efficiency of any individual process. Edsby provides administrators with a centralized view of workflow status across the district, allowing central office staff to identify bottlenecks, whether that is a specific school experiencing enrollment processing delays or a department with a backlog of pending approvals, without needing to individually check in with each building. This kind of district-wide visibility supports better resource allocation as well. If a particular process consistently takes longer at certain schools, district leaders can investigate why and provide targeted support, whether that means additional staff training, adjusted staffing levels, or process refinements, rather than treating every building’s administrative challenges as isolated incidents that go unnoticed until they become significant problems. ## What the research says about automation and staff judgment Research on automation in educational settings consistently points to a nuanced conclusion: technology works best when it accelerates routine processes while leaving staff expertise and judgment intact for the decisions that genuinely require it. A [study](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.07955) examining how K-12 educators engaged with an AI-powered tool in real classroom settings found that while the technology successfully streamlined routine aspects of the workflow, teachers consistently exercised discretion over the final output, editing and recontextualizing automated results to maintain professional judgment rather than accepting automation output as final. This finding has clear implications for how districts should think about K-12 workflow management automation more broadly. The goal of a well-designed system is not to remove staff from decisions that require their expertise, but to eliminate the mechanical, repetitive work that surrounds those decisions, whether that is data entry, status tracking, or routing a request to the right person, so that staff time is preserved for the judgment calls that genuinely need it. ## Supporting compliance and documentation requirements K-12 districts operate under significant documentation and compliance requirements, from FERPA around student data privacy to state-specific requirements around special education timelines and reporting. Manual processes make these requirements harder to satisfy consistently, since compliance often depends on staff remembering to complete specific steps within specific timeframes across a high volume of routine work. Edsby’s structured [digital workflow](https://www.edsby.com/why-consistent-digital-workflows-in-education-matter/commentary/) approach supports compliance by making required steps and deadlines a visible, trackable part of the process itself, rather than something staff have to track independently through personal calendars or informal reminder systems. This reduces the risk of a compliance deadline being missed simply because it fell through the cracks of an otherwise manual process, which matters considerably for processes like special education documentation where missed deadlines carry real legal and student service implications. ## Planning a workflow management rollout Districts adopting Edsby’s workflow management capabilities benefit from planning the rollout around their highest impact processes first, rather than attempting to migrate every administrative workflow simultaneously. Attendance follow-up and enrollment processing are common starting points, since they touch a high volume of routine work and offer clear, measurable efficiency gains once automated within the platform. As staff becomes comfortable with these initial workflows, districts can expand into more specialized processes, such as special education documentation or HR onboarding, building on the operational familiarity established during the initial rollout phase. This phased approach tends to produce smoother adoption than attempting a comprehensive workflow overhaul all at once, since staff has time to build confidence with the platform before taking on more complex, higher-stakes processes. Districts that document lessons learned from each phase, including what worked well and what needed adjustment, also tend to move through later phases of the rollout more smoothly, since those early lessons directly inform how subsequent processes get configured. ## Measuring the impact of workflow improvements District leaders investing in workflow management software should establish clear ways to measure whether the investment is actually reducing administrative burden, rather than assuming efficiency gains without evidence. Useful measures include tracking how long common processes take from initiation to completion, comparing the time required before and after a new system is in place. Districts can also track the number of manual handoffs a given process requires, since each handoff between systems or staff members represents an opportunity for delay or error. Staff feedback provides another valuable measure, particularly from front office and administrative staff who interact with these workflows daily. A system that looks efficient on paper but frustrates the staff using it every day is unlikely to deliver the sustained benefits a district is hoping for. Regular check-ins with the staff closest to these processes, several months after a new system goes live, often surface practical adjustments that improve adoption and effectiveness beyond what the initial rollout planning anticipated. District leaders should also track downstream effects, such as family satisfaction with how quickly administrative requests are resolved, or staff retention in roles that were previously burdened by inefficient manual processes. These broader outcomes take longer to observe than simple process timing metrics, but they often represent the more meaningful long-term value of workflow investment, since the underlying goal is not simply faster paperwork, but a district that functions more smoothly for the staff and families who depend on it. ## The cost of inefficient workflows over time It is worth quantifying, even roughly, what inefficient administrative workflows actually cost a district over time, since this cost is often invisible in a way that makes it easy to underestimate. A front office staff member spending an extra fifteen minutes per enrollment due to manual data entry across multiple systems may not sound significant in isolation, but multiplied across hundreds or thousands of enrollments each year, that time adds up to a substantial portion of a full-time staff role, time that could otherwise go toward more valuable work supporting students and families directly. Compliance risk represents another, less visible cost. A missed special education documentation deadline due to a process that relied on informal tracking rather than a structured system can expose a district to real legal and reputational risk, well beyond the immediate inconvenience of a delayed process. These risks are difficult to quantify precisely, but they represent exactly the kind of cost that well-designed workflow management is meant to reduce, by making required steps and deadlines a visible, trackable part of the system itself rather than something dependent on an individual staff member’s memory or personal organization system. Staff turnover costs also connect back to workflow efficiency in ways that are easy to overlook. Administrative and front office roles that are consistently overwhelmed by inefficient manual processes tend to see higher turnover, which carries its own direct costs in recruiting and training replacement staff, along with the less measurable cost of institutional knowledge walking out the door each time an experienced staff member leaves a frustrating role. Reducing unnecessary administrative burden through better workflow tools is, in this sense, also a retention strategy, not simply an efficiency measure in isolation. ## Getting started with Edsby For district leaders looking to reduce administrative burden, improve process visibility, and support staff retention by cutting down on unnecessary manual work, [Edsby, winner of multiple EdTech awards](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/), offers a workflow management approach built on the same secure, unified data the platform already manages for academic and family communication purposes. Rather than adding another disconnected tool to an already complex technology environment, Edsby’s workflow capabilities extend the value of a platform districts are already using every day. This extension of value matters in practical budget terms as well. Rather than justifying a separate line item for a standalone workflow automation product, district leaders can point to workflow management as an additional return on a platform investment the district has already made, which strengthens the overall case for consolidation heading into any technology budget conversation. ## [![K-12 workflow management](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Frequently asked questions ### What kinds of workflows can Edsby help manage for a K-12 district? Edsby supports a range of recurring district processes, including attendance follow-up, enrollment and schedule changes, administrative approval chains, and secure communication tied to sensitive processes like special education documentation. ### Does Edsby’s workflow management require a separate system from the academic platform? No. Edsby’s workflow capabilities are built on the same unified student and family data used across the rest of the platform, which reduces the manual data transfer typically required when a district uses a standalone workflow tool. ### How does Edsby support compliance with deadlines like special education documentation timelines? Edsby makes required steps and deadlines a visible, trackable part of the workflow itself, reducing the risk that a compliance requirement is missed due to reliance on informal tracking methods like personal calendars or memory. ### Can district administrators see workflow status across multiple schools at once? Yes. Edsby provides centralized visibility into workflow status across a district, allowing administrators to identify bottlenecks or delays at specific schools without needing to check in individually with each building. ### What is a good starting point for a district beginning to use Edsby’s workflow tools? Many districts start with high-volume, high-impact processes like attendance follow-up and enrollment processing before expanding into more specialized workflows such as special education documentation or HR onboarding. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** academic workflow tools, K-12 workflow management, school administration software, educational workflow systems, K-12 operational efficiency, school process automation --- ### [Top K-12 LMS platforms for school districts in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/top-k12-lms-platforms-for-school-districts/commentary/) **Published:** July 23, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A ranked 2026 comparison of top K-12 LMS platforms for school districts. **Content:** A learning management system is no longer just a place for teachers to post assignments. For public school districts in modern times, the K-12 LMS has become the operational backbone that connects academic content, attendance, communication, and district-wide reporting. Choosing the wrong one, or choosing a strong academic tool that lacks communication and data visibility, leaves districts patching gaps with a second or third system, which is exactly the kind of fragmentation most technology committees are now trying to eliminate. This comparison ranks the K-12 LMS platforms district leaders most frequently evaluate, based on the criteria that matter most at a district level: district-wide communication, student data visibility, parent engagement, and overall platform fit for a public school system managing many schools at once. Edsby leads this list because it was purpose-built as a unified K-12 platform rather than assembled from separate acquired tools, followed by five widely adopted alternatives that each bring their own strengths and tradeoffs. ## The criteria behind this ranking District leaders evaluating an LMS are rarely comparing single features in isolation. They are asking whether a platform can support communication that reaches every family consistently across every school in the district, whether student data such as grades, attendance, and behavior is visible in real time to the people who need it, whether [parent engagement](https://www.edsby.com/school-apps-for-parent-engagement-k12-data/commentary/) tools genuinely inform families rather than simply notifying them, and whether the platform’s underlying architecture can scale cleanly across a district of any size without requiring constant custom integration work. These four criteria, district-wide communication, student data visibility, parent engagement, and platform fit, form the backbone of the comparisons below. ## 1. Edsby Edsby [ranks first](https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2025-tech-edvocate-awards/) because its architecture treats district-wide communication, student data, and parent engagement as a single connected system rather than separate modules. When a teacher records a grade or an attendance mark, that update is immediately reflected in what administrators can see at a district level and what parents see in their own view of their child’s progress, without requiring a manual export or a separate sync process. Student data visibility is where Edsby’s design shows its clearest advantage for district leaders. Rather than requiring administrators to pull reports from multiple systems and reconcile them by hand, Edsby gives district staff a consistent, real time view of attendance patterns, academic performance, and communication history across every school in the system. This matters enormously for identifying at-risk students early, since a pattern that might be invisible within a single classroom’s data becomes clear when viewed across a full grade level or district. Parent engagement in Edsby extends beyond a notification feed. Because messages and updates are tied directly to the underlying academic record, families receive context specific information rather than generic alerts, which supports the kind of continuous, informed communication that research on family engagement consistently links to better student outcomes. For platform fit, Edsby’s design was built with large, multi school districts in mind from the outset, which shows in how cleanly it handles centralized administrative reporting alongside individual school and classroom flexibility. ## [![K-12 LMS](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 2. Instructure (Canvas) Instructure’s Canvas platform has a strong reputation in higher education that has carried over into K-12, particularly among secondary schools with complex course catalogs and a need for detailed curriculum management. Canvas offers robust tools for organizing course content, managing assignments, and supporting a wide range of assessment types. District wide communication in Canvas is functional but was not originally designed around K-12 family engagement in the way purpose built platforms are. Districts often need to configure notification settings carefully or pair Canvas with a separate parent communication tool to achieve the level of family visibility that a fully integrated platform provides natively. Student data visibility at the district level is available through Canvas’s reporting tools, though administrators sometimes need additional configuration or third party analytics tools to get a fully consolidated district wide picture. Platform fit for Canvas tends to be strongest in secondary focused districts or those with existing familiarity with the platform from higher education partnerships. Districts spanning elementary through high school sometimes find that Canvas’s strengths align more naturally with older students, requiring additional planning to ensure the platform serves younger grades equally well. ## 3. Schoology Schoology, also under the Instructure umbrella following its acquisition, brings strong academic content management and standards alignment tools that appeal to districts focused on curriculum consistency across schools. Its gradebook and assessment features are considered comprehensive by many secondary educators. District wide communication in Schoology functions primarily through a portal model, where parents log in to check on their child’s progress rather than receiving proactively structured updates tied to specific events like a missing assignment or an attendance concern. This portal based approach can work well for engaged families who check in regularly, but it places more of the communication burden on parents initiating contact rather than the system surfacing information automatically. Student data visibility for administrators is solid within Schoology’s own ecosystem, though districts running Schoology alongside separate communication or attendance systems often need to build custom reporting to get a truly district wide view. Platform fit favors districts with dedicated IT capacity to manage configuration and any necessary integrations with other systems in the district’s technology stack. ## 4. Google Classroom Google Classroom’s widespread adoption stems largely from its tight integration with Google Workspace, which many districts already use for core productivity tools. Teachers who are comfortable in the Google ecosystem often find the platform intuitive, and the low barrier to entry supports fast initial rollout. However, district wide communication and student data visibility are the areas where Google Classroom shows its limits as a full LMS for a public school district. The platform’s parent-facing features are comparatively minimal, generally limited to email summaries rather than a rich, real time view of academic and attendance data. Districts using Google Classroom as their primary LMS typically layer additional tools on top of it, whether a student information system for grading and attendance or a separate communication platform for family engagement, which reintroduces the very fragmentation districts are usually trying to solve. Platform fit is strongest for districts that view Google Classroom primarily as a content delivery and collaboration tool rather than a full system of record for grades, attendance, and family communication. ## 5. Seesaw Seesaw’s core strength lies in elementary classroom engagement, where its student friendly interface allows young learners to document and share their own work directly with families. This creates a genuinely strong parent engagement experience for early grades, often stronger than what more academically focused platforms offer at that age level. District wide communication and student data visibility are more limited in Seesaw once a district looks beyond elementary grades. The platform was not built with the standards based grading, detailed attendance tracking, or district wide administrative reporting that secondary schools typically require, which means districts spanning a full K-12 range usually need a separate platform for older students. Platform fit is therefore strongest for elementary only deployments or as a supplementary tool alongside a broader district wide LMS rather than as a standalone system for an entire district. ## 6. D2L (Brightspace) D2L’s Brightspace platform has a long history in both K-12 and higher education, with particular strength in adaptive learning tools and detailed analytics on student progress through course content. Districts focused on personalized learning pathways sometimes find Brightspace’s adaptive features valuable for differentiating instruction. District wide communication in Brightspace functions similarly to other academically focused platforms, offering the infrastructure for messaging and updates but without the same depth of proactive, structured parent engagement built around real time academic events that purpose built family engagement platforms provide by default. Student data visibility is strong within Brightspace’s own analytics suite, particularly for tracking learning pathway progress, though district administrators may need to combine this with other systems to get a complete picture that includes attendance and behavior alongside academic content engagement. Platform fit tends to favor districts with a specific interest in adaptive, personalized learning pathways and the technical capacity to configure the platform to support that use case fully. ## What sets a truly unified platform apart Looking across these six platforms, a clear pattern emerges. Several offer strong academic content management, and several offer reasonable parent facing features, but few combine district wide communication, real time student data visibility, and deep parent engagement inside a single, tightly integrated system the way Edsby does. This distinction matters most for large districts, where the operational cost of reconciling data across multiple systems scales with every additional school and every additional family added to the mix. For district technology committees, the practical question is not simply which platform has the most features, but which platform will still feel coherent and manageable after three years of daily use across every school in the system. Platforms built as a single, deliberate architecture tend to hold up better under that kind of sustained, district wide use than platforms assembled from multiple acquired products over time. This distinction becomes especially visible during moments of district wide stress, such as the start of a school year when enrollment data is shifting rapidly, or a snow closure that forces a sudden transition to remote instruction for every school at once. Platforms where communication, attendance, and academic data all live in the same system tend to handle these moments smoothly, since there is only one place for staff and families to look for accurate, current information. Platforms assembled from multiple separate tools often show their seams precisely during these high pressure moments, when a delay in one system syncing with another can leave families working from outdated information at exactly the time they need accuracy most. Superintendents and technology directors evaluating platforms for the 2026 school year should also consider how each vendor supports the district over time, not just during initial implementation. A platform with a strong onboarding experience but limited ongoing support can leave a district managing an increasingly customized, harder to maintain system years down the road. Vendors that offer structured, ongoing partnership, including help with rollout timing, staff training across roles, and clear communication planning for families, tend to produce more durable long term adoption than platforms that are simply installed and left for district staff to figure out on their own. ## What the research says about long term platform impact Long term research on digital learning tools offers a useful caution for district leaders: initial excitement about a new platform does not always translate into sustained impact unless the tool is well matched to how a district actually operates. A[ study](https://www.wested.org/blog/insights-impact/new-research-shows-promising-outcomes-for-digital-learning-program-that-supports-math-learning/) of a widely used digital learning program found that its positive effects on student performance persisted even a year after the intervention ended, but the researchers noted that sustained impact depended heavily on how consistently and thoroughly the tool was integrated into daily instructional routines. This finding underscores why platform fit, not just feature count, belongs at the center of any LMS evaluation. A platform that integrates smoothly into daily use is far more likely to deliver on its promised outcomes than one that requires constant workarounds. ## Questions district leaders should ask before choosing Before finalizing an LMS decision, district technology committees should ask a consistent set of questions across every platform under consideration. Does the platform give administrators a district wide view of student data without requiring manual report assembly across multiple systems. Does parent communication update automatically based on real academic events, or does it depend on staff manually composing separate messages. How does the platform support translated communication for families who are not primarily English speaking. And what specific commitments does the vendor make regarding FERPA compliance and data storage practices. These questions cut through marketing language and get at how a platform will actually perform once it is running across every school in a district, not just in a single classroom demo. ## Choosing the right LMS for your district The [right LMS](https://www.edsby.com/lms-for-independent-schools/commentary/) ultimately depends on a district’s specific priorities and existing technology environment. Districts with strong in-house technical capacity and a need for deep course customization may lean toward Canvas or Schoology. Districts focused primarily on elementary engagement may find Seesaw valuable as a supplementary tool. For district leaders who want a single platform that unifies communication, data visibility, and parent engagement without requiring extensive custom integration work, Edsby’s purpose built architecture offers a strong foundation heading into the coming school year. It is also worth acknowledging that switching an LMS is rarely a purely technical decision. It touches how teachers plan lessons, how families check on their children, and how administrators report to school boards and state agencies. District leaders who involve representatives from each of these groups early in the evaluation process, rather than treating the decision as purely an IT procurement exercise, tend to see smoother buy in once a new platform goes live. A platform that looks strong on paper but was chosen without input from the teachers and families who will use it every day often faces more resistance during rollout than one selected with broader input from the start. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between an LMS and a full K-12 digital learning platform? A traditional LMS focuses primarily on academic content delivery, while a full K-12 digital learning platform extends that foundation to include real time attendance tracking, district wide reporting, and integrated parent communication in a single system. ### How important is district wide reporting when choosing an LMS? It is one of the most important factors for larger districts, since administrators need a consistent view of student data across many schools without manually reconciling exports from separate systems. ### Can a district use different LMS platforms for elementary and secondary schools? Some districts do this, particularly when a platform like Seesaw is used for elementary engagement, but it typically requires managing two separate systems and reconciling data between them at the district level, which adds administrative overhead. ### Does platform choice affect FERPA compliance? Yes. Districts should confirm each vendor’s specific data storage practices, access controls, and compliance commitments directly, since these details vary meaningfully between platforms even when all of them reference FERPA in their marketing materials. ### How long does it typically take to roll out a new K-12 LMS district wide? Timelines vary by district size, but most large scale rollouts benefit from planning around a natural transition point, such as the start of a school year, with dedicated training time for teachers, administrative staff, and clear communication to families about what is changing. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** student information system, K-12 LMS, unified learning platform, district education software, K-12 edtech, school management system --- ### [Student record management is outdated. Here’s how to evolve it.](https://www.edsby.com/student-record-management-electronic-student-data/commentary/) **Published:** October 16, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Electronic student records hold the promise of deeper learning and simplified data management in schools. The key: platform interoperability via open and proprietary standards. **Content:** #### How to get regional student data sharing through open and proprietary standards When healthcare records started to go electronic, it led to an improved [patient experience](https://www.journalofhospitalmedicine.com/jhospmed/article/126949/ehr-impact-patient-experience) and [quality of care](https://journals.lww.com/md-journal/fulltext/2016/05100/electronic_health_records_and_quality_of_care__an.10.aspx), revolutionizing medicine. By using a similar approach for student record management, the education industry should be expected to be able to vastly improve students’ and educators’ experiences as well. Imagine having students’ observations, attendance records, summative and formative assessments and other evidence of learning available digitally. Electronic student records hold the promise of evolving student data tracking, improving student data management in schools and simplifying the transition process between schools. Many schools and districts are already using a student information system (SIS) or student management system (SMS) to store student data. To bring all of that information into a single electronic student record, open and proprietary standards are necessary. So, how does this benefit district, state, regional and national education leaders? To answer this question, let’s explore the value of platform interoperability, how it applies to student data tracking and how it can improve student record management in schools and districts. **What’s the value of edtech platform interoperability?** Consider the healthcare record analogy. Just as clinics may use different electronic medical record systems, schools use different SIS and SMS providers. In healthcare, it’s essential that health records are portable among many different systems – the same applies to education. When a student moves from school to school or district to district, their student record doesn’t follow if they move from one SIS or SMS to another. This is especially problematic for students who move frequently, as school stability is a [contributor](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/psychologists-find-school-stability-a-factor-in-achievement-gap/) to the achievement gap. If electronic student records could be easily transferred from one SIS to another, educators would gain a valuable resource for understanding learners’ unique experiences and needs. If abstracted out from proprietary SIS and SMSes, electronic student records could also enable school and district leaders to make data-driven decisions, build rich student portfolios **and** remain in control of selecting their own SIS and SMS systems if they choose to make changes. **What’s the current state of edtech platform interoperability?** In the U.S., the idea of interoperability in education has gained traction, but reality still lags behind other industries. As explained by [EdSurge](https://www.edsurge.com/research/guides/what-does-it-take-to-make-interoperability-work-in-k-12-education), “data is fragmented across different systems that don’t ‘speak’ to one another \[…\] records are not easily transferable between tools used within the same school or district.” So, while institutions in the U.S. are leveraging edtech platforms to collect, manage and store student data, the challenge of disparate platforms is daunting. Even within a single state, it’s not uncommon to find many different brands of SISes in use. As EdSurge put it, “administrators often want to see student data from various tools compiled into one dashboard \[…\] teachers want to avoid manually entering student data into several systems.” Open standards such as [OneRoster](http://www.imsglobal.org/activity/onerosterlis), LTI, SIF and others which exchange certain pieces of data between systems are on the right track for solving this problem. But there are many different standards, some competing, and no over-arching standards-based approach aimed at building a complete history of a learner across their academic lifetime. **Interoperability in action: New Zealand** After realizing the value and need for countrywide student data sharing, New Zealand’s Ministry of Education launched the [Te Rito](https://terito.govt.nz) student information sharing initiative. Similar to the U.S., every school in New Zealand has the autonomy to select its own SMS. Dissimilar to the U.S., New Zealand has no school districts – each site operates independently. This means that each of the country’s 2,500 schools is running its own SMS, so there hasn’t been a way to view aggregated data. After a two-year procurement process, New Zealand [selected Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/) to create a system where electronic student records can be shared securely and efficiently from school to school, which educators can use to improve outcomes and make data-driven decisions. **How to deploy electronic student records** New Zealand’s approach can be applied to other regions, including the U.S. To pull student data from different edtech platforms and create a single electronic student record, open and proprietary standards need to play a role. In New Zealand, Edsby performs nightly synchronizations with the country’s 2,500 SMSes, using its own synchronization technology, to build detailed meta-records of student achievement, behavior, attendance, discipline, educator observations, assessments and more. Real-world solutions will always need to work directly with legacy systems, sometimes through an application programming interface (API) or direct database access. For example, [Edsby uses](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/integration-not-duplication/) data synchronization integrations, authentication integrations and real-time data integrations to enable [two-way connection](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/universal-integration/)s between data stores and systems found in schools and districts. New Zealand’s inspiring country wide project is an inspiring model for others seeking their own electronic student record sharing on a state-, province-wide or national basis. More about Edsby’s New Zealand project [here](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/). **Modernizing student record management** Electronic student records hold the promise of deeper learning and simplified transitions between schools. By working together, education vendors, district leaders, and local and regional education officials can modernize student record management to support educators in driving achievement for every student. Interested in streamlining your region’s student data management process? [Contact a member of our team](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/contact/) today. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Poll finds high level of dissatisfaction with many LMS platforms in K-12 education](https://www.edsby.com/poll-survey-dissatisfaction-unhappiness-lms-k12/pressreleases/) **Published:** July 27, 2021 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Over one-third of respondents to a recent survey are dissatisfied or unsure about their district’s official learning management system (LMS) platform. Ratings indicate conventional LMSes are falling short for educators. **Content:** #### Over one-third of respondents to a recent survey conducted by Edsby said they’re dissatisfied or unsure about their district’s official LMS platform ANDOVER, MASS. (July 27, 2021) – Edsby®, a multi award-winning, next generation K–12 learning management system (LMS), today released [results](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Grade-Your-LMS-poll-results-071521.pdf) of a new, recent “Grade Your LMS” poll. The research effort sought to better understand educators’ opinions about how well their current LMS platforms serve them. Satisfaction ratings indicate that educators expect more from conventional LMS platforms. Key poll findings include: - While 85 percent of respondents reported their district has a single, official LMS platform, more than one-third (36 percent) said they’re unsatisfied or unsure about how well their current platform meets their needs. - No single capability of conventional K–12 LMS platforms received a “most satisfied” rating above 33 percent among poll respondents. - Of all capabilities, parent engagement received the highest “most satisfied” rating. It’s one of the bright spots for LMS platforms over the last two years as families became more involved in their students’ coursework. “As schools and districts plan for a mix of remote and in-person learning this fall, it’s important that educators know and trust their LMS platforms,” said John Myers, Edsby CEO. “A strong LMS platform makes all the difference. We’re honored that Edsby users who took the poll indicated a satisfaction rating that is 22 percentage points higher than users of other systems.” Conducted during May 2021 by Edsby and C. Blohm & Associates ([CB&A](https://www.cblohm.com/)), the poll includes insights from education professionals, administrators, technology directors, principals and teachers. Respondents were asked to grade their LMS platforms on seven key capabilities, with 1 being least satisfied and 5 being most satisfied. Poll respondents named Canvas, Schoology, Google Classroom, Desire2Learn, Blackboard, Edsby and others as their district’s LMS of record. A free, downloadable report with complete poll results is available [here](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Grade-Your-LMS-poll-results-071521.pdf). **About Edsby** Edsby is a next generation K-12 learning management system (LMS) with the broadest set of capabilities available in a single application made just for the specific needs of K-12. It goes beyond other LMSes, enabling improved teaching effectiveness and student success in and out of the classroom. Edsby features modern assessment and reporting, timesaving tools for teachers, analytics and more for the full spectrum of K-6 and 7-12 within a familiar, social-style user experience. Edsby has received more than 60 industry awards and distinctions. More information at . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby introduces social emotional check-ins for K-12 school districts and regions](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-check-ins-k12-districts-regions/pressreleases/) **Published:** August 23, 2021 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Believing that LMS platforms should play an important role in student well-being, Edsby has introduced another key feature to further the social and emotional health of students. **Content:** #### First education industry LMS to enable students to share their emotional states so teachers can watch for patterns and take actions to improve students’ well-being **ANDOVER, MASS** (August 23, 2021) – [Edsby®](https://www.edsby.com/), a multi award-winning, next generation K–12 learning management system (LMS), today introduced a new system enabling teachers to understand their students’ emotional states in and out of the classroom by giving students a systematic way to share how they’re feeling. The new feature augments a series of capabilities in Edsby focused on student well-being. Students choose from animated icons representing emotions, color-coded for their intensity level and how pleasant the emotion is, either once per day or even per class, based on educator preference. Emotion options are tailored to students’ grade levels, along with developmentally appropriate definitions. Age-appropriate regulation strategies curated by experts are also presented for each emotion. Teachers see the emotions their students are experiencing, and can monitor patterns and trends over time, which can help draw attention to students who may need additional support. Teachers see which emotional regulation strategies have been presented to each student and receive their own professionally curated strategies based on what their students are feeling. They can engage students in conversations and are able to take actions consistent with the district or region’s existing protocols to ensure student well-being, ranging from the ability to loop in a school guidance counselor or other professionals as required. “We feel strongly that established LMS platforms like Edsby should play an important role in student well-being,” said John Myers, Edsby CEO. “With the social and emotional health of students now a prime focus of educators, it makes sense—especially in hybrid classrooms—that features polling students’ emotional states should be directly integrated in the same system millions of K-12 students and teachers are already using.” The Edsby Social Emotional Check-In system and related content was designed with input of a team of social emotional academic advisors and an exclusive relationship with [MindUP](http://mindup.org/)—an evidence-based non-profit program designed to improve children’s emotional well-being and founded by actress Goldie Hawn. MindUP is aligned with current SEL research and is accredited by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or [CASEL](http://casel.org/). “Research shows, especially during times of crisis, that we need to bolster the strategies and competencies of students to manage stress,” said Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, CASEL board member and Edsby Social Emotional Advisory Board chair. “Being able to have explicit and intentional opportunities to check in, name how they’re feeling and learn specific strategies to manage their stress and how to get along with others is critical for students’ school and life success.” Learn more about the new Edsby Social Emotional Check-Ins capability [here](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-check-ins-sel/). **About Edsby** Edsby is a next generation K-12 learning management system (LMS) with the broadest set of capabilities available in a single application made just for the specific needs of K-12. It goes beyond other LMSes, enabling improved teaching effectiveness and student success in and out of the classroom. Edsby features modern assessment and reporting, timesaving tools for teachers, analytics and more for the full spectrum of K-6 and 7-12 within a familiar, social-style user experience. Edsby has received more than 60 industry awards and distinctions. More information at . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby wins THE Journal New Product Award for Social Emotional Learning](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2021-the-journal-new-product-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 1, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby takes gold in the Social-Emotional Learning Program category of THE Journal 2021 New Product Awards. **Content:** ## Edsby is honored by leading industry media brand Edsby, the social learning environment that connects people at the center of K-12 education, is the gold winner in the **Social-Emotional Learning Program** category of the 2021 THE Journal New Product Awards. Edsby added new [Social Emotional Check-In](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-check-ins-k12-districts-regions/) capabilities earlier this year as a way for school districts or whole regions to determine and help improve the social and emotional well-being of students, even if learning remotely. The system was the first of its kind in a mainstream K-12 LMS platform. > “Technology has been the lifeline to education for tens of millions of students over the last couple of years. We congratulate all the winners in this year’s New Product Awards and honor the technology innovators who have made formal learning possible during the ongoing crisis,” said David Nagel, editor-in-chief of THE Journal. THE Journal is an online resource for administrative, technical, and academic technology leaders in K-12 education. The awards program recognizes leading products and services providers in the education sector. For a complete list of 2021 winners, click [here](https://thejournal.com/articles/2021/11/30/the-journal-2021-new-product-award-winners-announced.aspx). For a list of the 60+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Support instructional excellence and student success with Edsby & ESSER](https://www.edsby.com/instructional-excellence-student-success-learning-loss-esser-lms/commentary/) **Published:** December 1, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby social learning environment enables many of the goals of the billions of dollars of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding available to U.S. school districts. Here's how. **Content:** ### Edsby uniquely enables many of the goals of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding available to U.S. school districts COVID-19 has revealed long-standing needs and inequities within K-12, but it’s also offered an opportunity to reimagine teaching and learning. Unprecedented funding for education in the U.S. is enabling states, local education agencies, and individual schools to invest in the infrastructure, technology, and evidence-based programs that will advance equity, accelerate learning, better support student mental health and well being, and improve outcomes for all students. #### Edsby: a single platform supporting many ESSER goals The Edsby social learning environment puts connections between people at the center of K-12 education. It enables in-person, hybrid, and online learning with rich communication between students, teachers, and families all in a single platform designed to support K-12 student success. For more than 10 years, school districts, states, and countries have used Edsby to streamline and manage student well being, classroom management, learning management, assessment and reporting, and learning analytics. Edsby advances several of the top priorities of ESSER and the long-term strategic goals of districts and schools. Here’s how… - #### [Address Learning Loss](#1638387377396-c9b8f80b-ef47) - #### [Support Student Well-Being](#1638387937582-ce497ec6-73b4) - #### [Remove Barriers to Equity](#1638387494160-d7a194ea-87b7) - #### [Have Lasting Impact](#1638387559764-056c8e14-f228) #### [Address Learning Loss](#1638387377396-c9b8f80b-ef47) - In Edsby, teachers can make and deliver summative and formative [assessments](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/), include [observations](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/), and capture formative learning evidence in [notes, pictures and videos](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/capturing-evidence-of-learning/) to help determine a student’s or class’ progress. Observations and evidence can be shared with other teachers and parents. - Advanced [learning management](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/learning-management-lms/) makes teaching and teachers more efficient, getting students what they need, how they need it, when they need it. - [Learning analytics](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/) built into Edsby enable educators—in real time—to uncover trends in achievement data and identify at-risk students across an individual school, group of schools, or a whole school district. #### [Support Student Well-Being](#1638387937582-ce497ec6-73b4) - Using Edsby, students can [select from age-appropriate icons](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/student-well-being-sel/) to share how they’re feeling with their teacher(s) so they can take action to help students be ready to succeed. - [Research-based strategies](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/student-well-being-sel/) are provided to help students learn to regulate their emotions and help educators take supportive action. - Informed by an exclusive relationship with [MindUP](http://mindup.org), an evidence-based non-profit program designed to improve children’s emotional well-being that is aligned with current SEL research and accredited by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning ([CASEL](http://casel.org)). #### [Remove Barriers to Equity](#1638387494160-d7a194ea-87b7) - Edsby creates an inclusive social environment that draws families into school life which is a critical component of advancing equity. - Teachers can engage families in safe, meaningful communication to support their students’ learning and achievement, with [learning evidence](https://www.edsby.com/evidence-of-learning/) curated by students themselves or by their teachers, depending on grade level. - Educators with the right access can [access everything](https://www.edsby.com/help/the-panorama/) relating to a child’s education, such as current grades, attendance, progress reports, learning evidence, IEPs, portfolios, alerts, teacher observations, and more. #### [Have Lasting Impact](#1638387559764-056c8e14-f228) - [Comprehensive, integrated tools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-features/) in Edsby to facilitate, support, and enrich the complex interactions between students, families, educators, learning resources, and more. - Edsby becomes a single, central location for all academic and social-emotional behavior information across a district, making it easier for educators and policy makers to access and act on everything having to do with student success. #### Other ways Edsby addresses the most important uses of funds allowed under ESSER - Providing mental health services and supports. - Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, including by: - Administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable to accurately track students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ needs, including through differentiating instruction. - Implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students. - Providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support their children, including during distance learning. - Tracking student attendance and improving student engagement during distance learning. - Providing principals and other school leaders with resources to address the unique needs of their individual schools. - Supporting activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth. - Purchasing educational technology for students served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interactions between students and their classroom teachers, including low-income students and children with disabilities. #### Want to see how Edsby can help you meet ESSER funding priorities and elevate teaching and learning? [Contact Us](https://edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/) **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Behind the Scenes: District Leaders' Priorities for ESSER Funding](https://www.edsby.com/priorities-for-esser-funding/in-conversation/) **Published:** December 8, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The arrival of ESSER funding to American schools districts came with great opportunity, great responsibility, and difficult questions about where the money goes. Superintendents Dr. Steve Joel of Lincoln Public Schools and Dr. Quintin Shepherd of Victoria ISD share insights. **Content:** [Dr. Rod Berger](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodbergerpsyd/) speaks about the use of ESSER funding and the opportunities it presents with [Dr. Steve Joel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-joel-a0b72970/), superintendent of [Lincoln Public Schools](https://lps.org/) in Nebraska, [Dr. Quintin Shepherd](https://www.linkedin.com/in/quintin-shepherd-45602715/), Superintendent of the [Victoria Independent School District in Texas](https://www.visd.net/), and [Doug Mesecar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougmesecar/), partner at [Strategos Group.](https://www.strategosgroup.com/) Mesecar frames the discussion by offering a [breakdown of U.S. ESSER funding](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESSER-Funding-111121.pdf) with insight from government policymakers. Dr. Joel and Dr. Shepherd bring their perspective on how they approached allocating funding and the complexity inherent in that decision. Those in education have been requesting funding for years. The arrival of ESSER funds for schools in the U.S. came great opportunity, great responsibility, and difficult questions about where the dollars go. The group discussed some of those crucial questions posed and how they tackled this issue and other leaders within the sector. Student outcomes are always the north star, yet careful consideration of the ROI and spending wisely have directed much decision-making. [Read how Edsby furthers ESSER’s objectives for U.S. school districts »](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESSER-Funding-111121.pdf) Want to learn more about how education is changing from those with perspective and insight? Watch more conversations around the future of education with Edsby [In Conversation](https://www.edsby.com/category/in-conversation/). *Sponsored by Edsby. The award-winning Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education around the world for more than 10 years. School districts, states, provinces and countries adopt Edsby for student well-being, learning management, assessment & reporting and analytics. Learn more about how Edsby at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/).* **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Tech Breakthrough calls Edsby LMS Platform of the Year](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-awards-edsby-lms-platform-of-the-year/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** August 5, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named LMS Platform of the Year in the 2022 EdTech Breakthrough Awards, a new awards program in education technology. **Content:** Edsby is the LMS Platform of the Year according to the [2022 EdTech Breakthrough Awards](https://edtechbreakthrough.com/), a new awards program in education technology. The awards “recognize the top technology companies, solutions and products in the education industry today,” according to organizers. EdTech Breakthrough is part of Tech Breakthrough, a market intelligence organization that recognizes industry leaders in today’s most competitive categories of technology. Tech Breakthrough has identified hundreds of industry leading companies, including Intel, Cisco, Spotify, Sprint, HP, Comcast, Philips, Dell and more. See the full list of 2022 EdTech Breakthrough winners [here](https://edtechbreakthrough.com/edtech-2022-winners/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Veracross and Edsby announce integration delivering standards-based grading and a modern learning experience for K-12 independent schools](https://www.edsby.com/veracross-edsby-integration-standards-based-grading-modern-k-12-private-schools/pressreleases/) **Published:** March 7, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The two companies give K-12 independent schools a full-featured experience with community engagement, learning management, assessment, student well-being and more. **Content:** #### **Combines Edsby social learning environment with the** **Veracross Student Information System (SIS) platform** **WAKEFIELD, MASS. and ANDOVER, MASS.** (March 7, 2023) – Veracross and Edsby today announced an integration that gives K-12 independent schools a modern, full-featured learning experience combining Edsby’s K-12 award-winning social learning system seamlessly with Veracross’ industry-leading SIS platform. Veracross schools can now benefit from Edsby’s capabilities such as standards-based learning, fully integrated private messaging, group conversation and resource areas for clubs and teams, and many other features that enhance student learning and connectedness. Edsby customers will, in turn, receive special access to the only one-record-for-life SIS available for K-12 independent schools. Warren Apel, Director of Technology for The American School in Japan, which has used Edsby and Veracross together since 2018, said, “We knew we wanted to move away from averaging and point-based grades. Most LMS products only offer traditional letter grades, percentage scores, and averages. Edsby gave our teachers a gradebook that can do qualitative standards-based feedback. Edsby is much more than a simple LMS. It solves other problems we have, such as making information more accessible, making office tasks more efficient, and helps overcome student belonging and connectedness issues.” Jessica Wallis, SVP of Product Management for Veracross, said, “Having access to contemporary assessment capabilities such as standard-based grading and other modern LMS functionality is critical for K-12 independent schools. We are pleased to provide this tight integration with Edsby’s modern learning platform.” “Edsby leverages Veracross’ strengths as a school’s system of record, and is now an ideal complement for Veracross sites to enable modern community engagement, learning management, assessment, and student well-being capabilities,” said Chris Besse, Chief Commercial Officer for Edsby. For more information, visit . **About Veracross** Veracross is a leading provider of SaaS-based School Information Systems (SIS). Designed specifically to meet the unique needs of independent schools, Veracross combines the power of a one-record-for-life database, personalized communication tools, and an elegant architecture unique in our industry. Veracross serves more than 1,500 private and independent schools in more than 30 countries, helping to unify school communities and enhance learning. For more information visit [www.veracross.com](https://www.veracross.com/). **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education worldwide for more than 10 years. Edsby’s products enable in-class, hybrid and online learning, fostering rich communication and data exchanges between students, teachers, families and other education stakeholders to drive K-12 student success. Edsby has received more than 70 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at [www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). \# # # **Media Contacts** Edsby: Dallas Kachan VP Marketing +1 416-800-7574 x741 Veracross: Dave Grip Communications +1 508-243-2989 **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [If so much edtech is bad, how do K-12 learning platforms rate?](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-efficacy-lms-k12-safe-privacy-compared/commentary/) **Published:** March 17, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** With new reports calling edtech applications ineffective, unsafe and non-interoperable, how do mainstream K-12 LMSes measure up? **Content:** ### Researchers warn a lot of edtech doesn’t measure up For years, educational technology apps had been widely assumed to be beneficial. But there’s been a recent flurry of research suggesting not all are doing their job… with many edtech systems characterized in recent months as unsafe, some even exploitative. So how do the most well known learning management systems (LMSes) in K-12, including the popular [Edsby social learning platform for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms), stack up? #### Data privacy and efficacy A [new report from LearnPlatform](https://learnplatform.com/evidence-report), just published as of this writing, asserts that only 25% of the most popular edtech products are effective—i.e. deliver clear, quantifiable value—and interoperable. Abstracting the report, [an article from District Administration](https://districtadministration.com/only-25-of-the-top-100-edtech-products-meet-research-standards/) wrote: > Only 19% of edtech apps received a “pass rating” from Common Sense, an organization that seeks to make such technology safer and more equitable, while 42% received a “warning rating.” How are the most popular learning management systems in K-12 rated by Common Sense? Here are the org’s current ratings as of this writing. Higher is better: PlatformCommon Sense Link & RatingCommon Sense assessment**Edsby****[93%](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/edsby)****Pass**Canvas[71%](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/canvas)WarningBrightSpace[80%](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/Brightspace)WarningSchoology[50%](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/schoology)WarningMoodle[43%](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/Moodle)WarningSeesaw[84%](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/seesaw:-the-learning-journal)Pass#### Interoperability The same District Administration article above writes most edtech isn’t interoperable, according to the same report’s data. > Using five indicators of interoperability from two trusted organizations, the report suggests most apps miss the mark in this area. > > 1EdTech standards: > … > 8% are Common Cartridge certified. > 8% are LTI Advantage certified. > > Project Unicorn standards: > > 27% have signed the Project Unicorn Interoperability pledge. > Only 5% have earned Project Unicorn’s Interoperability Certification. How do popular K-12 learning management systems rate on these interoperability criteria? Here’s how each currently stands up: PlatformCommon Cartridge certificationLTI certificationProject Unicorn signatoryProject Unicorn certification**Edsby****No****[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/corefour/edsby#cert_pane_nid_414501)****Yes****[Yes](https://www.projectunicorn.org/certifiedvendors)**Canvas[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/instructure/canvas#cert_pane_nid_193191)[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/instructure/canvas#cert_pane_nid_193191)NoNoBrightSpace[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/d2l-corporation/d2l-brightspace#cert_pane_nid_404767)[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/d2l-corporation/d2l-brightspace#cert_pane_nid_404767)NoNoSchoologyNo[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/powerschool-group-llc/schoology#cert_pane_nid_410312)YesNoMoodleNo[Yes](https://site.imsglobal.org/certifications/moodle/moodle#cert_pane_nid_405450)NoNoSeesawNoNoYesNo#### Marketing student data to advertisers In May, 2022, [Human Rights Watch published a study](https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/05/25/how-dare-they-peep-my-private-life/childrens-rights-violations-governments) asserting that many edtech companies exploit children’s data for advertising revenue. > Of the 163 EdTech products reviewed, 145 (89 percent) appeared to engage in data practices that put children’s rights at risk, contributed to undermining them, or actively infringed on these rights … Most online learning platforms installed tracking technologies that trailed children outside of their virtual classrooms and across the internet, over time … > > Most online learning platforms sent or granted access to children’s data to third-party companies, usually advertising technology (AdTech) companies … Access to these insights could then be sold to anyone—advertisers, data brokers, and others. The biggest platform of risk here is Google Classroom, used by some educators as a lightweight LMS. Google has a 10 year history of improper management of student data. For example, see [this](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/19/google-lawsuit-email-scanning-student-data-apps-education), [this](https://www.edweek.org/technology/google-acknowledges-data-mining-student-users-outside-apps-for-education/2016/02) and [this](https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/21/21146998/google-new-mexico-children-privacy-school-chromebook-lawsuit). Educators who use products from Google do so at their and their students’ risk. Google is the largest media company in the world with a business model to monetize the data it assembles. As a result, some jurisdictions have moved to prohibit their educators from using Google products, such as all schools in [Denmark](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/denmark-google-schools-data), the [Holland](https://dataethics.eu/the-troublesome-case-of-using-google-in-european-schools/) region of the The Netherlands, and [Germany](https://www.linuxadictos.com/en/despues-de-dinamarca-en-paises-bajos-y-alemania-tambien-prohiben-el-uso-de-servicios-de-google.html) and [France](https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/office-365-and-google-workspace-banned-from-french-schools/) (the latter two of which have banned Google AND Microsoft’s cloud-based products for education.) No mainstream learning management system shares information with advertisers. LMSes are generally intended as closed, private platforms, supported by annual licensing fees paid by educational organizations. An exception was the free, but now-defunct, [Edmodo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmodo), which actively marketed its 100 million users’ data to ad partners and even subjected users to ads in its platform as its primary revenue model in later years. As a leading K-12 LMS provider that makes it clear it does not monetize student data, Edsby includes the following language in its [Services Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/): “Edsby Service usage data is never collected by a third party, hosted elsewhere or shared with other parties or monetized. We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide. We do not subject users to any advertising, contextual, personal or otherwise. There is no marketing to opt-out of, as the company does not send marketing messages to end users. Edsby does not make offers to end users like sweepstakes or contests. And we do not sell, rent or otherwise share any Personal Information with any third party that does.” #### Data sharing with other parties In December of 2022, [Internet Safety Labs published a report](https://internetsafetylabs.org/resources/reports/2022-k12-edtech-safety-benchmark-national-findings-part-1/) scoring 96% of all apps used in schools as “do not use” or “high risk”, primarily for sharing children’s personal information with third parties without the knowledge or consent of users or schools. Of these apps, [an article by THE Journal](https://thejournal.com/articles/2022/12/13/report-nearly-all-school-apps-send-kids-data-to-third-parties.aspx) referencing the report wrote: > 74.9% of the apps tested were scored “very high risk” for having SDK components that were “likely to share data with high-risk entities,” ISL said. The SDK (“software development kit,” or pre-built tools that provide a software developer with shortcut features that they don’t have to build themselves) most criticized by the ISL were Google SDKs. The top five SDKs used most widely in edtech investigated by the ISL were from Google, which it characterizes as a high-risk entity given its poor record of student data handling. Google’s Firebase Analytics SDK was the top SDK used, with 67% of all apps found to be using Firebase Analytics. Mainstream LMS users, or prospective customers, should ask their vendor whether their products incorporate the Google Firebase Analytics or other problematic SDKs. For its part, Edsby [discloses the following](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/): “\[We ensure\] any software libraries used in our application are never sent Personal Information. For example, Edsby uses Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for push notifications, but Edsby Services never send private information in notifications, simply using them to redirect the user to the secure, authenticated Edsby Services. We only use the minimal Firebase messaging toolkit, and do not engage Firebase’s analytics or wider features. Nor does Firebase ever get associated with a user’s Google account. And while Edsby uses Google’s ML Kit for QR code scanning in our mobile apps, processing is fully on-device and we ensure any data available to ML Kit is anonymous and de-identified.” #### In conclusion There’s understandable scrutiny of edtech applications today, and for good reason, according to the three latest reports cited above. In K-12, student data must be held sacrosanct. It’s the law in most developed countries. If the applications you’ve chosen, or are considering, aren’t transparent and convincing about their handling of student data, demand to work with a vendor that is. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby partners with Common Good Learning Tools to streamline academic standards management](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-common-good-learning-tools-cglt-satchel/pressreleases/) **Published:** December 21, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The Satchel standards management software from CGLT will enable Edsby organizations to manage their academic standards, expectations, outcomes, or competencies themselves. **Content:** #### Companies join forces to leverage 1EdTech CASE for K-12 academic standards Andover, MI – December 21st, 2023 – Edsby®, an innovative K-12 education software company, has signed an agreement to license and resell the Satchel standards management software from Common Good Learning Tools (CGLT) to enable learning organizations to manage their unique academic standards, expectations, outcomes, or competencies (ESOCs) more easily. The move enables private schools, school districts and departments/ministries of education to more efficiently manage their ESOCs in the 1EdTech Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange (CASE)® format newly supported by Edsby. Doing so in Satchel will enable Edsby schools, districts and regions to easily push updates to their educators whenever they seek to make changes, eliminating the need for manual intervention. The partnership between Edsby and Common Good Learning Tools is the latest in a series of enhancements by Edsby aimed at giving educators more hands-on administrative control of their Edsby systems. Key benefits of the Edsby and Common Good Learning Tools agreement include: - **Administrative Empowerment & Efficiency –** Support of Satchel through the CASE standard enables Edsby users to manage their academic standards in the 1EdTech standard CASE format without the need for manual intervention, eliminating the time-consuming process of requesting an import and edit of their ESOCs every time changes occur. - **More Frequent Updates –** With the new integration, ESOCs can be updated as often as desired, so educators are always basing their curriculum, assessments and reporting on up-to-date requirements, promoting a more agile educational environment. - **Compatibility With Other Systems –** Basing the interoperability between the systems on the 1EdTech standard CASE format provides an open solution, allowing easy reuse of ESOCs by other educational systems, including those for publishing or other distribution. “Common Good Learning Tools’ Satchel will save time and effort for K-12 learning organizations for which standards, expectations, outcomes, or competencies are key,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “Satchel’s purpose-built content management system aligns with our commitment to innovative solutions that enhance the educational experience for K-12 organizations.” “Common Good Learning Tools is excited to collaborate with Edsby to bring our Satchel software to a wider audience,” said Pepper Williams, CEO of Common Good Learning Tools. “By simplifying the management of academic standards, we aim to empower educators to focus on what they do best: educating the next generation. This partnership reflects our shared dedication to advancing education technology.” **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education worldwide for more than 10 years. Edsby’s innovative software systems foster rich communication and data exchanges between students, teachers, families and other education stakeholders to drive K-12 student success. Edsby has received more than 70 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at [www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). **About Common Good Learning Tools** Common Good Learning Tools builds learning tools for the common good, improving education through the thoughtful application of known learning principles and innovative programming to create effective digital teaching and learning experiences. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange (CASE)® is a registered trademark of the 1EdTech Consortium, Inc. ([1edtech.org](https://1edtech.org/)) \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Powering collaboration and education records in New Zealand](https://www.edsby.com/powering-collaboration-and-education-records-in-new-zealand/customers/) **Published:** January 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Inside the use of Edsby's social learning system for K-12 and its Unison education data platform in New Zealand. Edsby is helping consolidate student data and power collaboration among the country's 2,500 schools. **Content:** #### **Unison and Edsby are the core of the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s national data repository and social learning system** The country of New Zealand is remarkable for many reasons. Among them: the unique structure of its education system. New Zealand has more than 2,500 schools in its 13-year primary, intermediate and secondary systems. And while they’re a mix of state (public), integrated (faith-based or specialist education, e.g. Montessori) and private schools, each school operates autonomously. There are few regional governing bodies. Each school chooses its own technology infrastructure, including its databases and learning applications. While empowering local educators, this independence creates challenges. **Far-flung data wasn’t available when needed** It’s been difficult for the New Zealand Ministry of Education to support consistent data sharing between schools to enable the best learning outcomes across the country when they’re all using different systems. But a bigger problem was even more pronounced. Educators found it hard to access valuable information about learners when they moved between schools. Information stayed locked in their previous school’s systems or took a long time to obtain. Sometimes children didn’t get the right support when they needed it. “We heard needless stories of kids missing out on learning support like reading recovery, because by the time it was identified that they’d already been assessed for it, they were too old,” said Lisa Cheney, Business Design Lead in a Ministry of Education Te Rito [video](https://vimeo.com/537117104/21c86f2497). “We also surveyed a number of teachers across New Zealand to find out what was going wrong with learner information, and were horrified to find that on average people were spending about 25 minutes a day on what I would call no value-add stuff.” If relevant information could be made available, safely and securely and at the right times, children could receive the support they needed to achieve better learning and well-being outcomes, the Ministry believed. It began exploring how to enable richer information flows so learners could be supported to succeed at every stage of their education journey. ![NZ Ministry of Education website](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/NZ-Ministry-snap.png)The New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Te Rito electronic student record project is also now enabling social learning and collaboration features across New Zealand’s schools**Massive ambition and project scope** The Ministry embarked on a three-year procurement process to determine if commercial technology existed that could allow it to obtain latest information from each of its schools nationwide, centralize it and make it available safely to stakeholders across the country. The project’s scope was vast: synchronize information on more than 800,000 learners across thousands of schools and their unique systems every day, using open standards if possible, and other secure connections if not. In 2018, the Ministry selected Edsby and its Unison™ education data platform and managed service, and began to work with the company to customize the solution to its needs. Edsby’s social learning system and underlying Unison data platform had been proven at scale, safely managing the data of K-12 users around the world since 2010. > “*Me tiaki te mana o te tamaiti me tana whānau* – Te Rito protects the mana of the child and their family, and connects the data of the child to the owners of that data: the child and their parents. This is done over the entirety of their primary and secondary education and is to eventually include their early childhood and tertiary education, providing a seamless system for parents and students to track their education journey over time.” > > *Myles Ferris, Chair – Ngā Rau Whakatupu Māori (Māori medium)* **Safeguarding student data the overriding objective** The Ministry’s high profile project was renamed Te Rito, after the inner leaves of the indigenous harakeke (flax) plant. With the underlying purpose of the project being to enhance student information sharing for the well-being and educational success of the learner, the name references project’s guiding principle, which is to protect and uphold the mana, or integrity and respect, of the child and their whanau, or families. It also evokes the national data storage facility in which all the learner’s information is stored, where it requires input and protection from vendors, schools, the Ministry and other stakeholders. Keeping information safe and maintaining privacy of this national data repository was paramount from the start of the project. The Ministry invested heavily in the underlying security of Unison’s communication with its systems. The internationally adopted Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) was adopted and localized, and now powers many of the integrations. Provisions were made for rigorous, ongoing penetration testing of the many ways Unison receives and transmits information to and from schools, Ministry of Education and other government systems. Following a high-profile breach of data in 2022 in an unrelated New Zealand government application, the Ministry paused the Te Rito program out of an abundance of caution. Satisfied with Te Rito’s security, it [re-started](https://gazette.education.govt.nz/articles/te-rito-gets-a-sector-led-restart/) the program in March, 2023, with a strong sector-led model to ensure the project delivers what stakeholders need. The relaunched project has an even broader scope and vision and a renewed multi-year commitment to Edsby and Unison as enabling technology. > “Te Rito has the ability to support whānau / families to better engage in their child’s education and build better relationships with their teachers.” > > *Myles Ferris, Chair – Ngā Rau Whakatupu Māori (Māori medium)* **Enabling country-wide collaboration** Te Rito’s original scope was a national electronic student records system with a lifelong record of learning encompassing pre-school, compulsory, tertiary and on-going adult learning. Now, Te Rito is expanding to provide additional capabilities to the country’s schools. Every school now has no-cost access to a modern, feature-rich system for teachers, students and parents to interact via browser or mobile device, with accounts automatically set up for all the school’s users. It enables local school community engagement, learning management, assessment, student well-being features and more. It is being expanded with features to enable country-wide educator sharing and collaboration. Te Rito is receiving stakeholder feedback and buy-in. Since being made available to New Zealand schools in September, 2023, more than 200 schools have opted in, with their data synchronized to the Ministry’s secure repository. New schools are being added every week. The Pūtauaki ki Rangitaiki Kāhui Ako in New Zealand’s Eastern Bay of Plenty were the first schools and kura (Māori-language immersion schools) in the country to have access to Te Rito in an early-stage rollout of the platform. The pilot helped the Ministry investigate shared concerns and trends and give local principals and school leaders the ability to help shape the service. Rachel Chater, Principal at Kawerau Pūtauaki School, highlighted the transformative impact of Te Rito. “Te Rito has provided our Kāhui Ako with the means to quantify the level of learning support required and identify specific needs across the cluster. This has allowed us to strategically allocate resources, leading to improved outcomes for our ākonga. It has also enabled us to collaboratively engage with a range of agencies, fostering creative access to additional support.” ![Edsby Te Rito desktop](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Te-Rito-desktop.png)Te Rito, via a web browser or mobile app, enables a modern social learning, assessment and community engagement environment for educators, students and parents at every school**Positive impact** Te Rito is being welcomed by educators as way to better support students when they transfer. “With the secure data set stored in Te Rito, educators will ‘know their learners before they teach them’ which will greatly support strength-based teaching and learning and a success focused learning journey for ākonga / students,” said Graeme Barber, Chair – Ngā Rau Whakatupu Auraki (English medium). **Information as key** The Ministry is co-designing and delivering Te Rito working closely with two sector working groups: Te Rau Whakatupu Māori for Māori medium and Te Rau Whakatupu Auraki for English medium. An independent Te Rito Kaitiakitanga Group is being established to provide stewardship of information held in Te Rito and make recommendations on the access and use of learner and ākonga data. “We don’t know exactly what the future will look like. But we know that making information available to those who need it is key,” the Ministry [acknowledges](https://vimeo.com/537117104/21c86f2497). With Te Rito, “the education environment becomes richer and educators and government agencies can start to shape investment and decisions, including about policy and practice, based on information that’s accurately, timely and trusted.” **Categories:** Customers --- ### [How K‑12 districts are using digital platforms](https://www.edsby.com/how-k-12-districts-use-digital-platforms/customers/) **Published:** October 21, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read how K-12 school districts are using all-in-one digital learning platforms like Edsby to boost engagement and personalized learning. **Content:** The classroom has evolved far beyond chalkboards and paper planners. In today’s digital-first education landscape, the most successful schools aren’t just teaching students — they’re connecting entire learning communities. And at the heart of this transformation lies a new generation of digital learning platforms and school management software designed specifically for K-12 education. From formative and summative assessment to real-time communication, schools are turning to unified learning management systems for schools to simplify daily workflows and improve outcomes. By centralizing communication, assessment, and data, these online platforms for teaching are replacing fragmented tools and lost messages with a seamless, transparent learning ecosystem. This article explores real examples of how K-12 districts are using modern education management software — particularly [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) — to enhance parent engagement, streamline teacher workloads, and empower students through personalized, data-driven learning. ## Modern Digital Platforms: More Than Just a Gradebook Today’s best learning management software for schools goes beyond storing grades or sharing documents. It connects every stakeholder — teachers, students, administrators, and parents — in one cohesive environment. Modern K-12 platforms integrate gradebook software, parent portal apps, competency-based assessment, and even AI for teachers to provide insight and automate routine work. Schools that once relied on multiple disconnected tools for attendance, messaging, grading, and analytics now benefit from a single education software for schools that brings everything together. This shift toward all-in-one LMS platforms for education allows educators to focus less on administration and more on instruction. ## Parent-Teacher Communication in the Digital Age Parent-teacher communication has always been a challenge in K-12 education. From lost paper notes to overflowing inboxes, keeping families informed while reducing teacher workload can feel impossible. But modern school management systems are turning communication into a continuous feedback loop — one that helps parents understand not only what their children are learning, but how they’re progressing. Platforms like Edsby offer a parent communication app that ties directly to class assignments, attendance, and grades. Families receive real-time formative assessment tools that show growth over time. Teachers save time by sharing updates, resources, and personalized feedback through a single dashboard — accessible from any device. ## Durham Catholic: Turning Communication Into Learning The [Durham Catholic District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/EdsbyCaseStudy-DurhamCatholic.pdf) in Ontario wanted communication to do more than inform — it wanted it to drive learning. Using Edsby, teachers shared assignments, formative feedback, and examples of student work digitally through a unified online platform for teaching. Parents gained real-time insight into their child’s academic progress through the parent portal app, while teachers reduced redundant communication. Instead of waiting for traditional parent-teacher meetings, families could see student growth continuously — a shift that turned reporting into reflection. - Proactive parent engagement replaced reactive follow-ups - Stronger teacher-family relationships built on transparency - Improved student accountability through clear progress tracking [Read more about Edsby at Durham Catholic >](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/EdsbyCaseStudy-DurhamCatholic.pdf) ## Greater Essex County District School Board: From Grades to Growth In the [Greater Essex County District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CaseStudy-Greater-Essex.pdf), 36,000 students once had to wait for report cards to understand progress. With Edsby, standards-based grading and competency-based assessment tools offered a continuous view of learning. Parents could see which skills were mastered and where additional support was needed. Teachers could intervene early, supported by real-time analytics and formative assessment tools that helped identify gaps before they widened. The result: communication became a growth-focused partnership. - Timely, actionable feedback for students and parents - Data-driven interventions improved learning outcomes - Assessment data made transparent and accessible [Read more about Edsby at Greater Essex >](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CaseStudy-Greater-Essex.pdf) ## Algoma District School Board: Simplifying Attendance and Alerts Attendance management, though often overlooked, is critical to student success. The [Algoma District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/school-district-attendance-on-edsby-adsb/edsby-in-the-news/) used the Edsby school management system to simplify attendance reporting and parent alerts. Through the mobile app, parents could submit absence notifications instantly, while teachers received updates in real time. - Reduced administrative workload for office staff - Accurate, timely attendance records - Improved communication and trust between home and school [Read more about Edsby at Algoma District >](https://www.edsby.com/school-district-attendance-on-edsby-adsb/edsby-in-the-news/) ## Lakehead Public Schools: Ensuring Equity in Communication [Lakehead Public Schools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-as-a-student-intervention-system/customers/), serving a diverse student population including indigenous learners, wanted equitable access to communication. Through Edsby’s learning management system for schools, every family gained the same transparent access to assignments, grades, and feedback. - Equal access to academic information for all families - Reduced inequities in parent engagement - Stronger partnerships between schools and local communities [Read more about Edsby at Lakehead >](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-as-a-student-intervention-system/customers/) ## Why Modern Parent Engagement Matters Across these case studies, several clear lessons emerge for schools evaluating digital learning platforms or education management software to strengthen parent-teacher communication: - **Centralized Communication:** A unified learning management system that integrates attendance, grades, assignments, and messaging dramatically reduces teacher workload. - **Real-Time Transparency:** Parents stay informed instantly, without waiting for report cards or newsletters. - **Actionable Data:** Teachers can identify and support struggling students earlier with live analytics and AI for teachers that flag patterns. - **Parent Engagement at Scale:** A single parent communication app ensures consistent messaging across classes, schools, and districts. - **Scalability:** Platforms like Edsby work equally well for a single school or a province-wide implementation. ## Personalized Learning Through Connected Technology One of the most transformative aspects of digital platforms like Edsby is how they enable personalized learning. With formative and summative assessment data integrated into a single dashboard, teachers can tailor instruction to each learner’s strengths and needs. Instead of one-size-fits-all instruction, teachers leverage AI for teachers and analytics within LMS software to identify trends, adjust lessons, and provide differentiated support. Students can see their own progress through the K-12 student portal, turning assessment into motivation rather than anxiety. In early grades, early years assessment tools help teachers document developmental milestones and communicate them directly to parents, creating a more holistic understanding of student growth. In upper grades, standards-based feedback fosters deeper accountability and learning ownership. ## Choosing the Right Digital Learning Platform With so many online learning platforms for K-12 now available, districts must look for solutions that do more than deliver content — they must support whole-school ecosystems. The best LMS for schools unites instructional tools, analytics, and communication in one secure, cloud-based environment. Key questions to consider when evaluating learning management software for schools include: - Does it integrate with existing **school management systems** and SIS data? - Does it include **gradebook software** and **formative assessment tools** that align with standards? - Is there a **parent portal app** that keeps families connected in real time? - Can it support **competency-based assessment** and **standards-based grading** for modern learning models? - Is it scalable for district-wide or regional implementations? ## Lessons from Leading K-12 Districts The real-world examples from Durham Catholic, Greater Essex, Algoma, and Lakehead illustrate that the right education software for schools does more than digitize old processes — it redefines what learning communities can achieve. Districts using unified platforms like Edsby report better attendance, higher parent satisfaction, and measurable improvements in student outcomes. These results underscore a broader truth: when teachers are empowered with intuitive tools, and parents have transparent access to learning data, students thrive. The alignment of home and school creates a feedback loop that benefits everyone. ## The Future of Connected Learning The future of K-12 education depends as much on connection as on curriculum. Schools investing in learning management systems for schools that unify communication, assessment, and analytics aren’t just adopting new tools — they’re transforming culture. Platforms like Edsby demonstrate how education management software can bring together teachers, parents, and students under one digital roof. Whether tracking formative and summative assessment, facilitating parent engagement, or using AI for teachers to personalize support, these systems enable more efficient, equitable, and human-centered learning. Modern K-12 engagement isn’t about replacing human connection — it’s about enabling it at scale. The schools leading today’s digital transformation are building connected, informed, and supportive communities where learning truly thrives. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [How district school management software unifies communication](https://www.edsby.com/how-district-school-management-software-unifies-communication/commentary/) **Published:** November 27, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Effective communication is the backbone of successful school operations... **Content:** Educational institutions have witnessed a massive digital transformation over the past decade. This transformation has changed the way schools operate, engage, and communicate. Nowadays, seamless communication is a mandate- it is an important means of running a well-structured academic environment. From teacher-student updates to district-level announcements, effective communication helps maintain transparency, accountability, and better learning outcomes. This is where[ school management software steps in as a game-changer](https://www.edsby.com/). A school management system or software unifies multiple communication channels into a single digital platform. Also, it helps district schools maintain consistency, reducing confusion and enhancing collaboration across all stakeholders: teachers, administrators, students, and parents. In this article, we will explore what school management software is, its core functions, how it unifies communication tools at a district level, and the transformative impact it has on modern K-12 education management solutions. ## What is school management software? School management software is a[ single digital solution](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346483013_Integration_of_School_Management_Systems_Using_a_Centralized_Database_ISMSCD) that streamlines administrative, academic, and operational processes in educational institutions. It automates workflows like attendance management, grading, payroll, communication, scheduling, and reporting. Instead of managing multiple tasks manually across different tools, schools use a single system that centralizes data, keeps it accessible, and ensures consistency. Based on its features, the school management system may be classified as: - School administration software – focusing on HR, finance, admissions, and operations - Classroom management software – supporting instruction delivery, assessments, gradebooks, and behavioral tracking - Education management software – offering enterprise-level capabilities across entire school districts - Learning platforms or best online learning platforms – supporting online classes, assignments, content distribution, and eLearning Modern school management systems serve as both an operational engine and a communication hub, bringing students, teachers, parents, district administrators, and support staff into a single digital ecosystem. ## Why communication is a pain point in schools Before digital transformation, communication in schools depended heavily on printed notices, voice calls, parent-teacher meetings, bulletin boards, manual data collection, and handwritten records. This traditional approach brought multiple challenges, including delayed updates, message inconsistencies between schools in the same district, limited visibility into student progress, high administrative workload, and lack of real-time tracking. In large districts with multiple schools, unstructured communication can easily lead to lost information, mixed messaging, duplicate work, and delays in decision-making. District administrators need a unified platform to ensure that communication flows seamlessly between every school, stakeholder, and document trail—this is exactly what school management software is built to deliver. ## How school management system unifies communication tools Modern[ school management systems like Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/), act as a centralized digital communication engine. They integrate multiple touchpoints—SMS, mobile apps, email, push notifications, and internal dashboards—into one reliable, controlled system. Here are the major ways it brings communication under one umbrella. ### A single digital platform for all stakeholders Instead of using separate apps, emails, or communication tools, a school administration software centralizes messaging and updates for students, teachers, parents, principals, counselors, administrative staff, and district leadership. Every user operates from the same interface, ensuring messages are never scattered, lost, or dependent on detours through intermediaries. ### Real-time updates and notifications Notifications reach all relevant stakeholders instantly, whether it’s a school closure announcement, exam schedule change, classroom assignment update, fee payment reminder, or district policy alert. Most platforms allow updates via mobile app alerts, SMS, emails, logged messages in dashboards. This eliminates delays and keeps the entire system moving faster and more efficiently. ### Centralized district-level command District administrators often manage dozens of schools, thousands of students, hundreds of teachers. A school management software dashboard gives leadership complete visibility into: - Teacher communication trends - Classroom announcements - School performance updates - Student progress - Operational alerts - Policy compliance This is not possible with fragmented systems. Instead, the platform serves as a digital command center, ensuring aligned communication across every school in the district. ### Parent–teacher communication made simple Parent engagement is essential for student success. Traditionally, schools relied on parent-teacher meetings, phone calls, or notebooks, which made communication inconsistent and difficult to track. School management systems simplify this by enabling: - Direct messaging between teachers and parents - Progress reports through dashboards - Digital attendance sharing - Behavior notes - Homework tracking - Performance insights Parents stay actively involved without needing to wait for quarterly meetings. ### Classroom management becomes smarter Best online learning platforms also function as classroom management software, giving teachers tools to manage and communicate classroom activities effortlessly. Teachers can post assignments, share study materials, track grades, send reminders, keep behavioral logs, and update attendance. Students receive everything in one digital space, reducing confusion and improving accountability. ### Integrated learning platforms Modern school management software is often built with or connected to learning platforms. This enables teachers to deliver digital content, multimedia lessons, assessments, and coursework through the same interface used for school operations.Examples of tools often integrated: digital content libraries, learning analytics, assignments and quiz modules, discussion forums, and virtual classrooms. This also means schools don’t need multiple logins for academic delivery—the experience remains unified, reliable, and easy to manage across the district. ### A digital record of all communication Every message, alert, update, or notification is stored digitally. This creates audit trails for administrative verification, accountability across roles, compliance reporting, evidence-based decision-making. Districts no longer rely on verbal updates or misplaced documents. Data becomes permanent, organized, and usable for strategic planning. When communication flows openly and in real time: - Parents feel informed - Teachers feel supported - Students feel guided - Administrators gain clarity A transparent communication system reduces misunderstandings and builds a stronger school–home–district partnership. ## [![Edsby - School Management Software ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Key features of learning platforms that improve communication While different platforms offer varied functionality, the following features directly enhance communication efficiency in schools and districts. ### Multi-channel messaging & role-based control Administrators can choose the most effective channel for every communication type, including: SMS, email, mobile app interactions, in-platform messages. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators see only the information relevant to their roles. ### District-level broadcast announcements Central office communication can be sent to: all schools, all teachers, specific grades, parents only, and individual school groups, ensuring consistent and professional information flow. ### Event and calendar management Shared digital calendars allow seamless announcements for: exams, PTA meetings, holidays, district training, sports and cultural events, and users receiving automated reminders. ### Attendance and performance notifications Parents can get real-time updates whenever a student is absent, grades are published, assignments are overdue, and behavioral notes are added. This helps strengthen accountability and student performance. ### Document and policy distribution Instead of printing circulars or relying on email chaos, schools can share digital documents such as: rulebooks, district policies, student handbooks, forms, and academic reports. Staff and parents can access them anytime. ### Integrated learning platforms When the school management system doubles as one of the[ best education management systems](https://www.edsby.com/10-best-k-12-education-management-solutions-in-2026/commentary/), communication around: assignments, test results, syllabus, learning materials. and automated tracking tools. ## Benefits of unified communication in district-wide school systems Implementing centralized school management software delivers measurable improvements across the entire education ecosystem. - Saves Time and Reduces Administrative Burden: Automated notifications and single-dashboard messaging eliminate repetitive manual tasks for teachers and administrators. - Eliminates Information Gaps: Messages are never lost, delayed, or stuck in isolated systems—every user receives updates on time. Hence, it is important to eliminate information gaps. - Achieves Consistency Across Schools: District-wide messaging ensures all schools follow uniform communication standards and formats and helps achieve consistency. - Supports Better Academic Outcomes: Real-time visibility into performance motivates students and enables early intervention supporting better academic outcomes. - Strengthens Parent Involvement: Parents stay looped in without needing frequent visits or calls so that they can be involved thoroughly in the entire process. - Improves Staff Collaboration: Teachers can coordinate lesson plans, share resources, and track class communication effortlessly. - Enhances Transparency and Data Security: Digital audit trails provide accountability, while centralized systems offer safer data storage than scattered tools. ## How to implement a unified communication strategy with the best online learning solutions? Districts looking to modernize their communication workflow should follow a structured approach: Districts looking to modernize their communication workflow should follow a structured approach: ### 1. Assess existing gaps Identify challenges like: delayed announcements, fragmented communication tools, unverified data logs, and a lack of transparency. ### 2. Choose a scalable education management software Select a platform that supports district-wide deployment, integrates school administration software features, offers classroom management tools, and connects with learning platforms. ### 3. Train educators and staff Successful adoption requires user training, platform walkthroughs, and role-based onboarding, ongoing training facility. ### 4. Standardize communication policies It is important to define who can broadcast messages, how updates are escalated, and which are the approved communication channels. ### 5. Monitor and evaluate Use dashboards and reporting to track improvement in engagement, transparency, and operational efficiency. ## The future of communication in district schools Instead of functioning as just administrative utilities, these digital platforms are turning into intelligent communication engines that dynamically improve learning outcomes and institutional performance. School management software is rapidly evolving to incorporate: - AI-driven chatbots for student questions - Automated parent engagement analytics - Voice-to-text messaging - Predictive academic alerts - Real-time behavioral reporting - Omnichannel messaging ecosystems ## Final thoughts In today’s fast-paced academic environment, effective communication is the backbone of successful school operations. School management software transforms the way district schools communicate by consolidating alerts, messaging, attendance updates, academic reports, classroom management, and digital learning platforms into a single reliable system. From ensuring parents stay involved to offering district administrators clear oversight, it bridges gaps that outdated communication models can no longer support. As districts adopt more digital solutions, unified communication powered by school management software will continue to be the key to stronger partnerships, better decision-making, and improved student success across the board. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is district school management software? District school management software is a centralized digital platform that helps K 12 districts manage communication, academics, attendance, and administration across all schools. It replaces disconnected tools with one secure system that keeps educators, students, and families aligned. ### 2. Why is communication a major challenge for school districts? School districts often rely on emails, portals, and paper notices that do not connect with each other. This leads to missed messages, inconsistent updates, and confusion among staff and families, especially across multiple schools. ### 3. How does poor communication impact teaching and learning? When communication breaks down, teachers lose instructional time, parents miss important updates, and students receive mixed messages. Over time, this affects engagement, trust, and overall learning outcomes. ### 4. Who benefits most from unified school communication systems? District leaders, school administrators, teachers, students, and families all benefit. A unified system ensures everyone receives accurate information at the right time from a single trusted source. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** School management software, school management system, school administration software, classroom management software, education management software --- ### [Top school management system trends shaping K-12 education in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/k12-school-management-system-trends/commentary/) **Published:** December 12, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Trends show K-12 schools will benefit from AI, and cloud enhancing management and learning. **Content:** Technology is reshaping education every year. In 2026, the changes in school management systems will be significant, especially for K-12 institutions. Schools need tools that simplify administration and improve learning experiences. But what [school management system trends will dominate in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/)? Let’s explore the latest insights and see what makes the best school management system software for K-12 schools stand out. ## What does a school management system mean First, it’s important to know what a school management system is. It is a [digital platform](https://ies.ed.gov/funding/research/programs/research-networks-focused-on-critical-problems-of-education-policy-and-practice/digital-learning-platforms-to-enable-efficient-education-research-network) that helps schools handle daily tasks. These include attendance, grading, communication, scheduling, and fee management. Such systems bring all school functions into one place. This approach saves time and reduces errors. In 2026, more schools will adopt these systems. They see the value in automation and data management. But not all systems are equal. Choosing the right one depends on the school’s needs and scale. ## Why K-12 schools need advanced management systems K-12 schools face unique challenges. They manage large groups of students with different age groups and curriculum needs. Teachers must track progress accurately. Parents want quick updates. Administrators need efficient scheduling and fee collection. Hence, the [best school management system software for K12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) must be user-friendly. It should support student-centered learning and parental engagement. Also, data security becomes crucial as personal information is involved. However, it is important for the schools to explore the ruling school management system software trends in 2026. [![software for classroom management](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## New trends shaping school management systems in 2026 Several trends will guide the evolution of school management systems. These trends focus on improving communication, easing administrative tasks, and enhancing education quality. ### Cloud-based solutions will dominate Many schools are moving away from old desktop software. Cloud-based systems offer flexibility. They allow access anytime, anywhere, on any device. This ensures teachers, parents, and students stay connected. Moreover, updates happen automatically without needing IT help. Because of these benefits, schools will choose cloud-based school management systems more often. It reduces infrastructure costs and boosts collaboration. ### AI-powered analytics and personalized learning Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a bigger role. School systems will use AI to analyze student data for personalized learning paths. This helps identify strengths and weaknesses early. For K-12 schools, adapting school management system trends and lessons to each student’s pace improves outcomes. AI will also help automate routine tasks like attendance marking and grading quizzes. Thus, teachers can focus more on teaching. ### Enhanced mobile accessibility Today’s users prefer mobile devices for communication and learning. Top school management systems in 2026 will have dedicated mobile apps. These apps will provide real-time updates on attendance, assignments, and school events. Parents will appreciate instant notifications about their child’s progress and school announcements. Mobile access makes school management more transparent and efficient. ### Integration with learning management systems (LMS) Another big change is the integration of school management systems with LMS platforms. This combination creates a seamless experience. Schools can run administrative tasks alongside online classes and assessments. Such integration ensures data flows smoothly between systems, reducing manual entry errors. It also supports hybrid learning models that many K-12 schools continue to use. ### Emphasis on data security and privacy As schools collect more data, protecting it becomes essential. New regulations worldwide urge institutions to safeguard student information. Therefore, the best school management system software for K-12 schools will have robust encryption and user access controls. Schools will prioritize platforms that comply with privacy standards such as GDPR and COPPA. ### More focus on parent-teacher collaboration The role of parents in education grows stronger each year. School management systems in 2026 will feature enhanced communication tools like chat, video calls, and event calendars. Continuous engagement helps track student progress better. It builds a stronger school community, which positively impacts students’ motivation and achievement. ## Choosing the best school management system software for K12 Schools With many options available and emerging school management system trends, selecting the best system can feel overwhelming. However, keeping a few critical factors in mind can help. - Usability: The system should be easy for teachers, administrators, and parents to use without extensive training. - Customization: Schools need flexible software that fits their unique processes and curriculum. - Support: Reliable vendor support is necessary for smooth implementation and troubleshooting. - Cost: Affordability matters, especially for public schools with limited budgets. Cloud solutions often offer subscription models suited to this. - Features: Look for features tailored to K-12 needs, like attendance tracking, report cards, fee management, and communication portals. Schools that focus on these factors will adopt management software that improves efficiency and supports student success. ### How school management systems improve daily school life The impact of a good school management system goes beyond just automation. It transforms how schools operate daily. - Teachers can spend less time on paperwork thanks to automated grade and attendance entries. Scheduling becomes hassle-free, leading to fewer conflicts for classes and exams. - Students benefit when their records are accurate and accessible. Timely homework reminders and performance reports keep them engaged. - Parents gain peace of mind through instant updates and direct communication with schools. This holistic improvement nurtures a positive school environment, encouraging continuous growth. ### Future outlook beyond 2026 The rapid pace of technology means school management systems will continue to evolve after 2026. Emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) could integrate with these systems to enhance learning experiences. This emergence plays important roles in shaping school management system trends in 2026. Big data could provide deeper insights into student behavior and help tailor educational programs even further. Schools should stay adaptable and open to innovation to keep pace with these advancements. ## Final thoughts School management system trends in 2026 indicate a move towards smarter, cloud-based, and AI-driven solutions. K-12 institutions will benefit greatly by adopting these advanced tools. From improving communication to personalizing learning, the best school management system software for K-12 schools will empower educators, students, and parents alike. By keeping these school management system trends in mind, schools can make informed decisions and prepare effectively for the future of education management. Embracing new technology is essential in creating a nurturing and efficient learning environment today and beyond. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What external factors are driving new K-12 school management system trends beyond technology adoption? Trends in K-12 school management software are driven not just by tech advances but by wider educational priorities like regulatory compliance for student data, rising demand for real-time communication between families and schools, and the need for remote/hybrid learning readiness. In some regions, new cybersecurity legislation and privacy standards are accelerating adoption of systems that embed both administrative automation and robust data protections to support student success and operational resilience. ### 2.How can schools evaluate the balance between advanced features (like AI analytics) and usability in a school management system? When considering K-12 school management platforms, stakeholders should assess whether sophisticated features such as AI-driven analytics and predictive insights are supported by intuitive interfaces that minimize training time. Look for dashboards that present actionable data clearly, customizable settings to match workflows, and responsive support resources. Ease of use ensures that teachers, administrators, and parents can benefit from advanced functions without steep learning curves.[ ](https://vocal.media/journal/trends-in-school-management-system-what-s-new-in-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. What technical considerations should IT teams examine before finalizing a school management system purchase? IT teams should focus on infrastructure compatibility, scalability, and integration capabilities. Key considerations include secure API support for interoperability with existing LMS, HR, and financial systems; strong encryption and role-based access controls; compliance with global privacy standards; and efficient mobile access to support stakeholders on all devices. Evaluating these factors helps ensure the system performs reliably at scale while safeguarding sensitive student and staff data.[ ](https://www.classter.com/blog/edtech/whats-next-for-school-management-systems-in-2025/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 4. After implementation, how can schools measure whether their school management system is delivering long-term value? Schools can measure long-term value through metrics aligned to operational efficiency and educational outcomes. Examples include reductions in administrative workload (e.g., automated attendance and grading time), improvements in communication turnaround with parents, user engagement levels on mobile platforms, accuracy of performance reporting, and responsiveness of support services. Regularly reviewing these metrics helps schools optimize usage and guide future upgrades or training initiatives. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** School management system trends, what school management system, best school management system software for k12 schools --- ### [How e-learning platforms shape student motivation and engagement](https://www.edsby.com/how-e-learning-platforms-shape-student-motivation-and-engagement/commentary/) **Published:** December 12, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn role of e-learning platforms in improving student motivation & engagement for better learning **Content:** E-learning platforms have changed the way students learn. These tools bring structure to digital learning. They also help students stay motivated. They give learners more freedom and more support. They make lessons easy to access. Also, the e-learning platforms make learning feel more personal. Because of these strengths, e-learning platforms now play a major role in modern education. Students today need flexible learning. Also, these people need clear feedback. They want interactive content. They also want continuous support. E-learning platforms help them achieve all of this. These platforms give a space where learning becomes active. They allow students to explore content at their own pace. They also help teachers guide learning more effectively. This combination builds strong motivation and steady engagement. Next, let us understand how these platforms influence motivation. Then we will look at how they support engagement. After that, we will see what makes the best e-learning platforms successful. Finally, we will discuss how schools and educators can use them well. ## Why motivation matters in digital learning Motivation drives learning. Students need motivation to stay focused. They need it to complete tasks. They also need it to feel confident. Without motivation, digital learning becomes difficult. Online content alone cannot help students learn deeply. They need structure. They also need feedback. They need interaction. They need a sense of progress. E-learning platforms support all of these needs. Many students struggle in online spaces because they feel isolated. They may lose track of goals. They may feel confused. They may not know what to do next. This is where e-learning platforms help. They give clear paths. They offer reminders. They also offer tools that increase involvement. These features improve motivation in simple, powerful ways. ## How platforms for e-learning boost student motivation E-learning platforms shape motivation using several features. First, they give clear instructions. Second, they offer visual progress indicators. Third, they support flexible learning. Fourth, they provide instant feedback. Fifth, they offer rewards. Sixth, they include interactive content. These features make students feel supported. They also make learning less stressful. They help students take charge of their goals. 1. Clear learning paths Students stay motivated when they understand the journey. E-learning platforms show modules, lessons, and steps. They break content into small pieces. They show where the student is. They also show what comes next. This reduces confusion. It increases confidence. It helps students feel in control. 2. Progress tracking and badges Progress bars help students see growth. Badges push them to complete tasks. Certificates give them pride. These simple elements bring strong motivation. They act as small wins. They keep learners moving. They also support long-term learning habits. 3. Personalized learning Students learn differently. Some prefer videos. Some like readings. Some need practice tests. Platforms for e-learning allow this choice. They adapt to the learner’s needs. They adjust difficulty. They also suggest new lessons. This personal touch motivates students. It makes them feel seen. 4. Instant feedback and analytics Feedback is key to motivation. E-learning platforms provide quick results. They show scores. They offer explanations. They highlight strengths. They also show weak areas. Students get guidance at the right moment. This quick connection improves motivation. It also reduces frustration. 5. Interactive and gamified content Games add excitement. Quizzes add challenge. Simulations bring real-world experience. These tools turn passive lessons into active ones. They also keep students involved for longer. Gamified tools are found in many of the best online learning platforms today. They make learning memorable. They support motivation in powerful ways. ## How online e-learning platforms improve engagement Engagement is the result of active learning. Students must interact. They must think. They must reflect. They must solve problems. E-learning tools make this possible. They give space for activities. They allow discussions. They bring multimedia into lessons. They also encourage collaboration. Next, let us explore how these platforms improve engagement in detail. Then we will look at the role of teachers. After that, we will see how the [best e-learning platforms like Edsby stand out](https://www.edsby.com/). 1. Diverse content formats Videos attract attention. Images simplify ideas. Quizzes test understanding. PDFs support reading. Audio clips help auditory learners. E-learning platforms combine all of these. The mix keeps learners engaged. It also reduces boredom. 2. Discussion boards and chats Engagement grows when students talk to each other. Online discussion boards encourage this. Students share ideas. They ask questions. They reflect on lessons. Live chat also helps. It offers instant support. These spaces mimic classroom interaction. They also help shy students participate more. 3. Live sessions and virtual classrooms Live teaching adds human connection. Teachers explain concepts in real time. Students ask questions. They engage in group tasks. This blend of live and self-paced learning increases engagement. Many of the best online e learning platforms combine both formats to build a complete learning experience. 4. Real-time notifications Notifications remind students of tasks. They push them to complete lessons. They keep them involved. They also reduce missed deadlines. This small feature plays a huge role in engagement. 5. Adaptive learning tools Adaptive tools adjust difficulty. They challenge students at the right level. This reduces boredom. It also prevents frustration. When learning feels balanced, students stay engaged for longer. ## Why the best e-learning platforms perform better The best e-learning platforms work well because they follow strong design principles. They keep content simple. They use clean layouts. They offer smooth navigation. They include search tools. They make instructions clear. These elements support motivation and engagement. Next, they focus on user experience. Buttons are easy to find. Lessons open quickly. Videos play smoothly. Quizzes load fast. These small details matter. They shape the overall learning experience. [![education management system](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) These platforms also invest in analytics. They track learning patterns. They show reports. They help teachers understand gaps. They help students monitor progress. Data leads to better decisions. It also drives better engagement strategies. Finally, the best online e learning platforms support collaboration. They offer shared documents. They offer group tasks. They include digital whiteboards. They bring teamwork into digital spaces. This makes learning social. It builds stronger engagement. ## The role of teachers in e-learning engagement Platforms alone cannot shape engagement. Teachers also play a major role. They design content. They guide discussions. They motivate students. They give feedback. They track progress. E-learning platforms support them. They make teaching easier. They give teachers tools to enrich lessons. They also reduce administrative work. This gives teachers more time to focus on engagement strategies. When teachers use platforms well, students feel supported. They feel guided. They feel connected. This emotional connection increases both motivation and engagement. ## How schools can make the most of e-learning platforms Schools must train teachers. They must choose platforms carefully. They must review [student feedback](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13538320120045058). They must keep the content updated. They must use analytics. They must encourage active learning. They must support parents. These steps help schools get full value from online learning platforms. Schools should also choose platforms that match their needs. Some tools focus on content. Some focus on analytics. Some focus on collaboration. Some focus on flexibility. The right choice will make digital learning smooth and effective. ## Final thoughts E-learning platforms are reshaping student motivation and engagement. They make learning flexible. They make learning interactive. They provide clear paths. They offer instant feedback. They track progress. They personalise learning. They also help teachers guide learners well. Students grow when they feel supported. They stay motivated when they see progress. They engage more when lessons feel active. E-learning tools bring all these elements together. This is why e-learning platforms are becoming essential in modern education. This is also why schools are investing in the [best e-learning platforms for stronger learning outcomes](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/). E-learning is now more than a delivery method. It is a powerful system that inspires learners. It builds confidence. It encourages exploration. It shapes a better learning future. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. How do psychological theories like intrinsic motivation and flow relate to student engagement on e-learning platforms? E-learning platforms support psychological motivation by aligning with theories such as intrinsic motivation and flow. Intrinsic motivation — where learners engage because the activity itself is rewarding — increases engagement when platforms offer autonomy, variety, and challenge. The flow state describes deep immersion in a task; when courses are well-paced with clear goals and immediate feedback, students are more likely to enter this state and sustain focus. These aspects show that motivation and engagement stem not just from features but from how learning experiences are designed. ### 2. What role do analytics and learning data play in enhancing long-term learner engagement on e-learning platforms? Learning analytics help educators identify patterns in student behavior — such as frequent pauses, skipped modules, or repeated attempts — and intervene with timely guidance or resources. By analysing performance trends, instructors can tailor content difficulty, recommend specific exercises, or offer targeted support to keep learners engaged. Data-driven insights also inform instructional improvements that sustain motivation over time, making analytics a key differentiator in platform effectiveness.[ ](https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3032?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. What platform features are critical to support diverse learning preferences and increase engagement for all students? To support varied learner preferences, an e-learning platform should provide multi-format content (video, audio, text, simulations), adaptive assessments that tailor challenge levels, and collaboration tools like discussion forums or group projects. Adaptive learning ensures that content difficulty matches each learner’s pace, reducing frustration and boredom. Platforms with mobile accessibility and responsive design also help maintain engagement by allowing students to learn anytime, anywhere. ### 4. How can educators use feedback loops to maintain high engagement and motivation after implementing an e-learning platform? Feedback loops — where students receive frequent, timely responses on their work — are essential for sustained engagement. Platforms that incorporate quizzes with instant results, personalized progress reports, and clear guidance on next steps help learners internalize their achievements and areas for improvement. Educators can further strengthen these loops by soliciting learner feedback about content quality and platform usability, then adjusting curriculum strategies accordingly. This ongoing cycle of input and response keeps content relevant and learner motivation high. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** best e learning platforms, e-learning platforms, online learning platforms, platforms for e-learning, best online e learning platforms --- ### [Top 5 K-12 digital learning platforms in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/top-k12-digital-learning-platforms/commentary/) **Published:** July 21, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A ranked 2026 comparison of top 5 K-12 digital learning platforms for districts. **Content:** Choosing a digital learning platform is one of the highest-stakes technology decisions a public school district makes each year. The right platform touches nearly every part of daily school life, from how teachers post assignments to how parents find out their child missed one. The wrong platform, or the wrong combination of overlapping tools, creates friction that shows up in support tickets, frustrated families, and teachers who quietly stop using half of what they were given. Below is a ranked, criteria-based comparison of the top 5 digital learning platforms district leaders most often evaluate, starting with Edsby and followed by five widely used alternatives, so you can see how each one measures up on the factors that matter most for a public K-12 system. ## Evaluation criteria for K-12 digital learning platforms Rather than ranking platforms on marketing claims, this comparison focuses on three criteria that district leaders consistently name as priorities when selecting a digital learning platform in 2026: how well the platform supports [genuine parent engagement](https://www.edsby.com/school-apps-for-parent-engagement-k12-data/commentary/) rather than one way notifications, how capably it handles virtual and blended classroom instruction alongside in person teaching, and how well it fits the operational reality of a public school district, including data privacy, administrative reporting, and the ability to scale across dozens or hundreds of schools without breaking down. Every platform on this list is capable in its own right. Where they differ is in how much of the daily workload they take off a district’s plate versus how much integration work districts have to do themselves, and how complete a picture of student progress each one gives to the people who need it. ## 1. Edsby Edsby, [EdTech Best Learning Management System Solution Award Winner](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2026-finalists-winners/), earns the top spot because it was designed from the ground up as a unified K-12 platform rather than a single-purpose tool that later added integrations. Parent engagement is not a bolt-on notification feed in Edsby; it is tied directly to the same gradebook, attendance, and assignment records that teachers use every day, so a message to a family reflects exactly what is happening in the classroom rather than a generic summary. In virtual classrooms, Edsby keeps online and in-person instruction inside the same workflow. A teacher managing a blended class does not need to maintain a separate system for remote assignments or virtual discussion, which reduces both training time and the risk of inconsistent records across a building. For district leaders, this consistency extends to reporting: because academic, attendance, and communication data live in one system, district-wide reports do not require manually reconciling exports from multiple platforms. District fit is where Edsby’s advantage becomes most apparent for larger systems. The platform is built to scale across many schools with consistent [data governance](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/) and centralized administrative visibility, while still giving individual schools and teachers the flexibility to manage their own classrooms. For a superintendent trying to reduce the number of vendor relationships and support burdens the district carries, that combination of scale and cohesion is difficult to replicate with a stack of separate tools. ## [![digital learning platform for k-12](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 2. Google Classroom Google Classroom remains one of the most widely adopted tools in K-12 education, largely because of its deep integration with the Google Workspace suite that many districts already use for email, documents, and file storage. Teachers who are comfortable in Google’s ecosystem tend to find the interface familiar and easy to pick up, which supports fast initial adoption. Where Google Classroom is more limited is parent engagement and district-wide reporting. The platform was built primarily as an assignment and content delivery tool for teachers and students, and parent visibility depends on a separate email summary feature that offers far less detail than a fully integrated communication system. Districts that rely on Google Classroom as their primary platform often need to layer a separate communication app on top of it to give families the level of detail they expect, which reintroduces the fragmentation that unified platforms are meant to solve. For virtual instruction, Google Classroom handles content delivery well but offers less structured support for attendance and standards tracking compared to platforms built specifically for K-12 academic workflows. Districts using it as a full digital learning platform, rather than purely as a content tool alongside a student information system, often find themselves managing more manual reconciliation between systems. ## 3. Schoology (Instructure) Schoology, now part of Instructure, offers a robust set of academic tools including gradebook management, standards alignment, and assessment features that appeal to secondary schools with complex course structures. Its strength lies in academic content management and its ability to support detailed curriculum mapping across a district. Parent engagement in Schoology is available but generally requires families to actively check a portal rather than receiving the kind of proactive, structured updates that a platform designed around family communication provides by default. District leaders evaluating Schoology for its parent facing experience often find it adequate but not distinctive compared to platforms where communication is a core design principle rather than an added feature. Virtual classroom support in Schoology is solid, particularly for secondary schools running hybrid or fully online course sections, since the platform was built with course management flexibility in mind. For district fit, Schoology tends to work best in systems that already have strong IT capacity to manage configuration and integrations, since much of its power comes from how thoroughly a district customizes it during implementation. ## 4. Seesaw Seesaw has built a strong following, particularly in elementary schools, for its student-friendly interface and its emphasis on showcasing student work directly to families. Young students can record voice notes, upload photos of their work, and build a portfolio that parents can see in near real time, which creates a genuinely engaging family experience for early grades. The tradeoff is that Seesaw’s strength in elementary engagement does not extend as naturally into the academic depth secondary schools need, including standards-based grading, detailed attendance tracking, or district-wide reporting on student progress across a full K-12 system. Districts that adopt Seesaw for younger grades often need a separate platform for middle and high school, which reintroduces the multiple system problem that unified platforms aim to eliminate. For virtual classrooms, Seesaw supports asynchronous work well but offers less structure for live virtual instruction compared to platforms built around full course management. District fit is strongest for elementary-focused deployments rather than as a single platform spanning an entire K-12 system. ## 5. Moodle Moodle is an open source learning management system with a long track record in both K-12 and higher education. Its flexibility is its defining characteristic: because it is open source, districts with strong technical capacity can customize nearly every aspect of the platform to fit specific instructional needs. That same flexibility can be a liability for districts without a dedicated development team, since Moodle’s parent engagement and communication features are comparatively bare in their default configuration and often require additional plugins or custom development to reach the level of family visibility that purpose-built K-12 platforms offer out of the box. Hosting and maintenance also typically fall to the district’s own IT staff or a third-party host, which adds operational overhead that fully managed platforms do not require. Virtual classroom capability in Moodle is genuinely strong for districts willing to invest in configuration, with support for a wide range of activity types and assessment formats. For district fit, Moodle tends to work best for systems with in-house technical expertise and a preference for full control over their platform’s configuration, rather than districts looking for a ready-to-use solution that requires minimal ongoing customization. ## Comparing the platforms side by side A few patterns emerge when these [platforms are compared directly](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/). Parent engagement ranges from deeply integrated, as in Edsby, to functional but secondary, as in Google Classroom, Schoology, and Moodle, to genuinely strong but narrowly focused, as in Seesaw’s elementary emphasis. Virtual classroom support is broadly available across all six platforms, though the degree to which it integrates cleanly with in-person instruction and district-wide reporting varies considerably. District fit depends heavily on a district’s own technical capacity: platforms like Moodle reward districts with strong internal IT resources, while unified platforms like Edsby are built to reduce that burden regardless of a district’s internal technical depth. The consistent theme is that districts rarely fail because a platform lacks features. They struggle when the features that exist do not talk to each other, forcing staff to manually bridge gaps between systems that should share data automatically. That is the core problem a genuinely unified platform is meant to solve. ## What the research says about platform design The evidence on digital learning tools increasingly points to implementation and design coherence, not raw feature count, as the strongest predictor of impact. A [peer-reviewed study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10564997/) examining the broader ecosystem of K-12 online learning in the post-pandemic period found that school-level support and how well a platform’s structure aligns with teacher and student needs significantly shapes engagement and outcomes, more so than any single tool’s individual capabilities. This finding reinforces why district leaders should weigh integration and daily usability as heavily as any individual feature when comparing platforms. A tool that looks complete on a feature checklist can still fall short if it does not fit naturally into how teachers, students, and families already interact with school information. ## The hidden cost of running multiple platforms Beyond the criteria used to build this ranking, district leaders should weigh a cost that rarely shows up on a feature comparison sheet: the operational cost of running several platforms side by side instead of one unified system. Every additional tool in a district’s technology stack adds a separate login for teachers and families to remember, a separate support workflow for the help desk to maintain, and a separate vendor contract for the business office to track and renew. None of these costs are dramatic on their own, but they compound quickly across a district with dozens of schools and thousands of families. There is also a data quality cost that is easy to underestimate. When academic records live in one platform and communication lives in another, someone, usually a teacher or a school registrar, has to manually keep both systems current. Every manual step is an opportunity for information to fall out of sync, whether that means a parent seeing outdated grades or an administrator working from an attendance report that does not reflect the most recent day. Districts that consolidate onto a single platform eliminate this synchronization burden entirely, because there is only one system of record rather than several that need to agree with each other. This is part of why total cost of ownership has become a bigger factor in platform evaluations heading into 2026 than it was five years ago. A platform that appears less expensive on a per-license basis can end up costing more once a district accounts for the staff time spent maintaining integrations, troubleshooting sync issues, and fielding support calls from confused families who do not know which app to check for which kind of update. ## Questions to ask during your evaluation District leaders comparing these platforms should ask a consistent set of questions regardless of which vendors are on their shortlist. Does parent communication update automatically when a grade or attendance record changes, or does it require a separate manual step? How much IT staff time will ongoing maintenance and configuration require once the platform is live? Does the platform provide district-wide reporting without requiring manual data exports from multiple systems? And how does the vendor support data privacy compliance under FERPA and applicable state law? These questions matter more than any individual feature comparison because they get at the operational reality of running a platform across an entire district for years, not just the experience of a single classroom during a demo. ## Making the right choice for your district The right digital learning platform for your district depends on your specific priorities, whether that is elementary engagement, secondary course complexity, technical customization, or district-wide unification. For systems that want to reduce the number of tools they manage while giving every stakeholder, from classroom teacher to superintendent, a complete and connected view of student progress, Edsby’s unified design offers a strong starting point for the coming school year. For district leaders comparing options heading into the coming school year, Edsby stands out as the platform built specifically to unify parent engagement, virtual classroom instruction, and district-wide oversight inside a single environment, rather than stitching those pieces together from separate vendors. It is worth noting that no single platform will be a perfect fit for every district on every criterion, and that is a normal part of an honest evaluation process. A district with a highly developed in-house technical team and a strong appetite for customization may find that the flexibility of an open source platform like Moodle outweighs the convenience of a fully managed system. A district with a heavy elementary population and limited need for complex secondary course structures may find Seesaw’s classroom engagement features hard to beat for younger grades. The goal of this comparison is not to suggest that one platform is right for every situation, but to give district leaders a clear, criteria based way to weigh their options against the priorities that matter most for their own community, rather than relying on vendor marketing alone. ## Frequently asked questions ### What criteria matter most when choosing a K-12 digital learning platform? Parent engagement depth, virtual classroom support, and district-wide fit, including data privacy and reporting, are the criteria that most consistently predict long-term success once a platform is deployed across a district. ### Is Edsby a good fit for both elementary and secondary schools? Yes. Edsby is built as a single K-12 platform that supports elementary engagement features alongside the academic depth secondary schools need, including standards-based grading and detailed attendance tracking, without requiring separate systems for different grade bands. ### Do these platforms all support virtual and hybrid instruction? All six platforms discussed here support some form of virtual instruction, though the degree of integration with in-person classroom data and district-wide reporting varies significantly between them. ### How much IT staff involvement does each platform typically require? Open source platforms like Moodle generally require the most in-house technical capacity, while fully managed unified platforms like Edsby are designed to minimize ongoing configuration and maintenance burden on district IT teams. ### Can a district switch from multiple point solutions to a single unified platform mid-year? It is possible but not ideal. Most districts see smoother adoption when a platform transition aligns with a natural break point, such as the start of a school year, giving staff and families time to adjust before daily use becomes routine. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** e-learning solutions, virtual classroom, digital learning platforms, K-12 education, online learning, educational technology --- ### [Top K-12 workflow systems for school districts](https://www.edsby.com/top-k12-workflow-systems-for-school-districts/commentary/) **Published:** July 21, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A ranked comparison of top K-12 workflow systems for districts. **Content:** School districts run on process. Enrollment, attendance follow-up, special education documentation, staff onboarding, and dozens of other recurring workflows keep a district functioning day to day, and how well those processes are managed has a direct effect on how much time staff spends on paperwork versus students. As districts head into the 2026 school year, K-12 workflow systems and administrative systems have become a bigger part of the technology conversation, not because the underlying tasks are new, but because the cost of managing them manually, through email chains and paper forms, has become harder to justify. This comparison ranks the K-12 workflow systems district leaders most commonly evaluate, based on operational efficiency and how well each platform supports the kind of school process management that keeps a district running smoothly. Edsby leads the list because it approaches workflow not as a separate administrative add-on, but as something built into the same system schools already use for academic and communication data, followed by four widely used platforms that each take a different approach to the same underlying problem. ## What operational efficiency actually means for a district Before comparing specific platforms, it helps to define what “efficient” workflow management actually looks like inside a public school district. It does not simply mean fewer clicks in a single form. It means a reduction in the total number of separate systems and manual handoffs required to move a task, whether that is an enrollment record, an attendance follow-up, or an approval request, from start to finish. It means staff spending less time chasing down missing paperwork or reconciling data that lives in two different places, and more time on the parts of their job that actually require human judgment. It also means visibility. A district leader should be able to see where a given process stands, whether that is a new student’s enrollment paperwork or a special education documentation timeline, without needing to call three different offices to piece together the full picture. Platforms that provide this kind of visibility natively tend to reduce administrative bottlenecks far more effectively than platforms that simply digitize a paper form without changing how that form moves through a district’s broader process. ## 1. Edsby Edsby [ranks first](https://www.edsby.com/best-lms-2026-edtech-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) on this list because its approach to workflow is not a bolt-on module separate from academic and communication data, but a natural extension of the same unified system a district already uses every day. Attendance follow-up, for example, does not require a separate workflow tool layered on top of the[ attendance record](https://www.edsby.com/manual-vs-school-attendance-tracking-software/commentary/); the same system that captures the attendance mark can trigger the appropriate family communication and administrative follow-up automatically, without staff needing to manually initiate a separate process. This integration matters enormously for operational efficiency because it eliminates the handoffs between systems that create delay and error in many districts. A workflow tool that operates independently from a district’s core student data still requires someone to manually transfer information between the two, which reintroduces exactly the kind of administrative burden workflow automation is supposed to eliminate. Because Edsby’s workflow capabilities are built on the same underlying student and family data used across the rest of the platform, processes move with far fewer manual steps. For district leaders, Edsby’s centralized visibility into workflow status across every school in the district supports better oversight without requiring administrators to check in individually with each building. Combined with the platform’s broader academic and communication features, this makes Edsby particularly strong for districts looking to consolidate not just their instructional tools, but their overall operational footprint, into a single coherent system. ## [![K-12 workflow systems ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 2. Instructure Instructure, primarily known for its Canvas learning management system, has expanded its ecosystem over time to include some administrative and workflow-adjacent capabilities, particularly around course and curriculum management processes. For districts already using Canvas as their core academic platform, these workflow features offer some efficiency benefit by keeping curriculum-related processes inside a familiar system. Where Instructure is more limited is in broader [school administrative software](https://www.edsby.com/unified-school-administration-software/commentary/) that extends beyond academic content, such as enrollment processing, special education documentation, or general administrative approvals. Districts looking for a comprehensive workflow system typically need to pair Instructure’s academic tools with a separate administrative platform to cover these broader operational needs, which reduces the overall efficiency gain compared to a platform built for administrative workflow from the start. Operational efficiency with Instructure tends to be strongest for curriculum-specific processes and weaker for the general administrative workflows that consume significant staff time across a district’s central office and individual school front offices. ## 3. Google Classroom Google Classroom’s workflow capabilities are closely tied to the broader Google Workspace ecosystem, which many districts already use for email, forms, and document management. Districts that build custom workflows using Google Forms and Google Sheets can achieve some process automation, particularly for simpler approval chains or data collection tasks. The tradeoff is that these workflows are largely custom-built by district staff rather than provided as a structured, purpose-built system. This gives districts flexibility but also places the burden of designing, maintaining, and troubleshooting these workflows on internal staff, often without dedicated IT resources for ongoing support. As these custom-built processes accumulate over time, they can become difficult to maintain, particularly when the staff member who originally built a given workflow leaves the district. Operational efficiency with this approach depends heavily on a district’s internal capacity to build and sustain custom automation, which makes it a stronger fit for districts with strong technical staff and a preference for building their own tools rather than adopting a structured, ready-to-use workflow system. ## 4. Schoology Schoology, like Instructure, focuses primarily on academic content management, with workflow capabilities largely centered on course approval processes, curriculum mapping, and academic content review rather than the broader administrative processes that occupy significant staff time across a district’s operations. For districts already using Schoology for academic purposes, its workflow tools offer incremental efficiency gains within that academic scope. However, districts looking for support with enrollment processing, HR onboarding, special education documentation timelines, or other non-academic administrative workflows generally need a separate system to cover those needs, since this falls outside what Schoology was primarily designed to manage. Platform fit for Schoology’s workflow features is strongest for districts specifically focused on academic and curriculum process efficiency, rather than districts looking for comprehensive operational workflow support across the full range of district administrative functions. ## 5. Moodle Moodle’s open source architecture allows technically capable districts to build custom workflow extensions, similar to how it supports custom instructional configurations. Districts with dedicated development resources can, in principle, build fairly sophisticated administrative workflows on top of Moodle’s core platform. In practice, this requires significant technical investment that many public school districts do not have readily available. Without custom development, Moodle’s out-of-the-box workflow capabilities remain fairly limited, focused primarily on academic content approval processes rather than broader district administrative functions. This mirrors the pattern seen with other academically focused platforms on this list: workflow support tends to concentrate around curriculum and content processes rather than the full range of administrative tasks a district manages. Operational efficiency gains from Moodle’s workflow capabilities depend almost entirely on a district’s willingness and ability to invest in custom development, making it a stronger fit for districts with substantial internal technical capacity than for those looking for a ready-to-use solution. ## The range of processes a workflow system needs to cover District workflow needs extend far beyond any single high-profile process. Enrollment and registration, including transfers between schools within a district, represent one of the most time-sensitive workflows a district manages, since delays directly affect a student’s ability to start attending class and receiving services promptly. Special education documentation, including IEP timelines and required approvals, involves strict legal deadlines and multiple stakeholders, from teachers and specialists to parents and district compliance staff, making it one of the more complex workflows to manage well. Attendance follow-up is another recurring process that benefits enormously from integration with the rest of a district’s student data. When a workflow system can automatically trigger the appropriate parent notification and administrative follow-up based on real attendance patterns, rather than requiring staff to manually identify students who need intervention, chronic absenteeism response becomes faster and more consistent across every school in a district. HR and staff onboarding, purchase approvals, and facilities requests round out the broader set of administrative processes that consume significant staff time in a typical district central office, even though they receive less public attention than academic or family-facing systems. A workflow system’s overall value to a district depends on how many of these varied processes it can meaningfully support, not just how well it handles any single one. Platforms that excel at academic content approval but offer little support for enrollment, special education documentation, or HR processes leave a district managing a patchwork of separate tools for the majority of its actual administrative workload. ## Balancing automation with human judgment It is worth noting that workflow efficiency does not mean removing human judgment from a district’s processes. Enrollment decisions, special education accommodations, and disciplinary matters all require staff expertise and careful consideration that no system should attempt to fully automate. The goal of an effective workflow system is to handle the repetitive, mechanical parts of a process, routing a form to the right approver, tracking a deadline, notifying a family when a status changes, so that staff time is freed up for the parts of the work that genuinely require professional judgment. Districts that evaluate workflow systems with this distinction in mind tend to make better platform choices than those focused purely on how much a system can automate. A platform that automates too aggressively, removing appropriate checkpoints for human review, can create its own set of problems, from compliance risks in special education processes to a loss of the personal touch that matters in family-facing communication. The most effective K-12 workflow systems are those that clearly separate what should be automated from what should remain a deliberate, human decision, and make both parts of the process easy for staff to manage. ## Why integration matters more than any single workflow feature A clear pattern emerges across this comparison. Platforms built primarily around academic content management, which describes most of the alternatives on this list, tend to offer workflow capabilities that are strongest within that academic scope and weaker for the broader administrative processes that consume significant staff time across a district’s operations. Achieving comprehensive workflow efficiency with these platforms typically requires either significant custom development or a separate administrative system layered alongside the academic platform, both of which reintroduce the fragmentation districts are usually trying to eliminate. Edsby’s approach differs by building workflow capability on top of the same unified student and family data the platform already manages for academic and communication purposes, rather than treating workflow as a separate concern requiring its own system or extensive custom development. For district leaders focused specifically on operational efficiency and reducing the number of disconnected systems they manage, this integrated approach tends to produce more consistent, sustainable efficiency gains than assembling workflow capability from tools not originally designed for that purpose. ## What the research says about administrative burden The scale of administrative burden facing K-12 educators and administrators has become an increasingly documented concern in recent years. A [national survey of K-12 teachers](https://www.k12dive.com/news/teachers-work-life-balance-district-leader-policy-rand/802774/) conducted by the RAND Corporation found that teachers report significantly greater difficulty balancing work and personal life compared to other working adults, with many citing administrative tasks and limited planning time as key contributing factors, and that school leaders who actively worked to limit meetings and administrative workload were among the most effective supports teachers identified. This research underscores why workflow efficiency is not simply a back office concern. Administrative burden that falls on teachers and school staff has direct implications for retention and morale, which makes reducing unnecessary manual process work a meaningful lever for district leaders managing staffing challenges alongside their technology decisions. ## Questions to ask when evaluating workflow systems District leaders comparing workflow platforms should ask how many separate systems a given workflow will require to touch from start to finish, since every additional handoff between systems introduces delay and risk of error. It is worth asking whether the platform provides district-wide visibility into workflow status without requiring manual check-ins with individual schools, and whether workflow automation is built into the platform natively or requires significant custom development to achieve. Finally, district leaders should ask how a given workflow system handles the administrative processes that fall outside pure academic content management, since this is where many otherwise strong platforms show their limitations. ## Choosing the right workflow system for your district The right workflow system depends on a district’s existing technology environment and internal technical capacity. Districts with strong development resources and a preference for full customization may find value in building on Moodle’s open architecture. Districts already deeply invested in a specific academic platform may find some workflow value in that platform’s native tools, provided their needs stay within an academic scope. For district leaders looking to reduce operational fragmentation broadly, not just within academic processes, Edsby’s integrated approach to workflow, built on the same unified data the platform already manages, offers a strong foundation heading into the new school year. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What makes a K-12 workflow system efficient rather than just digital? True efficiency comes from reducing the number of separate systems and manual handoffs a process requires, not simply moving a paper form into a digital format that still requires manual data transfer between systems. ### 2. Do these workflow systems handle non-academic administrative processes like enrollment or HR onboarding? Coverage varies significantly. Platforms built primarily around academic content management generally require custom development or a separate system to handle broader administrative workflows like enrollment or HR processes effectively. ### 3. How does Edsby’s workflow approach differ from a dedicated workflow automation tool? Rather than operating as a separate system, Edsby’s workflow capabilities are built on the same unified student and family data the platform already manages, which reduces the manual handoffs required compared to a standalone workflow tool layered on top of a district’s existing systems. ### 4. Is significant IT staff involvement required to maintain a K-12 workflow system? This depends heavily on the platform. Open source or custom-built approaches generally require more internal technical capacity, while purpose-built, fully managed platforms are designed to minimize ongoing configuration and maintenance burden. ### 5. How can district leaders measure whether a new workflow system is actually improving efficiency? Useful measures include tracking the time required to complete common processes from start to finish, the number of manual handoffs a given workflow requires, and staff-reported time spent on administrative tasks before and after implementation. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school administration software, K-12 workflow systems, educational workflow systems, K-12 operational efficiency, school process automation, academic workflow tools --- ### [Competency-based grading software for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/competency-based-grading-software-for-k12/commentary/) **Published:** July 20, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Edsby supports competency-based grading and reporting for K-12 districts. **Content:** Competency-based grading in education asks a fundamentally different question than traditional schooling. Instead of asking how many points a student accumulated over a semester, it asks whether a student can actually demonstrate a specific skill or piece of knowledge at a defined level of mastery. That shift sounds straightforward in theory, but it creates real operational demands for the software districts use to track, grade, and report on student progress. Edsby was built as a purpose-designed solution for exactly this challenge, giving K-12 districts the tools to manage competency-based grading, align instruction to learning standards, and generate reporting that is genuinely clear for both educators and families. Rather than retrofitting a traditional point-based gradebook to approximate competency tracking, [Edsby treats competency and standards alignment as a native part](https://www.edsby.com/best-lms-2026-edtech-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) of how the platform records and reports on student progress. ## What competency-based education actually requires Competency-based education, sometimes called mastery-based or proficiency-based education, centers on demonstrated skill rather than time spent or points accumulated. A student advances or is recognized as proficient once they can show they have mastered a specific competency, not simply because a grading period has ended. This model has gained traction across public school districts because it aligns more closely with how learning actually happens. Students master different skills at different rates, and a system that only measures progress in fixed time increments often fails to capture that reality accurately. Implementing this model well requires software that can track a student’s progress against many discrete competencies simultaneously, often organized into broader domains or strands. A single course might involve a dozen or more individual competencies, each requiring its own evidence of mastery, its own proficiency scale, and its own place in a report that still needs to be legible to a busy parent trying to understand how their child is doing overall. Software built around a single course grade struggles to represent this level of granularity without becoming cluttered or confusing. Reporting is where the operational demands become most visible. A competency-based report card needs to communicate mastery across potentially dozens of individual skills in a way that is organized, readable, and meaningful to families who may not be familiar with the underlying framework. Districts that lack purpose-built reporting tools often end up generating these reports manually or through cumbersome workarounds, which limits how consistently and how often this kind of detailed reporting can realistically be produced. ## How Edsby supports competency-based grading Edsby’s gradebook is built to handle competency-based structures natively, allowing teachers to record student performance against individual competencies rather than forcing every assessment into a single course-level score. Competencies can be organized into the broader domains or strands a district’s curriculum framework defines, giving teachers a structure that mirrors how their curriculum is actually organized rather than a generic grading template that has to be adapted to fit. This structure carries through directly into reporting. Because competency data lives natively inside Edsby rather than in a separate spreadsheet or add-on tool, generating a competency-based report card does not require manual assembly each reporting period. Families see a clear breakdown of their child’s progress across each tracked competency, presented in a format designed for legibility rather than raw data dumped into a table. This distinction matters considerably for family engagement, since a technically accurate but poorly organized report often fails to communicate anything useful to a parent trying to understand how their child is actually doing. For educators, Edsby’s approach reduces the administrative burden that competency-based grading can otherwise create. Teachers do not need to maintain a separate tracking system alongside the district’s official gradebook, since competency data is captured as part of the same daily workflow used for [attendance and general classroom management](https://www.edsby.com/manual-vs-school-attendance-tracking-software/commentary/). This lowers the practical barrier to sustained, consistent competency-based practice, which is often the biggest obstacle to making these models work well over multiple school years rather than fading after an initial rollout. ## [![competency-based grading software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Aligning competencies to learning standards A well-designed competency-based system needs to connect individual competencies back to the broader learning standards a state or district has adopted, so that competency tracking supports, rather than duplicates, standards-based curriculum planning. Edsby’s platform allows districts to map competencies directly to their adopted learning standards, which gives curriculum leaders a clear line of sight from an individual classroom assessment all the way up to district-wide standards coverage. This alignment matters for accountability and planning purposes beyond individual classroom reporting. When competency data is tied to specific standards, district curriculum teams can identify patterns across schools, such as a standard where students consistently show lower proficiency, and use that information to guide targeted professional development or curriculum adjustments. Without this alignment, competency data risks becoming an isolated classroom-level tool rather than a resource that informs broader district strategy. ## Student performance tracking across grade levels One of the more complex aspects of competency-based education is tracking a student’s progress on a given competency across multiple years, particularly for skills that build cumulatively, such as writing proficiency or mathematical reasoning. A student’s demonstrated mastery of a competency in third grade should inform how that same competency is tracked and built upon in fourth grade, rather than starting from a blank slate each year. Edsby supports this kind of longitudinal tracking by maintaining competency records as part of a student’s ongoing academic history within the platform, rather than resetting that data with each new school year or new teacher. This gives teachers meaningful context about where a student is starting from, and gives families a genuine sense of academic progression over time rather than a series of disconnected annual snapshots that do not clearly build on one another. ## Educational reporting that families can actually use The value of competency-based data depends heavily on how well it is communicated to the people who need to act on it, particularly parents supporting their child’s learning at home. A report that lists dozens of competency scores without clear organization or plain language explanation can overwhelm rather than inform a family, even when the underlying data is accurate and detailed. Edsby’s reporting tools are designed with this communication challenge in mind, organizing competency data into clear groupings and presenting proficiency levels in language that does not require a background in education policy to understand. This design consideration matters as much as the underlying data structure itself, since even the most sophisticated competency tracking system fails to deliver its full value if families cannot easily interpret what the resulting report actually means for their child. ## What the research says about mastery-based approaches Research on grading approaches that separate current mastery from cumulative averaging consistently points toward more accurate signals of student learning. A [study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191491X22000888) examining standards-based grading policy changes in secondary mathematics classrooms found that when grading practices moved away from averaging performance over an entire unit and toward evaluating current mastery, teachers reported more precise information about student understanding and adjusted instruction more effectively as a result. This research reinforces a core principle behind competency-based reporting software: the goal is not simply to generate more detailed reports, but to produce data that more accurately reflects what a student currently knows and can do, which in turn supports more effective, more targeted instruction. ## Common software gaps that undermine competency-based models Districts that attempt competency-based grading with software not designed for it tend to run into a consistent set of limitations. The most common is a rigid gradebook structure that only allows a single grade per course, forcing teachers to either abandon granular competency tracking or maintain a shadow system, often a spreadsheet, alongside the official gradebook. This duplication creates extra work for teachers and introduces the risk that the two systems drift out of sync over time, leaving the official record incomplete or inaccurate. Reporting limitations present a second common gap. Even when a gradebook can technically track individual competencies, generating a clear, family-readable report from that data often requires custom development or manual formatting if the underlying software was not built with competency-based reporting as a core feature. Districts in this position frequently find themselves producing reports that are either too sparse to be useful or too dense to be readable, neither of which serves the families they are meant to inform. A third gap involves historical continuity. Competency-based education works best when a student’s mastery record follows them across grade levels and teachers, but many systems reset gradebook data at the start of each school year, severing that continuity and forcing teachers to rebuild context from scratch. Without longitudinal tracking built into the platform itself, districts lose much of the long-term value that competency-based data is meant to provide. ## Competency-based grading and student motivation Beyond the reporting and tracking mechanics, competency-based grading carries real implications for how students experience their own learning. When grades reflect demonstrated mastery rather than a blend of points, timing, and behavior, students receive a clearer signal about what they specifically need to work on, rather than a single number that obscures which particular skills need more attention. This clarity can support stronger student ownership of their own learning, since a student who knows exactly which competency they have not yet mastered has a concrete target to work toward, rather than a vague sense that their overall grade needs to improve. Competency-based models that allow for reassessment, meaning students can demonstrate improved mastery after additional practice or instruction, tend to reinforce this motivational benefit further. Rather than treating an early assessment as a fixed, unchangeable judgment, reassessment opportunities frame learning as an ongoing process, which research on grading reform has repeatedly linked to reduced anxiety around assessment and stronger persistence, particularly for students who struggle initially but are capable of reaching mastery with additional support and time. For district leaders, supporting this kind of flexible, mastery-oriented model requires software that can accommodate updated competency scores as new evidence of learning comes in, rather than locking in an initial assessment permanently. Edsby’s competency tracking is designed to support this kind of ongoing update, allowing a student’s proficiency record to reflect their most current demonstrated mastery rather than an outdated snapshot from earlier in a unit or semester. ## Implementation considerations for districts Districts moving toward competency-based grading and reporting should plan for a multi-year implementation rather than a single semester switch. Defining a clear set of competencies aligned to state and district standards takes significant curriculum team time, and teachers need sustained professional development to apply proficiency scales consistently across classrooms and grade levels. Software alone cannot resolve inconsistency that stems from unclear or loosely defined competency definitions. Family communication is equally important during this transition. Competency-based report cards look meaningfully different from traditional report cards, and families who are unfamiliar with the model benefit from clear, proactive explanation before the new format appears in their inbox. Districts that pair a strong platform like Edsby with deliberate change management, including sample reports, parent information sessions, and clear ongoing support, tend to see far smoother adoption than districts that treat the software change as sufficient on its own. District leaders should also plan for how competency-based data will be used beyond the individual report card. Curriculum teams benefit from regular access to aggregated competency data across schools and grade levels, which can surface patterns that would be difficult to spot from individual classroom records alone. A grade level where students consistently struggle with a particular competency, for example, may point to a gap in curriculum pacing or instructional materials that is worth addressing at a district level rather than leaving individual teachers to solve independently. Building this kind of regular review into a district’s ongoing curriculum planning process helps ensure that the detailed data competency-based software produces translates into concrete instructional improvements, rather than sitting unused in a report that nobody revisits after it is generated. ## Getting started with Edsby For district leaders exploring competency-based grading and reporting, or looking to strengthen a program already underway, Edsby offers a platform purpose-built to manage the complexity that this model requires, from classroom-level competency tracking to district-wide standards alignment and family-facing reporting. Rather than adapting a generic point-based gradebook, Edsby treats competency and mastery tracking as core functionality from the ground up. This purpose-built approach matters most as a district’s competency-based program matures beyond an initial pilot. What works for a single grade level or a small pilot group of teachers using spreadsheets and manual workarounds quickly becomes unmanageable once a district scales the model across every school and every grade band. Software that was designed from the outset to support competency-based structures at scale saves districts from having to rebuild their approach or migrate to a different platform once the initial pilot phase gives way to full district-wide adoption. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between competency-based grading and standards-based grading? The two approaches overlap significantly and are often used interchangeably, though competency-based grading typically emphasizes demonstrated mastery of a specific skill before progression, while [standards-based assessment](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-standards-based-assessment-in-k12/commentary/) focuses more broadly on reporting proficiency against defined learning standards. ### Can Edsby track competencies across multiple school years? Yes. Edsby maintains competency records as part of a student’s ongoing academic history within the platform, giving teachers meaningful context on prior mastery rather than starting tracking over each year. ### How does Edsby prevent competency reports from overwhelming parents? Edsby organizes competency data into clear groupings and presents proficiency levels in plain language, rather than displaying an unorganized list of individual scores that can be difficult for families to interpret. ### Does competency-based reporting in Edsby align with state learning standards? Yes. Districts can map individual competencies directly to their adopted state and district learning standards, giving curriculum leaders visibility from classroom-level assessment up to district-wide standards coverage. ### How long does it typically take to implement competency-based grading district-wide? Most successful implementations unfold over multiple school years, since defining consistent competencies and training teachers to apply proficiency scales reliably takes sustained effort beyond what a single semester rollout can achieve. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** learning standards alignment, academic progress monitoring, competency-based grading, K-12 assessment systems, student performance tracking, educational reporting software --- ### [Edsby's standards-based report cards for K-12 districts](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-standards-based-report-cards-for-k12-districts/commentary/) **Published:** July 20, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Edsby supports clear standards-based report cards and grading policy for K-12. **Content:** A report card is often the single most scrutinized document a school system produces. Families read it closely, sometimes anxiously, looking for a clear signal about how their child is doing. When a district shifts to standards-based report cards, that document changes shape entirely, moving from a single letter grade per course to a detailed picture of proficiency across individual learning standards. Done well, this shift gives families far more useful information. Done poorly, it can leave parents more confused than the traditional report card it replaced. Edsby was built to help districts get this right. The platform’s approach to standards-based report cards, proficiency-based grading, and district grading policy is designed around a principle that grading researchers have emphasized for years: a report card’s value depends as much on how clearly it communicates as on how much detail it captures. For district leaders managing this transition, or refining a standards-based reporting program already underway, that distinction shapes nearly every decision worth making. ## Why standards-based report cards create a real communication challenge Traditional report cards have one obvious weakness: they average too much together into a single number. A course grade often blends test scores, homework completion, class participation, and sometimes even behavior into one letter that tells a family very little about what their child actually knows. However, [standards-based ](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-standards-based-assessment-in-k12/commentary/)report cards solve this by separating academic proficiency from these other factors and reporting progress against specific, named learning standards instead. The tradeoff is complexity. A single course might involve a dozen or more distinct standards, and a district committed to full transparency can end up producing a report card so dense with individual scores that it becomes difficult for a busy parent to interpret quickly. Grading researchers have flagged this exact tension. According to guidance from grading expert Thomas Guskey, many schools design standards-based report cards that list every standard for a grade level or course, overwhelming families with more detail than they can reasonably use, while at the same time duplicating information that already exists in a teacher’s gradebook. The more effective approach treats report card design primarily as a communication challenge, prioritizing clarity and usefulness over raw comprehensiveness. This means a district’s grading policy and its report card format are not separate decisions. A well-designed proficiency scale needs a report card structure built to present that scale clearly, not just a spreadsheet export of every recorded score. Software that cannot support this distinction forces a district to choose between an overwhelming report and an incomplete one, neither of which serves families well. ## How Edsby’s gradebook supports proficiency-based grading Edsby’s gradebook was designed to support proficiency-based grading as a core structure rather than a workaround layered onto a traditional point-based system. Teachers record student performance directly against defined proficiency levels for specific standards, and that data becomes the foundation for both ongoing classroom tracking and eventual report card generation, without requiring a separate translation step between how a teacher records progress and how a family eventually sees it. This native support matters because many platforms not built around proficiency-based grading force teachers into workarounds, converting standards-based judgments into an artificial percentage just to make an unsuited gradebook function. That conversion often loses the clarity standards-based grading is meant to provide in the first place, since a percentage reintroduces exactly the kind of averaged ambiguity a proficiency scale is designed to eliminate. Edsby avoids this by letting proficiency data remain proficiency data throughout the entire grading and reporting workflow. For district administrators, this also means grading policy can be enforced consistently across schools. A district can define its proficiency scale once, whether that is a four-point scale, a set of named performance levels, or a custom framework aligned to specific state standards, and apply that definition consistently through Edsby’s gradebook across every classroom, rather than relying on individual teachers or schools to interpret grading policy independently. ## [![standards-based report cards](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Designing report cards families can actually read Edsby’s reporting tools address the communication challenge directly, organizing standards-based data into report formats that prioritize clarity over raw detail. Rather than listing every individual standard in isolation, districts can structure reports around meaningful groupings, giving families a clear overall sense of how their child is progressing in key skill areas without requiring them to interpret a dense, undifferentiated list of scores. This design flexibility gives district curriculum and grading policy teams control over how much detail appears on a family-facing report versus how much detail remains available to teachers in the underlying gradebook for their own instructional planning. A teacher can track proficiency against a large number of granular standards for planning purposes, while the report a family receives presents a more digestible summary organized around the standards that matter most for understanding overall progress. This separation reflects exactly the recommendation grading researchers have made: gradebooks can and should hold more detail than report cards need to display. Consistency across a district also depends on this kind of centralized report design. When report card format and language are standardized through the platform rather than configured independently by each school, families moving between schools within the same district, or families with children in different schools, see a familiar, comparable report format rather than encountering a completely different structure depending on which building their child attends. ## Supporting district grading policy at scale Grading policy decisions- what proficiency scale to use, how frequently to report, which standards to include, and how to handle a student’s fluctuating performance across a grading period- are ultimately district and curriculum leadership decisions, not decisions any individual teacher should be making independently. Edsby’s platform is built to let districts define these policies centrally and apply them consistently through the gradebook and reporting tools every teacher uses. This centralized approach matters especially for a well-known challenge in standards-based grading: student performance on a given standard often improves over the course of a grading period as instruction continues, and a fair grading policy should reflect a student’s most current demonstrated mastery rather than averaging early struggles against later success. Edsby’s gradebook supports grading policies built around this principle, allowing a proficiency score to reflect updated evidence of learning as new assessments come in, rather than locking in an early score for the duration of a grading period. District leaders can also use Edsby’s reporting tools to monitor grading consistency across schools, checking whether proficiency scores for the same standards are distributed similarly across different teachers and buildings. Significant discrepancies can signal where additional calibration or professional development might be needed, giving curriculum leaders a [data-informed ](https://www.edsby.com/importance-of-student-data-sovereignty-and-azure-hosting-for-k12-schools/commentary/)way to support consistent grading practice district-wide rather than relying solely on informal observation. ## Elementary versus secondary reporting challenges Standards-based report cards present different design challenges depending on grade level, and district grading policy needs to account for this rather than applying a single template across every school. Elementary report cards typically cover a more contained set of standards within a single classroom, since one teacher usually oversees most of a student’s instruction across the major subject areas. This makes it more feasible to present a reasonably complete picture of proficiency without overwhelming families, since the total number of standards being reported is naturally limited by the structure of the elementary school day. Secondary report cards face a harder problem. A high school student might take six or seven courses each taught by a different teacher, each potentially tracking a distinct set of standards specific to that course’s content. Presenting standards-based proficiency data across this many courses without overwhelming a family requires more deliberate report design than elementary reporting typically demands. Districts sometimes address this by using a hybrid approach at the secondary level, reporting an overall course grade for quick reference alongside a more detailed standards breakdown available for parents who want to dig deeper, rather than forcing every family to parse a fully granular report by default. Edsby’s flexible report configuration supports this kind of grade band-specific approach, allowing a district to design a more streamlined elementary report and a differently structured secondary report, both still drawing from the same underlying proficiency data and grading policy framework, rather than requiring completely separate systems for different grade levels. This flexibility helps districts avoid the common trap of either underserving secondary families with too little detail or overwhelming elementary families with more complexity than that grade band actually requires. ## Training teachers to grade consistently within a shared policy A district grading policy is only as effective as the consistency with which teachers apply it day to day. Standards-based grading requires more professional judgment from teachers than simply averaging points, since teachers must determine what level of evidence constitutes proficiency for a given standard, and this judgment can vary meaningfully between individuals without deliberate calibration support. Edsby supports this consistency by making shared rubrics and proficiency scale definitions directly accessible within the same gradebook interface teachers use daily, rather than requiring teachers to reference a separate policy document disconnected from their actual grading workflow. When the definition of what counts as proficient is visible and consistent within the tool itself, teachers have a built-in reference point that reduces the drift that can otherwise occur when grading judgment relies purely on individual interpretation or memory of a training session held months earlier. District curriculum leaders can pair this platform-level consistency support with regular calibration sessions, where teachers within a department or grade level review sample student work together and compare how they would score it against the shared proficiency scale. Edsby’s reporting tools make it straightforward to identify where this kind of calibration conversation would be most valuable, by surfacing patterns where one teacher’s proficiency ratings consistently diverge from others teaching the same standard, giving district leaders a data-informed way to target professional development rather than applying the same generic training uniformly across a staff with varying levels of need. ## What the research says about grading and report cards Grading [research](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1121566) has expanded considerably over the past decade, moving from scattered individual studies toward comprehensive reviews that synthesize what is actually known about how grades function and how well they communicate. A landmark review examining over a century of grading research found that report card grades assess a multidimensional construct blending both academic achievement and non-cognitive factors such as effort and behavior, and specifically highlighted standards-based grading as an area where research continues to grow in response to schools seeking clearer, more meaningful ways to report student progress. This research reinforces why report card design deserves as much deliberate attention as the underlying grading policy itself. A proficiency scale that accurately captures student learning still needs to be communicated in a format families can actually use, or much of its value is lost in translation between the classroom and the household. ## Common design mistakes districts should avoid Districts new to standards-based report cards often make a handful of predictable missteps. The most common is treating comprehensiveness as the primary goal, producing a report that lists every standard a student encountered during a grading period without any organization or prioritization. Families faced with pages of individual scores often struggle to extract the core message the report is meant to convey, which undermines the clarity standards-based grading is supposed to provide. A second common mistake is inconsistent proficiency language across schools or grade levels within the same district. When one school’s “proficient” uses different criteria or a different scale than another school’s “proficient,” families with children at different schools, or families who move between schools, encounter reports that are difficult to compare meaningfully, weakening trust in the grading system overall. A third mistake involves insufficient family orientation before a new report format goes live. Even a well-designed standards-based report card represents a significant departure from the letter grades many parents grew up with themselves, and districts that skip clear upfront explanation, ideally including sample reports and a plain language guide to what each proficiency level means, tend to see more confusion and more support inquiries once the new format reaches actual households. ## Rolling out a new report card format Districts introducing standards-based report cards, or redesigning an existing standards-based format, benefit from treating the rollout as a communication project as much as a grading policy project. Before a new report reaches families, district leaders should test the format with a representative group of parents, gathering feedback on what is clear and what still causes confusion, and adjusting the design accordingly. Edsby’s implementation support is structured around this reality, helping districts configure report formats that align with their specific grading policy while remaining genuinely legible to families, and supporting the training and [family communication](https://www.edsby.com/why-k-12-school-communication-platform-is-replacing-multi-app-parent-communication/commentary/) planning that makes a new reporting format land well rather than creating unnecessary disruption. A phased approach, piloting a new report format with one or two grade levels before expanding district wide, also gives curriculum teams a chance to refine the design based on real family feedback before scaling to every school. ## Getting started with Edsby For district leaders working to make standards-based report cards genuinely useful for families, not just accurate in the underlying data, Edsby offers a platform built around this specific balance between comprehensive proficiency tracking and clear, digestible family communication. Rather than forcing a district to choose between detail and clarity, Edsby’s gradebook and reporting tools are designed to support both, with teachers capturing rich proficiency data and families receiving reports built for genuine understanding. ## Frequently asked questions ### How is a standards-based report card different from a traditional report card? A standards-based report card shows proficiency against specific, named learning standards, while a traditional report card typically averages multiple factors, including academic performance, effort, and behavior, into a single course grade. ### Can Edsby support different proficiency scales for different grade levels? Yes. Districts can define proficiency scales centrally within Edsby and apply different scales or standard sets across grade levels or subject areas as their grading policy requires, while maintaining consistency within each level. ### How does Edsby prevent standards-based reports from overwhelming families? Edsby allows districts to organize report card data into clear, meaningful groupings rather than listing every individual standard without structure, giving families a digestible summary while keeping detailed data available to teachers in the gradebook. ### Does Edsby support updating a proficiency score as a student’s understanding improves? Yes. Edsby’s gradebook allows proficiency scores to reflect a student’s most current demonstrated mastery rather than averaging early performance against later improvement, aligning with grading policies built around ongoing learning. ### How can district leaders check whether grading is consistent across schools? Edsby’s reporting tools allow district leaders to review proficiency score distributions for the same standards across different teachers and schools, helping identify where calibration or additional professional development may be useful. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** standards based report cards, proficiency-based grading, K-12 grading systems, student progress reporting, gradebook software, district grading policy --- ### [K-12 educational platforms: Top benefits for teachers & students](https://www.edsby.com/k12-educational-platforms-benefits-for-teachers-students/commentary/) **Published:** December 18, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Discover how educational platforms support teachers and students with smarter learning management. **Content:** Digital learning is no longer optional for schools. It is now a core part of everyday education. Because classrooms are becoming more connected and data-driven, educational platforms play a critical role in how schools operate and deliver learning. These platforms help teachers manage instruction, help students stay engaged, and help schools run smoothly. Today, schools need systems that support learning, communication, and administration from one place. This is where educational platforms create real value. They bring structure, flexibility, and visibility to K-12 education while supporting both teachers and students at every step. ## What are K-12 educational platforms Educational platforms are digital systems designed to support teaching and learning in schools. They combine learning tools, communication features, and school operations into one unified environment. Instead of using multiple disconnected tools, schools rely on a single platform. Many modern educational platforms also function as education management software. They support lesson delivery, assignments, grading, attendance, reporting, and parent communication. Because everything is centralized, schools save time and reduce errors. In addition, these platforms support in classroom, remote, and hybrid learning models. This flexibility is essential for today’s K-12 schools. ## Why schools are moving toward educational platforms Schools face increasing demands. Teachers manage heavy workloads. Students need personalized support. Administrators must track performance and compliance. Parents expect transparency. Because of these challenges, schools are adopting educational platforms at a rapid pace. These platforms simplify daily tasks and improve coordination across the school community. At the same time, online [educational platforms help schools stay prepared for unexpected disruptions](https://www.edsby.com/). Learning continues without interruption, regardless of location. ## Key features of modern educational platforms Most educational digital platforms include a wide range of features designed for daily school use, such as : 1. Centralized learning management: Teachers can upload lessons, assignments, and study materials in one place. Students can access content anytime. As a result, learning becomes more organized. 2. Assessment and grading tools: Teachers can create quizzes, assignments, and exams digitally. Grades update automatically. This ensures faster feedback and consistent evaluation. 3. Attendance and student monitoring: Attendance, participation, and progress tracking help schools identify learning gaps early. This supports timely intervention. 4. Communication and collaboration: Messaging tools connect teachers, students, and parents. Announcements and updates improve clarity and engagement. 5. Analytics and reporting: Built in dashboards provide insights into student performance. Administrators can track trends across classes and grades. ## Benefits of educational platforms for teachers Teachers benefit significantly from structured digital systems that reduce manual work and improve instructional quality. - Simplified lesson Planning: Teachers can plan and reuse lessons easily. Content updates take less time. This improves consistency across classes. - Reduced administrative Load: Automation handles tasks like attendance and grading. Because of this, teachers can focus more on teaching and mentoring. - Data-driven teaching: Educational platforms provide real time insights into student progress. Teachers can adjust instruction based on performance data. - Better classroom organization: Assignments, deadlines, and student submissions stay organized. This creates a smoother teaching experience. - Stronger parent communication: Teachers can share updates and feedback easily. This builds trust and supports student success. ## Benefits of educational platforms for students Students experience a more structured and engaging learning environment through digital platforms. - Anytime access to learning: Students can access lessons, notes, and assignments from anywhere. This supports self paced learning and revision. - Personalized learning support: Many platforms adapt content based on student performance. AI-powered [school management software solutions take this further by offering personalized recommendations](https://www.edsby.com/how-district-school-management-software-unifies-communication/commentary/). As a result, students receive support that matches their learning level. - Clear feedback and progress visibility: Students can view grades and feedback instantly. This helps them understand strengths and improvement areas. - Collaboration and interaction: Discussion boards and group tools encourage collaboration. Students develop communication and teamwork skills. - Digital readiness: Using online educational platforms builds essential digital skills. These skills prepare students for higher education and future careers. ## Role of AI and free online educational platforms Technology continues to evolve rapidly. AI-powered educational platforms are becoming more common in K-12 education. These [AI systems](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417424010339) analyze learning data and offer insights that improve outcomes. Some schools also use free online educational platforms to supplement learning. While these tools offer flexibility, they often lack advanced reporting and integration. Because of this, schools benefit most from comprehensive solutions that combine learning tools with education management software. ## How educational platforms support school administration Educational platforms do more than support teaching and learning. They also improve school operations. Administrators gain centralized access to data. Reporting becomes easier. Compliance tracking improves accuracy. Parents also benefit from transparent communication. Attendance updates, grades, and announcements remain visible at all times. ## How Edsby supports modern K-12 schools Edsby is designed to support the complete school ecosystem. It combines learning management, communication, and analytics into one integrated platform. Teachers manage lessons, assessments, and feedback efficiently. Students stay engaged through interactive tools. Parents remain informed through clear communication. [![educational platforms](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) Because Edsby focuses on usability and data driven insights, schools experience smoother adoption and better outcomes across classrooms. ## Choosing the right educational platform for your school Selecting the right solution requires careful planning. While choosing an online educational solution for your school, it is important to consider: - Ease of use - Scalability - Data Security - Support & training ## The future of K-12 education with educational platforms Education continues to evolve alongside technology. Schools that invest in strong digital systems remain adaptable and resilient. Online educational systems support personalized learning, efficient teaching, and informed decision making. They create connected learning environments that benefit everyone involved. As schools adapt to digital first education, educational platforms have become essential tools for success. They help teachers teach more effectively and help students learn with confidence. By combining learning tools, communication features, and education management software, these platforms support better outcomes for modern K-12 schools. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. How do K-12 educational platforms promote digital equity and accessibility for diverse learners? K-12 educational platforms help eliminate barriers for students with varying physical or cognitive needs by offering accessible interfaces, customisable settings (e.g., text size, audio options), and collaboration features that foster inclusive learning. This digital accessibility ensures that students of all abilities can fully participate in learning activities, improving equity and meaningful engagement across the school community.[ ](https://codemantra.com/k-12-education-benefits-from-digital-accessibility/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 2. In what ways can educational platforms support collaborative learning among students? Educational technology for K-12 can enhance student collaboration through shared digital workspaces, discussion boards, group projects, and communication tools. These features enable learners to work together on tasks, discuss ideas, and build communication and teamwork skills regardless of physical location, boosting peer interaction and collective problem-solving.[ ](https://www.edsby.com/k12-educational-platforms-benefits-for-teachers-students/commentary/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. What should schools assess about a platform’s support for student motivation and engagement before selecting it? When evaluating K-12 educational platforms, schools should consider how the platform facilitates interactive and multimedia content, supports personalized learning paths based on student performance, and offers tools like gamification or immediate feedback to sustain student interest and motivation. These capabilities can significantly enhance learning outcomes and long-term engagement. ### 4. How can schools ensure teachers continue to leverage the full instructional benefits of an educational platform after adoption? To maintain ongoing value, schools should implement regular professional development on advanced platform features (such as analytics dashboards, adaptive content tools, and collaborative modules), encourage teacher communities to share best practices, and periodically review usage data to optimise instructional strategies. This approach helps teachers use the platform to its fullest potential and supports continuous improvement in teaching effectiveness. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Educational platforms, ai powered educational platforms, free online educational platforms, online educational platforms, educational digital platforms, education management software --- ### [Top online learning platforms: A deep dive for modern schools](https://www.edsby.com/top-online-learning-platforms-for-modern-schools/commentary/) **Published:** December 30, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A practical guide to understanding online learning platforms and how they support modern K-12 schools. **Content:** Digital learning has moved from an optional add-on to a core part of school operations. Classrooms are no longer limited to four walls. Teaching and learning now extend beyond school hours. Because of this shift, top online learning platforms have become essential tools for schools that want to stay effective, connected, and future-ready. School leaders face growing pressure today. They must support teachers and keep students engaged. They must also ensure parents stay informed. Managing all this manually is no longer realistic. As a result, schools are actively exploring online solutions that bring learning, communication, and administration into one system. This is where online learning platforms play a critical role. They help schools simplify daily processes. They also improve learning outcomes when implemented thoughtfully. ## What are online learning platforms, and how do they support schools? Online learning platforms are digital systems that help schools deliver lessons, manage academic data, and support communication. These platforms act as a central hub for teaching and learning activities. Teachers can share resources. Students can access assignments. Administrators can track progress. Parents can stay informed. Unlike basic tools used only for content sharing, [top online learning platforms are designed to support the full school ecosystem](https://www.edsby.com/). They integrate academic workflows with administrative needs. This creates consistency across classrooms and grade levels. At the same time, these platforms are built to be accessible. Students can learn at their own pace. Teachers can adapt instruction. Because of this flexibility, schools can better support diverse learning needs. ## Why schools need top online learning platforms today Education systems are changing rapidly. Schools must adapt to new expectations from families and communities. Traditional teaching models alone are no longer enough. Because of this, the demand for top online learning platforms continues to grow. One major challenge schools face is fragmented systems. Many schools still rely on multiple disconnected tools. This leads to confusion. It also increases workload for staff. However, a unified online platform reduces duplication and improves clarity. Another challenge is student engagement. Learners today expect interactive and flexible experiences. Online platforms help teachers deliver content in ways that match these expectations. As a result, students stay more involved in their learning journey. In addition, parents expect transparency. They want timely updates and clear communication. Online platforms make this possible without adding extra work for teachers. ## Key features of top online learning platforms The most effective platforms share a common set of features. These features are designed to support both learning and school operations. Below are the core elements schools should look for. - **Centralized learning management** A strong platform brings lessons, assignments, and assessments into one place. Teachers can organize content easily. Students know exactly where to find what they need. This reduces confusion and saves time. - **Integrated communication tools** Communication is critical in K to 12 education. Messaging tools allow teachers, students, and parents to stay connected. Important updates are shared quickly. Because of this, schools reduce miscommunication. - **Assessment and progress tracking** Online platforms provide tools to track academic progress over time. Teachers can monitor performance. Administrators can analyze trends. This data supports informed decision making. - **Parent access and engagement** Many online e learning platforms offer parent portals. These portals provide visibility into student progress. Parents feel more involved. This strengthens the home school connection. - **Secure and compliant infrastructure** Data privacy is a top priority for schools. Leading platforms follow strict security standards. This ensures student information remains protected at all times. ## Benefits of online learning platforms for different stakeholders The value of an online education platform extends across the entire school community. Each group benefits in different ways. ### Benefits for school administrators Administrators need visibility and control. Online platforms provide dashboards that show attendance, academic performance, and engagement levels. This helps leaders identify issues early. It also supports strategic planning. In addition, administrative workflows become more efficient. Reporting is faster. Data is more accurate. As a result, staff can focus on improving school outcomes rather than managing paperwork. ### Benefits for teachers Teachers benefit from simplified classroom management for [K-12 education](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050914001094). Lesson planning becomes more organized. Assignment distribution is easier. Feedback can be shared digitally and promptly. At the same time, teachers gain insights into student performance. This allows them to adjust instruction. Because of this, teaching becomes more responsive and effective. ### Benefits for students Students gain flexibility and clarity. They can access materials anytime. They can review lessons at their own pace. This supports independent learning habits. Online platforms also encourage engagement through interactive tools. Students feel more connected to their learning environment. This improves motivation over time. ### Benefits for parents Parents stay informed without constant follow ups. They can view progress reports. They receive updates from teachers. This transparency builds trust between schools and families. ## How Edsby supports modern schools Choosing the right platform is not only about features. It is also about how well the solution fits real school workflows. Moreover, [Edsby is designed specifically for K to 12 education](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/). It brings learning management and school operations together in one secure system. Edsby supports classroom instruction, assessment tracking, and communication in a unified environment. Teachers can manage courses. Administrators can oversee school wide activity. Parents stay connected through a dedicated portal. [![online learning platforms](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) What sets Edsby apart is its focus on usability. The platform is intuitive for all users. Schools can adopt it without extensive training. Because of this, implementation becomes smoother and more successful. Edsby also adapts to different school models. Whether a school is fully digital or blended, the platform supports flexible learning needs. ## Choosing the best online learning platform for your school Selecting the best online learning platform requires careful evaluation. Schools should start by identifying their specific needs. This includes academic goals, administrative requirements, and community expectations. It is important to assess ease of use. A platform should simplify work, not add complexity. Schools should also consider scalability. The system must grow with changing needs. Integration is another key factor. Platforms should connect with existing tools where possible. This reduces disruption during transition. Finally, support and reliability matter. Schools should choose providers with strong experience in K to 12 education. This ensures the platform aligns with real classroom and administrative realities. ## Final thoughts Digital transformation in education is no longer optional. Schools that want to remain effective must invest in tools that support learning, communication, and operations together. Top online learning platforms provide this foundation when chosen and implemented thoughtfully. By focusing on real needs and long term value, schools can create connected learning environments that benefit administrators, teachers, students, and parents alike. With the right platform in place, schools are better prepared for the future of education. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What broader educational outcomes do top learning platforms deliver beyond basic course delivery Leading learning platforms for modern schools support not only course delivery but also collaboration, communication, and progress tracking within one ecosystem. These platforms often include features such as discussion forums, real-time messaging, interactive whiteboards, and personalized learning pathways, which together enhance student engagement, teacher effectiveness, and [institutional data-driven decision-making](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/). This unified approach moves learning platforms beyond static content repositories to dynamic educational environments.[ ](https://edtechimpact.com/news/the-ultimate-guide-to-online-learning-platforms/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 2. How can schools compare learning platforms with respect to scalability and flexibility for diverse learning models? When evaluating learning platforms, schools should compare how well systems scale with institutional growth and support different learning models like blended, flipped, or fully online classrooms. Flexible platforms allow for variable class sizes, cross-grade content sharing, and custom curriculum design without performance drops. Integration with third-party tools and mobile access further ensures that the platform adapts to evolving pedagogical needs.[ ](https://research.com/software/best-online-learning-platforms?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. What technical and user-experience factors should decision makers prioritise when shortlisting learning platforms? Beyond feature lists, schools should prioritise ease of use for teachers and students, robust analytics and reporting for administrators, mobile and offline access to accommodate diverse use cases, and integration capabilities with existing systems like student information systems. Evaluating platform performance in trials with real users — rather than just vendor demos — can reveal critical distinctions in usability and adoption likelihood.[ ](https://www.torsh.co/article/choosing-an-online-learning-platform/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 4.After adoption, how should schools measure the continued effectiveness of their learning platform? To ensure long-term value, schools should establish key performance indicators (KPIs) such as learner engagement rates, course completion timelines, assessment outcomes, and platform usage statistics. Periodic reviews of these metrics help in understanding whether the platform continues to support academic goals and operational workflows. Feedback collected from educators, students, and parents can inform updates, additional training, or refinements to teaching strategies. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** best online learning platform, online education platform, online e learning platforms, online learning platforms, Top online learning platforms --- ### [School management software: A practical guide for modern K-12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) **Published:** January 23, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A practical guide to school management software for K–12 schools, covering features, benefits, and evaluation tips. **Content:** K-12 schools today operate in an environment that is far more demanding than it was even a decade ago. Administrative responsibilities have expanded significantly, while expectations around accountability, transparency, and student outcomes continue to rise. School leaders and staff need to manage schedules, attendance, assessments, reporting, compliance, and communication—often with limited time and resources. As schools grow and regulations evolve, managing these responsibilities manually or across multiple systems becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. These requirements lead to the need for school management software. At the same time, many schools rely on a collection of disconnected digital tools to handle different functions. Student data may live in one system, assessments in another, communication on a separate platform, and reports in spreadsheets. This fragmentation makes it harder to access accurate information quickly, slows down everyday workflows, and creates gaps in visibility for administrators. When data is scattered, even simple decisions can require significant effort and coordination. These challenges affect more than just school operations. Teachers spend valuable instructional time navigating systems instead of focusing on students. Administrators struggle to get a clear, real-time view of school performance. Parents and families receive inconsistent or delayed communication, which can weaken trust and engagement. As complexity increases, schools need a more cohesive approach to managing information, people, and processes—one that supports everyone involved in the learning community. ## What does school management software mean? School management software is a centralized digital system for K–12 schools to manage student information, academic workflows, administrative processes, reporting, and communication in one integrated platform. It helps schools reduce manual work, improve data visibility, and support collaboration among administrators, teachers, students, and families. Unlike standalone tools that handle only one function—such as attendance, grading, or messaging—school management software connects these activities into a unified system. This allows school leaders, teachers, and staff to access accurate information in real time, reduce manual work, and maintain consistency across the entire school community. In a K-12 environment, [school management software typically supports core functions such as student information management,](https://www.edsby.com/) scheduling, attendance tracking, assessments, reporting, and parent communication. By consolidating these workflows, schools gain clearer visibility into student progress, operational performance, and overall school health. ### School management software vs education management software The terms school management software and education management software are often used interchangeably, but they are not always the same. School management software specifically helps K-12 schools and focuses on day-to-day school operations, student records, classroom workflows, and family engagement. Education management software is a broader category that may include tools built for higher education, corporate training, or learning programs outside the K-12 system. For K-12 schools, this distinction matters. Platforms built for general education management may lack the structure, permissions, and workflows required in primary and secondary education. School management software, by contrast, is purpose-built to align with K-12 policies, reporting needs, and communication expectations. ### Why K-12 schools need a unified management system As schools adopt more digital tools, the challenge is no longer access to technology—it is coordination. A unified school management system reduces fragmentation by ensuring that data flows seamlessly across academic and administrative functions. This improves efficiency for staff, supports better instructional planning for teachers, and delivers clearer, more timely communication to families. For school leaders, a unified system also provides reliable insights that support strategic planning and accountability. When information is centralized, schools can move beyond reactive decision-making and focus on long-term improvement. In this way, school management software becomes not just an operational tool, but a foundation for stronger, more connected K-12 schools. ## Key challenges schools face without a unified platform Many K–12 schools operate with a mix of disconnected systems that were adopted over time to solve individual problems. While each tool may work in isolation, the lack of integration across platforms creates inefficiencies that affect daily operations, instructional quality, and leadership decision-making. Without a unified school management system, even routine tasks become more complex and time-consuming. One of the most common challenges is the reliance on manual or semi-manual workflows. When data has to be entered, updated, or verified across multiple systems, staff spend unnecessary time reconciling information instead of focusing on higher-value work. This increases the risk of errors and makes it difficult to maintain accurate, up-to-date records across the school. Schools without a centralized platform also struggle with data visibility. Student information, assessment results, attendance records, and communication history often live in separate tools, making it hard to see the full picture. As a result, school leaders lack timely insights into student progress, operational performance, and emerging issues that require attention : - Administrative inefficiency: Duplicate data entry, inconsistent records, and time lost switching between systems - Fragmented student data: No single source of truth for academic, behavioral, and attendance information - Communication gaps: Messages to families and staffs, spread across emails, portals, and third-party tools - Delayed decision-making: Limited access to real-time data for school leaders and administrators Beyond operations, these challenges directly affect the school community. Teachers often spend valuable instructional time managing tools rather than supporting students. Parents receive information lately, reducing transparency and engagement. Over time, these friction points create frustration and make it harder for schools to operate effectively at scale. Without a unified platform, schools need to react to problems instead of planning proactively. This reinforces the need for school management software that connects academic, administrative, and communication workflows into a single, reliable system. ## Core components of modern school management software Modern school management software is designed to bring together the most critical academic and administrative functions into a single, connected system. Rather than operating as isolated tools, these components work together to create consistent workflows, shared data, and clearer visibility across the school. For K–12 schools, this integrated approach is essential for reducing complexity and improving day-to-day efficiency. While specific features may vary by platform, effective school management software typically includes the following core components. ### School administration and operational management Administrative processes form the backbone of school operations. Modern [school administration software](https://www.edsby.com/unified-school-administration-software/commentary/) streamlines these workflows by centralizing records and automating routine tasks. This reduces manual effort for staff and helps ensure accuracy across the organization. Key administrative capabilities include: - Attendance tracking and student records management - Scheduling, timetables, and calendar coordination - Staff and class management - Compliance, reporting, and documentation support This component supports consistent operations and provides administrators with reliable, up-to-date information. ### Student Information System (SIS) for K-12 schools A student information system is a foundational element of school management software. It serves as the central source of truth for student data, ensuring that academic and administrative information is accurate and accessible when needed. Core SIS functions typically include: - Student profiles and enrollment data - Attendance and demographic information - Academic history and progress tracking - Secure access controls for staff and families By centralizing student data, schools reduce duplication and improve coordination across departments. ### Teaching, assessment, and reporting tools Modern school management software supports instructional workflows by connecting classroom activities with school-wide systems. This helps teachers manage assessments more efficiently while giving administrators better insight into learning outcomes. Common instructional and reporting features include: - Assessment creation and grading workflows - Standards-aligned reporting - Progress tracking at the student and class level - Report cards and performance summaries These tools help schools move toward more consistent and transparent assessment practices. ### Parent and school communication platforms Clear, consistent communication is critical in K–12 education. School management software centralizes communication tools so schools can engage families more effectively and reduce reliance on disconnected channels. Communication features often include: - Secure messaging between schools and families - Announcements and school-wide notifications - Access to student progress and updates - Permissions and role-based visibility This component strengthens trust and keeps families informed and engaged. ### Analytics and data-driven decision-making tools Access to accurate data is only valuable if it can be understood and applied. Modern school management software includes analytics and reporting tools that help school leaders make informed decisions. Typical analytics capabilities include: - Attendance and engagement trends - Academic performance insights - School-wide and role-based dashboards - Exportable reports for planning and compliance These insights enable schools to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive improvement. ### How these components work together Individually, each component addresses a specific need. Together, they form a connected system that supports the entire school ecosystem. When data flows seamlessly between administration, instruction, communication, and analytics, schools gain efficiency, clarity, and the ability to scale without added complexity. This integration is what differentiates modern school management software from collections of standalone tools. ## Who uses school management software in K-12 schools School management software is designed to support the entire school ecosystem, not just a single role. Its value comes from enabling collaboration across academic, administrative, and family-facing functions. ### School leaders and administrators School leaders rely on school management software to gain a clear, real-time view of how the school is operating. Centralized data helps administrators monitor attendance, academic performance, compliance, and communication without relying on fragmented reports or manual processes. This visibility supports better planning, accountability, and long-term decision-making. ### Teachers and instructional Teams For teachers, school management software simplifies daily workflows related to assessments, grading, and reporting. By reducing administrative overhead and integrating classroom data with school-wide systems, teachers can spend less time managing tools and more time focusing on instruction and student support. ### IT and systems administrators IT teams benefit from having fewer disconnected platforms to manage. A unified school management system reduces integration complexity, improves data security, and simplifies user access management. This makes it easier to maintain reliability, compliance, and scalability as school needs evolve. ### Parents and guardians Families use school management software to stay informed and engaged. Centralized access to communication, student progress, and school updates creates transparency and builds trust. When information is timely and consistent, parents are better equipped to support their children’s learning. ## Modern school management software vs legacy systems Many schools still operate on legacy systems or a collection of disconnected tools adopted over time. While these systems may address individual needs, they often struggle to support modern K-12 requirements. Modern school management software differs in several important ways: - Unified vs fragmented: Modern platforms connect academic, administrative, and communication workflows in one system, rather than spreading them across multiple tools. - Real-time data vs delayed reporting: Leaders and staff can access up-to-date information without waiting for manual reports or data reconciliation. - Flexible workflows vs rigid structures: Modern systems adapt to how schools operate today, rather than forcing schools to work around technical limitations. - Scalable design vs patchwork growth: As schools grow or change, modern platforms scale without adding operational complexity. These differences directly affect efficiency, visibility, and the overall experience for staff, teachers, and families. For K-12 schools, moving beyond legacy systems is less about adopting new technology and more about creating a connected foundation for sustainable school management. ## How schools evaluate school management software When schools begin evaluating school management software, the goal is not simply to adopt new technology, but to reduce complexity and improve how the school functions as a whole. Decision-makers typically look beyond individual features and focus on whether a platform can support academic, administrative, and communication needs in a cohesive way. This evaluation process often involves school leaders, IT teams, and instructional staff working together. One of the first considerations is how well the software fits into existing school workflows. Platforms that require significant workarounds or duplicate processes tend to increase friction rather than reduce it. Schools evaluate whether the system aligns with how teachers teach, how administrators manage operations, and how families interact with the school. ### Key criteria schools use when evaluating platforms - Integration across functions: The ability to connect student information, administration, assessments, reporting, and communication in one system - Ease of use: Intuitive interfaces that reduce training time for teachers, staff, and families - Data visibility: Real-time access to accurate, centralized information for school leaders - Flexibility: Support for different grade levels, school sizes, and instructional models Beyond usability, schools also assess how a platform supports accountability and long-term planning. Reporting and analytics capabilities are especially important for understanding student progress, attendance patterns, and overall school performance. Decision-makers look for systems that surface insights clearly rather than requiring manual data manipulation. ### Operational and technical considerations - Data security and privacy: Compliance with [K-12 data protection](https://www.virtru.com/resource/student-data-privacy-checklist) standards and regulations - Role-based access: Appropriate permissions for administrators, teachers, students, and families - Scalability: The ability to grow with the school or district over time - System reliability: Consistent performance during peak usage periods Finally, schools consider the long-term value of the platform. This includes vendor support, ongoing development, and the ability of the software to adapt as educational needs evolve. A well-evaluated school management system becomes a foundational part of school operations, supporting both day-to-day efficiency and future growth. ## [![school management software guide](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Final thoughts As K-12 schools continue to navigate increasing complexity, the way systems and data are managed has a direct impact on day-to-day operations and long-term outcomes. Disconnected tools and manual processes make it harder for schools to operate efficiently, respond to challenges, and support students consistently. A unified approach to school management addresses these issues by bringing critical functions together into a single, connected system. When academic, administrative, and communication workflows are aligned, schools gain clearer visibility into what is happening across the organization. School leaders can make informed decisions based on real-time data, teachers can focus more on instruction, and families receive timely, consistent information. This shared foundation reduces friction and creates a more coordinated school experience for everyone involved. Unified school management software also supports sustainability and growth. As schools expand programs, adopt new instructional models, or respond to changing regulations, a connected platform allows them to adapt without adding unnecessary complexity. Rather than reacting to problems as they arise, schools are better positioned to plan proactively and improve continuously. Ultimately, modern school management software is not just a technology investment—it is an operational framework that helps K-12 schools work more effectively, communicate more clearly, and support better educational outcomes over time. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about school management software ### Is school management software the same as an SIS? School management software is broader than a student information system (SIS). An SIS focuses primarily on managing student records such as enrollment, attendance, and demographics. School management software includes SIS functionality but also connects administrative operations, teaching and assessment workflows, reporting, communication, and analytics into a unified platform. ### How is school management software different from an LMS? A learning management system (LMS) is designed to support instruction, such as delivering course content, assignments, and learning activities. School management software focuses on managing the overall operation of a school. While an LMS supports teaching and learning, school management software integrates academic, administrative, and communication processes across the entire K–12 environment. ### Is school management software suitable for small schools? Yes, school management software can be suitable for small schools. Many platforms are designed to scale based on school size and needs. For smaller schools, a unified system can reduce manual work, replace multiple disconnected tools, and improve visibility without adding unnecessary complexity. The key is choosing a platform that offers flexibility and ease of use. ### How long does implementation typically take? Implementation timelines vary depending on school size, data complexity, and the number of systems being replaced. For many K–12 schools, implementation can range from a few weeks to several months. A structured onboarding process, data migration support, and staff training are important factors in ensuring a smooth transition. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** student data management software, digital school management, School management software, school management system, school administration software, student information system --- ### [How schools streamline operations with unified school administration software](https://www.edsby.com/unified-school-administration-software/commentary/) **Published:** January 27, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn how school administration software streamlines operations through digital, unified school management. **Content:** School administration has become more demanding as K-12 schools manage increasing compliance requirements, growing student populations, and higher expectations for transparency. Many schools still rely on manual processes or disconnected tools to handle attendance, scheduling, records, and reporting. Over time, these fragmented systems slow down operations and place unnecessary pressure on administrative teams. School administration software helps schools simplify these workflows by bringing core administrative functions into a single, connected system. By supporting digital school administration, schools can reduce inefficiencies and create more consistent processes across departments. ## What is school administration software? School administration software is a centralized system designed to manage the operational and administrative functions of a K-12 school. It supports tasks such as attendance tracking, scheduling, student records, reporting, and compliance within one unified environment. Unlike isolated tools that address only one administrative task, modern solutions function as a [school management software](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/), connecting data and workflows across the school. This integration helps administrative teams work more efficiently while improving accuracy and visibility. ## Common administrative challenges in K-12 schools Without a unified approach to administration, schools often encounter recurring operational challenges that affect both efficiency and data quality. ### Common issues include: - Manual administrative processes: Paper-based workflows and spreadsheets increase workload - Duplicate data entry: Information must be updated across multiple systems - Inconsistent records: No single source of truth for student or operational data - Limited oversight: Difficulty accessing real-time administrative insights These challenges make it harder for schools to operate smoothly and respond quickly to changing needs. ## The hidden cost of inefficient school administration The impact of fragmented administrative systems is not always immediately visible, but over time it creates measurable operational costs. When administrative staff spend hours reconciling data across tools, responding to avoidable errors, or repeating routine tasks, schools lose time that could be redirected toward student support and planning. Inefficient administration also affects decision quality. When data is outdated or inconsistent, school leaders are forced to rely on partial information. This can lead to delayed interventions, misallocation of resources, or reactive decision-making rather than strategic planning. School administration software helps reduce these hidden costs by creating a single operational foundation. By centralizing workflows and data, schools improve efficiency while also strengthening accountability and long-term planning. ## How school administration software streamlines operations Modern school administration software improves efficiency by centralizing data and automating routine tasks. When administrative workflows are connected, schools reduce friction and gain greater operational clarity. ### Centralized administrative management Administrative teams can manage attendance, scheduling, student records, and documentation from one system. This reduces context switching and ensures consistency across departments. ### Support for digital school administration By replacing manual processes with digital workflows, schools improve accuracy and reduce errors. Updates made in one area of the system automatically reflect across related administrative functions. ### Improved visibility for school leaders As part of a broader and [modern school management software](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/), administration software provides real-time insights into enrollment, attendance, and compliance. Leaders can make informed decisions without waiting for manual reports. ### How administrative workflows improve in a unified system To understand the practical impact of school administration software, it helps to look at how everyday workflows change when systems are unified. In a digital school administration environment, attendance data entered by teachers is automatically reflected in administrative dashboards. Scheduling updates are visible across departments in real time. Student records remain consistent across reporting, compliance, and communication workflows. This reduces follow-up work and ensures everyone is working from the same information. Examples of streamlined workflows include: - Attendance data flowing directly into reports and alerts - Schedule changes updating automatically across calendars - Student record updates reflected instantly across administrative systems - Reduced reliance on spreadsheets and manual reconciliation When these workflows are connected through a school management platform, administrative teams gain speed, accuracy, and confidence in their data. ## Benefits of using school administration software Schools that adopt school administration software experience measurable improvements in operational efficiency and data reliability. ### Key benefits include: - Faster administrative workflows - More accurate and consistent records - Reduced manual effort for staff - Better coordination across departments - Stronger foundation for compliance and reporting These improvements allow administrative teams to focus on higher-value work rather than repetitive tasks. [![school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Supporting adoption and change in school administration Adopting new administrative systems is not just a technical change—it is an organizational one. Schools evaluate school administration software based on how easily staff can transition from existing processes without disruption. Modern platforms support adoption by offering intuitive interfaces and role-based access. Administrative staff can focus on the tools relevant to their responsibilities, while school leaders gain higher-level visibility without managing operational details. This reduces resistance to change and shortens the learning curve. Successful digital school administration also depends on clarity. When workflows are clearly defined and supported by a unified system, staff understand where information lives and how processes connect. This clarity helps schools move away from workaround-driven operations toward more sustainable administrative practices. ## Who benefits from digital school administration? The impact of digital school administration extends beyond administrative offices. Let’s take a quick look at who can leverage benefits from digital school administration system: - Administrative staff save time and reduce errors - School leaders gain clearer operational visibility - Teachers face fewer administrative disruptions - Families receive more consistent and timely information When administration runs smoothly, the entire school community benefits. ## Final thoughts Administrative processes are deeply connected to academic and communication workflows. Managing them in isolation creates unnecessary complexity. School administration software, when implemented as part of a unified school management platform, ensures that operational systems support the broader goals of the school. By moving toward digital, connected administration, schools build a more resilient operational foundation that can adapt as needs evolve. In the long term, unified administration supports consistency even as schools change. Whether schools expand programs, onboard new staff, or adjust to policy requirements, school administration software provides the flexibility needed to adapt without increasing complexity. This makes administrative systems an enabler of growth rather than a constraint. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### How does a school management platform reduce administrative workload? A unified school management platform automates repetitive tasks, centralizes data, and reduces manual paperwork—saving time for administrators and teachers. ### Is digital school administration suitable for K-12 schools? Yes. Digital school administration is designed for [K-12 environments](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00958964.2017.1366155) and supports compliance, parent communication, classroom management, and real-time reporting. ### Can school administration software integrate with existing systems? Most modern school administration software integrates with LMS tools, [assessment and reporting platforms,](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/) and SIS databases to ensure seamless workflows. ### How does digital administration improve parent engagement? With centralized communication tools, digital school administration ensures parents receive consistent updates on attendance, grades, and school announcements. ### Is school administration software secure? Reputable platforms use role-based access, encryption, and compliance standards to protect student and staff data. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school management platform, school administration software, digital school administration --- ### [Data management for K-12 with a student information system (SIS)](https://www.edsby.com/data-management-for-k12-with-student-information-system/commentary/) **Published:** February 3, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A student information system helps schools manage data, improve accuracy, and streamline operations. **Content:** Schools today handle far more than lessons and class schedules. They oversee attendance tracking, grading, admissions, regulatory reporting, parent engagement, and ongoing student performance—often spread across multiple, unconnected tools. As institutions expand and digital demands rise, spreadsheets and manual workflows fail to keep up. This is where a student information system becomes critical. Rather than juggling fragmented data and repetitive tasks, schools can depend on a single, centralized platform to manage student information securely, accurately, and in real time. For modern education settings—especially [SIS for K-12 schools](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228760344_Building_an_Integrated_Student_Information_System_in_a_K-12_School_System)—this is no longer optional. It is a core operational system. ## What is a student information system (SIS)? A [student information system (SIS) is a centralized digital solution](https://www.edsby.com/) that schools and districts use to gather, store, manage, and analyze student data across the entire academic journey. At its foundation, an SIS supports: - Student enrollment and demographic records - Attendance tracking and scheduling - Grades, assessments, and transcripts - Compliance reporting and regulatory requirements - Secure access for administrators, teachers, parents, and students Unlike simple databases, modern SIS platforms are built to support end-to-end student data management across departments, maintaining consistency, accuracy, and reliability throughout the school. ## Why traditional student data management no longer works Many schools still depend on a mix of outdated systems, spreadsheets, and manual processes for managing student data. While this may have worked in the past, it becomes inefficient as enrolment grows and reporting demands increase. Disconnected systems often result in duplicated work, mismatched records, and slow access to important information. Over time, these issues reduce confidence in data and make informed decision-making more difficult. Common challenges schools face without a centralized student information system include: - Duplicate data entry across multiple teams - Inconsistent or outdated student records - Slow turnaround for compliance and audit reports - Higher risk of manual errors Without unified student data management, schools spend more effort correcting data instead of using it to support students. ## Why schools are adopting a student information system The shift toward a centralized student information system is driven by the need for efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. As expectations around data access and reporting grow, schools need systems that scale without increasing administrative workload. While an SIS focuses on student records, it often functions within a broader [school management software ecosystem](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) that connects academics, operations, and communication. An SIS replaces fragmented processes with a single source of truth, keeping student records consistent from enrolment to graduation. This allows staff to focus on meaningful work rather than routine data upkeep. Schools adopt a student information system to: - Centralize student records across academic years - Automate administrative tasks and reduce manual effort - Improve reporting speed and data accuracy - Enable data-driven decision-making for leadership ## How SIS for K-12 schools supports daily operations A modern SIS for K-12 schools is designed around real-world school workflows. Instead of acting as a static repository, it actively supports daily operations across classrooms, front offices, and district administration. By embedding data into everyday processes, a [school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) ensures attendance, schedules, and grades remain accurate and accessible to the right users when needed. Operational support typically includes: - Automated attendance tracking across grade levels - Centralized scheduling and roster management - Integrated grading and transcript generation - Role-based access for teachers, staff, and administrators This alignment reduces operational friction and ensures everyone works from the same, reliable information. ## The role of student data management in academic success Effective student data management extends beyond administration—it directly influences student outcomes. When data is accurate and accessible, schools can respond faster to academic and behavioral trends. Centralized, trustworthy data enables educators to identify at-risk students early, monitor progress over time, and adjust instruction or interventions proactively. With a strong student information system, schools can: - Track attendance and performance trends - Detect learning gaps before they widen - Support intervention planning and student services - Share actionable insights with teachers and parents This transforms data from a compliance requirement into a driver of student success. ## Benefits for administrators and school leaders For school leaders, a student information system delivers clarity across complex operations. Instead of relying on delayed or manually assembled reports, administrators gain real-time visibility into critical metrics. This insight supports quicker, more confident decisions while minimizing operation management risk. Administrators benefit from: - Faster compliance and audit reporting - Reduced discrepancies across departments - Better coordination between academic and operational teams - Dashboards highlighting enrollment and performance trends ## Signs your school needs a student information system Schools often realize they need an SIS when operational issues become frequent rather than occasional. These challenges usually point to fragmented student data management, not isolated errors. If inconsistencies or reporting delays are disrupting daily workflows, it’s a sign existing systems no longer meet school needs. Common indicators include: - Student data stored across multiple platforms - Manual reporting that consumes excessive staff time - Frequent corrections to grades or attendance - Limited visibility into trends across classes or grade levels A unified student information system resolves these problems at the root, not through temporary fixes. [![school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## How schools can transit to a modern SIS Successful implementation of a student information system depends on process as much as technology. A structured transition supports adoption, data accuracy, and long-term success. Rather than migrating everything at once, schools benefit from a phased rollout that prioritizes high-impact workflows. Key transition considerations include: - Auditing current data and workflows - Identifying integration needs with LMS and assessment tools - Gradual staff training to support adoption - Choosing an SIS purpose-built for K-12 schools This ensures sustainable student data management, not just short-term digitization. ## Final thoughts As schools move toward fully digital operations, the student information system becomes the central foundation. It connects data, people, and processes—allowing schools to operate efficiently while keeping student success at the core. For K-12 institutions, selecting the right SIS is not just a technology decision. It is about building a reliable framework for informed decisions, stronger engagement, and scalable growth. ## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ### What is a student information system used for? A student information system is used to manage enrollment, attendance, grades, and student records within a centralized platform. ### Is an SIS only for large schools No. SIS for K-12 schools supports institutions of all sizes, from small schools to large districts. ### How does SIS improve student data accuracy? By centralizing student data management, SIS platforms reduce duplicate entries and maintain consistent records across departments. ### Can a student information system integrate with other tools Yes. Most modern SIS platforms integrate with LMS, assessment tools, and communication systems. ### Is student data secure in an SIS? Yes. Trusted SIS platforms use encryption, role-based access, and compliance standards to safeguard student information. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** student information system, SIS for K-12 schools, student data management --- ### [Teacher collaboration tools that improve instruction quality in K-12 classrooms](https://www.edsby.com/teacher-collaboration-tools-to-improve-instruction-quality-in-k12-classroom/commentary/) **Published:** February 9, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn how teacher collaboration tools strengthen instruction quality and support aligned teaching in K-12 classrooms. **Content:** Teaching has always been collaborative in nature. However, modern K-12 classrooms bring new challenges. Teachers manage diverse learning needs. They align lessons across grades. They adapt to new standards. At the same time, schools expect consistent instruction quality. Because of this, teacher collaboration tools have become essential in today’s classrooms. In many schools, collaboration still happens in silos. Teachers plan lessons alone. Resources stay scattered. Communication gaps affect consistency. As a result, instruction quality often varies from one classroom to another. This is where structured collaboration tools make a real difference. This blog explains how collaboration tools for teachers improve[ instruction quality in K-12 classrooms](https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7521&context=td). It also explores key features, benefits for school communities, and how platforms like Edsby support modern collaboration needs. ## What are teacher collaboration tools in K-12 education? Teacher collaboration tools are digital platforms that help educators work together more effectively. They support shared planning. They enable resource sharing. They also improve communication across teaching teams. These tools bring teachers into a single digital space. Lesson plans. Assessments. Student data. Professional discussions. Everything stays connected. Because of this, teachers spend less time searching for information and more time improving instruction. Most K-12 collaboration tools work online. This allows teachers to collaborate anytime. It also supports in-person, hybrid, and remote teaching models. In simple terms, these tools help schools move from isolated teaching to aligned instruction. ## Why schools need teacher collaboration tools today Schools face growing pressure to deliver consistent learning outcomes. However, teaching environments are more complex than ever. Student needs differ widely. Curriculum standards change often. Technology keeps evolving. Because of this, collaboration cannot rely on hallway conversations alone. Digital tools for teacher collaboration provide structure and continuity. They ensure that collaboration happens regularly and meaningfully. In addition, teacher turnover remains a challenge. When knowledge stays in individual classrooms, schools lose valuable insights. Collaboration tools help preserve institutional knowledge. New teachers can learn faster. Instruction quality remains stable. At the same time, professional development has shifted. Schools now focus on ongoing growth rather than one-time workshops. Teacher professional development tools embedded within collaboration platforms support this shift naturally. ## Key features of effective teacher collaboration tools Strong collaboration platforms share several core features. These features of [teacher collaboration tools directly support better instruction ](https://www.edsby.com/)when used consistently. - Shared lesson planning spaces Teachers can co-create lesson plans. They can align objectives and pacing. As a result, instruction becomes more consistent across grades and subjects. - Centralized resource libraries Teaching materials stay organized in one place. Teachers reuse and improve resources over time. This reduces duplication and saves planning time. - Collaborative assessment tools Teachers design assessments together. They analyze results as a team. Because of this, instruction improves based on shared data insights. - Communication and discussion tools Built-in messaging and discussion boards support daily collaboration. Teachers exchange ideas without relying on external apps. - Data visibility and student insights Access to student progress data supports informed planning. Teachers adjust instruction together based on real evidence. Each of these features supports teamwork. Together, they help schools move toward instructional alignment. ## How collaboration improves instruction quality Collaboration improves instruction when it becomes part of daily teaching practice. Digital platforms make this possible at scale. When teachers plan together, lessons become more coherent. Learning objectives align across classrooms. Students experience smoother transitions between grades. Because of this, learning gaps reduce over time. Collaboration also supports reflective teaching. Teachers discuss what works. They refine strategies. They learn from peer experiences. As a result, instruction continuously improves. In addition, shared accountability grows. Teaching teams take collective ownership of student outcomes. This mindset shift directly impacts instructional quality. ## Benefits for administrators, teachers, and parents ### A. Benefits for administrators Administrators need visibility into instructional practices. Collaboration platforms provide that clarity without micromanagement. They help school leaders understand how curriculum is implemented. They support professional learning communities. At the same time, they create consistency across schools and departments. As a result, administrators make better decisions. They support teachers more effectively. Instruction quality improves at the system level. ### B. Benefits for teachers Teachers benefit the most from strong collaboration tools. Planning becomes easier. Resource sharing reduces workload. Peer support increases confidence. Because collaboration tools centralize workflows, teachers spend less time on administrative tasks. They focus more on teaching. They also feel less isolated in their work. Over time, this leads to better instruction and higher job satisfaction. ### C. Benefits for parents Parents may not use collaboration tools directly. However, they benefit from the outcomes. Aligned instruction leads to clearer expectations. Students receive consistent learning experiences. Communication improves across classrooms. As a result, parents feel more informed and confident in the school’s instructional approach. ## Best teacher collaboration platforms support professional growth The[ best teacher collaboration platforms](https://www.edsby.com/) go beyond basic communication. They integrate professional learning into daily workflows. These platforms support mentoring. They enable peer feedback. They help teachers reflect on practice using shared data. Because of this, professional development becomes continuous rather than event-based. Teacher professional development tools work best when embedded into daily teaching systems. Standalone tools often fail to gain adoption. Integrated platforms support natural usage. In addition, platforms designed for K-12 contexts understand school realities. They support grade-level teams. They align with school calendars. They respect privacy and compliance needs. ## How Edsby supports modern teacher collaboration Edsby is designed to support collaboration as part of everyday school operations. It connects teaching, learning, and communication in one unified platform. Teachers collaborate on lesson planning and assessments within Edsby. They share resources securely. They also track student progress together. Because of this, instruction remains aligned and data-informed. Edsby also supports professional collaboration at scale. Schools use it to strengthen professional learning communities. Administrators gain insight without disrupting teaching workflows. Most importantly, Edsby fits naturally into school routines. Collaboration does not feel like extra work. It becomes part of how teaching happens. [![teacher collaboration tools](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Choosing the right collaboration tools for your school Every school has unique needs. However, some principles apply universally when selecting K-12 collaboration tools. First, prioritize ease of use. Teachers adopt tools that save time. Complex systems often fail despite strong features. Second, look for integration. The platform should connect planning, assessment, and communication. Fragmented tools create more work. Third, consider scalability. The tool should support growth across grades and departments. It should also adapt to future needs. Finally, focus on instructional impact. The goal is not technology adoption. The goal is better teaching and learning outcomes. ## Final thoughts Strong instruction depends on strong collaboration. In today’s complex K-12 environment, schools cannot rely on informal teamwork alone. Structured digital platforms make collaboration consistent and meaningful. Teacher collaboration tools help align instruction, support professional growth, and improve learning experiences for students. When implemented thoughtfully, they become a foundation for instructional excellence. As schools plan for the future, investing in the right collaboration tools for teachers is no longer optional. It is essential for improving instruction quality across K-12 classrooms. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Why are teacher collaboration tools critical for improving instructional quality in K-12 classrooms? Teacher collaboration tools help educators share resources, co-plan lessons, and analyze student data together, which leads to more consistent instruction across classrooms and better alignment with learning objectives. When teachers work collaboratively, they can refine teaching strategies based on peer feedback, address learning gaps more effectively, and foster a culture of continuous professional growth — all of which contribute to stronger instructional quality in K-12 settings.[ ](https://www.discoveryeducation.com/blog/educational-leadership/teacher-collaboration/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 2. What features should schools look for in collaboration tools to support co-planning and shared lesson development? Effective collaboration tools for co-planning should include shared workspaces where teachers can edit lesson plans in real time, cloud storage for organizing teaching materials, integration with calendars and scheduling systems, and options for version history to track changes. Tools that support real-time communication and resource tagging help teachers find and reuse high-quality content efficiently, making collaborative planning more productive and reducing redundant work.[ ](https://www.umassglobal.edu/blog-news/top-10-technology-tools-educators?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. How can schools evaluate the impact of teacher collaboration tools on instructional quality before adopting them? Schools can assess the impact of collaboration tools by piloting them in small teacher teams and measuring improvements in lesson alignment, instructional consistency, and student engagement metrics. Surveys and feedback from participating teachers can reveal how these tools influence planning efficiency and instructional design. Additionally, real-time analytics and reporting features — such as shared progress dashboards — provide objective data on usage patterns and collaboration frequency, helping decision-makers choose tools that truly support instructional goals. ### 4. After implementation, how can schools ensure teachers continue to benefit from collaboration tools to improve instruction? To sustain value post-implementation, schools should promote professional learning communities (PLCs) that use collaboration tools regularly, offer ongoing training on advanced features, and host reflection sessions where teachers share successful strategies enabled by the tools. Monitoring usage data and gathering regular teacher feedback help guide refinements, ensuring that collaborative practices evolve with instructional needs. Over time, this practice strengthens instructional quality and embeds collaboration into the school culture. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** digital tools for teacher collaboration, teacher professional development tools, Teacher collaboration tools, collaboration tools for teachers, best teacher collaboration platforms, K-12 collaboration tools --- ### [Top K-12 LMS platforms compared: Edsby, Canvas, Schoology, Google Classroom, & more](https://www.edsby.com/top-k-12-lms-platforms-compared/commentary/) **Published:** February 10, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A practical comparison of leading K-12 LMS platforms for schools and districts. **Content:** Digital learning is no longer optional for schools. Districts now depend on learning management systems to manage instruction, communication, and student progress. With many tools in the market, decision-makers often struggle to compare platforms fairly. This guide offers a clear top K-12 LMS platforms comparison focused on real district needs. This blog compares leading platforms like Edsby, Canvas, Schoology, and Google Classroom. The goal is to help districts understand differences in usability, features, integrations, and long-term value. Key questions this guide answers include: - Which platform works best for district-wide deployment? - How do these tools differ in teaching and administration support? - What makes one platform more suitable than another for K-12 schools? ## What districts should look for in a K-12 LMS Before comparing tools, it is important to under stand evaluation criteria. A strong LMS should support both teaching and administration without creating extra work. Most districts prioritize: - Ease of use for teachers, students, and parents - Support for blended and remote learning - Integration with student information systems - Data visibility and reporting - Security and compliance with education standards Beyond features, districts must also consider scalability. A tool that works for one school may fail at the district level. This is where many platforms differ significantly. A thoughtful [K-12 LMS comparison](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) always balances classroom needs with district-wide oversight. ## 1. Edsby: Built for K-12 districts, not just classrooms Edsby takes a different approach. It combines learning management, communication, and data management into one unified platform designed specifically for k-12 districts. Unlike tools adapted from higher education or consumer products, [Edsby is built around district workflows](https://www.edsby.com/). ### Key features of Edsby 1. Unified learning and classroom management: Edsby brings learning management and classroom workflows into a single, unified environment designed specifically for K-12 schools. Teachers can manage courses, share instructional materials, assign work, and assess student progress without switching between disconnected tools. The platform supports day-to-day teaching while maintaining consistency across classrooms and schools, which is critical for district-wide implementation. Unlike traditional LMS platforms that focus primarily on course delivery, Edsby connects instructional activities directly with academic records. Assignments, grades, and feedback are part of a broader student profile rather than isolated classroom artifacts. This unified approach helps teachers focus on instruction while ensuring that academic data remains accurate and accessible at all levels. 2. Deep integration with student information systems (SIS): One of Edsby’s most defining features is its deep, real-time integration with student information systems. Rather than functioning as a standalone LMS, Edsby synchronizes enrollment, attendance, schedules, grades, and demographic data directly from the SIS. This creates a single source of truth for all stakeholders. For districts, this integration significantly reduces manual data entry and reconciliation errors. Teachers see up-to-date class lists and student information, while administrators gain reliable visibility into academic and operational data. This level of integration supports compliance, reporting, and long-term data strategy without adding administrative burden. 3. Standards-aligned grading and assessment: Edsby supports standards-aligned grading practices that reflect how K-12 districts actually assess learning. Teachers can evaluate student work using traditional grades, standards-based approaches, or a combination of both, depending on district policy. Grades entered by teachers flow directly into official records through SIS integration. Assessment in Edsby is designed to support instructional decision-making rather than isolated scoring. Teachers can track mastery over time, identify learning gaps, and adjust instruction accordingly. For districts, this ensures consistency in grading practices across schools while still allowing instructional flexibility. 4. Centralized dashboards and real-time analytics: Edsby provides centralized dashboards tailored to different user roles, including teachers, administrators, students, and parents. These dashboards present relevant academic, attendance, and engagement data in a clear, actionable format. District leaders can monitor trends across schools without requesting separate reports. Real-time visibility allows administrators to identify issues early, such as declining engagement or attendance patterns. This proactive insight supports data-informed decision-making at both the school and district level, setting Edsby apart from classroom-focused platforms. 5. Parent and student engagement tools: Parent and student engagement is built into Edsby’s core design, not added as an afterthought. Parents can view grades, assignments, attendance, and school updates in one place, improving transparency and trust. Communication tools enable timely, contextual interactions between schools and families. Students benefit from a clear view of their academic responsibilities and progress. This visibility encourages accountability and supports self-directed learning. By keeping all stakeholders connected, Edsby strengthens the home–school relationship across the district. 6. Secure communication and collaboration: Edsby includes secure, role-based communication tools that allow teachers, administrators, students, and parents to communicate within the platform. Messages are contextual and tied to academic or school-related activities, reducing confusion and reliance on external tools. This integrated communication model helps districts maintain consistency, security, and compliance. It also ensures that important information is accessible and traceable, which is especially valuable in large or distributed school systems. 7. Attendance, behavior, and wellbeing tracking: Beyond academics, Edsby supports tracking of attendance, behavior, and other indicators that affect student success. These records are linked directly to student profiles, providing a holistic view of each learner. Teachers and administrators can identify patterns that may require intervention. This broader visibility enables schools to move from reactive responses to proactive support. District leaders gain insight into systemic issues while maintaining appropriate access controls and data privacy. 8. Role-based access and district governance: Edsby is designed with district governance in mind. Role-based permissions ensure that users only see information relevant to their responsibilities. Administrators can enforce consistent policies across schools while allowing flexibility where appropriate. This governance framework supports scalability and security, making Edsby suitable for districts with diverse school models. It reduces the need for workarounds and external management tools. 9. Mobile-friendly and accessible design: Edsby is accessible across devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This ensures that students, parents, and staff can stay connected regardless of location or device availability. Mobile access supports timely updates and engagement, particularly for families with limited access to traditional computers. The interface prioritizes clarity and ease of use, helping users adopt the platform quickly without extensive training. ### [![K-12 school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### Uses of Edsby Edsby is used as a comprehensive digital platform that connects teaching, learning, and administration across K-12 districts. Teachers rely on it for managing classes, assessing student progress, and communicating with families. Administrators use Edsby to gain real-time insight into academic performance, attendance, and engagement across schools. At the district level, Edsby often replaces multiple disconnected systems, reducing complexity and improving data consistency. Its unified design supports long-term digital strategy rather than short-term instructional needs, making it especially valuable for districts focused on scalability and operational efficiency. ### Areas of further improvement Edsby continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of K-12 districts. Ongoing refinements to user experience, reporting flexibility, and instructional workflows help ensure the platform remains aligned with emerging educational priorities. Regular updates and enhancements allow districts to benefit from a system that adapts over time while maintaining stability and consistency. In a canvas vs schoology vs edsby evaluation, Edsby stands out for district-wide alignment rather than isolated classroom features. ## 2. Canvas LMS Canvas LMS is a modern, cloud-based learning management system designed to support digital education at every level. Schools, colleges, and training organizations use Canvas to plan, deliver, and manage online learning in one centralized platform. It helps teachers build interactive courses while giving learners a clear, organized space to access lessons, complete assignments, and track progress. Built with ease of use in mind, Canvas offers a clean layout and straightforward navigation, making it simple for both educators and students to get started quickly. Whether used for in-person classes, blended learning, or fully online programs, Canvas adapts easily to different teaching models. ### Key features of Canvas 1. Course development and organization: Canvas provides flexible tools that allow instructors to design well-structured courses. Teachers can create lessons, assignments, quizzes, discussions, and learning modules with minimal effort. Content can be arranged logically, helping students move through topics step by step without confusion. One of Canvas’s strengths is its ability to control learning flow. Educators can set prerequisites and requirements so learners complete materials in the intended order, improving understanding and retention. 2. Communication and collaboration tools: Strong communication is essential for effective learning, and Canvas supports this through multiple built-in options. Instructors can share announcements, send messages, host discussions, and use video tools to stay connected with students. Canvas also encourages teamwork. Group spaces and integrations with tools like Google Workspace allow students to collaborate on projects, share documents, and work together regardless of location. 3. Assessment and feedback: Canvas simplifies grading and feedback through powerful assessment features. With tools like SpeedGrader, instructors can quickly review submissions, leave comments, and score work in one place. Rubrics can be attached to assignments to ensure fair and transparent evaluation. Students benefit from timely feedback and automatic quiz results, making it easier to understand performance and focus on areas that need improvement. 4. Analytics and insights: Canvas includes detailed analytics that help educators monitor student engagement and academic progress. These insights make it easier to identify learners who may need additional support and adjust teaching methods based on real data. Institutions can use these reports to improve outcomes and personalize learning experiences. 5. Integrations and customization: Canvas connects smoothly with a wide range of third-party tools, expanding its capabilities beyond core LMS functions. Popular integrations include Google tools, interactive video platforms, and digital engagement apps. This flexibility allows institutions to tailor Canvas to their specific teaching and learning needs. 6. Recent updates: Canvas is continuously updated to enhance performance and usability. Recent releases have focused on improving course management and discussion settings. Updates now allow administrators to manage default term dates more easily and display time zone differences clearly. Instructors also have more control over how discussions appear, including default sorting and thread views. ### Uses of Canvas LMS 1. Student blogging and publishing: Canvas can be used to manage student blogs as part of coursework. Educators can link or embed blogs directly into courses, allowing students to publish content while still working within the LMS. This approach supports creative expression and real-world writing experiences without disrupting course organization. 2. Mobile Learning Experience :To support flexible learning, Canvas offers mobile apps for both students and instructors. These apps make it easy to check announcements, submit assignments, review grades, and participate in discussions from a phone or tablet. Mobile access ensures learning continues anytime, anywhere. 3. User roles and accessibility: Canvas supports multiple user roles, including administrators, instructors, designers, teaching assistants, students, and observers. Each role comes with specific permissions, ensuring users only access what they need. Accessibility is a core part of Canvas design. The platform follows recognized accessibility standards and continues to improve features that support inclusive learning. Enhancements such as clearer error messages, better content structure, and improved navigation help ensure all users can engage fully with course materials. ### Areas of further improvement Parent engagement is another area where Canvas shows limitations. While parents can observe student progress, communication is not deeply embedded. Districts frequently rely on separate parent portals or messaging tools. Scalability is both a strength and a challenge. Canvas can scale to large districts, but configuration effort grows with size. Training requirements increase significantly, especially for non-technical staff. From a cost perspective, Canvas licensing may appear straightforward. However, total cost rises when districts factor in integrations, support services, and professional development. In a broader k12 lms comparison, Canvas excels at instructional depth but falls short as a holistic district platform. Unlike [Canvas alternatives](https://www.edsby.com/top-canvas-alternatives-for-k12-districts/commentary/), it works best when districts already have strong administrative systems and need a powerful teaching tool layered on top. ## 3. Schoology Schoology positions itself as a K-12-focused LMS with strong classroom collaboration tools. It blends learning management with social-style interaction. Teachers often appreciate Schoology’s familiar layout and flexible course tools. Students find it intuitive after short exposure. ### Key features of Schoology 1. Course and content management: Schoology allows teachers to create and manage courses in a structured yet flexible way. Courses can be organized by folders, lessons, or units, making it easy for teachers to align digital content with their lesson plans. Educators can upload files, link external resources, embed videos, and reuse content across multiple courses or sections. This reuse capability is particularly helpful for teachers handling multiple classes or for departments that want consistent instructional materials across grade levels. Unlike highly rigid LMS platforms, Schoology gives teachers control over how content is presented without forcing a single course structure. This flexibility supports different teaching styles while still maintaining enough organization for students to navigate coursework independently. For districts, this means schools can adopt Schoology without forcing major instructional redesigns. 2. Assignment creation and submission workflows: Schoology supports a wide range of assignment types, including file submissions, online text responses, and externally linked activities. Teachers can set due dates, attach rubrics, and control submission settings to match classroom expectations. Assignments appear automatically in student calendars and course timelines, helping students manage workload across subjects. The submission process is straightforward for students. They can upload work directly from their device or from integrated cloud storage tools, depending on district configuration. Teachers benefit from centralized access to student submissions, reducing the need for email-based or paper-based workflows. This feature is especially useful in blended and one-to-one learning environments. 3. Assessment and grading tools: Schoology includes built-in assessment tools that allow teachers to create quizzes and tests using multiple question formats such as multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and matching. These assessments can be used for both formative and summative evaluation. Automatic grading for objective questions helps teachers save time, while manual grading remains available for open-ended responses. Grades flow directly into Schoology’s gradebook, which supports weighted categories and customizable grading scales. This allows teachers to align grading practices with school or district policies. While advanced analytics may require integrations, the core grading tools provide reliable visibility into student performance at the classroom level. 4. Gradebook and progress visibility: The Schoology gradebook is designed to reflect classroom grading needs rather than district-wide analytics. Teachers can track student performance by assignment, category, or time period. Grades can be updated in real time, giving students ongoing visibility into their academic standing. For students, the gradebook provides a clear view of completed and missing work, helping encourage accountability. Parents, where enabled, can also access grades and assignment details. This transparency supports better communication between home and school, even though Schoology is not primarily a parent engagement platform. 5. Discussion and collaboration tools: One of Schoology’s strongest features is its built-in discussion functionality. Teachers can create discussion prompts that allow students to respond and engage with classmates in a moderated environment. These discussions support critical thinking, peer learning, and classroom dialogue beyond in-person instruction. Discussion posts can be graded or ungraded, depending on instructional goals. Teachers can guide conversations, provide feedback, and maintain control over participation settings. This feature is particularly valuable in middle and high school classrooms where collaborative learning plays a key role. 6. Communication and course updates: Schoology includes internal messaging and course update tools that allow teachers to communicate directly with students and, in some cases, parents. Teachers can post announcements, reminders, and updates that appear in course feeds. This reduces reliance on external communication tools for day-to-day classroom messaging. While communication features are effective at the course level, they are not designed to replace district-wide communication systems. However, for classroom coordination, these tools help keep students informed and engaged without leaving the platform. 7. Integration and interoperability: Schoology supports integration with student information systems, assessment tools, and third-party educational applications. These integrations allow districts to sync enrollment data, grades, and user accounts, reducing manual data entry. The platform also supports single sign-on, which simplifies access for students and staff. The effectiveness of integrations depends on district configuration and vendor setup. When implemented correctly, integrations help Schoology function as part of a broader digital ecosystem rather than an isolated tool. 8. Mobile access and device flexibility: Schoology offers mobile applications for students, teachers, and parents, enabling access from smartphones and tablets. This supports learning continuity outside the classroom and accommodates districts with diverse device environments. Students can check assignments, submit work, and view updates without needing a full desktop setup. Mobile access is particularly important for districts serving families with limited access to traditional computers. While not all features are equally optimized for mobile use, core workflows remain accessible and reliable. 9. Permissions, roles, and user management: Schoology allows administrators to define user roles and permissions based on district needs. Teachers, students, and administrators have different access levels, ensuring appropriate data visibility and control. This role-based structure supports secure usage while maintaining flexibility. Administrative controls are sufficient for most district needs, though advanced governance often relies on SIS integration. This design reflects Schoology’s classroom-first approach while still supporting district oversight. 10. Reporting and data access: Schoology provides basic reporting tools that give insight into course activity, assignment completion, and grades. These reports help teachers and administrators understand usage patterns and student engagement at a high level. For deeper analytics, districts typically rely on integrated systems or external reporting tools. Schoology’s reporting is best viewed as supportive rather than comprehensive, especially when compared to Schoology competitors built specifically for district-wide data analysis. ### Uses of Schoology Schoology is primarily used to support day-to-day teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms. Teachers use the platform to organize course materials, share resources, assign work, and collect student submissions in one central place. Its intuitive structure makes it suitable for blended learning, where in-class instruction is combined with digital activities. Students benefit from having clear visibility into assignments, deadlines, and grades, which helps improve accountability and time management across subjects. At the school and district level, Schoology is often used as a common instructional layer that brings consistency to digital learning practices. It supports collaboration through discussions and group activities, making it effective for project-based and peer-supported learning. When integrated with student information systems and assessment tools, Schoology helps schools streamline enrollment, grading workflows, and course access without significantly changing existing instructional models. ### Areas for further improvement While Schoology performs well at the classroom level, there is room to strengthen its district-wide capabilities. Improved centralized reporting and analytics would help administrators gain deeper insight into student performance, engagement trends, and instructional effectiveness across schools. Expanding built-in parent communication tools and reducing reliance on external integrations for governance and data visibility would further enhance Schoology’s value as a comprehensive K-12 learning platform. ## 4. Google Classroom Google Classroom is widely adopted due to its simplicity and low barrier to entry. It integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace for education. For schools already using Google tools, Classroom feels natural and fast to deploy. ### Key features of Google Classroom 1. Assignment management and distribution: Google Classroom allows teachers to create, distribute, and manage assignments in a simple, streamlined way. Teachers can attach files from Google Drive, link external resources, or create new Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides directly from an assignment. Once published, assignments are automatically shared with students, and permissions are set so each student receives an individual copy when needed. This reduces confusion and ensures consistency in how work is distributed. Assignments in Google Classroom appear in both the class stream and the classwork tab, making them easy for students to find. Due dates are clearly displayed, and missing work is flagged for both students and teachers. This basic structure supports daily classroom workflows without requiring extensive setup or technical expertise. 2. Student submission and teacher feedback: Students submit assignments directly through Google Classroom, typically using Google Workspace files stored in Drive. Submissions are time-stamped, helping teachers track late or missing work. Teachers can review student work within the platform and provide feedback using comments and suggestions in Google Docs and other Workspace tools. This feedback process supports ongoing learning rather than just final grading. Teachers can comment while students are still working, encouraging revisions and improvement. While grading options are simple, the feedback loop is effective for formative assessment in K-12 classrooms. 3. Grading and grade export: Google Classroom includes a basic grading system that allows teachers to assign points or simple grading scales to assignments. Grades are visible to students once returned, providing immediate insight into performance. Teachers can track overall progress through the gradebook view within each class. For districts using a separate student information system, grades can be exported manually or through third-party integrations, depending on configuration. While this process is not fully automated in all setups, it allows Google Classroom to function alongside existing administrative systems rather than replacing them. 4. Class communication and announcements: Google Classroom supports communication through class announcements and comments. Teachers can post updates, reminders, and instructions that appear in the class stream. Students can comment on posts when enabled, allowing for basic interaction and clarification. This communication model works well for classroom coordination but is intentionally limited. It is designed to support instructional updates rather than serve as a full messaging system. As a result, many schools use Google Classroom alongside other communication tools for parent and district-level messaging. 5. Integration with Google Workspace for education: One of Google Classroom’s strongest features is its seamless integration with Google Workspace for Education. Teachers and students can easily access Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drive, and Meet without leaving the platform. Files are automatically organized in Google Drive folders for each class, reducing manual file management. This integration supports collaboration, real-time editing, and cloud-based storage, making it easier for students to work from different devices and locations. For schools already invested in Google Workspace, this ecosystem provides a consistent and familiar digital environment. 6. Calendar and task visibility: Google Classroom automatically syncs assignments and due dates with Google Calendar. This helps students manage their workload across multiple classes and improves time management skills. Teachers benefit from fewer missed assignments and clearer expectations. The calendar view offers a simple overview of upcoming work but does not provide advanced planning or analytics. Its strength lies in visibility rather than detailed progress tracking. 7. Mobile access and device compatibility: Google Classroom is accessible through web browsers and dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS. This allows students and teachers to access class materials, submit assignments, and receive updates from smartphones and tablets. Mobile access is especially important for districts with limited access to laptops or desktops. While most core features are available on mobile, some advanced workflows are easier to manage on larger screens. Still, the platform supports learning continuity across devices and environments. 8. User management and access control: Classroom access is managed through Google accounts, with teachers controlling who can join a class via invite links or class codes. Administrators can manage user access and permissions through Google Workspace admin settings. This ensures secure access while keeping setup simple. However, Classroom does not provide detailed role customization or district-level governance tools within the platform itself. These controls remain part of the broader Google Workspace environment. ## Uses of Google Classroom Google Classroom is widely used to support daily instructional activities in K-12 schools. Teachers rely on it to distribute assignments, share learning materials, and collect student work in both in-person and remote learning settings. Its simplicity makes it particularly effective for elementary and middle schools, as well as for teachers who want a low-friction way to introduce digital workflows. At the school level, Google Classroom is often used as a supplemental instructional tool rather than a full learning management system. It works well during emergency remote learning, for homework management, and for classrooms that already depend heavily on Google Workspace tools. Many districts use it alongside an SIS or another LMS to meet broader administrative needs. ## Areas of further improvement While Google Classroom is easy to use, it lacks advanced features needed for district-wide oversight. Improved reporting and analytics would help administrators better understand student engagement and performance across schools. Stronger native integration with student information systems could reduce manual grade transfers and data fragmentation. Additionally, expanding parent communication tools and offering more flexible grading and assessment options would increase its usefulness beyond the classroom level. Addressing these gaps would help Google Classroom evolve from a classroom workflow tool into a more comprehensive K-12 learning platform. Despite its popularity, Google Classroom is not a full LMS. It lacks many district-level controls and reporting features compared to other classroom management platforms. Common limitations include: - Limited analytics and progress tracking - Weak parent communication features - No native SIS functionality In most K-12 LMS comparison scenarios, Google Classroom works best as a lightweight classroom tool rather than a district platform. ## 5. Moodle Moodle allows teachers to build structured courses using topics or weekly formats. Educators can upload learning materials, embed multimedia, and organize lessons in a sequential way. This structure supports curriculum-driven instruction, especially in upper grades where course pacing and content depth are important. Courses can be reused and adapted across academic years, helping schools maintain consistency. ### Key features of Moodle 1. Assignment and assessment tools: Moodle provides a comprehensive assessment engine that supports assignments, quizzes, and exams. Teachers can create assessments using multiple question types and configure grading rules, feedback options, and attempt limits. These tools support both formative and summative assessment practices. Automatic grading is available for objective questions, while open-ended responses require manual review. 2. Discussion and collaboration features: Moodle includes discussion forums that allow students to participate in topic-based conversations. Teachers can moderate discussions, set participation rules, and guide peer interaction. These tools support asynchronous collaboration and reflective learning, particularly in blended and online learning environments. 3. Integration and extensibility: Moodle’s open-source architecture supports a wide range of plugins and integrations. Districts can extend functionality to include external tools, authentication systems, and analytics solutions. While this flexibility is a strength, it also requires technical oversight to ensure stability and security. 4. Administration and user management: Administrators can define roles and permissions for teachers, students, and staff. Moodle supports bulk user management and course enrollment, often synchronized through SIS integrations. Governance capabilities are robust but depend heavily on configuration and ongoing maintenance. ### Uses of Moodle Moodle is commonly used by districts seeking high levels of customization and control over their learning environment. It works well for secondary education, virtual schools, and districts with strong IT support. Moodle is often selected when long-term flexibility is a priority. ### Areas of further improvement Ongoing improvements to usability, simplified administration, and streamlined updates help Moodle remain accessible to a wider range of districts. ## 6. Brightspace (D2L) Brightspace supports structured course creation with tools that help teachers align lessons to learning standards. Content can be organized into modules and learning paths, guiding students through coursework in a consistent sequence. This approach supports instructional alignment across classrooms and schools. ### Key features 1. Assessment and feedback tools: Brightspace includes assessment tools for quizzes, assignments, and rubrics. Teachers can provide detailed feedback and track progress over time. The platform supports varied evaluation methods while maintaining consistency in grading practices. 2. Learning analytics and insights: Brightspace emphasizes data visibility through built-in analytics dashboards. Teachers and administrators can view student engagement and performance trends, helping identify areas that need instructional support. These insights support data-informed teaching and intervention planning. 3. Integration and scalability: Brightspace integrates with SIS platforms and third-party educational tools. Single sign-on and automated rostering support district-wide scalability. While integrations expand functionality, implementation quality plays a key role in effectiveness. 4. Accessibility and learner support: The platform is designed with accessibility in mind, supporting diverse learning needs and devices. This ensures consistent access for students across different environments. ### Uses of Brightspace Brightspace is often used by districts that prioritize structured instruction and data-driven decision-making. It is especially common in middle and high school settings where analytics and standardized learning paths are important. ### Areas of further improvement Continued enhancement of user experience and reporting customization helps Brightspace better support diverse district needs. ## 7. Microsoft Teams for education Microsoft Teams provides a digital space where teachers and students can communicate, collaborate, and share resources. Channels support organized conversations around subjects or projects, while meetings enable live instruction and discussions. ### Key features 1. Assignment distribution and feedback: Teams allows teachers to create and assign work, collect submissions, and provide feedback using Microsoft 365 tools. Integration with Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote supports collaborative learning and document sharing. 2. Integration with Microsoft 365 ecosystem: Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft’s productivity suite, allowing seamless access to files, calendars, and communication tools. This ecosystem supports schools already using Microsoft technologies. 3. Security and access controls: Administrators manage access and permissions through Microsoft’s admin center. Role-based controls and compliance features support secure usage across schools. ### Uses of Microsoft Teams Teams is commonly used for virtual classrooms, staff collaboration, and group-based learning. It is often paired with an LMS or SIS rather than used as a standalone learning management system. ### Areas of further improvement Expanded native learning management features would strengthen Teams’ role in district-wide instructional strategy. ## 8. Seesaw Seesaw enables students to demonstrate learning through drawings, photos, videos, and voice recordings. This multimodal approach supports early learners who may not yet be proficient writers. ### Key features 1. ### Assignment creation and feedback: Teachers create activities that encourage creativity and participation. Feedback is shared in simple, age-appropriate ways that support learning growth. 2. ### Parent engagement and visibility: Parents can view student work and receive updates, creating strong home–school connections. This transparency supports engagement in early education. 3. ### Ease of use and accessibility: Seesaw’s interface is designed for young students, making it easy to navigate across devices. Minimal training is required for teachers and families. ### Uses of Seesaw Seesaw is widely used in early childhood and elementary settings to support engagement and parent communication. It often complements a district LMS rather than replacing it. ### Areas of further improvement Broader integration with district systems would enhance visibility and continuity as students’ progress to higher grades. ## Feature comparison: how these platforms differ in practice When comparing platforms side by side, differences become clearer at the operational level. While top K-12 LMS platforms appear similar on the surface, their strengths vary significantly once districts examine daily instructional use, administrative oversight, and long-term scalability. ## Instruction and course management - Edsby balances instruction with administrative context. Learning activities are connected to schedules, student records, and district processes. - Canvas excels in structured digital courses. It supports detailed course design, modules, assessments, and grading workflows that mirror higher-education models. - Schoology supports flexible classroom interaction, blending course structure with discussion-driven learning and collaborative activities. - Google Classroom focuses on simplicity. It prioritizes assignment distribution and basic feedback rather than advanced course architecture. - Moodle offers deep customization for course design. Its flexibility allows districts to shape instruction closely to local needs, though this often requires technical oversight. - Brightspace emphasizes outcomes-based instruction. It supports competency tracking, learning objectives, and structured assessment models. - Microsoft Teams supports instructional collaboration but is not a standalone course management system. It is typically paired with another LMS. - Seesaw focuses on early learner instruction. It enables student portfolios and creative expression but does not support complex course structures. ## Communication and engagement - Edsby offers built-in parent, student, and teacher communication within the same platform, aligning academic updates with district communication workflows. - Schoology supports class-level discussions and messaging, mainly focused on teacher-to-student interaction. - Canvas relies on external tools for engagement. While it supports announcements and discussions, richer communication often depends on integrations. - Google Classroom has a limited communication scope, primarily centered on assignment comments and basic messaging. - Moodle supports communication through forums and messaging, though engagement quality depends on configuration and educator adoption. - Brightspace includes structured communication tools tied to course activity and learner progress. - Microsoft Teams excels at real-time communication through chat, video, and collaboration channels but lacks academic context. - Seesaw strengthens engagement through visual and family-friendly interaction, especially in elementary settings. ## District oversight - Edsby provides centralized dashboards that give district leaders visibility into academics, attendance, engagement, and communication. - Canvas and Schoology depend on integrations to provide district-level oversight beyond course analytics. - Google Classroom offers minimal oversight tools, with limited aggregation for administrators. - Moodle can support district oversight but typically requires customization and reporting setup. - Brightspace includes strong administrative dashboards and analytics designed for system-level monitoring. - Microsoft Teams provides administrative controls for users and security but limited academic oversight. - Seesaw offers classroom-level insight and parent visibility but limited district reporting. This practical top K-12 LMS platforms comparison shows why districts must look beyond surface features. ## Scalability and district readiness Scalability is often overlooked during early evaluations. A platform may work well in pilot programs but struggle during district-wide rollout. Districts should assess: - User management at scale - Consistency across schools - Training and onboarding support - Edsby is designed for large deployments with consistent workflows across schools and grade levels. - Canvas and Schoology can scale but often require additional configuration, integrations, and support resources. - Google Classroom scales easily in numbers but not in administrative or reporting functionality. - Moodle scales effectively in districts with strong technical capacity and governance. - Brightspace is built for enterprise-scale deployments with standardized instructional models. - Microsoft Teams scales well for collaboration but typically requires an LMS alongside it. - Seesaw scales best within early education environments and is commonly used as a complementary tool. For districts seeking best school platforms for districts, scalability often becomes the deciding factor. ## Data, reporting, and compliance considerations Data visibility is critical for district leadership. Administrators need real-time insights into student performance, attendance, and engagement. Platform differences are clear: - Edsby centralizes academic, attendance, and engagement data - Canvas offers strong course-level analytics - Schoology provides moderate reporting - Google Classroom offers minimal analytics - Moodle supports detailed reports with configuration - Brightspace delivers advanced learning analytics - Microsoft Teams focuses on usage data rather than academic reporting - Seesaw provides student work visibility with limited analytics Compliance with privacy and education regulations is also essential. Districts must ensure platforms align with regional data protection and student data governance requirements. ## Cost, value, and total ownership Pricing varies widely across platforms. However, license cost alone does not reflect true value. Districts should consider: - Cost of integrations - Training and support expenses - Long-term platform consolidation Google Classroom appears affordable but often requires additional tools to meet district needs. Canvas and Schoology can become expensive as add-ons and integrations increase. Moodle reduces licensing costs but may increase operational and support overhead. Brightspace reflects enterprise pricing aligned with analytics and scalability. Microsoft Teams is often bundled with productivity licenses but typically does not replace an LMS. Seesaw is cost-effective for early grades but not a full district platform. Edsby often reduces total cost by consolidating learning, communication, and data systems. Evaluating best school platforms for districts requires a total cost of ownership mindset. ## Final thoughts The right LMS depends on instructional goals, administrative needs, and long-term district strategy. Districts benefit most from platforms built specifically for K-12 ecosystems, not tools adapted from other sectors. For leaders prioritizing scale, consistency, and long-term value, platforms designed around district realities deliver the strongest outcomes and that is where Edsby stands out against all other platforms and is the best choice for districts. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is the best K-12 LMS for school districts? The best K-12 LMS depends on district goals. Platforms like Edsby are designed for district-wide alignment, while Canvas and Schoology focus more on instructional delivery and classroom use. ### 2. How do Canvas, Schoology, and Edsby differ? In a Canvas vs Schoology vs Edsby comparison, Canvas emphasizes structured courses, Schoology supports collaborative classrooms, and Edsby unifies learning, data, and communication across a district. ### 3. Is Google Classroom considered a full K-12 lms? Google Classroom is not a full LMS. It supports assignment management and communication but lacks district-level reporting, governance, and deep data integration found in comprehensive platforms. ### 4. What should districts look for in a K-12 lms? Districts should evaluate scalability, SIS integration, reporting, parent engagement, and long-term total cost of ownership when selecting from best school platforms for districts. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Canvas vs schoology vs edsby, k12 lms comparison, best school platforms for districts, Canvas alternatives, Schoology competitors, classroom management platforms --- ### [Best K-12 school management software compared: Edsby, PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, & more](https://www.edsby.com/best-k12-school-management-software/commentary/) **Published:** February 19, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** K-12 software comparison for 2026: Edsby, PowerSchool, Moodle & more. **Content:** Choosing the best K-12 school management software directly impacts instructional quality, administrative efficiency, compliance reporting, and parent engagement. For district leaders, CIOs, and principals, the decision shapes daily workflows across the entire school ecosystem. In this comprehensive [K-12 school management software comparison](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/), we evaluate: - Edsby - PowerSchool - Infinite Campus - D2L Brightspace - Moodle - Blackboard Each platform is analyzed across essential parameters: student information management, learning management functionality, reporting and compliance, usability, integration ecosystem, scalability, and total cost of ownership. ## Edsby Edsby is purpose-built for K-12 education. Unlike platforms originally designed for higher education or adapted from legacy SIS systems, [Edsby was engineered specifically to unify student information](https://www.edsby.com/), classroom management, assessment, analytics, and parent engagement in a single environment. ### Core strengths Edsby combines SIS and LMS capabilities into one cohesive platform. This unified architecture reduces data silos and eliminates the need for complex integrations between separate instructional and administrative systems. Its design emphasizes usability across all stakeholders—teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Teachers can manage attendance, grading, assessments, and communication from a single interface. Parents access real-time updates on student progress without navigating multiple portals. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) Key strengths include: - Unified SIS + LMS environment - Real-time gradebook and assessment tools - Built-in parent and student engagement tools - District-wide analytics and reporting - Secure, scalable cloud infrastructure ### Reporting and compliance Edsby supports district-level reporting while maintaining classroom-level simplicity. Administrators gain visibility into performance trends, attendance patterns, and engagement metrics without relying on disconnected reporting tools. Because student data, assessment records, and communication logs reside in the same system, reporting becomes more accurate and timely. ### Usability and adoption A major differentiator is workflow efficiency. Teachers manage grading, curriculum planning, attendance, and communication within one streamlined interface. This reduces clicks, training time, and support overhead. For districts prioritizing a unified, modern K-12 ecosystem rather than stitched-together solutions, Edsby presents a strong alternative to legacy SIS and standalone LMS platforms. ## PowerSchool school management software PowerSchool remains one of the most recognized student information systems in North America. ### Core strengths PowerSchool excels in centralized student data management, compliance reporting, scheduling, and transcript management. It is often selected by large districts with complex regulatory requirements. Advantages include: - Robust SIS infrastructure - Mature reporting tools - Large integration ecosystem - Scalable district architecture ### Limitations PowerSchool typically requires additional LMS tools for full classroom management. The modular ecosystem can increase total cost and integration complexity. ## Infinite Campus alternatives Infinite Campus provides centralized district-level student data systems. Infinite Campus is known for compliance reporting, attendance tracking, and record management. Many districts rely on its stable SIS foundation. ### Considerations Like other SIS-centric systems, schools often require separate LMS platforms for instruction. This creates integration dependencies and potential workflow fragmentation. Districts evaluating Infinite Campus alternatives often look for more intuitive teacher interfaces and deeper built-in classroom tools. ## Brightspace alternatives for schools D2L Brightspace is a learning management system designed for digital course delivery. Brightspace offers strong assessment tools, analytics dashboards, and personalized learning paths. ### Limitations in K-12 context It is not a full SIS. Schools must integrate it with external student information systems for enrollment, transcripts, and compliance reporting. This can increase administrative complexity. ## Moodle for K-12 schools Moodle is a flexible open-source LMS used worldwide. Moodle allows customization and plugin extensions. Schools seeking flexibility often consider it. ### Challenges It requires technical expertise for hosting, maintenance, and security. Like Brightspace, it does not provide a complete SIS solution, so integration is necessary. ## Blackboard alternatives for schools Blackboard is a long-standing LMS provider. Blackboard offers structured course management and assessment capabilities. ### Why schools look for alternatives The platform can feel complex in K-12 settings, particularly for younger learners and parents. Licensing and operational costs may also be higher compared to more unified systems. ## Side-by-side strategic comparison of the best ### Student information management When evaluating student information management, structural differences between platforms become clear. Edsby operates on an integrated architecture where student data and classroom workflows exist within the same environment. This reduces data silos and eliminates the need for constant synchronization between systems. PowerSchool is widely recognized for its strong SIS foundation, offering centralized enrollment, attendance, scheduling, transcripts, and compliance reporting at district scale. Similarly, Infinite Campus follows a centralized SIS model built to manage large volumes of student records and regulatory requirements. In contrast, D2L Brightspace is not a native student information system and typically requires integration with an external SIS to handle enrollment, transcripts, and state reporting. Moodle functions purely as a learning management system and does not provide core SIS capabilities without significant customization. Blackboard also operates primarily as an LMS, meaning schools must rely on a separate student information platform for administrative data management. For districts prioritizing centralized, accurate, and real-time student records, the distinction between integrated platforms and LMS-only systems is critical. ### Learning management capabilities From an instructional standpoint, learning management depth varies significantly across vendors. Edsby includes built-in classroom tools such as gradebooks, assessments, attendance tracking, curriculum planning, and communication workflows within the same environment as student data. This alignment allows teachers to manage instructional and administrative responsibilities seamlessly. Brightspace offers advanced LMS features, including [personalized learning paths for K-12 schools](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40561-025-00425-x), digital assessments, and analytics dashboards designed to support differentiated instruction. Moodle provides flexible LMS customization through its extensive plugin ecosystem, enabling schools with technical expertise to tailor the system to specific pedagogical models. Blackboard delivers a mature LMS structure with structured course management and digital collaboration tools. However, PowerSchool often requires an additional LMS component to fully support classroom instruction, since its strength lies primarily in student information management. Infinite Campus provides limited built-in LMS functionality, meaning many districts supplement it with separate instructional platforms. The decision here depends on whether a district prefers a unified system or a best-of-breed approach with multiple integrated tools. ### Reporting and analytics Reporting and analytics capabilities directly affect administrative decision-making and compliance readiness. Edsby, PowerSchool, and Infinite Campus all support district-wide reporting frameworks that allow administrators to monitor attendance patterns, academic performance, and operational metrics from centralized dashboards. Because these platforms are structured around student information systems, compliance reporting is deeply embedded into their architecture. This reduces manual data consolidation and improves reporting accuracy. By contrast, LMS-only platforms such as Brightspace, Moodle, and Blackboard typically depend on integration with an SIS to generate complete compliance reports. While they provide instructional analytics, they do not independently manage regulatory reporting requirements without connected data systems. For districts operating under strict state or provincial accountability standards, built-in reporting infrastructure is often a deciding factor. ### Total cost considerations Evaluating total cost of ownership requires looking beyond base subscription pricing. Districts must account for licensing structures, implementation timelines, staff training requirements, integration management, and long-term technical support. Systems that require multiple vendors—such as pairing an SIS with a separate LMS—often introduce additional integration oversight, data synchronization management, and vendor coordination costs. Over time, these operational layers can increase administrative complexity. Unified platforms frequently reduce long-term overhead by consolidating infrastructure, minimizing integration points, and simplifying support structures. While upfront costs may vary depending on scale and configuration, long-term sustainability depends on how efficiently the system supports daily workflows without adding hidden operational burdens. A strategic software decision should therefore evaluate not only feature depth but also architectural simplicity and lifecycle management costs. ## Final takeaway The right K-12 school management software depends on district priorities. SIS-heavy platforms like PowerSchool and Infinite Campus focus strongly on administrative compliance. LMS-focused systems like Brightspace, Moodle, and Blackboard emphasize course delivery. Edsby differentiates itself by combining student information management and classroom workflows within a unified K-12-focused platform, reducing fragmentation and simplifying daily operations. District leaders should evaluate long-term scalability, usability, and data architecture before making a strategic technology decision. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What makes Edsby different from other K-12 platforms? Edsby unifies SIS and LMS capabilities in one system, reducing integration complexity and improving workflow efficiency. ### 2. Is PowerSchool better than Infinite Campus? Both are strong SIS platforms. The better choice depends on district size, reporting needs, and integration strategy. ### 3. Are Brightspace and Moodle complete school management systems? No. They are primarily LMS platforms and typically require integration with a separate SIS. ### 4. Why do schools seek Blackboard alternatives? Schools often look for simpler user experiences, lower operational costs, and stronger K-12-specific functionality. ### 5. How should districts conduct a K-12 school management software comparison? Focus on unified architecture, usability, compliance support, long-term scalability, and total cost of ownership rather than feature lists alone. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** best K-12 school management software, K-12 school management software comparison, PowerSchool school management software, Infinite Campus alternatives, Brightspace alternatives for schools, Moodle for K-12 schools, Blackboard alternatives for schools --- ### [Why parent engagement software is critical to student success in K-12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/why-parent-engagement-software-is-critical-to-student-success-in-k12-schools/commentary/) **Published:** February 23, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Explore how parent engagement software ensures K-12 student success **Content:** Student success in K-12 education does not happen in isolation. It is the outcome of strong collaboration between schools, educators, students, and families. While curriculum, instruction, and leadership play central roles, one factor consistently influences student outcomes across grade levels: meaningful parent engagement. In today’s fast-paced and digitally connected world, traditional methods of communication—paper notes, occasional emails, and parent-teacher conferences—are no longer enough. Schools need structured, consistent, and secure systems that strengthen family-school communication at scale. This is where parent engagement software becomes critical. Modern K-12 schools operate in complex environments with diverse families, hybrid learning models, and increasing accountability. A unified platform that connects parents directly to academic progress, attendance, behavior updates, and school announcements is no longer optional—it is foundational to student success. ## The direct link between parent engagement and student outcomes Research across education systems globally confirms that when families are actively involved in their child’s education, students demonstrate: - Higher academic achievement - Improved attendance rates - Better behavior and classroom participation - Increased graduation rates - Stronger emotional well-being However, engagement does not simply mean attending a yearly conference or receiving report cards. True engagement involves ongoing, two-way family-school communication that keeps parents informed and empowered to support learning at home. When schools rely on fragmented communication channels—separate email threads, messaging apps, paper forms, and disconnected portals—families often miss critical information. This leads to misunderstandings, delayed interventions, and reduced trust. Parent engagement software centralizes communication into one secure, accessible environment. It ensures that every parent, regardless of schedule or location, has real-time visibility into their child’s educational journey. ## Why traditional communication models fall short Many schools still depend on legacy systems or informal processes for parent outreach. These approaches typically suffer from: - Inconsistent messaging - Delayed updates - Language barriers - Low response rates - Overburdened teachers managing multiple channels Teachers already manage instruction, grading, planning, assessment, and student support. Adding fragmented communication systems creates operational friction. It increases workload while reducing communication quality. For families, especially those with multiple children across grades, navigating separate [school management software](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) for attendance, grades, and school announcements becomes overwhelming. When communication is difficult, engagement declines. Parent engagement software addresses this by consolidating communication into one structured platform, eliminating duplication and reducing friction for both educators and families. ## What is parent engagement software? Parent engagement software is a comprehensive digital platform designed to facilitate structured, secure, and ongoing interaction between schools and families. Unlike standalone messaging apps, advanced platforms integrate with: - Student information systems - Gradebooks - Attendance records - Behavior tracking systems - Academic reporting tools This integration ensures that communication is contextual. Instead of generic updates, parents receive meaningful insights into their child’s progress. [![school management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) For example, rather than sending a vague message about “performance concerns,” teachers can share real-time grade trends, assignment feedback, and attendance data within the same system with the help of a [parent engagement software](https://www.edsby.com/). This transforms communication from reactive to proactive. ## The role of family-school communication in modern education The concept of family-school communication has evolved significantly. It is no longer about periodic updates; it is about continuous partnership. Modern schools serve increasingly diverse communities. Families may: - Work nontraditional hours - Speak different languages - Live in different households - Rely heavily on mobile devices Parent engagement software accommodates these realities through mobile accessibility, translation capabilities, and flexible messaging tools. When families feel included and informed, they become collaborators rather than passive recipients of information. This partnership fosters trust, transparency, and shared accountability. ## Key features that drive student success Effective parent engagement software goes beyond messaging. It creates an ecosystem that supports academic growth and well-being. ### 1. Real-time academic visibility Parents can access grades, assignments, and feedback instantly. This visibility enables early intervention before small challenges escalate into major academic issues. Instead of discovering a problem at the end of a term, families can respond within days. ### 2. Attendance and behavior monitoring Attendance patterns often predict academic performance. When parents receive immediate notifications about absences or behavioral concerns, they can address root causes quickly. Timely awareness prevents chronic absenteeism and discipline escalation. ### 3. Structured parent-teacher communication tools Integrated [parent-teacher communication](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376804873_Parent-Teacher_Communication_from_the_Perspective_of_the_Educator) tools allow secure, documented conversations. Teachers can: - Send class-wide announcements - Share individual progress updates - Schedule conferences - Attach relevant resources These tools create a consistent communication workflow, reducing ambiguity and ensuring accountability. ### 4. School-wide announcements and alerts Emergency notifications, event reminders, and policy updates reach families through one unified channel. This reduces reliance on paper notices that often never make it home. ## How parent engagement software improves academic performance Student achievement improves when families understand what is expected and how their child is performing. Parent engagement software enhances academic performance by: 1. Promoting transparency in grading 2. Encouraging student accountability 3. Supporting homework completion 4. Strengthening home-based reinforcement When students know their parents have visibility into assignments and deadlines, they tend to take greater responsibility. This accountability loop strengthens academic habits. Additionally, parents can better support learning when they have access to teacher feedback and curriculum updates. Instead of asking, “How was school?” and receiving a one-word answer, families can engage in specific, meaningful conversations. ## Supporting social-emotional development Student success extends beyond grades. Social-emotional well-being plays a critical role in academic growth. Parent engagement software enables educators to communicate not just academic concerns but also social-emotional observations. Early conversations about behavioral patterns or emotional challenges allow families and schools to collaborate on solutions. When parents and teachers align in their approach, students experience consistent support across environments. ## Reducing teacher workload while increasing engagement A common misconception is that increased communication increases teacher workload. In reality, centralized parent engagement software reduces communication inefficiencies. Without a unified system, teachers may: - Send repetitive emails - Track conversations across platforms - Manually update parents about grades - Handle miscommunication issues A structured platform automates many of these processes. Notifications trigger automatically based on attendance or grade changes. Class announcements reach all parents simultaneously. Communication history is stored and searchable. This reduces redundancy while improving clarity. ## Equity and accessibility in K-12 schools Equitable engagement means ensuring that all families—regardless of background—have access to information and opportunities to participate. Parent engagement software supports equity through: - Mobile-friendly access - Multilingual communication - Consistent messaging across households - Role-based permissions for guardians Families who previously felt disconnected due to language barriers or work schedules can participate more actively. This inclusivity strengthens community trust and supports student outcomes across demographic groups. ## Data-driven engagement and early intervention Modern education increasingly relies on data-informed decision-making. Parent engagement software contributes to this by enabling schools to analyze communication patterns. Administrators can identify: - Low parent response rates - Attendance trends - Assignment completion gaps - Engagement disparities across groups With these insights, schools can implement targeted strategies to improve outreach and support. Early identification of risk factors—such as declining grades or chronic absenteeism—allows for timely intervention. When families are informed quickly, they can partner with educators to address issues before they become systemic problems. ## Building trust and transparency Trust is foundational in education. When families feel excluded or uninformed, trust erodes. Parent engagement software strengthens transparency by ensuring that information is: - Consistent - Accurate - Timely - Accessible Parents no longer rely solely on periodic report cards or anecdotal updates. They have continuous insight into their child’s experience. This transparency reduces conflict and builds collaborative relationships. ## The impact on district-level efficiency For school districts, fragmented communication systems create operational inefficiencies. Managing multiple tools increases costs, training requirements, and data inconsistencies. A unified parent engagement software platform reduces: - Technology sprawl - Data duplication - Security risks - Administrative overhead District leaders gain centralized oversight while empowering individual schools with flexible communication capabilities. ## Parent engagement software in hybrid and digital learning environments Hybrid and remote learning models have made digital communication indispensable. When instruction extends beyond the classroom, families need visibility into online assignments, learning platforms, and participation metrics. Parent engagement software integrates seamlessly with digital learning environments, ensuring that communication remains consistent regardless of instructional model. This adaptability future-proofs schools against disruptions and evolving educational landscapes. ## Measuring the ROI of parent engagement software Investing in parent engagement software yields measurable returns in both academic and operational metrics. Schools often observe: - Improved attendance rates - Higher assignment completion - Reduced behavioral incidents - Increased parent satisfaction - Stronger teacher-parent collaboration These improvements translate into better academic performance and stronger community relationships. From a financial perspective, reducing absenteeism and improving retention can have significant funding implications for districts. ## Implementation considerations for K-12 schools Successful adoption requires thoughtful planning. Schools should evaluate: - Integration capabilities with existing systems - User experience for families and staff - Data security and compliance standards - Training and onboarding support - Scalability across grade levels A phased rollout with clear communication helps ensure smooth adoption. Engaging teachers early in the process encourages buy-in and ensures the platform aligns with classroom workflows. ## Why a unified platform matters Schools often use separate tools for grading, messaging, attendance, and announcements. This fragmentation creates confusion. A unified platform consolidates: - Academic records - Communication channels - Behavior tracking - School-wide updates This holistic approach strengthens family-school communication while reducing complexity. When parents log into one secure system and find everything they need, engagement increases naturally. ## The future of parent engagement in K-12 education The role of technology in education will continue to expand. However, technology alone does not drive student success. It is how schools use technology to foster relationships that makes the difference. Parent engagement software represents more than a communication tool. It is an infrastructure layer that supports transparency, collaboration, and accountability. As expectations for personalization and responsiveness grow, schools must adopt systems that enable real-time partnership with families. In the coming years, schools that prioritize structured engagement will likely see sustained improvements in student performance and community trust. ## Final thoughts Student success in K-12 education depends on strong, consistent collaboration between schools and families. Traditional communication methods no longer meet the demands of modern education. Parent engagement software transforms family-school communication into a structured, data-informed, and proactive partnership. It supports academic achievement, improves attendance, enhances social-emotional well-being, and strengthens community trust. For K-12 schools seeking measurable improvements in student outcomes, investing in parent-teacher communication tools is not merely a technological upgrade—it is a strategic decision that directly impacts student success. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. Why is parent engagement software more effective than traditional communication methods? Traditional communication methods like paper notices, isolated emails, or annual conferences are often reactive and inconsistent. Parent engagement software creates a structured, centralized system where updates are automated, conversations are documented, and academic data is continuously accessible. This reduces missed information, prevents communication gaps, and ensures families remain actively involved throughout the school year—not just during scheduled events. ### 2. How does parent engagement software improve student achievement? When parents have timely visibility into academic progress and attendance, they can intervene early and support learning at home. This continuous family-school communication promotes accountability, reduces absenteeism, and encourages consistent academic habits. Early awareness of challenges leads to faster solutions and better outcomes. ### 3. What are the essential features of effective parent-teacher communication tools? Effective parent-teacher communication tools should include: - Real-time grade and attendance access - Secure two-way messaging - School-wide announcements and alerts - Conference scheduling - Multilingual support - Mobile accessibility These features ensure communication is structured, consistent, and inclusive for all families. ### 4. How does parent engagement software support equity in schools? Modern platforms improve accessibility by offering mobile-friendly access, translation options, and role-based permissions for multiple guardians. This ensures that families with varying schedules, languages, and living arrangements remain connected and informed. Equal access to information strengthens community trust and student support. ### 5. How can districts measure the success of parent engagement software? Districts can evaluate impact through measurable indicators such as improved attendance rates, increased assignment completion, reduced behavior incidents, and higher parent participation levels. Engagement analytics within the platform also help administrators identify communication gaps and refine outreach strategies. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** parent engagement software, family-school communication, parent-teacher communication tools --- ### [The biggest management challenges K-12 schools face & how tech systems solve them](https://www.edsby.com/biggest-management-challenges-addressed-by-k12-school-management-systems/commentary/) **Published:** February 25, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** How tech solves the biggest K-12 administration problems efficiently. **Content:** K-12 institutions are no longer just academic centers. They function as multi-layered ecosystems that manage student data, compliance reporting, parent communication, staff performance, curriculum planning, attendance, finance, and community engagement. As expectations grow from parents, boards, and regulators, school leaders face mounting pressure to modernize operations without disrupting learning outcomes. This is where a robust school management system becomes strategic, not optional. Technology is no longer about convenience. It is about operational clarity, accountability, and scalability. Many schools still rely on disconnected platforms, manual spreadsheets, paper-based workflows, and legacy systems that do not communicate with each other. This fragmented approach intensifies school management challenges and increases administrative workload. What was once manageable through small teams has now become overwhelming. Let us examine the biggest K-12 administration problems schools face today—and how integrated technology resolves them systematically. ## 1. Data silos and fragmented information One of the most persistent school management challenges is scattered data. Student records may live in one platform, attendance in another, grading in a third, and communication tools somewhere else entirely. When systems operate independently, information becomes siloed. This creates several operational risks: - Inconsistent student records - Duplicate data entry - Reporting inaccuracies - Delayed decision-making Administrators often spend hours compiling reports manually. Teachers re-enter the same information multiple times. Errors multiply. Strategic planning becomes reactive instead of proactive. ### How technology solves it A centralized [school management system consolidates student information](https://www.edsby.com/), attendance, grades, behavior logs, and communication records into one secure database. Instead of juggling multiple tools, staff access a unified dashboard. Integrated systems provide: - Real-time data synchronization - Automated reporting - Role-based access controls - Analytics for performance tracking [![school management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) With centralized data architecture, leadership teams gain visibility into trends, compliance metrics, and academic performance without relying on fragmented spreadsheets. ## 2. Inefficient administrative workflows Administrative inefficiency is a major K-12 administration problem. From enrollment processing to timetable management, schools often operate through manual approvals, printed forms, and email chains. Consider common tasks: - Student admissions - Class scheduling - Fee collection - Staff leave management - Incident documentation When these processes are manual, they consume significant staff hours. Delays become common. Paper trails get lost. Accountability becomes unclear. ### How technology solves it A [school management software automates core workflows](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) through digital forms, approval routing, and workflow tracking. Instead of chasing paperwork, administrators can monitor progress in real time. Key improvements include: - Online admissions and digital documentation - Automated fee reminders - Smart timetable generation - Digital approval chains - Audit trails for compliance By streamlining workflows, schools reduce administrative burden and free up leadership to focus on instructional quality. ## 3. Communication gaps between stakeholders Effective communication is critical in K-12 environments. Yet many schools rely on a mix of emails, phone calls, messaging apps, and printed circulars. This scattered communication structure leads to missed updates, misinterpretations, and inconsistent messaging. Parents often report frustration due to: - Delayed academic updates - Unclear attendance notifications - Inconsistent event communication - Limited access to performance data Teachers, meanwhile, struggle to maintain consistent communication with families while managing classroom responsibilities. ### How technology solves it An integrated School management system centralizes communication between administrators, teachers, students, and parents. It provides structured messaging channels tied directly to academic records. Technology enables: - Automated attendance alerts - Grade visibility for parents - Calendar synchronization - Secure messaging threads - Push notifications for urgent updates With a centralized communication hub, schools reduce misunderstandings and strengthen engagement across the community. ## 4. Compliance and reporting pressure Regulatory compliance is one of the most complex school management challenges. Schools must maintain accurate records for attendance, health documentation, special education services, [ K-12 school safety protocols](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390123321_ENHANCING_SCHOOL_SAFETY_AND_SECURITY_DEVELOPING_AND_IMPLEMENTING_EFFECTIVE_PROTOCOLS_FOR_A_SECURED_LEARNING_ENVIRONMENT), and financial audits. Manual reporting increases the risk of: - Data inconsistencies - Missed deadlines - Non-compliance penalties - Reputational damage For districts and larger institutions, reporting complexity multiplies. ### How technology solves it Modern School management systems provide automated compliance reporting tools. Data fields are standardized, reducing inconsistency. Reports can be generated instantly rather than manually compiled. These systems support: - Attendance compliance tracking - Special program documentation - Government reporting exports - Secure document storage - Historical audit trails By digitizing compliance workflows, schools reduce administrative stress and improve regulatory confidence. ## 5. Timetable and resource scheduling conflicts Scheduling is a complex operational puzzle. Schools must balance classroom availability, teacher workloads, subject allocations, and extracurricular programs. Manual scheduling often results in conflicts and last-minute adjustments. Common scheduling problems include: - Teacher double-booking - Classroom shortages - Uneven workload distribution - Limited visibility into availability These inefficiencies disrupt instruction and create unnecessary tension among staff. ### How technology solves it A School management system includes intelligent scheduling modules that automate timetable creation based on constraints and availability. Benefits include: - Conflict detection - Optimized classroom allocation - Balanced teacher workload planning - Real-time schedule adjustments With dynamic scheduling tools, administrators can adapt quickly to changes without rebuilding schedules manually. ## 6. Attendance monitoring and early intervention Attendance is directly linked to academic performance. However, tracking absenteeism manually delays intervention. In many schools, attendance patterns are identified too late to address underlying issues. Delayed tracking results in: - Chronic absenteeism - Academic decline - Compliance risks - Limited parent awareness ### How technology solves it An integrated School management system tracks attendance in real time and flags patterns automatically. Administrators can set thresholds for alerts and monitor trends across classes or grade levels. Key capabilities include: - Automated absence notifications - Trend analysis dashboards - Integration with academic performance data - Intervention documentation tracking This proactive approach supports early intervention and improves student outcomes. ## 7. Financial management complexity Financial operations in K-12 schools involve tuition collection, vendor payments, budgeting, payroll, and reporting. When handled through separate accounting tools or manual processes, financial transparency suffers. Challenges include: - Delayed fee payments - Manual reconciliation errors - Limited financial visibility - Budget forecasting difficulties ### How technology solves it A comprehensive School management system integrates financial modules that connect directly with student and administrative records. Features may include: - Online fee payment portals - Automated invoicing - Budget tracking dashboards - Financial reporting tools This integration enhances transparency and reduces financial risk. ## 8. Teacher workload and burnout Educators are increasingly overwhelmed by administrative tasks. Beyond lesson planning and instruction, teachers manage grading, attendance logging, communication, and documentation. Excessive administrative load contributes to: - Burnout - Reduced instructional focus - Lower job satisfaction - Higher turnover rates ### How technology solves it A School management system automates routine tasks such as grade calculations, attendance logging, and report generation. Teachers gain access to centralized student data, reducing redundant data entry. By simplifying workflows, technology allows teachers to focus on instructional quality rather than administrative paperwork. ## 9. Limited data-driven decision making Schools generate large volumes of data but often lack analytical tools to interpret it effectively. Decision-making becomes reactive rather than strategic. Without analytics, leadership struggles to: - Identify performance trends - Allocate resources effectively - Forecast enrollment changes - Evaluate program impact ### How technology solves it Modern School management systems include analytics dashboards that transform raw data into actionable insights. Leaders can visualize trends across attendance, academic performance, behavior, and finances. Data-driven dashboards support: - Predictive performance modeling - Strategic resource allocation - Long-term planning - Measurable improvement tracking When schools operate with accurate data insights, strategic planning becomes evidence-based. ## 10. Scalability and growth challenges As schools expand enrollment or introduce new programs, operational systems must scale accordingly. Legacy systems often fail to accommodate growth, leading to inefficiencies. Growth-related K-12 administration problems include: - Increased data complexity - Expanded compliance reporting - Communication overload - Infrastructure limitations ### How technology solves it Cloud-based School management systems are designed for scalability. They support growing user bases, multi-campus structures, and expanding data volumes without performance degradation. Scalable architecture ensures: - Consistent performance - Secure data storage - Remote accessibility - Seamless updates Technology future-proofs operations as schools evolve. ## 11. Security and data privacy concerns Student data protection is a critical operational responsibility. Cybersecurity threats, data breaches, and unauthorized access can have severe consequences. Risks include: - Compromised student records - Regulatory violations - Loss of community trust ### How technology solves it Enterprise-grade School management systems include encryption, multi-factor authentication, and role-based permissions. Centralized systems are typically more secure than fragmented tools. Security-focused platforms provide: - Data encryption protocols - Access control hierarchies - Activity logs - Secure cloud hosting By consolidating systems, schools reduce vulnerabilities. ## The strategic impact of a unified school management system Technology adoption should not be viewed as a technical upgrade alone. It is an operational transformation. When implemented thoughtfully, a School management system addresses core school management challenges holistically rather than incrementally. The most effective systems: - Integrate academic, administrative, financial, and communication modules - Provide real-time visibility - Automate repetitive processes - Support data-driven decision making - Enhance stakeholder engagement Operational excellence in K-12 education depends on structured systems, not isolated tools. ## Final thoughts K-12 schools face growing operational complexity. From fragmented data to compliance pressure, the list of K-12 administration problems continues to expand. Attempting to manage these challenges manually or through disconnected platforms is unsustainable. A centralized School management system offers structural clarity. It transforms fragmented workflows into cohesive processes. It reduces administrative burden, improves transparency, strengthens communication, and supports strategic growth. For school leaders, the question is no longer whether technology is necessary. The question is whether current systems are equipped to support long-term operational resilience. Investing in the right technology today ensures sustainable performance tomorrow. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is a School management system? A School management system is an integrated digital platform that centralizes student data, attendance, communication, scheduling, finance, and reporting within one secure system. ### 2. How does technology reduce school management challenges? Technology automates administrative workflows, centralizes data, improves reporting accuracy, and enhances communication between stakeholders. ### 3. Can a School management system improve compliance reporting? Yes. It standardizes data entry, automates report generation, and maintains secure audit trails to meet regulatory requirements. ### 4. Is a School management system suitable for small schools? Yes. Cloud-based systems are scalable and can support institutions of varying sizes without complex infrastructure. ### 5. How does technology support teacher productivity? It reduces manual administrative tasks, automates grading and attendance tracking, and provides centralized student data access, allowing teachers to focus on instruction. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school management system, school management challenges, K-12 administration problems --- ### [Rethinking the school district data dashboard for comprehensive K-12 analytics](https://www.edsby.com/school-district-data-dashboard-for-k12-analytics/commentary/) **Published:** April 20, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Good K-12 analytics go far beyond attendance. Here is what schools are missing. **Content:** When school leaders talk about data, the conversation almost always circles back to attendance. Dashboards showing daily absence rates, chronic absenteeism percentages, and tardiness trends have become the standard entry point for analytics in most districts. These numbers matter. Nobody disputes that. But if attendance is the only lens through which a district examines student progress, then vast amounts of actionable information are going completely unnoticed. A genuinely useful school district data dashboard does far more than count who shows up each morning. The gap between what most districts have and what high-performing districts use is wider than many administrators realize. Most education technology vendors offer dashboards that are easy to demonstrate during a sales presentation but shallow in practice. They display data. They do not generate insight. They report on what happened. They do not help educators understand why it happened or what to do next. Bridging that gap requires a different philosophy about what student data analytics K-12 tools are actually supposed to accomplish. This piece examines what good K-12 analytics platforms look like in practice, which data points matter beyond attendance, and how districts can build a smarter approach to using the information they already have. ## The attendance dashboard problem Attendance dashboards became widespread in part because attendance data is easy to collect and easy to display. Every student either shows up or does not. The numbers are clean, the visualizations are straightforward, and the metric aligns closely with state reporting requirements. This made attendance the path of least resistance when districts first started investing in data visualization tools. Over time, it also became a ceiling. The problem is not that attendance dashboards are wrong. The problem is that they are incomplete. A student who shows up every day but is failing three subjects is invisible in an attendance-only system. A student whose grades have been slowly declining over two semesters, whose homework completion rate has dropped by thirty percent, and who has not participated in a single extracurricular activity this year is not flagged by any attendance metric. That student is at risk, and without broader analytics, no educator in the building has a data-backed reason to reach out. This is why the shift toward comprehensive education analytics platforms matters. Districts that have moved beyond attendance as their primary data lens are discovering that the early warning indicators they need most are often buried in data they were already collecting but never visualizing together. ## What a real school district data dashboard covers A meaningful school district data dashboard integrates multiple data streams into a single view that allows educators to see the full picture of a student’s experience at school. Attendance is one layer. Academic performance, behavioral records, family engagement history, course completion rates, and assessment trends are other factors. When these streams are connected in one platform, patterns emerge that no single dataset could reveal on its own. Consider what a more complete dashboard might show. A sixth-grader with perfect attendance who has also missed twelve homework assignments in the last four weeks and whose test scores have dropped by an average of fifteen points since the start of the semester is communicating something important. So is a tenth-grader whose grades are stable but who has had three behavioral incidents in a single month after no incidents in previous years. These signals, when viewed together, tell a story that attendance data alone cannot tell. The most effective school performance dashboards allow educators to zoom in and out. At the district level, administrators can see which schools are showing the strongest improvement trends and which are lagging. At the school level, principals can identify which student populations are being underserved. At the classroom level, teachers can see exactly which students need attention and which specific skills are driving assessment gaps. Each level of granularity serves a different decision-maker with a different set of responsibilities. Key data categories that belong on a genuinely useful K-12 dashboard include the following: - Academic performance trends: Grade trajectories over time, not just current grades, allow educators to spot slow declines before they become failures. - Assessment and standards mastery: Disaggregated assessment data show which specific skills or standards individual students and subgroups have not yet mastered. - Behavioral data: Incident patterns over time can serve as early indicators of emerging social-emotional challenges that affect learning. - Family engagement history: Tracking which families have been contacted, when, and whether they responded helps educators identify students whose support networks at home are not yet connected to the school. - Course completion and credit accumulation: Especially important at the high school level, this data predicts graduation risk well before a student is in crisis. When these streams appear together in one dashboard, they allow educators to act with far greater precision and speed than is possible when each dataset lives in a separate system. ## Early warning systems: what the research supports The research base for data-driven early warning systems in K-12 education is strong and growing. Studies consistently show that identifying at-risk students early and intervening proactively produces significantly better outcomes than waiting until failure is visible. What matters is not just having data but having data that is actionable, timely, and presented to the people who can use it. A landmark body of research published through the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University established that three indicators in middle school, specifically attendance below a threshold, course failure, and behavioral suspensions, are highly predictive of high school dropout risk. This work has shaped how many districts structure their early warning systems. But even within this framework, most districts operationalize it poorly because their data systems cannot track these indicators together in real time. They rely on manual review processes that lag weeks or months behind what the data is actually showing. Effective student data analytics K-12 platforms automate this process. They monitor defined indicator combinations continuously and surface alerts when a student crosses a threshold. An educator does not need to pull reports or run queries. The system flags the concern, provides the context, and enables a direct outreach action from within the same interface. This kind of integrated workflow is what separates a genuine analytics platform from a data visualization tool. The external research supports the value of this approach. A comprehensive review published in the journal Review of Educational Research found consistent evidence that data-informed interventions, when properly implemented, improve both attendance and academic outcomes across grade levels. The research is available at[ SAGE Journals: Using data for school improvement](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543211042197). The key phrase is ‘when properly implemented,’ and proper implementation depends almost entirely on whether the data tools educators use are built for action, not just observation. ## The equity dimension of good analytics One of the most important functions a school district data dashboard can serve is surfacing equity gaps that would otherwise remain invisible. When data is only reviewed at the aggregate level, it is easy for district leaders to believe that all students are progressing reasonably well. Subgroup analysis tells a very different story in most districts. Disaggregating student data by race, income level, English learner status, and special education status is not just a compliance exercise. It is the most direct way a district can answer the question of whether its resources and interventions are reaching the students who need them most. A school that shows strong average reading scores may still have a significant portion of its English learner students performing well below grade level, a pattern that is invisible in district-wide averages. Effective education analytics platforms make this disaggregation easy and automatic. Rather than requiring administrators to manually filter data to view subgroup performance, the best tools build equity views into the default dashboard experience. They make it the norm to ask how different student groups are performing relative to each other, not just how the school as a whole is performing relative to state benchmarks. There is also a resource equity dimension to good analytics. Districts can use their data to examine whether intervention services, gifted programs, advanced coursework, and extracurricular opportunities are distributed equitably across schools and student populations. In many districts, access to these resources correlates strongly with demographics in ways that leadership is unaware of because the data has never been visualized in a form that makes the pattern obvious. ## Why most education analytics platforms fall short If the value of comprehensive analytics is clear, why do so many districts still rely on basic dashboards that do little more than surface attendance rates? The answer involves a combination of procurement culture, implementation failure, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what analytics tools are supposed to do. Most education analytics platforms are selected based on what they can display during a demonstration, not based on how they change educator behavior in practice. A tool that produces visually attractive charts is easy to evaluate in a thirty-minute vendor meeting. A tool that meaningfully reduces chronic absenteeism or improves reading outcomes is much harder to assess before purchasing. This creates a market incentive for platforms that look impressive rather than platforms that drive results. Even when districts select genuinely capable platforms, implementation often undermines impact. Teachers and administrators are rarely given enough training to use analytics tools effectively. Many platforms require educators to invest significant time in learning how to pull the reports they need, and that time investment competes with every other demand on an already-stretched workforce. The result is that powerful tools are used in superficial ways, with educators checking the same two or three default views and never exploring the deeper functionality that would actually change their practice. Data silos are another major barrier. In many districts, student information systems, assessment platforms, behavioral management tools, and family communication systems do not share data. Each holds a piece of the student’s picture, but no single tool can see the whole. An analytics platform that only integrates with one or two of these systems will always produce an incomplete view, no matter how sophisticated its underlying technology is. ## The integration imperative: why connected data changes everything The most significant difference between a mediocre school performance dashboard and an excellent one is not the quality of the visualizations. It is the depth of the data integrations behind them. A dashboard that draws from a unified student information system, an assessment platform, a behavioral management system, a family communication tool, and a learning management system simultaneously is capable of showing connections that no single-source dashboard ever could. This integrated view allows districts to ask and answer questions that are genuinely difficult with fragmented data. Which students with declining academic performance also have low family engagement scores? Which schools with strong attendance still have high rates of academic failure in specific subject areas? Which demographic groups are most affected when a specific intervention program is removed? These questions are not answerable without integration, and they are exactly the questions that drive meaningful improvement decisions. Integration also changes the speed at which educators can act. When data from multiple systems is compiled manually, the review process is slow. A teacher might not become aware that a student has missed multiple assignments, received two behavioral referrals, and had no family contact in six weeks until a quarterly review. By then, the window for low-intensity intervention has long since passed. When that same data combination triggers an automated alert the moment the third threshold is crossed, the teacher can act the same week the pattern emerges. Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia described exactly this kind of transformation when it moved to a [unified data platform](https://www.edsby.com/). Having all student information in one place made it significantly faster to identify which students needed intervention and support. The value was not just in seeing more data. It was in seeing the right data at the right time, organized in a way that prompted action rather than reporting. ## What good analytics look like in practice: district examples Translating the principles of good analytics into concrete district practice is where many conversations stall. It helps to look at what districts with strong data cultures actually do differently, beyond what platforms they use. High-performing districts treat their analytics infrastructure as an operational system, not a reporting tool. The distinction matters enormously. A reporting tool produces documents that get reviewed during scheduled meetings. An operational system informs daily decisions made by teachers, counselors, principals, and administrators at every level of the organization. Districts that use analytics as an operational system build workflows around their data. They structure check-ins, team meetings, and outreach processes that depend on real-time data feeds rather than monthly reports. These districts also invest in data literacy alongside data tools. Giving teachers access to a sophisticated dashboard does nothing if teachers do not understand how to interpret what they see or how to connect data insights to instructional decisions. Professional development that builds educators’ ability to read, question, and act on student data is as important as the platform itself. In districts where this investment has been made, educators describe their analytics tools as genuinely useful, which is not a description you hear often in districts where data training was skipped. Another distinguishing feature of high-engagement districts is that they close the feedback loop. When an educator uses data to initiate an intervention or reach out to a family, the outcome of that action is tracked. Did the student’s attendance improve? Did the family respond? Did the grade trend reverse? Districts that track these outcomes can identify which interventions work for which student populations, building institutional knowledge that makes every subsequent response smarter. [![school district data dashboard](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Building toward better analytics: where districts should start For districts that recognize the limitations of their current analytics approach, the path forward does not have to begin with a full platform replacement. There are concrete first steps that build toward a more integrated, actionable analytics environment without requiring a complete technology overhaul. The most valuable first step is a data inventory. Districts should catalog every system that currently holds student data, understand what data each system contains, and map where data gaps and overlaps exist. This inventory often reveals that a district already has most of the data it needs but lacks the integration layer to bring it together. Identifying which systems support API connections and which require manual exports is essential groundwork for any integration project. The second step is defining the questions the district actually needs to answer. Analytics platforms are most valuable when they are built around specific, high-priority questions rather than general-purpose data display. A district that knows it needs to reduce chronic absenteeism should build its analytics workflow around the specific indicators and family outreach patterns that research links to attendance improvement. A district focused on reading proficiency gaps should organize its dashboard around the assessment and subgroup data most relevant to that goal. Third, districts should evaluate education analytics platforms based on integration depth and workflow capability, not visual design. The right questions to ask a vendor are not about the attractiveness of the charts. They are about which student information systems the platform connects to natively, how it handles real-time data feeds versus nightly batch uploads, whether educators can act directly from within the platform without switching to another tool, and how the platform surfaces equity data by default. Finally, districts should plan for the human infrastructure that makes analytics tools work. Platform adoption without professional development produces tools that go unused. Training programs, usage accountability expectations, and leadership modeling of[ data-driven decision-making ](https://www.edsby.com/improving-decision-making-with-centralized-k-12-student-data-management-software/commentary/)are all necessary components of a successful analytics implementation. The technology is only as useful as the culture that surrounds it. ## The path forward: from data collection to data action The difference between a school district that uses data well and one that merely collects it is not primarily a technology gap. It is a strategic gap. Districts that get real value from their school district data dashboard have made a deliberate decision to treat analytics as an operational priority rather than a reporting obligation. They have defined the questions they need to answer, built the integrations that make those answers possible, trained their staff to act on what the data shows, and created feedback loops that make every intervention smarter than the last. The attendance dashboard is not the end of K-12 analytics. It is the beginning. Districts that stop there are leaving enormous amounts of student insight untapped. Districts that move beyond it, toward truly integrated, multi-dimensional, equity-aware analytics platforms, are building the infrastructure that allows every educator to serve every student with the precision and timeliness those students deserve. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What should a school district data dashboard include beyond attendance? A comprehensive school district data dashboard should integrate academic performance trends, assignment completion rates, standardized assessment results disaggregated by subgroup, behavioral incident history, family communication records, and course completion data. Each of these streams adds a dimension of student insight that attendance data alone cannot provide. When these data sources appear together in a single view, educators can identify at-risk students much earlier and with far greater accuracy than any single metric permits. ### 2. How do student data analytics K-12 platforms differ from basic reporting tools? Basic reporting tools display historical data in chart or table form and require educators to pull reports manually. Student data analytics K-12 platforms go further by integrating data from multiple source systems, automating early warning alerts, enabling direct action from within the platform, and tracking the outcomes of those actions over time. The key distinction is between tools built for observation and tools built for intervention. ### 3. Why is disaggregated data important in school performance dashboards? Aggregate performance numbers can mask significant equity gaps that affect specific student populations. When school performance dashboards display data disaggregated by race, income level, English learner status, and special education status, district leaders can identify which groups of students are being underserved. This visibility is the prerequisite for targeted resource allocation and intervention. Without it, systemic gaps persist invisibly behind district-wide averages that appear acceptable. ### 4. What role do data integrations play in the quality of an education analytics platform? Data integrations determine the depth and completeness of insight an education analytics platform can provide. A platform that only connects to a student information system will produce a narrower picture than one that also integrates with assessment tools, a learning management system, a behavioral tracking system, and a family communication platform. The more source systems a platform connects to natively and in real time, the more complete and timely the student picture it can generate. ### 5. How can districts measure whether their analytics tools are actually improving outcomes? Districts should track whether the use of analytics tools correlates with changes in the metrics the tools are intended to influence. If an early warning system is deployed to reduce chronic absenteeism, the district should measure whether absenteeism rates changed in schools or grade levels where the system is actively used versus those where it is not. Response rates to educator outreach, intervention completion rates, and quarterly academic performance trends for flagged students all serve as more meaningful outcome measures than platform login statistics. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** student data analytics K12, education analytics platform, school performance dashboards, school district data dashboard --- ### [Powering collaboration and education records in New Zealand: A case study](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand-education-collaboration-case-study/customers/) **Published:** May 1, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** How Edsby Supports New Zealand’s National Student Data System | Case Study **Content:** ## How Edsby supports a national student data system New Zealand stands out not only for its culture and geography but also for the structure of its education system. The country has more than 2,500 schools across primary, intermediate, and secondary levels. These schools include state, integrated, and private institutions, and each operates with a high degree of independence. While this autonomy allows schools to choose their own systems and tools, it also creates fragmentation. Each institution manages its own technology infrastructure, including databases, an education collaboration platform, and digital classrooms, making nationwide coordination difficult. ## The challenge: Disconnected data across schools One of the biggest challenges faced by the New Zealand Ministry of Education was the lack of consistent data sharing between schools. Since each school used different systems, including varied school communication systems, accessing and transferring student information was often slow and inefficient, or non-existent. This issue became particularly critical when students moved between schools. Their learning records were not readily available, often remaining locked in previous systems or taking too long to retrieve. As a result, educators sometimes lacked timely insights into a student’s needs. “We heard needless stories of kids missing out on learning support like reading recovery, because by the time it was identified that they’d already been assessed for it, they were too old,” [said the Business Design Lead in the Ministry of Education](https://vimeo.com/537117104/21c86f2497). Further, she added, “We also surveyed a number of teachers across New Zealand to find out what was going wrong with learner information, and were horrified to find that on average people were spending about 25 minutes a day on what I would call no value-add stuff.” There were real consequences. In some cases, students missed out on essential learning support because previous assessments were not accessible in time. Teachers also reported spending significant time on administrative tasks that did not contribute to student outcomes. The Ministry recognized that improving access to accurate, timely, and secure student data could significantly enhance both learning and well-being outcomes. This realization led to the exploration of a nationwide solution. ## A national-scale system To address these challenges, the Ministry initiated a multi-year project to identify and implement a solution capable of operating at a national scale. The goal was ambitious: to collect, synchronize, and securely share data for more than 800,000 students from each of the country’s 2,500 schools and their independent systems every day. The system needed to integrate with diverse [education collaboration platforms](https://www.edsby.com), including student collaboration tools and digital classroom platforms, using open standards wherever possible, while also supporting secure custom connections where required. After an international search, the Ministry selected the Edsby education collaboration platform. It had already demonstrated its ability to manage large-scale K-12 data systems globally. The partnership then focused on tailoring the solution to meet New Zealand’s specific requirements. > “Me tiaki te mana o te tamaiti me tana whānau – Te Rito protects the mana of the child and their family, and connects the data of the child to the owners of that data: the child and their parents. This is done over the entirety of their primary and secondary education and is to eventually include their early childhood and tertiary education, providing a seamless system for parents and students to track their education journey over time.” > > Myles Ferris, Chair – Ngā Rau Whakatupu Māori (Māori medium) ## Te Rito: A system built on trust and purpose The project was named Te Rito, inspired by the inner leaves of the indigenous harakeke plant. The name reflects the initiative’s core principle: protecting and respecting the integrity of each child and their family. Te Rito is designed to ensure that student data remains connected to its rightful owners, including students and their families, throughout their educational journey. Over time, the system aims to extend beyond primary and secondary education to include early childhood and tertiary learning, creating a seamless, lifelong record. ## Security and privacy at the core Given the scale and sensitivity of the data involved, security was a top priority from the outset. The Ministry made significant investments to ensure that all data exchanges within the system were secure. The platform uses a version of the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF), an internationally recognized standard, adapted for local use. This enables consistent and secure integration across different systems, including school communication systems and [digital classroom](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-classroom-connection/customers/) platforms. In addition, the system undergoes continuous penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities. Following a separate data breach in another unrelated government system in 2022, the Ministry temporarily paused all projects as a precaution. After thorough validation of its security measures, the program resumed in March 2023 with a stronger, sector-led approach. This renewed phase also expanded the project’s scope and reinforced its long-term commitment to the education collaboration platform. > “Te Rito has the ability to support whānau / families to better engage in their child’s education and build better relationships with their teachers.” > > Myles Ferris, Chair – Ngā Rau Whakatupu Māori (Māori medium) ## Growing adoption across schools Te Rito has gained steady adoption. More than 1,000 schools have already opted into the system, with new institutions joining regularly. Te Rito is already making a noticeable difference in how educators support students. By providing access to comprehensive and up-to-date learner information, teachers can better understand their students before they even enter the classroom. This enables a more personalized and [strengths-based approach](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) to teaching, helping students achieve better outcomes throughout their education journey. ## A data-driven future for education Te Rito is being guided through close collaboration with sector groups representing both Māori and English-medium education. An independent governance group has been established to oversee data stewardship and ensure responsible use of information. While the future will continue to evolve, one principle remains clear: access to accurate and timely information is essential. With Te Rito, educators and policymakers can make better decisions based on trusted data. Strong infrastructure enables better communication, better decisions, and better outcomes. This shift enables a more informed and responsive education system, where investments, policies, and teaching practices are guided by real insights. ## Final takeaway Te Rito represents a significant step forward for New Zealand’s education system. By combining a secure data infrastructure with a modern education collaboration platform, it addresses long-standing challenges in information sharing and student support. With Edsby at its core, the platform is not only improving access to student data but also transforming how educators and institutions work together. As adoption continues to grow, Te Rito is laying the foundation for a more connected, efficient, and student-centered education ecosystem across the country. For a deeper insight, download the [case study](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/NZcasestudy.webp)! **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** education collaboration platform, student collaboration tools, school communication system, digital classroom platform --- ### [Manual vs school attendance tracking software: what the evidence shows](https://www.edsby.com/manual-vs-school-attendance-tracking-software/commentary/) **Published:** May 26, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Manual vs school attendance tracking software: what the data says about which works better. **Content:** Attendance is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of a K-12 school. Knowing which students are present each day is a safety obligation, a compliance requirement, and increasingly, a crucial data input for student support systems. Yet in many schools, attendance tracking is still handled through manual processes that are time-consuming, error-prone, and slow to surface the patterns that would allow early intervention with at-risk students. The comparison between manual attendance processes and school attendance tracking software is not simply about efficiency. It is about the quality of information available to educators and families, the speed at which concerning patterns are identified, and ultimately, whether schools can act in time to prevent chronic absenteeism from derailing a student’s academic trajectory. This article examines what the evidence shows about both approaches and why the shift to automated attendance tools is no longer optional for schools serious about student outcomes. ## The problem with manual attendance tracking Manual attendance tracking in K-12 environments typically involves a teacher recording presence or absence for each student at the start of each class or school day, transferring that information to a paper register or entering it into a disconnected digital system, and relying on an administrative process to aggregate and flag concerning patterns. At each step of this process, there are opportunities for error, delay, and information loss. The most significant problem with manual approaches is not accuracy at the point of recording, though that is also a concern. It is the delay in pattern recognition. A student who is absent for the third time in two weeks may not be flagged for intervention until a manual review process happens, which in many schools occurs at the end of a term rather than in real time. By then, the window for early intervention has narrowed considerably. The [2024 national survey of K-12 educators](https://www.nspra.org/About-Us/NSPRA-Press-Room/New-K-12-Survey-Report-from-NSPRA-and-SchoolStatus-Highlights-Growing-Movement-to-Elevate-Student-Voice-in-K-12-School-Communications) found that 73% of educators identify attendance as crucial for academic success, yet 46% say they struggle to get families to prioritize student attendance. Part of this struggle is a communication lag. When parents do not hear about attendance concerns until they have become serious, the school’s outreach arrives too late to feel like a partnership and too early to feel like an emergency. That middle ground is where early intervention has its greatest impact, and it is precisely where manual systems are weakest. There is also an administrative burden dimension that is easy to underestimate. Taking attendance manually for each class period, entering it into a system, generating absence reports, contacting families about unexplained absences, and documenting follow-up contacts can consume 15 to 20 minutes of instructional or preparation time per class period per day for a secondary school teacher. Across a school year, that adds up to dozens of hours per teacher that automated attendance tools could recover. ## What school attendance tracking software actually does Modern student attendance tracking software goes well beyond digitizing the act of recording who is present. The most capable platforms integrate attendance data with student academic records, behavioral records, and family communication history to create a complete picture of each student’s engagement profile. This integration is what transforms attendance tracking from a compliance function into an early warning system. Automated attendance tools in well-designed platforms do several things that manual processes cannot match. They flag attendance concerns in real time as soon as a threshold is crossed, rather than waiting for a periodic review. They generate automatic first-contact communications to families for unexplained absences, reducing the manual work required from teachers and administrators. They identify patterns across time, such as a student who is consistently absent on Mondays or who shows increasing tardiness over a semester, that would be nearly impossible to detect through manual record review. The most powerful feature of integrated attendance tracking software is the chronic absenteeism risk alert. Research consistently shows that students who miss 10% or more of the school year, typically 18 days in a 180-day year, are at significantly elevated risk of academic failure and school dropout. By tracking cumulative absence totals in real time and alerting educators when a student is approaching this threshold, attendance software enables intervention while there is still time for it to be effective. [![ school attendance tracking software ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The impact on family communication One of the most significant improvements that school attendance tracking software delivers is in the quality and timeliness of [family communication](https://www.edsby.com/school-parent-facebook-communication-risks/commentary/) around attendance. In a manual system, the process of notifying a family about an absence typically involves an administrator reviewing attendance records, identifying unexplained absences, and making phone calls or sending notes home. This process is slow, inconsistent, and dependent on the availability of the person responsible for outreach. Automated attendance tools can eliminate most of this lag. When a student is marked absent, and no excuse has been recorded by a set time, the system can automatically send a notification to the family through their preferred communication channel, whether that is a text message, email, or phone call. This automation ensures that every unexplained absence generates a family contact, something that is nearly impossible to guarantee with manual systems. The data from automated outreach also creates a communication record that is valuable for subsequent interventions. When a student’s chronic absenteeism eventually requires a formal meeting with the family, the school can demonstrate a documented history of outreach attempts rather than relying on individual memory or incomplete paper files. This documentation is important both for effective case management and for any compliance or legal proceedings that may arise from serious attendance issues. ## Digital attendance systems and their role in chronic absenteeism reduction Chronic absenteeism rates in North American schools reached historic highs in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic disruption. National data in the US indicated that approximately 26% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year, compared to approximately 15% in pre-pandemic years. Canadian boards reported similar patterns. Addressing this crisis requires more than better attendance policies. It requires the data infrastructure to identify at-risk students early enough for intervention to be effective. Digital attendance system deployments in schools that have made sustained investments in automated tracking and family communication have produced measurable improvements in attendance rates. The mechanism is not complicated. When schools contact families about absences faster, maintain documented communication histories, and can present families with specific[ student data](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/) about the cumulative attendance record, the conversations that follow are more grounded in evidence and more likely to result in concrete improvement plans. Edsby’s [digital attendance tracking](https://www.edsby.com/manual-processes-vs-digital-school-management/commentary/) module is designed specifically to support this kind of proactive, data-driven approach. Attendance records update in real time, family communications are triggered automatically, cumulative absence totals are visible to teachers and administrators at a glance, and chronic absenteeism risk alerts surface students who need attention before their situation becomes critical. The integration with the broader platform means that attendance data is available alongside grade data, communication history, and family engagement records, giving educators the complete picture they need for effective student support. ## Making the case for automated attendance tools in your school For school leaders evaluating the move from manual to automated attendance tracking, the case rests on three dimensions: time savings, data quality, and student outcomes. The time savings are straightforward to quantify once you calculate the hours currently spent by teachers and administrators on manual attendance processes. Data quality improvements are visible in the reduction of recording errors and the ability to detect patterns that manual review cannot surface. And the student outcome dimension is where the investment pays its most important dividends: earlier identification of attendance risk, faster family outreach, and more effective intervention before chronic absenteeism becomes entrenched. The transition to automated attendance tools requires the same elements as any successful technology deployment: a clear implementation plan, training for teachers and administrators, a communication plan for families, and an evaluation framework to measure whether the system is delivering the expected benefits. Schools that approach the transition strategically rather than treating it as a purely technical upgrade see the strongest results. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is chronic absenteeism, and why is attendance tracking software important for preventing it? Chronic absenteeism is typically defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, which equals approximately 18 days in a standard 180-day school year. Research consistently links chronic absenteeism to significantly elevated risk of academic failure, grade retention, and school dropout. Attendance tracking software is important because it identifies students approaching this threshold in real time, enabling intervention while there is still a meaningful window to address the underlying causes. ### 2. How does automated attendance tracking save teachers time? Automated attendance tools eliminate several of the most time-consuming manual steps in the attendance management process: generating absence reports, drafting family contact messages for unexplained absences, documenting follow-up contact attempts, and reviewing cumulative records to identify concerning patterns. In secondary schools with multiple class periods, the time savings per teacher per year can amount to dozens of hours that are returned to instructional and student support activities. ### 3. Can a digital attendance system work with parents who do not have smartphones or email? The best student attendance tracking platforms offer multichannel communication that includes voice phone calls, not just text or email. This ensures that families without smartphones or reliable internet access still receive attendance notifications through a channel that works for them. Schools evaluating attendance software should confirm that the platform supports voice outreach as well as digital channels, and that the family’s preferred contact method can be recorded and honored by the system. ### 4. What are the privacy considerations for school attendance tracking software? Attendance records are education records subject to FERPA in the US and equivalent provincial legislation in Canada. School attendance tracking software must store this data securely, restrict access to authorized personnel, maintain audit logs of who accessed records and when, and not share attendance data with third parties without authorization. For Canadian schools, data residency requirements mean that attendance data should be stored in Canadian data centres. Schools should verify these protections contractually before deployment. ### 5. How does attendance tracking software integrate with family communication platforms? In integrated platforms like Edsby, attendance tracking and family communication share the same data environment. When an absence is recorded, the system can automatically trigger a family notification through the family’s preferred channel, with no manual step required from the teacher or administrator. The communication record is stored alongside the attendance record, creating a documented history of outreach that supports case management and, if needed, compliance documentation. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** digital attendance system schools, student attendance tracking, automated attendance tools, school attendance tracking software --- ### [Improving decision-making with centralized K-12 student data management software](https://www.edsby.com/improving-decision-making-with-centralized-k-12-student-data-management-software/commentary/) **Published:** February 27, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Explore the ways centralized student data improves K-12 school decision-making. **Content:** K-12 schools generate enormous volumes of data every single day. Attendance records, assessment scores, behavioral logs, health information, demographic profiles, learning progress reports, intervention documentation, and communication history all contribute to a growing data ecosystem. Yet in many schools, this data exists in disconnected systems, spreadsheets, and legacy platforms. The result is not a lack of information. It is a lack of clarity. When data is fragmented, school leaders struggle to extract meaningful insights. Teachers spend time searching across platforms. Administrators rely on outdated reports. Strategic decisions are made based on partial information rather than complete evidence. This is where student data management software becomes essential. Centralizing student data does not simply make reporting easier. It transforms how schools think, plan, intervene, and measure outcomes. This article explores how centralized student data improves decision-making in K-12 schools, why student data management matters, and how education analytics supports better academic and operational outcomes. ## The problem: Fragmented student data in K-12 schools Before discussing the benefits of centralization, it is important to understand the operational reality in many K-12 institutions. Student data often resides in: - Separate attendance systems - Independent gradebooks - Behavior tracking tools - Health record databases - Learning management systems - Financial and enrollment platforms When these systems do not communicate, staff members manually compile reports. This introduces several risks: - Duplicate data entry - Inconsistent records - Delayed reporting - Data errors - Limited cross-functional visibility For example, a principal reviewing declining math performance may not immediately see attendance patterns or behavioral incidents linked to those students. Without centralized student data management, correlations remain hidden. Decision-making becomes reactive instead of proactive. ## What is centralized student data? Centralized student data refers to the consolidation of all student-related information into a unified platform. Rather than storing data across disconnected tools, schools implement [student data management software](https://www.edsby.com/) that integrates academic, behavioral, attendance, demographic, and operational information into one secure database. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) This unified system enables: - Real-time data updates - Standardized data structures - Role-based access controls - Comprehensive reporting dashboards Centralization creates a single source of truth. Everyone works from the same dataset, reducing ambiguity and improving collaboration. ## Why decision-making in K-12 schools is becoming more complex The expectations placed on K-12 schools continue to expand. School leaders must address academic performance gaps, equity initiatives, mental health support, compliance requirements, financial sustainability, and stakeholder communication. Modern decision-making requires answers to complex questions such as: - Which students are at risk academically? - Are attendance patterns affecting performance? - Which interventions produce measurable improvement? - Where should resources be allocated? - How do demographic trends impact long-term planning? Without strong student data management systems, these questions are difficult to answer with confidence. Education analytics thrives on centralized, accurate data. Without integration, analytics cannot deliver meaningful insights. ## 1. Improved academic performance monitoring One of the most significant advantages of centralized student data is the ability to monitor academic performance comprehensively. In fragmented systems, grades may be accessible, but they are rarely connected to attendance, behavior, or intervention data. This limits contextual understanding. With [school management software](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/), academic records are connected to multiple performance indicators. Educators can: - Track longitudinal performance trends - Compare subject-level growth - Identify grade-level performance gaps - Correlate attendance with achievement For example, if a student’s science performance declines, administrators can quickly examine attendance frequency, disciplinary records, and assignment submission patterns within the same system. This holistic visibility supports earlier and more targeted interventions. ## 2. Early identification of at-risk students Early intervention is critical in K-12 education. Delayed identification often leads to long-term academic challenges. Centralized student data enables predictive monitoring. Instead of waiting for end-of-term reports, schools can use education analytics dashboards to flag risk indicators in real time. Common early warning indicators include: - Chronic absenteeism - Declining assessment scores - Increased behavioral incidents - Missing assignments - Sudden grade fluctuations When these indicators are integrated into a single system, patterns emerge quickly. Student data management software can generate automated alerts, allowing counselors, teachers, and administrators to intervene before issues escalate. This proactive approach significantly improves student retention and academic success rates. ## 3. Data-driven resource allocation Resource allocation decisions often determine the effectiveness of school improvement strategies. However, without centralized data, allocation decisions may rely on assumptions rather than evidence. Centralized student data management enables leaders to analyze: - Department-level performance trends - Intervention program outcomes - Staffing needs - Enrollment projections - Budget utilization efficiency For example, if literacy intervention programs demonstrate measurable gains in one grade level but not another, administrators can adjust resource distribution accordingly. Education analytics transforms raw numbers into actionable insight. Leadership teams can prioritize investments based on measurable impact rather than intuition. ## 4. Enhanced equity and inclusion initiatives Equity is a critical focus area in K-12 education. Schools must ensure that all student groups have equal access to opportunities and support. Centralized student data makes it possible to analyze performance across demographic categories, including: - Socioeconomic status - Language proficiency - Special education designation - Gender and grade-level distribution When student data management systems integrate demographic and academic records, leaders can identify disparities more clearly. For instance, if attendance rates are significantly lower among specific student groups, targeted engagement strategies can be implemented. Without centralized education analytics, equity initiatives may lack measurable benchmarks. ## 5. Improved attendance analysis Attendance data alone is not enough. What matters is how attendance correlates with academic outcomes. When attendance is tracked in isolation, its full impact may be overlooked. Centralized student data management connects attendance patterns to grades, behavior, and engagement metrics. This integration enables schools to: - Identify chronic absenteeism trends - Analyze impact on subject performance - Evaluate intervention effectiveness - Monitor school-wide attendance improvement strategies Real-time dashboards allow administrators to act immediately rather than waiting for monthly reports. Timely attendance insights directly improve decision-making quality. ## 6. Better communication with stakeholders Parents and guardians increasingly expect transparency. They want real-time access to their child’s academic progress, attendance, and overall development. Centralized student data management software improves communication by providing unified portals where stakeholders can view accurate, up-to-date information. Benefits include: - Immediate grade visibility - Attendance notifications - Progress tracking dashboards - Secure messaging integration When data is centralized, communication becomes consistent. Parents receive accurate updates because everyone references the same dataset. This strengthens trust and improves engagement across the school community. ## 7. Strengthened compliance and reporting accuracy K-12 schools must comply with regulatory reporting standards. Inaccurate or incomplete reports can result in penalties or reputational damage. Fragmented systems increase compliance risk. Data inconsistencies across platforms create reporting discrepancies. Centralized student data management software simplifies compliance by: - Standardizing data entry - Maintaining historical audit trails - Generating automated compliance reports - Ensuring consistent documentation storage Education analytics platforms can also create customized reports aligned with district or state requirements. This reduces administrative stress and improves reporting reliability. ## 8. Support for strategic long-term planning Strategic planning requires reliable historical and predictive data. Enrollment projections, staffing forecasts, curriculum adjustments, and infrastructure planning depend on accurate analytics. Centralized student data enables longitudinal trend analysis. Schools can review multi-year patterns in: - Enrollment growth - Graduation rates - Course performance - Intervention outcomes - Attendance improvement Education analytics tools can model future scenarios based on historical trends. Without centralized data management, long-term planning becomes speculative. With integration, planning becomes evidence-based. ## 9. Reduction of administrative burden Manual data consolidation consumes significant administrative time. Staff members often extract data from multiple systems to build reports for leadership meetings. Centralized student data management software eliminates repetitive tasks by automating: - Report generation - Data synchronization - Performance dashboards - Compliance exports When administrative teams spend less time managing spreadsheets, they can focus on strategic initiatives. Operational efficiency directly improves leadership effectiveness. ## 10. Increased data accuracy and integrity Data accuracy is foundational to effective decision-making. In fragmented environments, duplicate entry increases error rates. Centralized student data systems improve integrity through: - Validation rules - Standardized data fields - Automated synchronization - Role-based editing permissions A single source of truth minimizes discrepancies and builds confidence in analytics outputs. When decision-makers trust their data, they act with greater confidence. ## 11. Leveraging advanced education analytics Modern student data management software includes [advanced analytics](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378208795_A_review_of_learning_analytics_opportunities_and_challenges_for_K-12_education) capabilities that go beyond static reporting. These tools enable: - Predictive modeling - Performance forecasting - Comparative benchmarking - Visual dashboards - Customizable KPI tracking Education analytics converts complex datasets into accessible visual insights. Charts and dashboards allow leaders to interpret trends quickly without relying on technical teams. Analytics democratizes decision-making across departments. ## Implementation considerations for centralized student data While the benefits are clear, successful implementation requires thoughtful planning. Key considerations include: - Data migration strategy - Staff training programs - Integration with existing platforms - Cybersecurity protocols - Governance and access controls A phased approach ensures minimal disruption while maximizing adoption. Technology alone does not drive impact. Clear processes and stakeholder alignment are equally important. ## Final thoughts Centralized student data is not simply an operational upgrade. It is a strategic transformation. When schools invest in student data management software, they gain visibility, clarity, and predictive insight. Education analytics enables leaders to identify risks earlier, allocate resources more effectively, support equity initiatives, and strengthen compliance. Fragmented systems create confusion. Centralized systems create confidence. In an increasingly complex educational environment, decision-making must be evidence-based. The future of K-12 leadership depends on accurate, integrated, and accessible data. Schools that treat student data as a strategic asset position themselves for sustained academic excellence and operational resilience. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is student data management software? Student data management software is a centralized digital platform that integrates academic, attendance, behavioral, and demographic records for unified reporting and analysis. ### 2. How does centralized student data improve decision-making? It provides real-time visibility, connects performance indicators, reduces data errors, and enables education analytics for informed planning. ### 3. Why is student data management important in K-12 schools? It ensures data accuracy, supports early intervention, improves compliance reporting, and enhances academic performance monitoring. ### 4. What role does education analytics play in schools? Education analytics transforms raw student data into insights through dashboards, predictive modeling, and performance tracking tools. ### 5. Can centralized student data improve equity initiatives? Yes. It allows schools to analyze academic and attendance trends across demographic groups, supporting targeted and measurable equity strategies. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** student data management software, student data management, education analytics software --- ### [Why districts are replacing patchwork tools with unified school platforms](https://www.edsby.com/why-districts-are-replacing-patchwork-tools-with-unified-school-platforms/commentary/) **Published:** March 22, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Why schools are replacing multiple tools with unified platforms for better efficiency and outcomes. **Content:** School districts have invested heavily in digital tools over the past decade. Each adoption was driven by a clear need. A platform to manage learning, another way to track attendance, a separate tool for communication, and yet another for analytics. Individually, these systems made sense. Collectively, they created complexity. Today, many districts find themselves operating within a fragmented ecosystem where tools do not communicate effectively with each other. Instead of simplifying operations, technology has introduced inefficiencies, duplicated effort, and inconsistent data. This is the core reason why districts are increasingly shifting toward a unified school platforms for districts. This transition is not just a technical upgrade. It is a strategic decision aimed at improving how schools function at every level, from classrooms to district leadership. ## The hidden cost of patchwork EdTech systems Most districts did not intentionally build fragmented systems. The current state is the result of incremental decision-making over time. When a new need arises, a new tool is added. Rarely is there a long-term plan for how these tools will work together. As a result, districts now operate with multiple platforms that were never designed to integrate seamlessly. This results in each system performing well in isolation but failing to contribute to a cohesive workflow. The real cost of this approach is not just financial. It shows up in lost time, reduced efficiency, and limited visibility into what is actually happening across schools. This is why district-wide EdTech consolidation has become a priority for many education leaders. ## What are the problems with using multiple EdTech tools in a district? The challenges of managing multiple tools go beyond inconvenience. They affect how effectively a district can operate and make decisions. One of the most significant issues is the creation of data silos. When systems are not connected, each platform becomes its own isolated source of information. Attendance data sits in one system, grades in another, and communication records in a completely different place. This fragmentation makes it difficult to get a clear and accurate picture of student performance or operational efficiency. Another major concern is the increased administrative burden. Teachers and administrators are forced to navigate multiple systems throughout the day. They often have to enter the same information more than once, which not only wastes time but also increases the risk of errors. Over time, this repetitive work contributes to fatigue and frustration. The user experience also suffers significantly. Students and parents are expected to interact with multiple platforms, each with its own interface and login requirements. This creates confusion and reduces engagement. Instead of focusing on learning, users spend time figuring out where to find information. At the district level, leadership faces challenges in gaining visibility. Without proper district software integration, generating comprehensive reports becomes a time-consuming process. Decision-making is slowed down because data is incomplete or outdated. Finally, the financial impact cannot be ignored. While individual tools may seem affordable, the combined cost of licenses, maintenance, training, and integration adds up quickly. This is one of the key drivers behind EdTech platform consolidation. [![education management system](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Why do school districts need a single integrated platform? A unified school platform addresses the fundamental issues caused by fragmented systems by bringing everything into one cohesive environment. The most immediate benefit is centralized data. When all information flows into a single system, districts can maintain consistency and accuracy. This eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and ensures that everyone is working with the same information in real time. For district leaders, this means better insights and more informed decision-making. Operational efficiency also improves significantly. Instead of switching between platforms, users can complete multiple tasks within a single interface. Teachers can manage attendance, assignments, and grading without leaving the system. Administrators can access reports instantly without pulling data from multiple sources. These small efficiencies add up to significant time savings across the district. Communication becomes more streamlined as well. A unified platform allows schools to interact with students and parents through a single channel. This reduces confusion and ensures that important messages are not missed. Consistency in communication plays a crucial role in building trust and engagement. Security and compliance are easier to manage in a unified environment. With fewer systems to oversee, IT teams can enforce consistent policies and reduce vulnerabilities. This is particularly important when dealing with sensitive student data. Perhaps most importantly, a unified platform provides the scalability that districts need. As schools grow and requirements evolve, the system can adapt without adding unnecessary complexity. ## How does tool consolidation improve district efficiency? Efficiency is often the most visible outcome of district-wide EdTech consolidation, but it is also one of the most impactful. When tools are consolidated, workflows become significantly more streamlined. Tasks that previously required multiple steps across different systems can now be completed in one place. This reduces friction and allows educators to focus more on teaching rather than administrative work. Another important advantage is the reduction in training requirements. Learning multiple systems takes time and effort, especially for new staff. A unified platform simplifies onboarding by providing a consistent interface and experience. This makes it easier for users to become proficient quickly. Decision-making also improves when data is centralized. District leaders no longer have to wait for reports compiled from different systems. Instead, they can access real-time insights and identify trends as they emerge. This enables faster and more effective responses to challenges. From an IT perspective, consolidation reduces complexity. Managing multiple vendors, updates, and integrations can be overwhelming. A single platform simplifies maintenance and allows IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than constant troubleshooting. ## Key capabilities of a unified platform A [strong unified platform for school districts](https://www.edsby.com/) is not just a combination of tools. It is a fully integrated ecosystem designed to support all aspects of school operations. At its core, it typically includes student information management, learning management capabilities, communication tools, and analytics. These components work together seamlessly, ensuring that data flows smoothly across the system. While features may vary, most effective platforms are built around a few essential capabilities: - Centralized student data with real-time updates - Integrated teaching and learning workflows - Built-in communication between schools, students, and families - Comprehensive reporting and analytics - Accessibility across devices for all users These capabilities ensure that the platform supports both daily operations and long-term strategic goals. ## Challenges in moving to a unified platform Despite the clear benefits, transitioning to a unified system requires careful planning. One of the biggest challenges is change management. Educators and staff may be comfortable with existing tools and hesitant to adopt something new. Without proper communication and training, this resistance can slow down implementation. Data migration is another critical factor. Moving information from multiple systems into a single platform requires accuracy and attention to detail. Any errors during this process can affect trust in the new system. There is also the question of initial investment. While a unified platform can reduce costs over time, the upfront expense may seem significant. However, when viewed as a long-term strategy, the return on investment becomes clear. ## The real impact of EdTech platform consolidation Districts that successfully implement a unified platform often experience noticeable improvements across multiple areas. Teachers spend less time on administrative tasks and more time focusing on instruction. Students benefit from a more consistent and accessible learning experience. Parents find it easier to stay informed and engaged. Administrators gain better visibility into performance and operations. These improvements are not isolated. They reinforce each other, creating a more efficient and effective education system overall. This is the true value of EdTech platform consolidation. ## The future of district technology The move toward unified platforms reflects a broader shift in how districts approach technology. Instead of adding more tools, the focus is now on creating cohesive systems that work together seamlessly. Future-ready districts are prioritizing integration, usability, and data-driven decision-making. A unified school platform serves as the foundation for these goals, enabling schools to adapt to changing needs without adding complexity. As education continues to evolve, the importance of a connected, scalable system will only increase. ## Final takeaway Patchwork EdTech systems were never designed to support the scale and complexity of modern school districts. While they may have solved individual problems, they have created larger challenges over time. A unified school platform for districts offers a clear path forward. By consolidating tools and integrating systems, districts can simplify operations, improve efficiency, and deliver better outcomes for everyone involved. The shift toward district-wide EdTech consolidation is not just a trend. It is a necessary step for districts that want to operate effectively in a[ digital-first education](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2111033) environment. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is a unified platform for school districts? A unified platform is a single system that combines multiple school functions, such as student data, learning management, communication, and analytics, into one integrated solution. ### 2. Why are districts moving away from multiple EdTech tools? Multiple tools create data silos, increase workload, and raise costs. A unified school platform simplifies operations and improves efficiency. ### 3. How does EdTech platform consolidation reduce costs? It reduces the need for multiple licenses, lowers IT maintenance costs, and minimizes training expenses across different systems. ### 4. Is it difficult to transition to a unified school platform? Transition can be complex due to data migration and change management, but proper planning and training can ensure a smooth shift. ### 5. What should districts look for in a unified school platform? Key features include integrated data systems, learning management tools, communication capabilities, analytics, and scalability. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** district-wide EdTech consolidation, unified school platform, EdTech platform consolidation, district software integration, unified platform for school districts --- ### [K-12 LMS buyers' guide: What 500 district leaders actually care about](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-buyers-guide-for-district-leaders/commentary/) **Published:** April 20, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** What 500 district leaders really want in a K-12 LMS in 2026. **Content:** The noise is real, but so is the need! The K-12 learning management system market has never been louder. Vendors promise everything from adaptive AI tutoring to seamless rostering in a single platform. Yet district leaders across the country are still frustrated. They are navigating a space crowded with similar-sounding products, unclear pricing structures, and sales demos that rarely reflect classroom reality. The need for a reliable, practical K-12 LMS buyers guide has never been greater. This guide is different. Instead of recycling vendor talking points, it draws from the priorities that 500 district administrators, curriculum directors, instructional technology coordinators, and school principals consistently raise when evaluating a learning management system. These are the real questions they ask, the features they actually use, and the red flags they have learned to watch for. Whether you are replacing an aging platform or purchasing your district’s first centralized LMS, this guide gives you a decision-making foundation built on practitioner experience, not marketing copy. ## Why the LMS decision is harder than it used to be A few years ago, the K-12 LMS landscape had a handful of dominant players. Today, the number of platforms competing for district contracts has multiplied, and many of them have expanded their feature sets dramatically. This expansion is both a gift and a burden. On one hand, districts now have access to tools that were unimaginable a decade ago. On the other hand, more features mean more complexity, longer implementation timelines, and higher training demands on already stretched instructional staff. District leaders in 2026 are also operating under conditions that make the LMS decision more consequential. Federal funding from pandemic-era relief programs has largely ended, which means purchasing decisions must be sustainable within regular budget cycles. At the same time, accountability expectations around learning outcomes and data transparency have risen sharply. An LMS is no longer just a homework portal. It is the operational spine of teaching and learning, and the cost of choosing the wrong one is measured in lost instructional time, teacher burnout, and frustrated families. Herein lies the importance of the K-12 LMS buyers guide. ## What 500 district leaders actually prioritize When district leaders talk openly about LMS evaluation criteria, the conversation rarely starts with features. It starts with trust, usability, and support. These are the foundational elements that determine whether any platform, however capable on paper, actually gets used in classrooms. ### Ease of use for teachers first The single most consistent finding across district leader conversations is this: if teachers find the platform difficult to use, the implementation fails. It does not matter how many features the LMS offers. It does not matter how impressive the vendor’s client list looks. If a third-grade teacher cannot figure out how to post an assignment in fewer than five clicks, or if a high school history teacher has to watch three tutorial videos just to set up a discussion thread, the tool becomes shelfware. District leaders who have been through multiple LMS transitions now insist on teacher-centered usability reviews before any contract is signed. They invite classroom teachers, not just IT staff, into the evaluation process. They watch how long it takes a teacher unfamiliar with the platform to complete basic tasks. They ask teachers to describe what they found confusing. This approach has become a standard part of the LMS evaluation criteria for experienced procurement teams. The demand is for clean, intuitive interfaces that respect the cognitive load teachers already carry. Grade book entry, assignment creation, communication with families, and content organization should all be accessible without a steep learning curve. ### Student experience and accessibility Right behind teacher usability in the priority rankings is the student experience. District leaders are increasingly asking vendors to demonstrate what the platform looks like and feels like for a student who is eight years old, or for a student who relies on a screen reader, or for a student whose only internet access is a mobile phone on a limited data plan. Accessibility compliance is no longer a checkbox item. It is a legal and ethical requirement that districts take seriously, particularly after a wave of ADA-related complaints against school districts in recent years. When evaluating how to choose an LMS for schools, district leaders now expect [unified educational platforms](https://www.edsby.com/) to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards and to provide documentation proving that compliance is tested regularly, not just claimed. Mobile functionality has also moved from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable for many districts, especially those serving communities where home broadband access is inconsistent. A platform that degrades significantly on a mobile browser, or that requires a full desktop setup for meaningful student interaction, is a platform that disadvantages the students who most need reliable access to learning. [![school district data dashboard](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### Integration with existing tools and systems Very few districts are starting from zero. They have student information systems, rostering tools, assessment platforms, curriculum libraries, and often a collection of third-party apps that teachers have come to depend on. The question district leaders ask most frequently about integration is not “can this LMS integrate with our SIS?” but rather “how painful is that integration, and who is responsible when it breaks?” This is a critical distinction in the LMS selection guide process. A vendor might truthfully claim compatibility with a popular SIS, but the actual integration might require significant technical effort to set up, or it might sync data only once per day rather than in real time. Districts that have been through integration headaches are now asking vendors to walk through the specific integration pathway with their exact tools, not just confirm that an integration exists. The rise of the IMS Global standards, particularly LTI 1.3 and OneRoster, has made some of this easier. Districts are learning to ask specifically whether vendors are certified for these standards, not just whether they support them in theory. ### Data privacy and security Data privacy has become one of the most scrutinized areas in K-12 technology purchasing, and for good reason. Student data is sensitive, the regulatory environment has grown more complex, and families are more aware and more vocal than ever before about how schools handle information about their children. When district leaders talk about LMS evaluation criteria, data privacy consistently appears in the top three concerns. The key questions district leaders now ask include: Where is student data stored, and is that location compliant with state law? Does the vendor sell or share student data in any form? How quickly will the vendor notify the district in the event of a breach? What happens to student data when the contract ends? Vendors who can answer these questions with clear, contractual language rather than vague assurances earn significant credibility. FERPA compliance is the baseline expectation. Many states now layer additional requirements on top of FERPA, and districts operating in states like California, New York, or Colorado need to verify that their LMS vendor is specifically compliant with those state-level frameworks. ### Professional learning and onboarding support One of the most underestimated factors in LMS selection is the quality of onboarding and ongoing professional learning support. District leaders who have experienced failed implementations often identify the same root cause: the vendor handed over the platform and largely disappeared. Teachers were expected to learn by doing, administrators were left to write their own training materials, and the gap between what the system could do and what staff actually knew how to do grew wider every month. The best vendor relationships look very different. They involve structured implementation timelines, dedicated implementation specialists who understand K-12 workflows (not just enterprise software deployment), ongoing professional learning pathways for teachers at different skill levels, and responsive support that does not require navigating a ticket system for two weeks before getting an answer. District leaders who have navigated the LMS selection guide process successfully now ask vendors for references specifically from districts of a similar size and demographic profile, and they ask those reference districts directly about the quality of post-sale support. ## The LMS features’ checklist that actually matters While the foundational priorities above set the stage, there is still a meaningful conversation to have about features. The following are the areas where district leaders focus their feature evaluations. Core teaching and learning tools are the obvious starting point. These include assignment creation and distribution, gradebook functionality, discussion and collaboration tools, quiz and assessment builders, and content organization. Most platforms offer all of these. The evaluation question is how well they work together as a unified experience rather than a collection of disconnected modules. Analytics and reporting represent an area where districts are raising their expectations considerably. They want more than basic completion data. They want to know which students are falling behind before a teacher has to manually identify them. They want to see content effectiveness data. They want reports that can be filtered by classroom, grade level, school, and district without requiring a data analyst to run a custom query. Communication tools that serve both internal (teacher-to-student) and external (school-to-family) communication needs are high on the checklist. Families increasingly expect to receive updates, assignment notifications, and grade alerts through the same platform their student uses, rather than through a separate parent app. Curriculum library and content integration are growing in importance as districts look to reduce the burden on teachers to build everything from scratch. Platforms that offer built-in access to standards-aligned content, or that integrate cleanly with curriculum providers the district already uses, have a meaningful advantage. ## The red flags experienced buyers look for Experienced district leaders have developed a healthy skepticism that serves them well during the vendor evaluation process. Several red flags have become well-known enough to serve as warning signals for any district navigating a new LMS purchase. A vendor who resists giving teachers hands-on access to the platform during the evaluation is a vendor who may be hiding usability problems behind polished demos. Demand sandbox access for real teachers before any contract conversation begins. A pricing structure that is difficult to understand, that buries per-student fees in contract addenda, or that changes meaningfully at renewal time is a structure that will cause budget problems down the road. Ask for total cost of ownership over five years, not just the first-year license fee. A vendor who cannot provide a clear, written data privacy agreement that meets your state’s legal requirements is a vendor you cannot work with, regardless of how impressive the platform looks. And a vendor who is reluctant to provide detailed references from comparable districts is a vendor who may not have the track record they are implying. ## How to structure your LMS evaluation process District leaders who have run effective LMS evaluations tend to follow a structured process that keeps multiple stakeholders involved without letting the process drag on indefinitely. A well-run evaluation typically moves through several distinct phases. The first phase is an internal needs assessment. Before looking at any vendor, the district documents its current pain points, its non-negotiable requirements, and the goals it wants the new LMS to help achieve. This document becomes the anchor for every subsequent evaluation conversation. The second phase is market research and initial shortlisting. The district identifies four to six platforms that appear to meet the baseline requirements, reviews available third-party research, and reaches out to peer districts for informal recommendations. Research from organizations like ISTE and CoSN provides useful comparative frameworks. One particularly relevant resource is the research published by the [Stanford Social Innovation Review](https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_missing_metrics_in_edtech) on the adoption challenges of edtech in under-resourced districts, which highlights the gap between feature availability and actual classroom use. The third phase is structured demos and pilot access. Vendors are invited to present against a standardized rubric. Teachers participate in the demos. The district requests sandbox access for a defined pilot period. The fourth phase is reference checks and contract review. This is where many districts have historically rushed, and where experienced buyers slow down deliberately. ## Vendor questions every district should ask Going into vendor conversations with a clear list of questions transforms the dynamic from a sales presentation into a genuine evaluation. The most effective questions cover implementation, support, pricing, and data. - How long does a typical implementation take for a district of our size, and what does the implementation team look like on your side? - What is your SLA for support ticket response time, and is that SLA included in the base contract or priced separately? - How do you handle product updates, and how much notice do districts receive before significant changes go live? - What does your roadmap look like for the next 18 months, and how are customer priorities reflected in that roadmap? - Can you show us your most recent third-party security audit? ## Equity as a lens for LMS selection It would be a significant omission to discuss the 2026 K-12 LMS buyer guide without addressing equity directly. The learning management system a district chooses either reinforces or reduces inequitable outcomes depending on how it is designed and how it is deployed. Districts serving high proportions of students experiencing poverty, students with disabilities, students who are English language learners, or students in rural areas with limited connectivity face specific challenges that a [platform must be designed to accommodate](https://www.edsby.com). Offline functionality, low-bandwidth modes, multilingual interfaces, strong accessibility features, and device-agnostic design are not premium extras for these districts. They are requirements. District leaders are increasingly building equity criteria directly into their LMS evaluation rubrics, asking vendors to demonstrate how the platform performs under real conditions for their specific student populations, not just for a hypothetical average user. ## The role of AI in 2026 LMS evaluation Artificial intelligence features have arrived in the K-12 LMS market, and district leaders are approaching them with a mix of interest and caution that reflects the complexity of deploying AI tools with minors. Vendors are promoting AI-powered features, including automated feedback on student writing, personalized learning path recommendations, early warning systems for at-risk students, and AI-assisted lesson planning for teachers. The caution district leaders bring to these features is well-founded. They want to understand what data is being used to train AI models, whether student data is used in any way to train vendor models, and what human oversight exists for AI-generated recommendations. They also want to know whether teachers retain full control over the learning experience or whether AI recommendations can bypass teacher judgment. The most thoughtful district leaders are not anti-AI. They are pro-transparency. They want to understand what the AI is doing, why, and with what data, before they allow it to interact with their students. ## Making the final decision After evaluation, pilot testing, reference checks, and contract review, the final decision often comes down to a combination of confidence in the vendor relationship and confidence in the platform’s fit for the district’s specific context. No platform will be perfect. Every district will find features it wishes were different. The goal is not to find a flawless tool but to find the best match for where the district is today and where it is trying to go. Districts that have made successful LMS transitions tend to share a few common traits. They involved teachers meaningfully in the decision. They were honest about their own capacity for change management. They negotiated implementation support into the contract rather than treating it as optional. And they set realistic timelines, understanding that a meaningful LMS transition takes longer than any vendor’s sales timeline suggests. ## Buy for the classroom, not the slide deck The 2026 K-12 LMS market will continue to evolve rapidly. AI features will mature. Interoperability standards will improve. New vendors will enter and others will consolidate. Through all of that change, the core principle for district leaders navigating this decision remains constant: buy for the classroom, not the slide deck. The platform that wins in a demo is not always the platform that serves teachers and students well six months after go-live. The K-12 LMS buyer guide that will serve your district best is one built on real practitioner priorities, honest vendor conversations, and a clear-eyed view of your district’s specific needs and constraints. Use this guide as a foundation, build on it with input from your own teachers and administrators, and make a decision you can defend not just to your board, but to the students in your classrooms. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. How long should a K-12 LMS evaluation process take? A thorough LMS evaluation for a mid-size or large district typically takes three to six months. This includes internal needs assessment, market research, structured vendor demos, pilot testing with real teachers, reference checks, and contract review. Districts that rush this timeline often find themselves renegotiating or switching platforms within two to three years. ### 2. What is the average cost of a K-12 LMS per student? Pricing varies significantly depending on the platform, the district size, and the features included in the contract. Per-student annual costs can range from a few dollars for basic platforms to twenty dollars or more for full-featured systems with premium support and integrations. Districts should always ask for a five-year total cost of ownership projection, not just the first-year price. ### 3. How do we involve teachers in the LMS selection process without overwhelming them? Form a small evaluation committee of five to ten teachers representing different grade levels, subject areas, and technology comfort levels. Give them sandbox access to each platform being evaluated and a structured rubric to complete. Brief focused sessions work better than open-ended exploration. Their input should carry meaningful weight in the final decision. ### 4. What should a district do if it is locked into a multi-year LMS contract with a platform that is not working? Start by documenting specific, measurable problems with evidence from usage data, teacher feedback, and student outcomes. Engage the vendor formally with a request for remediation and a timeline. Many contracts include performance clauses that can provide leverage. Consult with your district’s legal counsel before any contract modification or early termination conversation. ### 5. Is it better to choose a single integrated LMS or a best-of-breed approach with multiple tools? For most K-12 districts, a single integrated LMS creates less friction for teachers and families than a patchwork of best-of-breed tools. Integration complexity, inconsistent user experiences, and data fragmentation are common problems with multi-platform approaches. That said, no single LMS does everything well, and districts should plan for a small number of supplemental tools that integrate cleanly through LTI or API connections. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** LMS selection guide, K-12 LMS buyer guide, how to choose LMS for schools, LMS features checklist, LMS evaluation criteria --- ### [Why teachers are switching to one unified parent communication platform](https://www.edsby.com/why-teachers-are-switching-to-one-unified-parent-communication-platform/commentary/) **Published:** June 10, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Content:** Ask any classroom teacher about their communication setup, and you will hear a familiar story. There is one app for grades, another for announcements, a separate platform for direct messaging, a school email account, and maybe a class website that gets updated when time allows. Before long, that list grows to five or six tools, each doing its own thing, none of them connected to the others. This is the reality of teacher-parent communication school apps in most schools today, and it is quietly undermining the very relationships it is supposed to build. The frustration this creates is not just a personal inconvenience. It is a systemic problem with real consequences for students, families, and educators. When communication is scattered across multiple platforms, parents disengage. When parents disengage, students lose one of the most powerful academic support systems available to them. Understanding why this fragmentation happens and what schools can do about it is the first step toward building a communication model that actually works. ## The app overload problem that most schools do not talk about Many schools arrive at a fragmented communication setup gradually, one good intention at a time. A teacher discovers a tool that [simplifies grade](https://www.edsby.com/5-things-that-make-the-best-online-gradebook-for-teachers-in-k12/commentary/) sharing. An administrator introduces a messaging platform. A third-party attendance system gets added to the mix. Each tool earns its place by solving a specific problem, and no one plans for the cumulative effect of all those solutions living side by side. Research confirms just how far this has gone. A [2025 report by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/) found that most schools without a unified parent communication platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate educational apps. Some districts use more than 16 officially approved platforms. The result is a digital landscape so fragmented that parents simply give up trying to stay current. In the same study, 85% of parents rated their satisfaction with multiple school apps at 5 or lower out of 10. Teachers are not satisfied either, even though administrators often assume otherwise. The report found that 80% of administrators believed teachers were comfortable with existing tools. Teachers told a different story. They reported moderate dissatisfaction driven by the administrative burden of managing so many disconnected platforms. Every app added to the stack takes time away from teaching. Logging notifications, remembering which families use which platform, and manually cross-referencing information across systems is exhausting work that adds up. ## What actually breaks down when parent communication is fragmented The failure of multi-app communication systems is not usually a failure of technology. Most individual tools are well-designed and do their specific jobs reasonably well. The failure is architectural. When information about a child is spread across five different platforms, no single platform tells the full story. Parents receive a grade alert in one place, a behavioral update in another, and a class announcement through a third. Still, none of it connects into a coherent picture of what is actually happening with their child at school. This is what fragmented communication does to relationships: it turns every conversation into a reconstruction project. Parents come to conferences with printouts from different apps and questions from three different systems. Teachers mentally reconcile data across platforms in real time, trying to present a unified narrative from information that was never designed to sit together. The conversation that should be about the student becomes a conversation about the information itself. Several specific failure points show up consistently in schools relying on multiple parent communication tools: ### Cognitive overload on families Managing separate logins, different notification settings, and inconsistent update schedules across five or more apps is not sustainable for busy families. Many parents simply stop checking the platforms they find hardest to use, which usually means the most information-rich ones go unused ### Language barriers left unaddressed According to the SchoolStatus 2024 national survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators, 32% of teachers cite language barriers as a significant obstacle to effective family communication. Many school apps offer limited or no translation support, which means non-English-speaking families are effectively excluded from the start. ### One-directional communication design Many school apps are built to push information toward parents rather than create genuine dialogue. Families receive updates but have no easy way to respond, clarify, or share context that might change how a teacher understands a situation. ### Trust eroded by data privacy gaps A report from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps used in schools share student information with third parties, yet 86% of schools lacked any mechanism for obtaining parental consent before deploying those tools. When families discover this, trust collapses. ## Why parent engagement matters more than most schools realize The stakes here go far beyond user experience frustration. A substantial body of research makes clear that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student academic success. A major meta-analysis published in the[ Review of Educational Research on fifty years of parental involvement studies](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), drawing on 23 separate meta-analyses and more than 1,100 primary studies, confirmed a consistent positive association between family involvement and student achievement across grade levels. The relationship is not marginal. It is foundational. Students with engaged parents show better attendance, stronger academic performance, and improved social skills. They are more likely to complete secondary school and pursue further education. When schools fail to maintain strong communication with families, they are not just creating an inconvenience. They are dismantling one of the most reliable levers available for improving student outcomes. Attendance is one of the clearest examples. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 73% of educators identify attendance as crucial for academic success, yet 46% say they struggle to motivate families to prioritize it. Chronic absenteeism has reached historic levels in many districts, and research consistently links communication quality to attendance outcomes. When a parent hears from the school only after absences have become a serious problem, the window for early intervention has already closed. More than 70% of teachers and educators, according to the National Association of Family Support and Community Engagement, have experienced challenges with parental and community involvement. This is not a problem limited to under-resourced schools. It is a systemic issue that affects districts of all sizes, in all regions, at every funding level. ## What does a unified school communication platform change for teachers Teachers who move from a multi-app setup to a unified parent communication platform often describe the change in terms of time and clarity. The hours spent maintaining separate systems, checking whether a message was sent through the right channel, or manually reconciling grade [data with attendance records](https://www.edsby.com/manual-vs-school-attendance-tracking-software/commentary/) simply disappear. What replaces them is a single workspace where all the relevant information about a student lives together, and all communication with families flows through one reliable channel. The quality of parent conversations changes as well. When a teacher reaches out to a family, the parent is already oriented. They have seen the same attendance record, the same assignment history, and the same class updates that the teacher is working from. There is no need to reconstruct the background before addressing the actual concern. Conversations become more focused, more productive, and more human. There is also a trust dimension that develops over time. When parents hear from a teacher through the same platform every time, when notifications are consistent, and the interface is familiar, they begin to trust the channel. They check it more regularly. They respond more quickly. They engage more actively because the platform has become a reliable part of their relationship with the school rather than one more unfamiliar tool demanding their attention. ## How data integration makes parent communication more meaningful One of the most significant differences between a unified parent communication platform and a collection of separate tools is how student data flows into family communication. In a fragmented setup, data and communication live in separate systems. A teacher who notices a drop in homework completion rates and wants to alert a family must manually pull that information from one platform and communicate it through another. Most of the time, that connection never gets made. A data-integrated communication platform changes this by making student information available within the same environment where family contact happens. When a teacher sees an early warning indicator, they can act on it immediately, sending a targeted message to a specific family with the specific data that prompted the concern. A parent who receives a message referencing their child’s actual attendance record responds very differently from one who receives a generic reminder about the importance of showing up. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that only 32% of educators currently use student information to drive data-informed conversations with families, even though 86% say data gaps limit their ability to support students effectively. The gap between what educators know and what they communicate to families is one of the largest untapped opportunities in K-12 school improvement. Platforms that close this gap do not just improve communication quality. They change what families are able to understand and act on. Two-way data sharing adds another layer. Parents carry information about their children that schools have no way of accessing through any database: health challenges, family circumstances, changes at home that affect behavior and concentration. Platforms that create genuine channels for parents to share this context with educators give teachers a more complete picture of each student. That understanding translates directly into better support. ## What to look for in a parent communication platform that actually works Not every platform marketed as a school communication solution delivers the consolidation and integration that makes a real difference. There are specific qualities that separate effective platforms from tools that simply add one more login to the list. Schools and teachers evaluating their options should look carefully at how a platform handles the following. Consolidation is the foundational requirement. An effective platform brings grades, attendance, messaging, class updates, and community-level communication into a single interface. Parents should be able to find everything they need about their child in one place, accessed through one login. This is not just about convenience. Reducing friction is the single most effective lever for increasing [parent engagement](https://www.edsby.com/why-parent-engagement-software-is-critical-to-student-success-in-k12-schools/commentary/). Families who find communication easy are far more likely to stay connected than families who face five different systems every time they want to check in. Multilingual support is non-negotiable for any school that serves families who do not primarily communicate in English. Platforms that operate only in one language are not communication tools for those families. They are exclusion mechanisms. The technology to deliver automated, high-quality translation across dozens of languages exists. Leading platforms now offer communication in more than 100 languages. Schools that value equity in family engagement must treat multilingual accessibility as a core requirement, not an optional feature. Multichannel reach matters because different families use different communication channels. Some respond to text messages within minutes. Others rely on email. Some need a phone call to feel genuinely reached. A platform that restricts communication to a single channel will always leave a portion of the school community unreachable. Effective tools allow educators to connect through the channel each family uses most and to follow up automatically when messages go unread. Onboarding support is the piece most schools skip and most regret. The App Overload report specifically recommends establishing a formal onboarding process for both parents and teachers when introducing new platforms. Without structured onboarding, families are left to figure out a new tool independently, and many never fully engage. Teachers who do not receive adequate training default to old habits. A strong platform with poor onboarding will underperform relative to its potential. ![Curious how Edsby might fit into you district?](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png) ## What districts with strong engagement do differently Districts that achieve measurably higher levels of family engagement share patterns that go beyond technology selection. They treat communication as an ongoing operational priority rather than a one-time platform decision. They invest in training, set clear expectations, and measure whether engagement efforts are producing the outcomes they are designed to produce. Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia offers a well-documented example. The district described the impact of centralizing student data and family communication through a unified parent communication platform as transformative. Having all student information in one place made it significantly faster for staff to identify which students needed intervention and support. Real-time data access was described as invaluable given the district’s resource constraints, and the improvement in response time translated directly into better outcomes for at-risk students. High-engagement districts also make equity central to their communication strategy. Families with lower incomes, limited English proficiency, or unreliable internet access are systematically less likely to engage with digital-only communication systems. Districts that design their engagement approach with these families in mind from the start, rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought, see broader and more consistent participation across the full school community. Regular feedback loops are another distinguishing factor. High-performing districts collect input from families about what is working and what is not, and they make adjustments based on what they hear. They do not assume a platform is performing well because adoption rates look acceptable in the dashboard. They ask families directly, track response rates alongside login counts, and monitor whether engagement improvements are showing up in the metrics that matter most: attendance, academic progress, and family satisfaction. ## The path forward for teachers and schools ready to make a change The evidence from national surveys, meta-analytic research, and district-level case studies all points in the same direction. Fragmented teacher-parent communication, school apps do not serve students, families, or educators well. They create cognitive overload for parents, administrative burden for teachers, and a chronic gap between the information schools have and the information families actually receive. The solution is not another app. There are fewer apps, designed to work together within a platform that was built to serve the full school communication ecosystem. Schools that take that step will not just see improvements in app satisfaction scores. They will see improvements in attendance, academic performance, and the quality of the relationships between teachers, students, and the families who care about them. For individual teachers, the change often begins with a conversation. Sharing the research with a department head, raising the fragmentation problem with a principal, or identifying a pilot program that demonstrates what integrated communication can look like in practice. Systemic change in how schools communicate with families starts with educators who understand why the current system is not working and are willing to make the case for something better. The parent engagement gap is real. It is well-documented. And it is closing only in the schools and districts that have decided to treat communication infrastructure as a strategic priority rather than a background administrative function. The data is clear about what works. The remaining question is whether school leaders are ready to act on it. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. How many school apps are realistic for a teacher to manage effectively? Research suggests that managing more than two or three communication tools simultaneously begins to create a meaningful administrative burden for teachers. The 2025 App Overload report found that teachers in schools without unified parent communication platforms were managing between 10 and 15 separate tools, which translated into significant time losses and a decline in the quality of family communication. When teachers manage fewer, better-integrated platforms, communication with parents becomes more consistent and more meaningful. ### 2. What is the difference between a school messaging app and a unified family engagement platform? A school messaging app handles communication in isolation. It sends and receives messages, but it has no connection to attendance data, grade records, or class activity. A unified family engagement platform integrates all of these elements into a single environment. Parents can see their child’s grades, attendance, and academic updates in the same place where they receive and send messages to teachers. This integration makes communication more contextual, more actionable, and more trusted by families. ### 3. How does a unified parent communication platform help teachers communicate with non-English-speaking families? Leading unified parent communication platforms now support automated, high-quality translation into 100 or more languages. This means a teacher can write a single message and have it delivered to every family in their preferred language, without additional work from the teacher or the need for a human translator. This capability is essential for schools serving multilingual communities. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 32% of educators cite language barriers as a significant challenge to effective family communication, making multilingual support a core requirement rather than a bonus feature. ### 4. What student data should be shared with parents through a communication platform? Attendance records, grade summaries, assignment completion rates, and early warning indicators for academic risk are all types of student data that become significantly more useful when shared with families through an integrated platform. The key is that data should be timely, specific, and actionable. A generic grade report shared at the end of a term is far less valuable than a targeted message sent the moment a concerning pattern emerges. Schools should also ensure that any platform handling student data has clear consent mechanisms and transparent data privacy policies in place. ### 5. How can a school measure whether its parent communication strategy is actually working? Effective measurement goes well beyond tracking how many messages are sent or how many parents log into a platform. Schools should monitor response rates to outbound communications, family attendance at school events and conferences, parent satisfaction scores from regular surveys, and whether engagement efforts correlate with improvements in student attendance and academic performance. Equity metrics matter too. If engagement rates differ significantly across demographic groups, it indicates that communication barriers are excluding some families and need to be addressed directly. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school apps Related keywords: parent communication tools for teachers, school communication platform, improve parent teacher communication, family engagement platform K-12 --- ### [How Edsby became the international school LMS that transformed teaching, learning, and family engagement at ASIJ](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-became-the-international-school-lms-at-asij/customers/) **Published:** June 16, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** One unified platform replaced a fragmented system at ASIJ, saving $60K a year. **Content:** The American School in Japan, widely known as ASIJ, is a private, non-profit international school located in Tokyo. Founded in 1902, ASIJ offers an American-style education to students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. With a student body representing more than 60 nationalities and a total enrollment of 1,700 students across four schools, including early learning, elementary, middle, and high school, the institution has both the scale and the diversity that demand a serious, reliable international school LMS built for complexity. By 2016, ASIJ had reached a turning point. Its legacy systems were not just outdated. They were actively getting in the way of teaching, learning, and family communication. The school made a decision to modernize, and the technology it selected transformed how its educators work and how families stay connected to their children’s academic lives. ## The challenge: a fragmented digital environment Before ASIJ implemented its new systems, the situation on the ground was difficult. The school’s previous student information system (SIS) was so old that administrators needed to install a terminal emulator simply to use it. Teachers had no ability to look up parent contact information on their own. Accessing a parent’s email address meant asking the administrative office directly. The learning management system (LMS) presented even greater problems. It had no gradebook functionality at all. Instead, it served purely as a document repository, with folders full of PDFs. Teachers were forced to rely on a separate, standalone electronic gradebook to record and share grades. This separation created one of the most consistent complaints in student satisfaction surveys: students had no visibility into how their grades were being calculated. They could see scores but could not understand the logic behind them. The absence of student photos in the LMS meant that teachers, particularly those new to a class, had difficulty connecting names to faces. Without a calendar function, students had to cross-reference a separate schedule document or build their own calendar to know where they needed to be and when. The result was a student experience that was fragmented, confusing, and entirely inconsistent from class to class. Warren Apel, ASIJ Director of Technology, captured the situation plainly: > We had a hodgepodge of solutions. Everyone was on their own. Every student had a completely unique experience in every class. Most students had 8 different electronic destinations to go to. ## What ASIJ was looking for in a new system ASIJ’s leadership team approached the review process with a clear set of priorities. They were not simply shopping for a technology upgrade. They wanted a system that would fundamentally change how learning was documented, shared, and communicated. The requirements they brought to the process reflected both pedagogical ambitions and practical operational needs. Among the specific capabilities the school sought were the following: - A gradebook that could support a move away from calculated percentage averages toward[ standards-based grading](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/), with effective qualitative feedback for students - The ability to share student academic progress across teams, so that teachers, counselors, and administrators could understand how students were performing across all of their classes - A way for teachers to privately document and share observations about students’ social-emotional needs and challenges - Quick teacher access to important emergency information such as medical notes, allergy details, and home contact information - Analytic reports that would allow counselors and administrators to use data to inform decisions about programs, instruction, and student progress ASIJ reviewed more than a dozen platforms before narrowing its selection to two finalists. The deciding factor was not a checklist comparison. It was teacher feedback. Focus groups and surveys conducted with educators strongly preferred one option over the other. Apel described the outcome in a memo to school leadership announcing the selection: > When we demonstrated both systems to teachers and school leaders, they were far more impressed with the Edsby interface and with the additional features and options Edsby provided. ## Why Edsby stood apart as an LMS for international schools For ASIJ, the appeal of Edsby went beyond the gradebook. The school had committed to moving away from averaging and point-based grades toward a more qualitative, standards-based approach. This was a pedagogical shift, and finding an LMS for international schools with the flexibility to support it was not straightforward. Most platforms offered only two choices: IB-style grades or traditional American letter grades with percentage averages. Neither fit what ASIJ was trying to achieve. Apel explained the challenge: > We knew we wanted to move away from averaging and point-based grades. Most LMSes only offered the choice of either IB-style grades or traditional American letter grades, percentage scores, and averages. Edsby checked all the boxes as far as giving teachers access to info and a gradebook that can do qualitative standards-based feedback. The fact it also had calendaring and messaging was even better. The memo Apel wrote to leadership also noted something broader. Edsby was not just a better LMS. It solved problems that went beyond the classroom: > Edsby is much more than a simple LMS replacement and solves other problems we have, such as making information more accessible, making office tasks more efficient, and helping to overcome connectedness issues behind our low student belonging survey results. This framing matters. ASIJ was not solving a narrow technology problem. The school was addressing a broader question about how students experience learning and how connected they feel to the institution. Edsby’s combination of gradebook, calendaring, messaging, and social features made it possible to address several of those questions with one platform. ## How Edsby changed everyday life at ASIJ Once implemented, Edsby became woven into the daily routines of students, teachers, and families alike. Teachers began using a journal feature within their Edsby classes to share information and updates. The standards-based gradebook started delivering feedback to students and parents in real time, replacing the opaque system that had frustrated students for years. Teachers could now see student photos within Edsby, which helped them learn new faces more quickly and manage seating arrangements more effectively. Progress report and visibility into certain info continue to be honed. The platform also became the home for extracurricular life at the school. Teams and clubs received their own Edsby groups, giving students spaces for social interaction, schedule management, and file sharing that were organized and accessible in one place. Perhaps most practically, everyone in the ASIJ community, students, parents, and teachers alike, could now see the day’s schedule directly in Edsby. They no longer needed to cross-reference separate documents to know where they should be and when. For families, the change was particularly significant. Parents who had previously received grades without context could now see what specific feedback their child had received. The communication between school and home became more transparent, more timely, and more useful and continues to receive enhancements. ## Adding Veracross: two systems working as one A year after Edsby was established, in 2018, ASIJ made another significant change and transitioned its student information system to Veracross. Given how foundational Edsby had already become, a SIS migration could have been a disruptive experience for families and educators. But students and parents already using Edsby barely noticed the change, because Edsby’s automatic roster system was able to pull data from the new SIS with minimal disruption to the user experience. ASIJ was actually the first school to use both Veracross and Edsby together. That meant some integration investment was required at the outset, and periodically over time as the connection between Veracross and Edsby matured. Apel described the process: > There was some work to do in creating the data synchronization, but now it’s working very well. We’re super excited about what the future holds. Today, ASIJ uses Veracross to manage its complex eight-day rotating schedule, record health center visits, and document details such as a student’s learning support status. The Veracross email list feature allows teachers to send messages to all parents in a class by emailing a class alias through their standard email client. Teachers also use a Veracross feature that helps them associate students’ faces with their names through a memorization game. Together, Edsby and Veracross have become the backbone of teaching and learning infrastructure in ASIJ’s middle and high schools. ## The analytics advantage One of the most valued aspects of Edsby for ASIJ’s leadership has been its analytics capabilities. For a school committed to understanding student achievement in a standards-based context, having a clear and usable view of performance data is essential. Apel’s assessment was direct: > There are things we still want to see, but we absolutely love Edsby’s analytics. It’s one of the best interfaces for understanding student achievement in a standards-based environment that I’ve ever seen. Its heat map is beautiful. This kind of analytic visibility supports not only instructional decisions but also counseling and administrative planning. When counselors and administrators can see how students are performing across classes in real time, they can identify students who need support before a problem becomes a crisis. The research consistently supports this kind of data-driven approach to student support, as documented in [studies](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X) on the relationship between early intervention and academic outcomes. One relevant resource for understanding the broader context of school data use can be found at this peer-reviewed overview: ## Measurable cost savings The impact of ASIJ’s technology transformation is not only visible in the quality of teaching and family engagement. It is also reflected in the school’s budget. Since adopting Edsby in 2017, ASIJ has saved $60,000 USD every year compared to the cost of its previous system. Over the years since implementation, that represents a substantial return on a technology investment that has also delivered broad improvements in the student experience, teacher effectiveness, and family communication. These savings have come alongside a genuine qualitative improvement in how the school operates. That combination, of lower cost and higher quality, is precisely what makes the ASIJ case study worth examining for any school leader thinking about how to modernize their digital infrastructure without simply adding to an already fragmented landscape of tools. ## What other schools can learn from ASIJ The ASIJ experience illustrates several principles that translate well beyond a single international school in Tokyo. First, teacher input matters enormously in platform selection. ASIJ’s decision to run focus groups and surveys with educators before choosing a system meant that the platform they selected had genuine buy-in from the people who would use it every day. That buy-in is a precondition for successful adoption. Second, the value of consolidation cannot be overstated. ASIJ moved from a world where students had eight separate electronic destinations to a world anchored by one integrated platform. The reduction in cognitive load for students and families was immediate and meaningful. When information lives in one place, people actually use it. Third, the SIS integration story demonstrates that transitions do not have to be painful. With the right global school software architecture, a school can change its student information system without disrupting the experience of the families and students who depend on daily access to school data. That kind of resilience is increasingly important as schools navigate changing technology landscapes. Finally, the cost savings story is a reminder that investing in the[ right K-12 platform worldwide](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-platform-case-study-tanenbaumchat/customers/) does not have to mean higher spending. The ASIJ case proves that a well-chosen, unified system can deliver genuine financial efficiency while improving the quality of teaching, communication, and student support across the board. **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** international school lms --- ### [Why a K-12 school communication platform is replacing multi-app parent communication](https://www.edsby.com/why-k-12-school-communication-platform-is-replacing-multi-app-parent-communication/commentary/) **Published:** June 22, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Why are schools ditching multi-app chaos for one unified communication platform? **Content:** The average K-12 school district today runs a digital communication stack that no one designed intentionally. A separate app for grades. Another for attendance. A third for announcements. A district email system that most parents ignore. A messaging tool that teachers use unevenly. By the time a parent wants to understand how their child is doing on a given Tuesday, they may need to log into four or five separate platforms just to assemble an incomplete picture. This is the hidden cost of the multi-app approach to parent communication, and it is one that districts are starting to take seriously. The shift toward a unified K-12 school communication platform is not simply a preference for tidiness. It is a response to mounting evidence that fragmented systems reduce engagement, increase teacher workload, and ultimately hurt student outcomes. ## The multi-app problem in K-12 communication Schools accumulate communication tools the same way households accumulate kitchen gadgets: one at a time, each solving a specific problem, until the drawer is too full to close. An attendance app gets added when the district needs automated absence tracking. A grade portal comes bundled with the SIS vendor. A parent messaging app gets piloted by an enthusiastic technology coordinator. Over time, the stack grows without anyone asking whether all these tools are working together. The 2025 App Overload report, produced by [Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/), surveyed more than 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America. It found that most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate applications. In some districts, the number exceeds 16 officially sanctioned tools. The consequences show up clearly in satisfaction data: 85% of parents in multi-app environments rated their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower. Teachers experience this fragmentation differently but just as painfully. When a teacher must post grades in one system, send attendance alerts through another, communicate about behavior through a third, and respond to parent messages in a fourth, the overhead becomes significant. This administrative burden takes time away from lesson planning and direct student support. It also creates inconsistency in how communication reaches families, because not every teacher uses every tool with the same frequency or reliability. ## What parents actually need from school communication Research into family engagement patterns consistently shows that parents do not disengage from school because they are indifferent. They disengage because the systems meant to include them are too difficult to use. The cognitive load of managing multiple logins, different notification settings, and varied interface conventions across many apps is not sustainable for busy families. What parents actually want is straightforward. They want to know how their child is doing academically. They want to be alerted quickly if something is wrong, whether it is an absence, a declining grade, or a behavioral concern. They want to be able to reach their child’s teacher without navigating a bureaucratic phone tree. And they want to receive this information in a way that fits into their daily routine, not in a way that requires dedicated time to figure it out. A properly designed K-12 school communication platform delivers all of this in a single interface. Parents log in once, or receive a single stream of notifications, and can [access attendance records](https://www.edsby.com/manual-vs-school-attendance-tracking-software/commentary/), grade updates, teacher messages, and school announcements without switching contexts. The reduction in friction is not minor. It is the difference between a parent who checks in weekly and one who never fully activates their account. There is also a language dimension that multi-app environments handle poorly. When each tool has its own translation settings or none at all, families with limited English proficiency are effectively excluded from the communication system entirely. Leading unified platforms now support communication in 100 or more languages, which means schools can reach every family in the language they use at home. ## How single-platform solutions change the teacher experience For teachers, the shift to a unified school messaging system is less about convenience and more about reclaiming professional time. The App Overload report found that while 80% of administrators believed teachers were satisfied with their current communication tools, teachers themselves reported moderate dissatisfaction. The disconnect reflects how invisible teacher overhead is to administrative leaders who are not managing it directly. When parent-teacher communication tools are consolidated into a single platform, teachers gain several concrete advantages. First, they have a complete record of all communication with each family in one place, which matters enormously when a parent dispute or a student support conversation needs to be documented. Second, they can reach all parents through a single outreach, rather than duplicating messages across channels. Third, automated features like attendance alerts and grade threshold notifications reduce the number of manual messages teachers must compose and send. There is also a psychological benefit worth noting. When teachers know that their messages are reaching families reliably, through a system with high engagement rates rather than an inbox that parents rarely open, they communicate more proactively. The confidence that outreach will land changes communication behavior in the right direction. ## Two-way communication: why it matters more than broadcast Many school communication systems are built for one purpose: pushing information from school to home. Announcements, grade reports, absence alerts, event reminders. All of it flows in one direction, and parents are positioned as recipients rather than participants. This design has a serious limitation. It treats family engagement as something that happens when parents receive information, rather than when they act on it. Two-way parent communication changes this dynamic fundamentally. When a parent can respond directly to a teacher’s message, ask a question about a grade, or flag a concern about their child’s wellbeing, the communication becomes a genuine dialogue rather than a notification stream. Research on family engagement consistently finds that this kind of reciprocal exchange produces stronger outcomes than one-directional broadcasting. The practical design implication is significant. A school communication platform built for two-way engagement must make it easy for parents to respond, not just read. It must surface unread parent messages to teachers in a way that encourages timely replies. And it must store the full conversation thread so that context is preserved when a parent reaches out weeks after an initial exchange. Edsby’s platform, for example, integrates parent messaging directly within the student record, so teachers can see communication history alongside attendance and grade data. This integration means that when a parent reaches out about a struggling student, the teacher already has the full academic context available without switching to a different system. That kind of design reduces the response time and improves the quality of the teacher’s reply. ## What the data says about consolidation outcomes Schools that have moved from fragmented multi-app environments to unified platforms report measurable improvements in both engagement volume and engagement quality. The improvement in volume is predictable: when parents only need to log in to one place, more of them log in. The improvement in quality is more interesting. When engagement data is consolidated in a single system, district leaders gain visibility into patterns they previously could not detect. Which families are consistently unreachable across all channels? Which teachers have unusually low parent response rates that might indicate a communication breakdown? Which grade levels see the steepest drop in family engagement, suggesting a structural problem rather than individual disengagement? A unified K-12 school communication platform generates this kind of systemic insight naturally, as a byproduct of consolidating data that was previously scattered across disconnected tools. Districts that use this data well can move from reactive problem-solving to proactive intervention, identifying engagement gaps before they become attendance crises or failing grades. Research published on [ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X.) confirms that parental involvement consistently predicts better academic outcomes across grade levels and demographic groups. The implication for communication platform strategy is direct: investments that increase the quality and consistency of parent engagement are investments in student achievement. ## What to look for in a K-12 school communication platform Not all unified communication platforms deliver the same value. Districts evaluating their options should look beyond feature checklists and focus on the characteristics that determine whether a platform will actually increase family engagement. The first characteristic is genuine integration depth. A platform that pulls attendance data from one system and grade data from another, but displays them separately within its own interface, is not truly unified. Look for platforms where student data is natively connected, so that a teacher composing a message to a parent about attendance can see academic context in the same view. The second characteristic is mobile-first design. Most parents access school communication through their phones, not desktop computers. A platform built primarily for desktop use and adapted secondarily for mobile will always deliver a worse experience for the majority of families. Mobile-first design means that every key action, reading a message, checking a grade, responding to a teacher, is optimized for a small screen and intermittent connectivity. The third characteristic is channel flexibility. Effective platforms allow schools to reach parents through the communication channel each family uses most reliably. Some families respond quickly to SMS. Others prefer email. Some need push notifications through an app. A platform that restricts communication to a single channel will always leave a portion of families underserved. The fourth characteristic is analytics built for engagement improvement, not just reporting. School leaders should be able to see, at a glance, which families are engaged and which are not, and drill into the reasons behind disengagement patterns. This visibility is what allows districts to use their communication platform strategically rather than operationally. ## [![K-12 school communication platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales)Making the case for platform consolidation in your district District leaders who want to move from a multi-app environment to a unified platform face a predictable set of internal objections. Teachers who have learned one system resist switching to another. Administrators worry about the cost and complexity of a migration. Vendors whose tools would be displaced push back on consolidation proposals. The case for consolidation is strongest when it is grounded in data from the district’s own experience. How many platforms does the district currently use for parent communication? What percentage of parents are actively using each one? What is the response rate to teacher messages sent through each channel? How many hours per week do teachers spend managing communication across disconnected tools? When these numbers are surfaced honestly, the cost of the multi-app status quo becomes concrete. The question is no longer whether consolidation is theoretically better. It becomes whether the district can continue to justify the demonstrable costs of fragmentation in teacher time, family disengagement, and missed early intervention opportunities. A phased approach to consolidation reduces implementation risk. Begin by identifying the two or three platforms that have the lowest parent adoption rates and the highest teacher overhead, and replace them first. Building momentum with early wins makes subsequent consolidation steps easier to support politically. The goal is a school messaging system that genuinely serves families and frees teachers to focus on instruction rather than platform management. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is a K-12 school communication platform, and how is it different from a school app? A K-12 school communication platform is a unified system that brings together all the ways schools interact with families, including attendance notifications, grade updates, teacher messaging, and announcements, into a single interface. Unlike standalone school apps that address one specific function, a communication platform integrates multiple data streams and communication channels so families never need to check more than one place to understand how their child is doing. ### 2. Why do schools end up using so many separate communication apps? Schools typically accumulate communication tools incrementally over time, adding each one to solve a specific problem without retiring the previous tools. An SIS vendor bundles a grade portal. A new administrator pilots a messaging app. The district adopts an attendance notification tool. Each addition seems reasonable in isolation, but the cumulative result is a fragmented ecosystem that overwhelms families and burdens teachers with managing multiple platforms. ### 3. How does two-way parent communication differ from standard school notification systems? Standard school notification systems are designed to push information from school to home, functioning essentially as a broadcast channel. Two-way parent communication enables genuine dialogue: parents can respond to teacher messages, ask questions, and initiate conversations. Research consistently finds that this reciprocal exchange produces stronger family engagement than one-directional notification, because it positions parents as participants in their child’s education rather than passive recipients of information. ### 4. What is a realistic timeline for transitioning from a multi-app environment to a unified communication platform? The timeline depends on the number of platforms being replaced and the size of the district, but most successful transitions follow a phased approach spanning one to two school years. The first phase involves selecting a platform and migrating the highest-priority functions, usually attendance and messaging. Subsequent phases bring in additional data integrations and retire legacy tools. A phased approach allows teachers and families to adjust gradually and reduces the risk of a disruptive simultaneous cutover. ### 5. How can districts measure whether their school communication platform is actually improving parent engagement? Beyond tracking login rates and message delivery, districts should measure response rates to teacher outreach, the percentage of families with active accounts, the average time from message send to parent response, and whether engagement rates differ across demographic groups. The most meaningful long-term metric is the correlation between communication engagement and student attendance and academic outcomes, because these connections reveal whether the platform is supporting the student success results that justify the investment. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** parent-teacher communication tools, school messaging system, K-12 school communication platform, two-way parent communication --- ### [Classroom management in the digital age: Which software teachers actually need](https://www.edsby.com/classroom-management-software-teachers-need-in-digital-age/commentary/) **Published:** March 11, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Discover the essential classroom management software teachers need to reduce admin work and improve teaching efficiency. **Content:** Teaching has never been a simple profession. Beyond delivering lessons, teachers manage attendance, track student progress, communicate with parents, organize assignments, maintain records, and ensure classroom discipline. In today’s [digital-first education environment](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390201494_Digital_Transformations_in_Education_Research_Insights_for_21st-Century_Learning), these responsibilities are expanding even further. Schools now operate through multiple systems and platforms. Digital learning tools, communication apps, grading systems, and administrative software have become part of everyday classroom operations. While technology promises efficiency, it often creates an unexpected challenge: teachers spend more time managing systems than teaching students. This is where classroom management software becomes essential. Instead of forcing teachers to juggle several disconnected tools, modern platforms help organize classroom workflows in one place. The goal is not simply digitization, but meaningful teacher workflow automation that reduces administrative burden. The digital age requires a smarter approach to classroom management. The question is no longer whether teachers should use software, but which software actually helps them teach better. This article explores how classroom management is changing, the core challenges teachers face today, and the specific types of software that truly make a difference. ## The evolution of classroom management For decades, classroom management followed a predictable structure. Teachers relied on physical gradebooks, attendance registers, paper assignments, and face-to-face communication with parents. While this system worked, it had limitations. Tracking student progress required manual effort, sharing updates with parents was slow, and analyzing student performance was nearly impossible at scale. The rise of educational technology has transformed these traditional processes. Digital systems now allow teachers to store, track, and analyze classroom information instantly. However, the transition has not always been smooth. Many schools introduced multiple tools independently: one for grading, another for attendance, a third for messaging, and several for learning resources. Instead of simplifying work, fragmented tools created new complexities. Teachers today often navigate: - Multiple login systems - Duplicate data entry - Disconnected student records - Communication scattered across platforms These inefficiencies highlight the need for unified classroom management software that connects all classroom operations in a structured workflow. ## Why teachers struggle with digital tools Technology alone does not solve operational problems in schools. When poorly implemented, digital tools can actually increase workload. One of the biggest challenges teachers face is tool overload. Schools often adopt new platforms without considering how they integrate with existing systems. Teachers then spend valuable time switching between applications. Another challenge is manual data management. Even with digital tools, teachers frequently enter the same data across different systems. For example, attendance may be recorded in one platform while grading occurs in another. Communication also becomes fragmented. Teachers may interact with parents through email, messaging apps, and school portals simultaneously. These inefficiencies reduce instructional time and contribute to teacher burnout. Effective classroom technology should do the opposite. Instead of adding complexity, it should automate repetitive tasks and streamline teacher workflows. This is where carefully selected classroom management software becomes critical. ## What classroom management software actually does At its core, [classroom management software helps](https://www.edsby.com/) teachers organize the operational side of teaching. It centralizes the processes that keep a classroom running smoothly. Rather than acting as a single tool, it typically integrates multiple functions into one platform. Key capabilities often include: - Attendance tracking - Assignment management - Grading and assessments - Student behavior tracking - Parent communication - Classroom announcements - Learning progress monitoring The most effective systems go further by enabling teacher workflow automation. Instead of manually completing routine tasks, teachers can automate processes such as grading updates, notifications, and report generation. This shift allows teachers to focus more on instruction and less on administration. [![K-12 school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Core challenges classroom software should solve Before choosing any digital platform, schools must first understand the real problems teachers face. Technology should address operational bottlenecks rather than introduce new ones. Several key challenges define modern classroom management. ### Administrative overload Teachers spend a significant portion of their time on administrative tasks. Recording attendance, updating grades, tracking assignments, and preparing reports can take hours each week. Without automation, these processes quickly become overwhelming. Effective classroom management software reduces repetitive administrative work by digitizing and automating routine tasks. ### Fragmented communication Communication in schools often involves teachers, students, parents, and administrators. When messaging occurs across multiple platforms, important information gets lost. Unified communication tools within classroom management software ensure that updates reach the right people at the right time. ### Lack of real-time student insights Teachers need timely information to support student learning. When performance data is scattered across different systems, identifying learning gaps becomes difficult. Digital classroom platforms consolidate performance data, giving teachers a clearer view of student progress. ### Inefficient assignment workflows Managing assignments manually can be complicated. Teachers distribute work, collect submissions, review responses, and record grades. Without integrated systems, each step requires separate processes. Assignment management tools simplify this entire workflow by connecting distribution, submission, grading, and feedback. ## Essential software teachers actually need Many education tools claim to improve classroom management. In reality, only a few categories directly support everyday teaching operations. Understanding these categories helps schools prioritize the right technologies. ### Student information and classroom records systems A foundational component of classroom management software is a system that stores and organizes student information. Teachers rely on accurate student records to track attendance, grades, academic progress, and behavioral notes. Centralized student information systems allow teachers to access this data quickly without searching across multiple tools. More importantly, these systems reduce duplicate data entry by keeping all classroom records connected. ### Assignment and assessment management tools Assignments are a core part of teaching. Managing them efficiently requires a digital workflow that connects distribution, submission, grading, and feedback. Assignment management tools allow teachers to: - Post assignments digitally - Collect submissions automatically - Provide structured feedback - Track student completion These tools also support automated grading for quizzes and objective assessments, significantly reducing teacher workload. ### Classroom communication platforms Communication is a vital element of classroom management. Teachers must regularly update students and parents about assignments, announcements, and performance. Integrated communication tools simplify this process by enabling teachers to send messages, notifications, and updates within the same platform used for classroom management. Centralized communication ensures consistency and reduces reliance on external messaging apps. ### Behavior and participation tracking systems Student engagement and behavior play an important role in classroom dynamics. Digital behavior tracking tools help teachers document classroom incidents, participation levels, and positive achievements. These records can provide valuable insights when discussing student progress with parents or school administrators. More importantly, consistent tracking allows teachers to identify patterns and intervene early when necessary. ### Learning progress monitoring tools Monitoring student learning is one of the most important responsibilities teachers have. Classroom management software often includes analytics tools that visualize student performance trends. Instead of reviewing individual assignments manually, teachers can quickly see which students are struggling and which topics require additional attention. This data-driven insight supports better instructional decisions. ### The role of teacher workflow automation Automation is becoming one of the most valuable features in modern educational technology. Teachers frequently repeat the same administrative processes throughout the school year. When these tasks are automated, teachers gain more time to focus on teaching. Examples of teacher workflow automation include: - Automatic attendance reporting - Scheduled assignment reminders - Gradebook updates - Parent notification alerts - Progress report generation Automation does not replace teachers. Instead, it removes repetitive work that consumes valuable time. When implemented properly, workflow automation significantly improves classroom efficiency. ## How integrated platforms outperform multiple tools Many schools still rely on separate tools for different functions. One system manages grades, another handles messaging, and another stores student records. While each tool may work individually, the lack of integration creates operational inefficiencies. Teachers often duplicate work by entering the same information in multiple systems. Integrated classroom management software eliminates this problem by connecting all classroom functions within a single environment. This integration enables: - Shared student data across features - Unified communication channels - Automated reporting workflows - Consistent academic records For teachers, this means fewer systems to manage and more time spent on instruction. ## Benefits teachers experience with the right software When classroom management software is implemented correctly, teachers quickly notice improvements in their daily workflow. These improvements go beyond simple convenience. ### Reduced administrative workload Automated attendance, digital assignments, and centralized gradebooks significantly reduce the time teachers spend on paperwork. Instead of managing documents manually, teachers can complete tasks within a structured digital workflow. ### Better classroom organization Digital systems provide teachers with clear visibility into assignments, schedules, and student progress. This organization makes it easier to manage classroom activities and maintain consistent routines. ### Improved communication with parents Integrated communication tools allow teachers to send updates, share announcements, and discuss student progress without relying on multiple platforms. This transparency strengthens relationships between schools and families. ### More time for instruction The ultimate goal of classroom technology is to protect instructional time. By reducing administrative tasks, classroom management software allows teachers to focus on lesson planning, student engagement, and personalized learning. ## Challenges schools should avoid when choosing software Not all digital tools improve classroom management. Schools must evaluate platforms carefully to ensure they genuinely support teachers. Several common mistakes often undermine the effectiveness of education technology. One major mistake is adopting too many specialized tools. While each platform may solve a specific problem, managing several disconnected tools increases complexity. Another challenge is choosing systems designed primarily for administrators rather than teachers. Classroom software must prioritize teacher usability. Schools should also avoid platforms that require extensive manual configuration or data entry. Effective [school management software](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) should feel intuitive and simplify daily tasks rather than complicate them. ## The future of classroom management technology The next generation of classroom management technology will likely focus even more on automation, data insights, and system integration. Artificial intelligence may assist teachers in identifying learning gaps, recommending instructional strategies, and predicting student challenges. At the same time, digital platforms will continue to unify academic, administrative, and communication workflows. The goal is not to replace the teacher’s role but to support it. As classrooms become more connected, teachers will rely on technology that works quietly in the background, organizing tasks and delivering insights without adding extra workload. The most successful solutions will be those that simplify teaching rather than digitize complexity. ## Why software must support teaching, not complicate it Technology should always serve a clear purpose in education. When classroom management software aligns with teacher workflows, it becomes a powerful support system that improves efficiency, organization, and communication. But when digital tools are introduced without thoughtful planning, they can quickly become another administrative burden. Schools must focus on platforms that consolidate classroom operations, automate repetitive tasks, and provide meaningful insights into student learning. In the digital age, effective classroom management is no longer just about discipline and organization. It is about managing information, communication, and learning processes efficiently. With the right technology in place, teachers can spend less time navigating systems and more time doing what matters most: helping students succeed. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is classroom management software? Classroom management software is a digital platform that helps teachers organize classroom tasks such as attendance, assignments, grading, communication, and student progress tracking. ### 2. How does classroom management software help teachers? It reduces administrative workload by automating tasks like attendance tracking, grading, and communication. This allows teachers to focus more on teaching and student engagement. ### 3. What features should classroom management software include? Key features include attendance management, assignment tracking, grading systems, communication tools, behavior monitoring, and performance analytics. ### 4. What is teacher workflow automation? Teacher workflow automation refers to using technology to automatically complete repetitive tasks such as sending reminders, updating gradebooks, generating reports, and notifying parents. ### 5. Why is integrated classroom software better than multiple tools? Integrated platforms combine multiple classroom functions into one system, reducing duplicate data entry, improving communication, and simplifying teacher workflows. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** classroom management software, teacher workflow automation --- ### [The K-12 parent portal that actually gets used: Why real-time SIS data changes engagement](https://www.edsby.com/k-12-parent-portal-in-real-time-sis-data-engagement/commentary/) **Published:** June 22, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A K-12 parent portal only works when it pulls live SIS data. Here is what changes when it does. **Content:** Parent involvement in school does not happen in a vacuum. It responds directly to the quality and frequency of the information families receive. Research consistently confirms this link. A meta-analysis published in [Science Direct](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesizing findings from 23 separate studies and more than 1,000 primary research samples over 50 years, concluded that parental involvement has a consistent positive effect on student academic achievement at all grade levels. What this body of research also reveals is that involvement does not emerge from motivation alone. Parents who want to be involved but who cannot get clear, timely information about their child’s academic status quickly disengage. They attend conferences because that is the one moment when data is made available to them directly. For the rest of the year, many operate on the assumption that no news is good news, only to discover at the end of a semester that a small, addressable problem became a large one. A K-12 parent portal that surfaces attendance records, grade trends, assignment completion rates, and teacher notes in real time reframes this dynamic. Parents no longer need to wait for a conference or a concerning progress report. They can see the arc of their child’s academic experience as it unfolds. That ongoing visibility is what shifts parent involvement from event-driven to consistent, and consistency is what the research identifies as the most impactful form of engagement. ## Attendance data in the parent portal: the early warning system families need Of all the data types that flow through a student information system, attendance data is the one with the clearest connection to outcomes. The SchoolStatus 2024 national survey of K-12 educators found that 73% identify attendance as crucial for [student academic success](https://www.edsby.com/keys-to-student-success-with-edsby-lms/commentary/), yet 46% say they struggle to get families to prioritize it. That struggle is largely a communication problem. When families do not see attendance records in real time, they often have an incomplete picture of how often their child is actually present and learning. Chronic absenteeism has reached serious levels in many districts since the pandemic years. Early intervention is the only reliable way to reverse it before it affects academic outcomes, and early intervention requires early information. A parent portal that pulls live attendance data from the SIS makes it possible for families to see an absence the same day it is recorded. Schools can configure automated alerts so that a parent receives a notification every time their child is marked absent, rather than relying on the parent to check the portal manually. This kind of proactive communication changes the nature of the school-home relationship around attendance. Instead of a school calling a family at the end of the month to discuss a pattern that has already become serious, the family is informed at the moment each incident occurs. The conversation shifts from addressing a crisis to preventing one. For districts trying to improve attendance outcomes, the attendance integration between SIS and parent portal is not a convenience feature. It is a core strategy. ## What a strong family communication LMS does differently A family communication LMS that is genuinely built around the parent experience looks different from a general school management platform with parent access bolted on. The distinction is not just about features. It is about how information is organized, surfaced, and delivered so that parents with varying levels of technical comfort and varying amounts of time can stay informed without effort. Several characteristics define the family communication LMS tools that actually drive consistent parent involvement in school. These are not exhaustive, but they represent the qualities that most directly determine whether a portal gets used: - Single login for all children: Parents with more than one child enrolled in a district should not need separate accounts or separate logins. A unified portal that surfaces data for all children in one view removes a significant friction point. - Real-time grade and attendance access: Information must reflect what is in the SIS as of the current day, not a cached version from the previous evening. - Teacher messaging within the same platform: When parents have a question about something they see in the data, they should be able to reach the relevant teacher directly from the portal without switching to email or a separate messaging app. - Mobile-first design: Most parents check information on a smartphone. A portal that is not optimized for mobile use will see lower engagement regardless of how good the underlying data is. - Automated notifications: Portals that require active check-ins will always reach fewer families than those that push timely alerts for attendance, new grades, upcoming assignments, and school announcements. [![K-12 parent portal](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The role of two-way communication in a K-12 parent portal Most portals are designed to push information out to parents. Fewer create genuine channels for parents to communicate back. This one-way architecture is one of the most common reasons for engagement plateaus after an initial launch period. Parents who can see data but cannot easily respond to it, ask questions, or share context with teachers find the portal useful but not essential. Two-way communication features transform a K-12 parent portal from an information dashboard into a collaboration space. When a parent notices a drop in their child’s grades in a specific subject and can send a message directly to that teacher from within the portal, the loop closes immediately. When a teacher can see that a parent has read a notification and responded, the relationship becomes active rather than passive. This kind of dialogue is what builds the trust that sustains long-term parent involvement in school. There is also an equity dimension to two-way communication that districts often underestimate. Families from multilingual backgrounds, lower-income households, or communities with limited school trust are less likely to initiate contact through traditional channels like phone calls or in-person visits. A parent portal with built-in messaging, combined with multilingual support, lowers the barrier enough that families who previously had no meaningful way to communicate with their child’s teachers begin to do so regularly. ## How SIS integration supports equity in family engagement Equity in family engagement is not just about access to a portal. It is about whether every family, regardless of language, income level, or technical confidence, can get the same quality of information about their child’s education. SIS integration supports equity because it automates the information flow in a way that does not rely on individual teacher initiative. Every parent sees the same data about their child’s grades and attendance, not because a teacher manually compiled a report for them, but because the system surfaces it automatically. Language accessibility is another area where SIS-integrated portals have a distinct advantage. When a platform can pull a student’s full academic record and display it in a parent’s preferred language, it eliminates one of the most persistent barriers to family communication. The SchoolStatus 2024 survey identified language barriers as a significant obstacle for 32% of educators. Portals that support multilingual communication do not just serve non-English-speaking families better. They signal that the school considers those families full participants in their child’s education. ## What districts see when they get the parent portal right Districts that successfully deploy a K-12 parent portal with deep SIS integration consistently report the same outcomes. Parent login rates rise and stay elevated rather than spiking at launch and declining over the following weeks. Teachers spend less time fielding individual parent inquiries because families can already see the information they would otherwise be calling about. Attendance-related conversations happen earlier in the semester, giving schools more time to intervene before absenteeism becomes a pattern. The experience of Superior-Greenstone District School Board is a useful illustration. In choosing Edsby as its [parent engagement ](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/)platform, the district cited the need for clearer communication about attendance, school news, and important dates. The Director of Education emphasized the importance of strong family partnerships in supporting learners throughout their educational journey. The district’s decision to centralize family access to student data through a single, SIS-connected platform reflects the broader shift in how high-performing districts are approaching parent involvement in school. At the classroom level, the effect is equally visible. Teachers who use Edsby describe the platform as removing the guesswork from parent communication. When a parent can already see a grade, an assignment, or an attendance record in the portal, teacher-parent conversations shift from information delivery to genuine discussion about how to support the student. That shift is where parent involvement stops being a compliance activity and starts becoming an educational partnership. ## Building a parent portal strategy that lasts Deploying a K-12 parent portal is not a one-time technology decision. It is an ongoing operational commitment that requires attention to onboarding, data quality, communication design, and family feedback. The App Overload report makes clear that most districts skip the formal onboarding step entirely, leaving families to figure out the portal on their own. The ones that do invest in structured onboarding, including simple guides, school-based support, and follow-up communication, see meaningfully higher sustained engagement. Data quality is equally important. A portal that pulls from the SIS is only as good as the data in the SIS. Districts that invest in consistent, timely data entry practices from teachers and office staff see the payoff in parent engagement. When grades, attendance, and schedule information are current, parents use the portal. When data is missing or outdated, trust in the tool erodes quickly. The parent engagement gap in K-12 is real and well-documented. The path toward closing it runs directly through the quality of the information families can access and the ease with which they can access it. A K-12 parent portal built on real-time SIS data is not a luxury feature. It is the foundation of a school-home partnership that actually functions, and it is the single most reliable investment a district can make in improving parent involvement at scale. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What makes a K-12 parent portal different from a standard school communication app? A K-12 parent portal is specifically designed to surface academic data from the student information system, including grades, attendance records, and assignment completion, alongside school communications. A standard communication app typically delivers announcements and messages but lacks direct integration with the district’s SIS. The distinction matters because parents who can see real-time academic data are significantly more likely to stay engaged throughout the school year rather than only engaging when a problem surfaces. ### 2. How does real-time SIS data improve parent involvement in school? Real-time SIS data allows parents to see their child’s academic status as it updates, rather than waiting for scheduled reports or conference seasons. When parents can see an absence on the day it occurs, or a grade on the day it is entered, they can respond promptly. This shortens the feedback loop between school and home, enables early intervention, and shifts parent involvement from reactive to proactive. Research consistently shows that ongoing, informed involvement has a stronger effect on student outcomes than periodic engagement around formal reporting events. ### 3. What should a district look for when evaluating family communication LMS options? Districts should prioritize platforms that integrate directly with their existing SIS rather than requiring manual data exports. Beyond integration depth, key evaluation criteria include whether the platform supports a single login for parents with multiple children, whether it offers two-way teacher-parent messaging within the same interface, whether it is optimized for mobile use, and whether it provides automated notifications for attendance and academic updates. Multilingual support is also essential for districts serving diverse communities. ### 4. Why do parent portals often see high initial usage followed by steep drop-off? Drop-off typically occurs when a portal lacks the fresh, actionable data that gives parents a reason to return. If the information displayed is static, delayed, or disconnected from what teachers are actually doing in real time, parents quickly learn that the portal does not offer value on a daily basis. Portals that pull live SIS data avoid this problem by ensuring there is always something new and relevant to see. Structured onboarding that helps parents understand what the portal offers and how to use its features also plays a significant role in sustaining engagement beyond the initial weeks. ### 5. How does SIS integration in a parent portal support equity across different family demographics? SIS integration supports equity by automating the information flow to all families equally, regardless of how much contact a particular teacher initiates with individual parents. Every family gets access to the same real-time data about their child’s grades, attendance, and schedule. When combined with multilingual support, a well-integrated portal removes two of the most persistent barriers to family engagement: information access and language accessibility. This means that families who historically had less access to school information through traditional channels can engage as fully as any other family in the district. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 parent portal, family communication LMS, parent involvement school --- ### [Education podcast explores Edsby competency-based assessment](https://www.edsby.com/education-podcast-competency-based-assessment/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** July 17, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** Edsby co-founder Jonathan Asbury on the history and present day capabilities of Edsby assessing to local competencies, outcomes, standards and expectations. **Content:** In a [recent episode of the Assess That with Tom and Nat podcast](https://assessthat.podbean.com/e/33-interview-w-jon-asbury-edsby-destinations/), hosts Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso welcomed Jonathan Asbury, co-founder of Edsby, to discuss the Edsby [competency-based assessment system](https://www.edsby.com/destinations/) designed to help educators shift the focus from grades to learning. In the episode, Asbury explained the research that inspired its development and how it helps teachers, students and parents better understand student progress. The conversation explores the changing landscape of assessment, the challenges facing schools today and how technology can better support meaningful learning. ## A GPS for learning One of the central ideas discussed throughout the episode is what Asbury calls a **“**GPS for learning.**“** Rather than simply showing students a grade at the end of an assignment, Edsby’s competency-based assessment system helps them understand where they are in their learning, where they’re headed and what they need to do to get there. The platform gives teachers a real-time view of each student’s progress while encouraging students to take ownership of their learning through evidence, reflection and ongoing conversations. Parents also gain greater visibility into what their children are learning, helping shift discussions away from grades and toward growth. ![Jonathan Asbury Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Jon-Asbury.png)\#image\_title## Designed around learning A recurring theme throughout the conversation is Edsby did not add competency-based features onto a traditional gradebook. Instead, it was designed from the ground up around modern assessment practices and learning outcomes. Students can document evidence of learning, make claims against success criteria and engage in meaningful conversations with teachers throughout the learning process. Rather than centering assessment on assignments and percentages, the platform emphasizes demonstrations of learning, continuous feedback and student ownership. Asbury explained that the goal was to “completely shift the paradigm,” while Vardabasso praised the platform’s thoughtful design, saying: > “I love that there’s a ton of intentionality here.” The hosts also discussed how Destinations supports a shift toward competency-based assessment by helping teachers focus on what students are learning—not simply what they scored. After exploring the platform throughout the episode, Schimmer concluded: > “What I really love about the platform is it changes the conversation for parents at home. It transforms ‘what did you do in school today’ to ‘what has my child learned in school today?’ I love how the platform can really engineer that narrative. We’re endorsing it because it is a great platform to use. Nothing is perfect, but to us it’s the best we’ve seen in terms of blending really sound assessment practices.” The full episode offers an insightful look at the philosophy behind how Edsby can support more meaningful assessment practices in K-12 education. Watch the full episode [here](https://assessthat.podbean.com/e/33-interview-w-jon-asbury-edsby-destinations/) or find out more about [Edsby’s competency-based assessment](https://www.edsby.com/destinations/). ## About Assess THAT with Tom & Nat Assess THAT with Tom & Nat is a bi-weekly podcast where co-hosts Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso unpack what it really means to deepen assessment literacy in schools. Known for their dynamic, insightful, and sometimes provocative conversations, Tom and Nat create a space where educators can rethink grading, feedback, and accountability in ways that put student learning first. Each episode blends practical strategies with big-picture thinking, helping teachers and leaders translate research into action without losing sight of the human side of education. Tom Schimmer and Natalie Vardabasso are internationally recognized speakers, authors, and consultants who have spent their careers helping schools modernize assessment and grading practices. Together, they are the co-founders of the [Canadian Assessment Centre (CAC)](https://www.canadianassessment.ca/), a national professional learning hub created by Canadians, for Canadians to bring clarity, credibility, and care to assessment in classrooms across the country. **Categories:** In the news **Tags:** school management system, classroom management software, educational digital platforms, AI in education --- ### [Why Edsby is on top among K-12 digital learning platforms in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/why-edsby-on-top-among-k12-digital-learning-platforms/commentary/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Edsby unifies K-12 learning, attendance, and communication in one connected platform. **Content:** School district leaders are no longer asking whether they need digital learning platforms. That question was settled years ago. The real question is which platform can unify instruction, communication, and family engagement without forcing teachers, students, and parents to juggle a dozen disconnected logins. Districts that get this decision right see stronger attendance, faster intervention for at-risk students, and calmer inboxes for everyone involved. That is the gap Edsby was built to close. Rather than bolting a gradebook onto a messaging app or a messaging app onto a learning management system, Edsby was designed from the ground up as a single K-12 digital learning environment where teachers, students, and parents work from the same source of truth. For a superintendent or IT director evaluating options for the coming school year, that distinction matters more than any single feature on a checklist. This article walks through what district leaders should expect from one of the top digital learning platforms, why fragmented tools create more work than they save, and how Edsby’s approach to online learning, communication, and data visibility supports the goals most public school systems are chasing right now: better outcomes, stronger family engagement, and less administrative overhead. ## The shifting landscape of K-12 digital learning platforms in 2026 Digital learning platforms have changed shape several times over the past decade. Early tools focused almost entirely on content delivery, giving teachers a way to post assignments and students a way to submit them online. Then came communication apps that promised to keep parents informed with quick updates and photos from the classroom. Both categories solved a real problem, but neither solved the whole problem, and most districts ended up running several of these systems side by side. The result is a familiar pattern in many school systems today. A teacher posts grades in one system, sends a class update through another, and records attendance in a third. A parent who wants a complete picture of their child’s day has to check multiple apps, each with its own login and its own notification settings. An IT director trying to keep data secure and compliant has to manage integrations, permissions, and support tickets across every one of those tools. None of this is anyone’s fault. It is simply what happens when a district’s technology stack grows one point solution at a time. Nowadays, district leaders have grown far more deliberate about consolidation. Budget scrutiny has increased, data privacy expectations have tightened, and teachers have made clear that they do not have time to learn and maintain five different platforms just to run a classroom. Educational technology decisions are now evaluated less on individual features and more on how well a platform reduces total complexity across the district while still giving every stakeholder, from the classroom teacher to the school board, the visibility they need. That shift toward consolidation is precisely why platforms like Edsby have gained traction. Edsby was not designed as a [communication app that later added academic features](https://www.edsby.com/why-k-12-school-communication-platform-is-replacing-multi-app-parent-communication/commentary/), nor as a learning management system that bolted on messaging as an afterthought. It was designed from day one to connect gradebook data, attendance records, assignments, and parent communication inside one coherent system, so that the information a teacher enters once is immediately useful to a parent, an administrator, and the student themselves. ## What district leaders need from a digital learning platform in 2026 Before comparing specific products, it helps to step back and ask what a K-12 digital learning platform actually needs to accomplish for a public school district. Most district leaders, when pressed, describe a similar set of priorities regardless of the size or geography of their system. They want a platform that teachers will actually use consistently, because a tool that sits unused in a handful of classrooms delivers no district-wide value no matter how capable it is on paper. They want data that flows in real time, so that a missed assignment or an attendance concern surfaces the same day rather than showing up on a report card weeks later. They want family communication that reaches every household, including families who are not comfortable with English or who do not have reliable access to a computer. And they want all of this delivered in a way that satisfies student data privacy obligations under [FERPA and applicable state compliances](https://www.edsby.com/compliance-to-competency-standards-based-assessment/commentary/), without requiring a small army of IT staff to manage vendor integrations. A handful of capabilities tend to separate platforms that meet these priorities from platforms that fall short: - Single sign-on access for teachers, students, and parents across academic, attendance, and communication data - Real-time visibility into grades, assignments, and attendance rather than periodic exports or batch updates - Communication tools that support translation and multiple channels, including app notifications, email, and text - Reporting that gives administrators a district wide view without requiring manual data assembly - Clear, documented data privacy practices that align with FERPA and state student privacy requirements These are not exotic requirements. They reflect what most district technology committees already list in their request for proposal documents. The difference between platforms tends to show up not in whether they claim to offer these capabilities, but in how deeply integrated those capabilities actually are once a district is live. ## Why unified communication changes outcomes for K-12 education One of the more persistent challenges in public education is the gap between what a school knows about a student and what a family knows. A teacher may notice that a student has missed three assignments in a row or that attendance has started to slip, but if that information does not reach a parent quickly and clearly, the opportunity to intervene early often passes. Research on family engagement has consistently found that when families receive timely, specific information about their child’s progress and are given a clear way to respond, student outcomes improve across attendance, behavior, and academic performance. This is where a unified digital learning platform earns its keep. When attendance, grades, and communication all live in the same system, a parent does not need to piece together a picture from three different notifications. They see the full context: which assignment is missing, when it was due, and what the teacher is asking them to do about it. That context turns a vague notification into an actionable one, and actionable communication is what actually changes behavior at home. District leaders who have consolidated their communication and academic systems often describe a similar shift in tone. Instead of parents reaching out to ask what is going on, parents reach out already informed, asking how they can help. Teachers spend less time answering repetitive questions about missing grades or upcoming assignments because the information is already visible to families in real time. That reduction in back and forth communication frees up teacher time for the conversations that actually require a teacher’s judgment, such as discussing a learning plan or addressing a behavioral concern. Edsby was built around this principle of unified visibility. Rather than treating communication as a separate module bolted onto an academic system, Edsby ties parent facing updates directly to the underlying gradebook, attendance, and assignment data. A message about a missing assignment is not a generic alert; it is connected to the actual assignment record, so a parent can see exactly what is due and a teacher does not have to manually compose an update every time a student falls behind. ## Edsby’s approach to online learning and virtual classrooms Online learning and virtual classroom tools became a permanent fixture of K-12 education rather than a temporary response to a single disruption. Districts now expect their digital learning platform to support blended instruction, remote days for illness or weather, and independent work outside the regular school day, all without requiring a separate system for virtual coursework. Edsby approaches this by keeping virtual and in person instruction inside the same environment a teacher already uses every day. Assignments, discussions, and resources created for a virtual lesson are stored and tracked the same way as any other classroom activity, which means a teacher does not have to maintain two parallel workflows depending on whether a class meets in person or online. Students see one consistent place to find their work regardless of the instructional format, and parents see one consistent record of progress regardless of how a given day was delivered. This consistency matters more than it might initially appear. When virtual learning tools live outside a district’s core platform, districts often end up managing separate rosters, separate gradebooks, and separate support processes for online coursework. That duplication creates confusion for families and additional administrative burden for staff. By keeping online learning inside the same platform used for daily instruction, Edsby reduces the operational overhead of supporting flexible learning models, whether that flexibility is driven by a snow day, a health related absence, or a deliberate district strategy around blended instruction. ## [![K-12 digital learning platforms](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Educational technology that closes the parent-teacher gap Parent teacher communication has historically depended on a small number of high stakes touchpoints: a report card, a parent teacher conference, or an occasional phone call home. These moments matter, but they are infrequent, and a lot can happen in a classroom between one conference and the next. Modern educational technology has an opportunity to make that communication continuous rather than episodic, without adding to a teacher’s workload. Edsby supports this shift by giving teachers lightweight, structured ways to share updates as part of their existing workflow rather than as an additional task. When a teacher records an attendance mark, enters a grade, or posts an assignment, that information becomes visible to families automatically, without requiring the teacher to draft a separate message. Teachers can still send direct messages when a personal note is warranted, but the baseline flow of information does not depend on a teacher remembering to communicate it separately. For families, this means the platform becomes a genuine window into daily school life rather than a portal they check only when a report card is due. Parents can see how their child is doing in near real time, ask questions through the same system, and receive responses without switching to email or a separate messaging app. For district leaders, this kind of continuous, structured communication also creates a more consistent record of parent teacher interaction across every classroom in the district, which supports both accountability and equity, since families are not left dependent on an individual teacher’s personal communication habits to stay informed. ## Evaluating e-learning solutions: what actually matters When district leaders sit down to compare e-learning solutions, it is easy to get pulled into a feature by feature comparison that treats every capability as equally important. In practice, a smaller set of questions tends to predict whether a platform will actually succeed once it is deployed across dozens or hundreds of schools. The first question is adoption. A platform that looks impressive in a demo but requires extensive training or workarounds in daily use will struggle to gain traction with busy teachers. The second is integration depth. Many platforms claim to connect academic and communication data, but the real test is whether that connection holds up in daily practice, or whether staff end up manually re-entering information across systems anyway. The third is data governance. District leaders need clear answers about where student data is stored, who can access it, and how the vendor supports compliance with FERPA and relevant state privacy laws, not vague assurances buried in a lengthy terms of service document. A short list of practical evaluation criteria tends to hold up well across these considerations: - How quickly can a teacher with no prior training complete a basic workflow, such as recording attendance or posting a grade - Does a change made in one part of the platform, such as a grade entry, automatically update what a parent sees, or does it require a separate manual step - What specific data privacy commitments does the vendor make regarding FERPA compliance and data storage location - How does the platform support families who need translated communication or who primarily use a mobile device Districts that anchor their evaluation in these practical questions, rather than a long list of individual features, tend to end up with a platform that holds up well after the initial rollout excitement fades. This is also where a platform’s underlying architecture matters more than its marketing. A system built from the start as a unified environment, the way Edsby was, tends to hold that integration together under real world use in a way that is harder to replicate when a platform has been assembled from acquired or bolted together components over time. ## What the research says about digital learning platforms The evidence base on digital learning tools has matured considerably, and it offers a useful reality check for district leaders who are evaluating new platforms. A [meta-analysis](https://acceleratelearning.stanford.edu/story/new-study-explores-what-makes-digital-learning-products-more-or-less-effective/) from researchers at Stanford, Harvard, and Dartmouth reviewed 119 studies published between 2010 and 2023 examining digital interventions used in kindergarten through fifth grade, including computer programs, e-books, online games, and videos, and found that results varied considerably depending on how a given tool was implemented rather than on the technology alone. The practical takeaway for district leaders is that a platform’s design and how well it fits into daily practice matter as much as its feature list. A tool that teachers use consistently, that surfaces information to families without extra effort, and that supports rather than complicates daily instructional routines is far more likely to produce the kind of outcomes districts are actually trying to achieve. This is consistent with what district leaders report anecdotally: platforms that reduce friction in daily use tend to see far higher and more consistent adoption than platforms that simply offer the most features on paper. ## Implementation and rollout considerations for districts Choosing a digital learning platform is only the first step. How a district rolls out that platform often determines whether it becomes a genuine asset or another underused system competing for teacher attention. A few considerations tend to separate smooth rollouts from difficult ones. Timing matters. Districts that introduce a new platform mid year, without adequate lead time for training, often see lower initial adoption than districts that plan a rollout around a natural transition point, such as the start of a school year. Training also matters, and not just for teachers. Front office staff, counselors, and administrators all interact with student data in different ways, and a rollout plan that accounts for each of these roles tends to produce more consistent daily use across a building. Communication with families is equally important. A new platform represents a change in how parents access information about their child, and districts that proactively explain what is changing, why, and what parents should expect tend to see faster family adoption than districts that simply announce a new app without context. Edsby’s implementation approach reflects this reality, with support structured around helping districts plan rollout timing, train staff across roles, and communicate clearly with families so that the platform’s unified design translates into unified adoption from day one. District leaders should also plan for an adjustment period. Even a well-designed platform requires teachers and families to build new habits, and it is reasonable to expect a few weeks of adjustment before daily use feels routine. Districts that set realistic expectations for this transition, rather than expecting instant fluency, tend to report smoother long-term adoption and fewer support tickets once the initial rollout period has passed. ## Looking ahead to the coming school year As districts finalize their technology plans for the coming year, the platforms that will serve them best are the ones built around a simple idea: information that is entered once should be useful everywhere it needs to go, for teachers, for administrators, and for the families who depend on clear, timely updates about their child’s progress. That principle, more than any single feature, is what separates a genuinely unified K-12 digital learning platform from a collection of tools that happen to share a login page. Edsby was built around that principle from the start, connecting academic data, attendance, and family communication inside a single environment rather than stitching together separate systems after the fact. For district leaders who are ready to reduce the complexity of their technology stack while giving every stakeholder, from the classroom teacher to the school board, better visibility into student progress, that kind of unified design is worth a closer look heading into the coming school year. ## Frequently asked questions ### What makes Edsby different from other K-12 digital learning platforms? Edsby was designed from the outset as a single connected environment for academic data, attendance, and family communication, rather than as separate tools joined together after the fact. This means information entered once by a teacher is immediately visible to parents and administrators without manual duplication. ### Does Edsby support both in-person and virtual classroom instruction? Yes. Assignments, discussions, and resources for virtual or blended instruction are stored and tracked in the same environment used for in-person classes, so teachers and families do not need to manage separate systems based on instructional format. ### How does Edsby handle student data privacy and FERPA compliance? Edsby is built with student data privacy as a core design consideration, with access controls and data handling practices intended to align with FERPA and applicable state student privacy laws. District IT teams can review specific data governance details directly with Edsby during the evaluation process. ### Will teachers need extensive training to use Edsby effectively? Most core workflows, such as recording attendance or posting a grade, are designed to be straightforward for teachers to learn quickly. Districts typically pair rollout with role-specific training for teachers, front office staff, and administrators to support consistent adoption across a building. ### How does Edsby support families who speak languages other than English? Edsby’s communication tools are built to support multiple channels and translated messaging, helping ensure that families who are not primarily English-speaking still receive timely, understandable updates about their child’s progress. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 education, online learning, educational technology, e-learning solutions, virtual classrooms, digital learning platforms --- ### [Edsby for standards-based assessment in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-standards-based-assessment-in-k12/commentary/) **Published:** July 14, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Edsby supports standards-based assessment and reporting for K-12 districts. **Content:** Standards-based assessment has moved from a pilot program in a handful of forward-thinking districts to a mainstream approach that public school systems across the country are actively adopting or expanding. The reasoning is straightforward. Traditional percentage-based grading often blends academic mastery with behavior, effort, and late penalties into a single number that tells families very little about what a student actually knows and can do. Standards-based assessment separates those signals, giving teachers, students, and families a clearer picture of proficiency against specific learning standards. For district leaders who have committed to this shift, or who are actively evaluating it, the challenge quickly becomes operational. Edsby was built to make standard-based assessment and reporting manageable at scale, giving districts a system that supports proficiency scales, standards aligned gradebooks, and clear family facing reports without requiring teachers to manage parallel spreadsheets or administrators to reconcile data across disconnected tools. ## Why standards-based assessment matters for districts The shift toward standard-based assessment reflects a broader recognition that traditional grading practices often obscure more than they reveal. When a single letter grade averages a student’s early struggles with a unit against their eventual mastery of the material, that grade tells families very little about where the student actually stands by the end of the unit. A student who earned a low score early but reached full proficiency by the unit’s end can end up with a grade that undersells their actual learning, while a student who started strong but lost engagement partway through can end up with a grade that overstates their current understanding. Standards-based assessment addresses this by evaluating students against specific, clearly defined learning standards rather than averaging performance over time. Instead of a single grade for a math course, a family might see separate proficiency ratings for numerical operations, problem solving, and mathematical reasoning. This level of detail gives teachers more precise information about where to focus instruction, gives students a clearer sense of what mastery actually looks like, and gives families a far more actionable picture of their child’s progress than a single averaged number ever could. For district leaders, the appeal extends beyond individual classrooms. standard-based data, when captured consistently across a district, provides a much richer foundation for curriculum planning, professional development targeting, and identifying where additional instructional support is needed at a school or grade level, rather than relying on aggregate grade point averages that can mask meaningful gaps in specific skill areas. ## The operational challenge districts face Despite the pedagogical case for standard-based assessment, many districts struggle with implementation, not because teachers disagree with the approach, but because the tools available to support it are often inadequate. A gradebook designed around traditional point accumulation does not translate naturally to a proficiency scale, and districts that attempt to force a standards-based approach into a traditional grading system often end up with workarounds that create more confusion than clarity for families. Reporting is a particularly common pain point. Generating a standard-based report card that clearly shows proficiency by standard, rather than a single course grade, requires a system built to support that structure natively. Districts using tools not designed for this purpose often resort to manual report generation, spreadsheet exports, or third party reporting add ons that create inconsistency between schools and add significant administrative burden for office staff during each reporting period. Consistency across teachers is another common challenge. For standard-based assessment to be meaningful, a proficiency rating in one classroom needs to mean roughly the same thing as the same rating in another classroom teaching the same standard. Without a system that supports shared rubrics and consistent proficiency scales across a department or grade level, [standard-based grading ](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/)can produce results that are just as inconsistent as the traditional grading practices it was meant to replace. ## How Edsby supports standard-based assessment Edsby was designed with these operational challenges in mind. The platform’s gradebook natively supports proficiency-based scales alongside, or instead of, traditional point-based grading, which means teachers are not forced to translate standards-based judgments into an artificial percentage just to make the system work. Teachers can record student performance directly against specific learning standards, and that data flows automatically into district-ready reporting without requiring manual reformatting. For family-facing communication, Edsby’s reporting tools present standard-based data in a format that is genuinely legible to parents, showing proficiency by standard rather than burying that detail inside a single course grade. This directly addresses one of the more common frustrations districts encounter during a shift to standard-based grading, which is family confusion about what a new reporting format actually means for their child. When the underlying system is built to present this data clearly, families adapt more quickly and with less friction than when a district is working around a system that was not designed for this purpose. District administrators benefit from Edsby’s ability to aggregate standard-based data across schools and grade levels, giving curriculum leaders a clear view of where students across the district are struggling with specific standards, which supports more targeted professional development and curriculum adjustments than aggregate grade data alone could provide. Because this reporting is built into the [school platform](https://www.edsby.com/why-districts-are-replacing-patchwork-tools-with-unified-school-platforms/commentary/) rather than requiring a separate analytics tool, district staff spend less time assembling reports and more time acting on what those reports show. Edsby also supports the secure parent teacher communication that standard-based assessment depends on for real success. A proficiency rating alone, without context, can be difficult for a family to interpret. Edsby ties communication directly to the underlying standards data, so a teacher can explain what a specific proficiency level means and what a student needs to do to advance, all within the same system a parent already uses to check on their child’s broader progress. ## [![standards-based assessment](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Supporting teachers through the transition A shift to standard-based assessment is as much a professional practice change for teachers as it is a technology change, and Edsby’s design accounts for this reality. Because the platform integrates standards-based grading into the same daily workflow teachers already use for attendance and general communication, there is no separate system to learn on top of everything else a teacher manages. This reduces the training burden compared to introducing an entirely separate standard-based reporting tool alongside an existing gradebook. Shared rubrics and proficiency scales within Edsby also support the department and grade-level consistency that makes standard-based assessment meaningful. When teachers across a school or district are working from the same defined proficiency scales inside the same system, the risk of one teacher’s “proficient” meaning something different from another teacher’s “proficient” decreases significantly, which strengthens the credibility of the data districts eventually use for broader planning decisions. ## What the research says about standards-based grading Research on standards-based grading has grown substantially in recent years, moving beyond theoretical arguments toward rigorous experimental evidence. A [cluster randomized controlled trial examining a standards-based grading program](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19345747.2023.2287594) in ninth-grade mathematics classrooms found that the approach, which emphasized formative assessment, structured feedback, and opportunities for reassessment, produced measurable benefits for student learning, with especially strong effects for students who entered the program with higher motivation levels. This kind of rigorous evidence matters for district leaders navigating what can sometimes be a contentious shift for veteran teachers and long-time families accustomed to traditional grading. Being able to point to controlled research, not just pedagogical theory, strengthens the case for standard-based assessment as a well-grounded instructional practice rather than an unproven trend. ## Common pitfalls districts should avoid Districts that struggle with standard-based assessment rollouts tend to run into a similar handful of problems, regardless of their size or location. The first is treating the shift purely as a report card redesign rather than a change in daily instructional practice. Simply relabeling a traditional grade as a proficiency score without changing how assignments are designed or how feedback is given rarely produces the clarity standard-based assessment is meant to deliver. Teachers need support in designing assessments that actually measure specific standards, not just a new format for recording the same kind of evidence they were collecting before. The second common pitfall is inconsistent proficiency scales across a school or district. When one teacher’s three point scale means something different from another teacher’s four-point scale, or when “meeting expectations” is defined loosely enough that it varies significantly from classroom to classroom, the resulting data loses much of its value for both families and administrators. This is why shared rubrics and calibration conversations among teachers matter as much as the technology used to record the results. A third pitfall involves rushing the transition without adequate communication to families. Parents who are used to a familiar A through F system can feel disoriented by a sudden shift to unfamiliar proficiency language, especially if that shift happens without warning or explanation. Districts that invest time in explaining the new system before it appears on an actual report card, including sample reports and clear definitions of what each proficiency level means, see meaningfully smoother family reception than districts that simply switch formats and expect families to figure it out on their own. Finally, some districts underestimate the secondary school challenge. standard-based grading is often easier to implement in elementary settings, where a single teacher manages most of a student’s instruction across a smaller number of standards. In secondary schools, where students move between many teachers and courses each day, maintaining consistency across a much larger number of standards and instructors requires more deliberate coordination, stronger shared rubrics, and often a longer implementation timeline than elementary rollouts typically need. ## Standards-based assessment and equity One of the less discussed but increasingly important arguments for standard-based assessment involves equity in how student performance is measured and communicated. Traditional grading practices can inadvertently penalize students for circumstances unrelated to academic mastery, such as inconsistent access to a quiet place to complete homework, family obligations that affect on time submission, or unfamiliarity with the specific expectations a given teacher has developed informally over years of practice. When grades blend these factors together with actual content mastery, the resulting number can obscure real learning behind circumstances that have little to do with what a student actually understands. standard-based assessment, when implemented well, separates academic mastery from these other factors, giving a clearer and often fairer picture of what a student knows and can do. This does not mean effort, engagement, and responsibility stop mattering to a student’s overall development. Many districts implementing standard-based assessment track these dimensions separately, often as a distinct set of habits or work skills ratings, rather than folding them into the same score used to represent academic proficiency. This separation gives families a more complete and more honest picture of their child, one that distinguishes what a student has mastered academically from how they are developing as a learner more broadly. For district leaders focused on equity as a strategic priority, standard-based assessment offers a concrete, measurable way to make progress, provided the underlying system supports the level of detail and consistency the approach requires. A platform that only supports single point averages ultimately limits how far a district can take this equity focused work, regardless of how strong the pedagogical commitment behind it might be. ## Planning a standard-based assessment rollout Districts considering or expanding standard-based assessment should plan the technology piece alongside the professional development piece from the start, rather than treating them as separate initiatives. A strong system for standard-based reporting does little good if teachers have not been trained in how to apply proficiency scales consistently, and strong professional development can be undermined by a system that forces awkward workarounds to produce a usable report card. Family communication planning deserves equal attention. Even the clearest standard-based report card represents a significant change from what many families are used to seeing, and districts that proactively explain the shift, ideally with sample reports and a clear explanation of what proficiency levels mean, tend to see less confusion and fewer support inquiries once the new reporting format goes live. Edsby’s implementation support is structured around this reality, helping districts plan rollout timing, train staff on the platform’s standard-based tools, and communicate the transition clearly to families. A phased rollout, starting with one or two grade levels before expanding district wide, also gives staff time to refine their approach based on real classroom experience before scaling to every school at once. ## Getting started with Edsby For district leaders evaluating how to make standard-based assessment operationally sustainable rather than a source of ongoing administrative burden, Edsby offers a platform built specifically to support this approach at scale, from the classroom gradebook to district wide reporting. Rather than forcing standard-based practices into a system designed for traditional grading, Edsby’s architecture treats proficiency based assessment as a core capability rather than an add on feature. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between standard-based assessment and traditional grading? standard-based assessment evaluates students against specific, clearly defined learning standards, reporting proficiency by standard, while traditional grading typically averages performance across assignments into a single course grade that can blend academic mastery with behavior and effort. ### Can Edsby support both standard-based and traditional grading in the same district? Yes. Edsby’s gradebook supports proficiency based scales alongside traditional point based grading, which allows districts to run a mixed approach during a transition period or maintain both models for different grade levels as needed. ### How does Edsby help ensure consistency in standard-based grading across teachers? Edsby supports shared rubrics and proficiency scales that teachers within a department or grade level can use consistently, reducing the risk that a proficiency rating means something different from one classroom to the next. ### Will parents understand a standard-based report card generated through Edsby? Edsby’s reporting tools are designed to present standard-based data clearly, showing proficiency by specific standard rather than burying that detail inside a single course grade, which supports easier family interpretation compared to generic exports or spreadsheets. ### How long does it typically take a district to transition to standards-based assessment? Timelines vary widely depending on district size and prior grading practices, but most successful transitions unfold over multiple school years, with technology implementation planned alongside sustained teacher professional development and clear, ongoing family communication. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** K-12 education, educational technology, assessment systems, student reporting, district planning, standards-based assessment --- ### [LMS for independent schools: What should you look for?](https://www.edsby.com/lms-for-independent-schools/commentary/) **Published:** June 8, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Find out what features matter most when choosing an LMS for independent schools. **Content:** Independent schools operate differently from public districts. They answer to parents, boards, and accreditation bodies rather than state mandates. They set their own curricula, cultivate distinct identities, and often serve smaller, tightly knit communities. This independence is a strength, but it also means that the tools schools choose must fit the way they actually work, not the other way around. A learning management system (LMS) sits at the center of how teachers deliver instruction, how students access learning materials, and how administrators track academic outcomes. Choosing the wrong one wastes money, frustrates teachers, and leaves students without the digital support they need. Choosing the right LMS for independent schools, however, can unify academic operations, deepen parent engagement, and give school leaders the data they need to make informed decisions. This guide walks through the key considerations every independent school should evaluate before committing to a platform, from core functionality to scalability, data privacy, and family communication. ## Why independent schools need a different LMS Most LMS reviews and comparison guides are written with large public school districts or universities in mind. The feature sets, pricing tiers, and implementation timelines assume a level of IT staffing, budget, and administrative infrastructure that many independent and private schools simply do not have. A school with 300 students and a single part-time technology coordinator does not have the same needs as a district with 50,000 students and a dedicated EdTech department. Independent schools, especially smaller ones, tend to prioritize ease of use, low administrative overhead, and meaningful parent communication far more than large-scale content management or district-wide analytics. At the same time, they cannot afford a platform that will limit their growth or fail to meet accreditation requirements for student data documentation. The search for the right private school LMS therefore starts with a clear understanding of what independent schools are, what they value, and what operational realities they face on a daily basis. Without that grounding, it is easy to be dazzled by features that look impressive in a demo but add little value in practice. ![K-12 parent portal](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png) ## Core features every independent school LMS must have Before evaluating any platform, it helps to separate must-have features from nice-to-have ones. For an LMS for small schools, the core functionality should be rock solid before anything else is considered. These are the capabilities that directly affect teaching and learning every single day. ### Course creation and content management Teachers need to be able to build, organize, and update course content without needing a technical background. An LMS that requires hours of training before a teacher can post a reading assignment or create a quiz is too complex for most independent school environments. Look for an intuitive content editor, support for multiple media types including video, PDF, and audio, and the ability to organize material by unit, topic, or term in a way that reflects how teachers actually plan instruction. ### Gradebook and assessment tools A robust gradebook is non-negotiable. It should allow teachers to record and calculate grades with flexibility, support [different grading scales](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) if the school uses them, and give students and parents real-time access to academic progress. Assessment tools should go beyond multiple-choice quizzes to support essay submissions, project-based assignments, rubric scoring, and formative check-ins. Independent schools often emphasize whole-child development, so the gradebook should accommodate comments and qualitative feedback alongside numerical scores. ### Attendance tracking Attendance tracking may seem basic, but its integration with the broader LMS matters enormously. When [attendance data](https://www.edsby.com/manual-vs-school-attendance-tracking-software/commentary/) sits inside the same platform as academic records, administrators and teachers can spot early warning signs before they become serious problems. A student who starts missing classes and whose assignment completion is also declining needs attention. An LMS that connects these signals gives educators the visibility to act early. ### Communication tools The independent school community is built on relationships. Teachers, students, and parents expect to communicate regularly and meaningfully. An LMS should include built-in messaging that allows for direct communication between teachers and students, teacher and parent contact, and school-wide announcements. Platforms that require schools to use a separate communication tool for every type of outreach add unnecessary friction to daily operations. ## Parent engagement: the feature independent schools cannot ignore For independent schools, parent engagement is not a secondary concern. It is central to the school’s identity, its reputation, and often its enrollment numbers. Parents who choose independent schools typically do so with a high level of intentionality. They expect to be informed and involved. An LMS that treats parent access as an afterthought will create frustration on both sides of the school-home relationship. Research consistently confirms the value of this investment. A major [meta-analysis published in ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesizing findings from 23 separate meta-analyses and more than 1,000 primary studies across 50 years, found a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student academic achievement at all grade levels. The data is not ambiguous. When parents stay informed and engaged, students perform better. The LMS is one of the most practical tools a school has for making that happen. For a private school LMS to truly serve independent schools, it must provide parents with a clear, real-time view of their child’s academic life. This means visible grades, assignment due dates, attendance records, and teacher communications all accessible through a single login. Parents should not need to check three different platforms to get a complete picture of how their child is doing. Language accessibility is also a meaningful consideration. Independent schools today serve families from diverse linguistic backgrounds. An LMS that provides communication and interface options in multiple languages removes a barrier that would otherwise exclude a segment of the school community from full participation. ## Flexibility and customization for the independent school model One of the defining characteristics of independent schools is their commitment to curriculum autonomy. A Montessori school, a classical academy, and a progressive project-based learning school all operate on fundamentally different instructional philosophies. The LMS they choose should support their specific pedagogical approach rather than force them into a one-size-fits-all structure. Customization matters in several practical areas. Schools should be able to configure their grading system to match their own scale, whether that is a traditional letter-grade system, a standards-based approach, a narrative evaluation model, or a combination. They should be able to organize courses, terms, and academic calendars to reflect their own schedule structure rather than being locked into a September-to-June framework that may not fit trimester or year-round programs. Branding and interface customization are also worth considering. Independent schools invest significantly in their identity and community culture. An LMS that allows schools to apply their own colors, logos, and terminology reinforces that identity for students, parents, and staff every time they log in. ## Data privacy and security: what independent schools must verify Data privacy is not a technicality. It is a trust issue. Independent school families often share sensitive information with schools. This includes health accommodations, family circumstances, learning differences, and financial situations. The LMS that houses [student data ](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/)and communications must handle this data responsibly and transparently. Research from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps used in schools share student information with third parties. Even more concerning, 86% of surveyed schools lacked a mechanism for obtaining parental consent before deploying data-sharing technology. For independent schools, which build their reputation on trust with families, deploying a platform with unclear data practices is a serious reputational risk. Before committing to any independent school platform, school leaders should ask the following questions directly: - Is student data sold or shared with advertising partners or third-party services? - Does the platform comply with FERPA, COPPA, and any applicable state-level data protection laws? - Where is data stored, and who has access to it? - Does the vendor provide a data processing agreement that gives the school contractual control over its own data? - What happens to student data when a school ends its contract with the vendor? Any vendor that cannot answer these questions clearly and in writing should be disqualified from consideration. The families who trust independent schools with their children’s education deserve nothing less than complete transparency about how that information is handled. ## Scalability and integration for long-term fit An LMS is not a short-term purchase. Schools that switch platforms every few years absorb enormous costs in training time, data migration, and lost institutional knowledge. The right platform is one that serves the school’s needs today and has the capacity to grow with the school over time. For LMS for small schools in particular, scalability means something specific. The platform needs to be easy to manage with limited IT staff now, but it should not become a constraint if enrollment grows, if the school adds new programs, or if it expands to additional campuses. Pricing models that scale reasonably with enrollment size are important. A platform priced for large districts can become prohibitively expensive for a growing independent school. Integration capability is equally important. Most schools already use a student information system (SIS), financial management tools, and possibly separate platforms for library resources, extracurricular management, or learning support. The LMS should integrate cleanly with the SIS so that student enrollment data, course rosters, and demographic information do not need to be entered twice. Single sign-on (SSO) integration reduces the login burden for teachers, students, and parents, making the platform easier to adopt and sustain over time. ## Teacher experience: usability is a strategic issue Technology adoption in schools rises and falls with teachers. The most feature-rich independent school platform in the world will fail if teachers find it frustrating to use in practice. This is not a soft concern. It is a strategic one. When teachers disengage from an LMS, communication with families erodes, assignment data becomes unreliable, and the school loses the academic visibility it invested in the platform to gain. The [App Overload report](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/), a 2025 research study by Cornerstone Communications and Edsby surveying educators and parents across North America, found that teachers report moderate dissatisfaction specifically because of the administrative burden of managing too many disconnected tools. When schools consolidate onto a single, well-designed LMS, that burden decreases and teacher engagement with the platform increases. When evaluating usability, the best approach is to get real teachers in front of the platform before making a decision. Pilot programs or extended free trials are worth requesting from any vendor under consideration. Gather feedback on how long it takes to build a course, post an assignment, record grades, and send a message to a parent. If experienced teachers struggle to complete basic tasks without consulting documentation, the platform is too complex for sustainable daily use. ## What to look for in vendor support and onboarding The quality of implementation support is one of the most underestimated factors in LMS selection. Independent schools typically do not have the internal resources to troubleshoot complex technical problems or design training programs from scratch. The vendor must be a reliable partner, not just a software provider. Onboarding should be structured and comprehensive. Research consistently recommends that schools establish formal onboarding processes for both parents and teachers when introducing a new platform. Without guided onboarding, adoption rates suffer and families are left to figure out the platform on their own, with many never fully engaging. A vendor that provides only a help center and a PDF guide is not offering the level of support that most independent schools need. When evaluating vendor support, independent schools should look for the following: - Dedicated onboarding support during the initial implementation phase - Live technical support available during school hours, not just asynchronous ticketing - Training resources designed specifically for teachers and administrators rather than generic end-users - A clear implementation timeline with defined milestones and success metrics - A community of other independent or private school users who can share experience and best practices It is also worth asking vendors for references from schools of a similar size and type. A vendor with a strong track record in large public districts may not have the same level of expertise in serving independent schools with unique operational models and governance structures. ## Making the final decision: a practical framework After evaluating features, usability, data privacy, scalability, and vendor support, the final decision still requires a clear process. Schools that treat LMS selection as a committee exercise with structured criteria tend to make better choices than those that let a single administrator or technology coordinator decide in isolation. Start by building a cross-functional evaluation team that includes at a minimum a senior administrator, two or three teachers from different grade levels or departments, a parent representative if possible, and whoever manages technology at the school. Each group has a different daily relationship with the LMS and will surface concerns that others would miss. Run structured pilots rather than relying solely on vendor demos. A demo is designed to show the platform at its best. A pilot reveals how it performs under the conditions of actual school use. Even a two-week pilot in a single classroom or grade level provides far more useful information than hours of vendor-led presentations. Finally, negotiate the contract carefully. Pay attention to data ownership clauses, exit terms, and price escalation provisions. A platform that is affordable in year one but doubles in cost by year three is not a sustainable choice. Independent schools should also confirm that they will have the ability to export all student and academic data in a standard format if they ever need to transition to a different platform in the future. ## The right LMS for independent schools is one built around your community Choosing an LMS for independent schools is not a procurement exercise. It is a decision about the kind of learning environment a school wants to create and the relationships it wants to build with families. The platform that best serves independent schools is flexible enough to honor each school’s unique identity, powerful enough to give educators real data when they need it, and simple enough that teachers and parents actually use it every day. Independent schools that take this decision seriously, by involving teachers and parents in the evaluation process, by asking hard questions about data privacy, and by testing platforms in real classrooms before committing, are the ones that end up with an independent school platform that genuinely serves their students. The schools that treat it as a quick software selection decision tend to find themselves back at the starting point within a few years, looking for a better solution. The data on parent engagement, student outcomes, and technology adoption all point to the same conclusion. The tools schools use shape the culture they create. Choose well. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What makes an LMS suitable specifically for independent schools compared to public school platforms? Public school LMS platforms are often designed for large districts with dedicated IT departments, centralized procurement, and standardized curriculum delivery. Independent schools need a platform that is easier to manage with limited staff, flexible enough to accommodate custom curricula and grading systems, and oriented toward high-touch community communication with families. A suitable private school LMS also needs to be affordable at smaller enrollment scales and transparent about data privacy in ways that build trust with engaged, informed parent communities. ### 2. How important is mobile accessibility in an LMS for independent schools? Mobile accessibility is increasingly important, particularly for parent engagement. Parents who receive grade updates, attendance alerts, and teacher messages through a mobile-friendly interface are significantly more likely to stay connected with their child’s academic progress. Students also benefit from mobile access, especially at the secondary level where homework completion and assignment tracking are most critical. Any independent school platform under evaluation should be tested on mobile devices, not just desktop browsers, before a final decision is made. ### 3. Should a small independent school invest in an LMS or use free tools instead? Free tools like Google Classroom or individual apps may seem sufficient for very small schools, but they carry hidden costs in the form of fragmentation, data privacy risk, and limited analytics capability. When a school uses five or six disconnected free tools, the administrative time spent managing those platforms, troubleshooting access issues, and manually aggregating data often exceeds the cost of a purpose-built LMS for small schools. Purpose-built platforms also offer more reliable data privacy compliance, which is a serious liability consideration for any school handling student information. ### 4. How long does it typically take to implement an LMS at an independent school? Implementation timelines vary significantly depending on school size, the complexity of data migration from previous systems, and how much customization is required. A smaller independent school with clean existing data can often be operational within four to eight weeks. Larger or more complex schools may need a full semester to implement, train staff, and onboard families properly. Rushing implementation is one of the most common reasons LMS adoptions fail. Schools should plan for a full pilot phase before expecting teachers and parents to rely on the platform for daily operations. ### 5. What metrics should independent schools track to know if their LMS is working? Beyond login counts and message delivery rates, schools should track parent response rates to teacher communications, the percentage of families who log in at least once per week during the school term, teacher satisfaction scores gathered through regular staff surveys, and whether attendance and academic outcome data shows improvement after platform adoption. Equity tracking is also essential. If engagement rates differ significantly across income levels, language backgrounds, or family situations, the platform may not be serving all families equally, and adjustments to onboarding or accessibility support will be needed. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** LMS for independent schools, private school LMS, independent school platform, LMS for small schools --- ### [Miami Weekly calls Edsby a best AI tool for teachers](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-best-ai-tool-for-teachers/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 16, 2026 **Author:** Brayden Jobb **Excerpt:** "For school districts and teachers seeking the benefits of AI without exposing sensitive student information, Edsby has emerged as a notable option," according to the article. **Content:** ### AI benefits for all teachers in a district without risking student information Edsby’s [Teacher AI Assistant](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/) is featured in an article from Miami Weekly titled “[Best AI Tools for Teachers](https://miamiweekly.com/best-ai-tools-for-teachers/).” The article identifies Edsby as a top artificial intelligence solution for K-12 education, highlighting its unique approach to secure, institutional AI adoption. > For school districts and teachers seeking the benefits of AI without exposing sensitive student information, Edsby has emerged as a notable option. The 13-year-old learning management system, used by millions of students across Canada, New Zealand, and Georgia, integrates AI within a controlled and secure environment. In addition to ensuring that all teachers in a school district benefit from access to AI tools, the article acknowledges that Edsby eliminates the data privacy risks and workflow fragmentation caused by generic, consumer-grade AI. By embedding native AI directly into everyday grading, communication, and lesson planning, Edsby keeps student data safe. Teachers remain firmly in control, using AI to draft personalized feedback while retaining final review. [Read the full article](https://miamiweekly.com/best-ai-tools-for-teachers/ "Read the full article") **Categories:** In the news **Tags:** how AI is changing K-12 education, AI in education --- ### [Teacher AI Assistant K-12: What Edsby built and why it matters](https://www.edsby.com/ai-teacher-assistant-k-12-why-it-matters/commentary/) **Published:** June 10, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Edsby built a teacher AI assistant for K-12. Here's what makes it different and why it's important. **Content:** Artificial intelligence has arrived in K-12 education with extraordinary speed and, in many cases, without much guidance. Teachers are discovering AI tools through personal experimentation, colleagues, and social media rather than through considered institutional deployment. The result is an uneven landscape where some educators are using AI effectively to reduce workload and personalize instruction, while others are using it in ways that, often accidentally, raise serious pedagogical and privacy concerns. Edsby took a different approach. Rather than leaving teachers to find and evaluate AI tools on their own, Edsby built [Teacher AI Assistant](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/) capabilities directly into its unified K-12 learning platform. ## The problem with generic AI tools in education Most AI tools currently being used in schools were not built for schools. They were built for general consumers or business users and have been adopted by educators because they are accessible and capable. This creates genuine problems that are easy to overlook in the excitement of a useful new tool. 1. **Data privacy**. When a teacher pastes student work, grades, or personal information into a general-purpose AI platform to get feedback or generate reports, that data may be used to train the AI model, stored in ways the school cannot audit, or shared with third parties under terms of service the school never reviewed. This is not a hypothetical risk. It is a documented practice for many large AI platforms, and it creates real FERPA and COPPA exposure for schools. 2. **Pedagogical alignment**. AI tools that were not designed for K-12 contexts often generate outputs not appropriate for the grade levels, curriculum standards, or institutional cultures of specific schools. A grading rubric generated by a consumer AI tool may not align with provincial or state curriculum expectations. A communication template may not reflect the school’s voice or policy requirements. 3. **Fragmentation**. When teachers use AI tools outside their core school platform, they add another disconnected tool to an already fragmented technology stack. The outputs of those tools, feedback, reports, communication drafts, and lesson materials, must then be manually transferred into the systems the school actually uses. That friction erodes adoption and wastes the time AI tools are supposed to save. 4. **Equity**. When clever teachers learn and start using AI tools, their students benefit. Students of other teachers unwilling or unable to invest in the technology may miss these advantages. ## What Edsby built into its Teacher AI Assistant Edsby’s Teacher AI Assistant capabilities are built into the platform’s existing workflows. This means AI assistance appears where teachers already work, rather than requiring them to navigate to a separate tool or context-switch between environments. - **Grading**. AI grading assistance is one of the most practically valuable features. Rather than requiring teachers to manually review and annotate every submission, the AI can provide initial feedback on written work, flag areas that meet or do not meet rubric criteria, and generate draft feedback that teachers can review, edit, and approve. This keeps the teacher in control of the evaluation while reducing the time required to process a full class set of assignments. - **Reporting**. Reporting support is another area where the [Edsby Teacher ](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/)[AI](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/) Assistant adds meaningful value. Drafting communications to families is time-consuming, particularly when those communications need to be personalized, translated, or sent at scale. The AI assistant can generate draft communications based on student data already in the system, which teachers review before sending. Because this operates within Edsby’s platform, the student data that informs these drafts never leaves the secure environment. - **Lesson planning support**. Teachers can use the AI to generate draft lesson plans, suggest differentiation strategies for specific learning needs, and identify curriculum-aligned resources. Because Edsby holds rich data about each student’s academic progress, the AI assistant can make suggestions that are genuinely personalized rather than generically applied. ![AI teacher assistant K-12](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CTA-Banner.png) ## Why building AI into the platform matters for privacy The decision to build AI classroom tools into the Edsby platform rather than integrate with external AI services has significant implications for[ data privacy](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy/commentary/). When AI capabilities are native to the platform, student data that powers those capabilities stays within the same data governance framework that governs all other student data in the system. This means the same data residency commitments apply. For Canadian schools using Edsby, student data used to power AI features remains stored in Canadian Azure data centres. The same contractual protections that prevent student data from being used commercially apply to AI processing as well. Schools do not need to evaluate a separate AI vendor’s data practices or obtain separate consent for AI data use. The governance framework is unified. This contrasts sharply with the alternative model, where schools integrate an external AI API with their existing platforms. Each external AI integration creates a new data-sharing relationship that requires its own due diligence, its own contractual terms, and its own privacy risk assessment. For district technology officers trying to maintain clear oversight of how student data is used, proliferating AI integrations create exactly the kind of governance complexity they are trying to reduce. ## What teachers experience The practical impact of the AI teacher assistant on classroom educators is measured not in features but in time. Teachers in K-12 environments face relentless administrative demands. Grading, parent communication, attendance tracking, lesson preparation, and reporting consume hours that would otherwise go to direct instruction and relationship building with students. When AI assistance is embedded in the tools teachers already use, the time savings are real and cumulative. A teacher who uses the AI grading assistant across 30 assignment submissions and then uses the AI to draft report card comments has recovered a meaningful portion of their administration time. Over a semester, these savings add up to something significant: more time for students, less time on admin. The key design principle that makes this work is that the[ AI assists rather than replaces](https://link.springer.com/journal/40593). Teachers review, edit, and approve everything the AI generates. The professional judgment of the educator remains central to every interaction. The AI handles the first draft, the initial scan, and the repetitive formatting. The teacher handles everything that requires genuine human understanding and accountability. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. How is an AI teacher assistant different from a general AI chatbot for educational use? A purpose-built AI teacher assistant for K-12 operates within the school’s existing data governance framework, aligns with curriculum standards specific to the school’s context, and integrates with the platforms teachers already use. General AI chatbots require teachers to manually transfer information between systems and may expose student data to external processing that falls outside the school’s privacy controls. ### 2. What does an AI grading assistant do? An AI grading assistant reviews student submissions against teacher-defined criteria, flags areas that meet or do not meet those criteria, and generates draft feedback comments for teacher review and approval. The teacher retains full authority over final grades and feedback. The AI handles the initial processing, reducing the time required to work through a full class set of assignments. ### 3. Are there privacy risks when using AI tools for teachers? There are significant privacy risks when teachers use general-purpose AI tools that are not integrated into the school’s managed technology environment. When student data is entered into external AI platforms, it may be used for model training, stored outside the school’s jurisdiction, or shared with third parties. AI tools built into a school’s managed platform, like Edsby’s, avoid these risks by processing data within the same environment and under the same governance rules as all other student data they are charged with managing. ### 4. Can AI classroom tools help with differentiating instruction? Yes. AI tools that have access to a student’s academic profile, including performance trends, learning preferences, and prior achievement data, can suggest differentiation strategies that are tailored to individual students. This is meaningfully different from generic differentiation advice because it is based on actual data about the specific learner rather than generalizations. ### 5. How should districts evaluate AI teacher assistant tools before deployment? Districts should evaluate AI teacher assistant tools on three dimensions: data privacy and governance, including where student data goes and how it is used; pedagogical alignment, meaning whether outputs are appropriate for the curriculum and grade levels served; and integration, whether the tool works within existing workflows or adds fragmentation. Vendors should provide clear contractual commitments on all three dimensions before any deployment involving student data. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** AI teacher assistant K-12, AI tools for teachers, AI grading assistant, AI classroom tools --- ### [The 2026 Edsby Enthusiast of the Year prefers to remain a mystery](https://www.edsby.com/2026-edsby-enthusiast-of-the-year-a-mystery/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 12, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The 2026 Edsby Enthusiast of the Year is an IT Manager who'd rather stay anonymous. Here's what she contributed, and what she wants you to know. **Content:** Every year, the [Edsby Enthusiasts](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-enthusiasts/) program recognizes a member who most exemplified what the program is all about: sharing knowledge generously, contributing to the community, and helping fellow educators and IT professionals see what’s possible with the [Edsby digital learning platform for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/). This year’s Enthusiast of the Year is an IT Manager at an Edsby K‑12 customer who, in keeping with her values around digital privacy, has asked to remain unidentified. We thought about it. And we decided we could respect that. After all, the Enthusiasts program has always been about what people contribute, not some spotlight they need to stand in. So, no headshot. No employer named. No LinkedIn profile to click through to. Just the story of someone who did exceptional work on behalf of fellow Edsby users this past year, and who we think deserves recognition, even if anonymously. ### **The Work Speaks for Itself** Our 2026 Enthusiast of the Year is an IT Manager who has been working in K‑12 education technology for years and has developed a deep, practical understanding of what it takes to deploy and sustain a learning platform at scale. She’s the kind of person people turn to when something isn’t working — and the kind who actually writes back. Throughout 2025 and into 2026, she was among the most active contributors to the Edsby Enthusiasts community. She joined behind-the-scenes product preview webinars. She posted public reviews. She answered questions from peers at other organizations. She completed surveys and provided product feedback that made its way directly into Edsby’s development discussions. She shared pictures, lots of pictures, of the Edsby robot/alien mascot in unusual places. She referred colleagues to Edsby when it came up in conversation — not because she was specifically asked to, but because she genuinely believed it was the right tool for the job. In a program of hundreds of members, that level of consistent, substantive participation stands out. ## Our Enthusiast of The Year likes to take pictures of Edsby in food. Why? You'd have to ask her. - [ ![Fritters and Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/roster-19-dec-2025-150x150.jpg "roster-19-dec-2025")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/roster-19-dec-2025-768x1024.jpg) - [ ![Tin can of Tetley tea with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/roster-19-dec-2025-2-150x150.jpg "roster-19-dec-2025-2")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/roster-19-dec-2025-2-768x1024.jpg) - [ ![Roast and Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Edsby-Roaster-jan-2026-150x150.jpg "Edsby-Roaster-jan-2026")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Edsby-Roaster-jan-2026-1024x768.jpg) ### **In Her Own Words** We asked our 2026 Enthusiast of the Year a few questions. She generously agreed to let us share her responses here. **Q: What do you most enjoy about being an Edsby Enthusiast?** **A:** Being part of a community of people who actually care about getting this right. K‑12 IT is its own world — the stakes are different, the constraints are different—we always have to do more with less than the corporate world—and vendors don’t always get that. Being an Enthusiast has given me a way to connect with people who understand what it means to support teachers and students rather than just manage a system. That’s been valuable. **Q: What’s one thing you’d want other IT professionals to know about Edsby?** **A:** That Edsby was clearly built for K‑12 and only K‑12, and you can feel that in how it works. It’s not a corporate LMS that someone bolted a gradebook onto. The workflows make sense. The way it handles parents makes sense. The user roles make sense. When something is designed for your specific context, it saves you a lot of time explaining workarounds to your staff. **Q: What would you say to other IT Managers or educators thinking about joining the Edsby Enthusiasts program?** **A:** Do it. You don’t have to be a social media person or a conference speaker or any of that. You just have to care about Edsby and be willing to share what you know. I’m a fairly private person and I’ve still found it worthwhile — and I’ve gotten as much out of it as I’ve put in. That’s not always how these things go. ### **A Note on the Program** The Edsby Enthusiasts program exists because word of mouth is how good ideas spread — and because the people with the most credible things to say about Edsby are the people who use it every day. Our 2026 winner is a reminder that the program has room for all kinds of contributors. You don’t need to want the spotlight. You don’t need to be active on every social platform or comfortable on camera. You just need to be willing to share what you know with people who could benefit from it. If that sounds like you, [the program is open](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-enthusiasts/). It takes about 30 seconds to sign up. To our 2026 Edsby Enthusiast of the Year: you know who you are! Thank you for everything you contributed this past year. We’re glad you’re in the community. Even if the community doesn’t know your name. [Become an Edsby Enthusiast](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-enthusiasts/) **Categories:** In the news **Tags:** education management software, best online learning platform, education technology platform integration, edsby enthusiasts --- ### [IT Director Matthew David on Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/crestwood-matthew-david/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 13, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** In a one minute video, this IT Director describes four big reasons his private school has been using Edsby over a decade. **Content:** Matthew David has worked in the private education field for over 20 years. He’s IT Director at Crestwood Preparatory College, which has been [using Edsby since 2014](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-crestwood-preparatory-college/customers/). Matthew led Crestwood in selecting Edsby after a thorough evaluation of learning management systems. All the school’s students, their parents and educators are on the system. In a one-and-a-half minute video below, Matthew describes how his school uses Edsby as official attendance system and gradebook. And how students and parents, and teachers, benefit from Edsby’s calendaring functions that pull in the official school schedule in addition to special events, and events from school sports teams and clubs. > “Attendance has been amazing for us in Edsby. It’s made grade-keeping a breeze. It’s given homes for all of our teams and clubs. Students know at a glance when their test are, when their team has a practice and any special school events.” ### 2025 Enthusiast of the Year Matthew was 2025’s Edsby Enthusiast of the Year, the leading advocate among hundreds in the [Edsby Enthusiasts](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-enthusiasts/) program for professionals sharing the great things they’re doing with Edsby. Matthew’s contributions—from insightful community posts to creative video testimonials—inspired his fellow IT leaders and educators across K-12. We caught up with Matthew to hear about his experience, his hobbies (including axe throwing!), and why he recommends the Enthusiasts program. **Q: Matthew, congratulations on being named the 2025 Edsby Enthusiast of the Year! How does it feel to receive this honor? A:** I am honoured to be named the 2025 *Edsby Enthusiast of the Year.* It feels great to be recognized for my efforts in our Edsby Enthusiasts community. **Q: You’ve done an amazing job as an Edsby Enthusiast! What do you enjoy most about being part of the program? A:** What I enjoy most is the opportunity to connect with educators and IT professionals to share ideas and best practices. It’s a great way to learn and contribute at the same time. **Q: As an IT Director, you’re no doubt a busy guy! How do you relax and unwind outside of work? A:** Balancing my role with personal time is crucial. I like to unwind with long walks, reading, and watching movies with friends. These activities help me recharge and stay creative in my work. **Q: You mentioned on the Enthusiasts portal that you were in a competitive axe throwing league! Any memorable stories? A:** Definitely! One of the funniest moments was when I accidentally hit a bullseye during a friendly match. It might not seem related to IT, but both require focus and precision—whether you’re aiming at a target or troubleshooting a tech issue! **Q: Finally, what would you say to other IT Directors or educators thinking about joining the Edsby Enthusiasts program? A:** I absolutely recommend it. It’s a great way to showcase your passion for Edsby and help others see what’s possible. The community is supportive, innovative, and always looking to grow. [Become an Edsby Enthusiast](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-enthusiasts/) **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Georgia stands up national Edsby learning platform for 600,000 students](https://www.edsby.com/georgia-national-learning-platform-600000-students/customers/) **Published:** May 29, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Inside a World Bank-supported project to connect every public school, teacher and family on the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12. **Content:** ## *Inside a World Bank-supported project to connect every public school, teacher and family on Edsby* Most countries that set out to modernize K-12 technology end up with a digital patchwork of district decisions, overlapping vendors and data that lives in multiple places. Georgia is taking the smarter path. The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth (MESY) is rolling out a single learning platform for every public school in the country, procured nationally, integrated into the country’s information systems, and delivered as part of a broader reform program rather than as a standalone IT project. The platform is Edsby, built by a Canadian K-12 software firm whose technology already operates at national scale for New Zealand’s 800,000 learners. Edsby was selected by MESY in October 2024 through a competitive selection process run under World Bank procurement rules and is being delivered in country with Tbilisi-based technology integrator Orient Logic. ### Reach already exceeds the original target By mid-2025, 304,893 students had access to improved learning environments in I2Q-supported schools, against an original closing target of 116,000. The 200-school STEAM extracurricular program that runs alongside the LMS work is now fully implemented. Independent project surveys show 74 percent of parents satisfied with their engagement in school improvement, against an original target of 30 percent. These numbers describe the schools, teachers and families now coming onto the platform. The Ministry is not introducing Edsby into a vacuum. It is plugging it into an education system that has already been investing in connectivity, equipment and teacher capacity for several years. > #### “Two national governments on opposite sides of the world have now chosen Edsby for their entire K-12 system, and Georgia’s procurement was the most rigorous we have ever been through.” – John Myers, CEO, Edsby ### Built for Georgia, integrated with Georgian systems Edsby and Orient Logic have localized the platform for the Georgian language, the national curriculum, and the gradebook, attendance and reporting practices that Georgian schools use. The system runs on Microsoft Azure with regional data residency, and Edsby is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022, the international standard for information security management. Equally important is what the LMS connects to. It is designed to interoperate with Georgia’s Education Management Information System and the e-School platform that MESY is upgrading in parallel under the same I2Q component. The intent is a coherent national stack in which student records, school operations and day-to-day teaching and learning flow through systems that talk to each other, rather than parallel silos that each school must reconcile by hand. ### From preview to live classrooms MESY brought sixty hand-picked school leaders from across the country to Tbilisi in mid-2025 for a preview of the platform. Family engagement and teacher capacity-building drew the strongest response. The first wave of Georgian public schools came onto Edsby in live classroom use shortly after, with subsequent waves now being onboarded in stages alongside teacher training, parent onboarding and in-country support coordinated by Orient Logic. ![Edsby in Georgian](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/image-d844edde-afa0-461b-a31b-1af18a640a77.png)Georgia’s 2,400+ public schools are now being connected to a single national learning platform under the MESY-led I2Q program.### Part of a US$102.7M reform The contract sits inside Georgia’s Innovation, Inclusion and Quality (I2Q) Project, the country’s flagship general-education reform. I2Q is financed by a US$102.7 million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan to Georgia (IBRD-89550), implemented by MESY together with the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia. Component 2, which funds general education and includes the LMS, is the largest line of work in the program at US$91.3 million. In its July 2025 Implementation Status and Results Report, the World Bank rated progress toward the project’s development objectives as Satisfactory. As of that report, 64.94 percent of the loan had been disbursed, and the project’s closing date had been extended by one year to March 2027 following a restructuring approved by the Bank in late 2024 and ratified by the Parliament of Georgia in February 2025. The development objectives themselves did not change. The extension simply gives schools and the Ministry the runway to absorb the LMS, the parallel e-School system upgrade, new Grade 10 national assessments and ongoing school rehabilitation work without compressing the timeline. ### What this means for Georgia A national LMS is not, by itself, an outcome. It is a piece of public infrastructure. Its value to a country depends on what gets built with it: better teaching, better feedback to families, better data for principals and policymakers, better continuity for students who move between schools or regions. Georgia is putting that infrastructure in place once, for the whole country, under a procurement framework that withstands scrutiny. When I2Q closes in March 2027, the goal is for Edsby to be the everyday digital environment of Georgian K-12 education: connected to the country’s information systems, aligned to its curriculum and assessment policies, and operating at national scale like Edsby’s New Zealand deployment that has run on the same platform for years. In Georgia, the infrastructure is in. Schools are coming online. The work of using it well is now underway. **Categories:** Customers **Tags:** educational digital platforms, Learning management system, K-12 administration problems --- ### [LMS for independent schools: What to look for?](https://www.edsby.com/what-independent-schools-should-look-for-in-a-lms/commentary/) **Published:** April 24, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** What to look for in an LMS built for independent schools. **Content:** Independent schools operate in a world of their own. They answer to boards, not bureaucracies. They build culture deliberately, enroll selectively, and hold themselves to standards that go well beyond standardized test scores. Their technology choices, especially when it comes to a learning management system, need to reflect that distinctiveness. A generic platform built for large public school districts or sprawling universities will rarely serve them well. Choosing the right LMS for independent schools is not just a procurement decision. It is a statement about how a school values teaching, learning, and community. The right platform should reduce administrative friction, support the school’s academic philosophy, and give teachers the tools they need without forcing them to adapt to software logic that doesn’t match how they teach. This blog walks through the most important factors independent school leaders, curriculum directors, and IT administrators should evaluate when selecting a learning management system. ## Why independent schools have unique LMS needs Most LMS platforms on the market were designed with scale in mind. They were built to serve tens of thousands of students across hundreds of campuses, with features driven by the demands of state compliance, federal reporting, and mass standardization. Independent schools sit at the other end of the spectrum. They are typically smaller, more nimble, and deeply values-driven. Their needs are specific, not standardized. A private school LMS must be able to support the school’s particular curriculum model, whether that is project-based learning, Montessori, classical education, International Baccalaureate, or a fully custom framework. It should accommodate small class sizes without creating licensing overhead that makes no financial sense. It should integrate with the school’s existing [student information system, communication tools, and parent engagement platforms](https://www.edsby.com/). And it should be easy enough for faculty to actually use, without requiring a dedicated IT team to manage day-to-day operations. Understanding these distinctions is the first step. The second is knowing exactly what to look for when evaluating your options. [![school district data dashboard](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Ease of use for teachers and students No matter how feature-rich a platform is, it will only succeed if the people using it find it intuitive. This is especially true in independent schools, where faculty often wear multiple hats and have limited time for technology training. Teachers should be able to build a course, upload materials, create assignments, and communicate with students without consulting a manual. The same principle applies to students. From early secondary through upper school, learners benefit from a clean, navigable interface that makes it easy to find what is due, access resources, and submit work. Complexity creates friction, and friction erodes engagement. When evaluating an LMS, ask vendors for a live demonstration using real teacher and student workflows. Pay attention to how many clicks it takes to complete a basic task. Request a trial period and let several teachers across different departments test the system before committing. Their feedback will be more reliable than any feature checklist. ## Curriculum flexibility and customization One of the defining characteristics of independent schools is their commitment to a distinctive curriculum. Many schools have built instructional frameworks over decades, and any LMS they adopt must be flexible enough to support that work rather than constrain it. This means the platform should allow teachers to structure course content in ways that match how they actually teach. It should support varied content types including readings, videos, discussions, projects, and assessments without forcing a rigid format. Grading and assessment tools should accommodate non-traditional approaches such as portfolio-based evaluation, narrative comments, and competency-based progression. The best LMS for small schools is one that adapts to the school’s approach, not the other way around. Look for platforms that offer modular design, open content architecture, and customizable rubrics. If a school uses a particular grading philosophy, the LMS should be able to reflect that accurately and clearly to students, parents, and advisors. ## Integration with existing school systems Independent schools typically use a combination of tools to manage operations. There may be a student information system for enrollment and records, a separate communication platform for parent outreach, a library management system, a finance tool, and various third-party educational applications. The LMS needs to connect cleanly with these systems. Poor integration creates duplicate data entry, inconsistent records, and frustrated staff. Good integration means that a student added to the SIS automatically appears in the correct LMS courses, that grade data flows accurately without manual exports, and that parent communication tools can pull relevant information from the learning platform when needed. Before selecting a platform, map out every system the school currently uses and ask each LMS vendor directly how their platform connects with those tools. Look for support for open standards like LTI and APIs that allow flexible connections. Independent school software that exists in isolation from the rest of the school’s technology stack will create more problems than it solves. ## Robust communication and community features Learning does not happen in isolation, and neither does community. Independent schools often pride themselves on the quality of relationships between students, teachers, and families. The LMS should support that relational culture, not flatten it. Look for platforms that include: - Direct messaging between teachers and students - Announcement and notification tools that reach both students and parents - Discussion boards and collaborative spaces that encourage peer engagement - Progress visibility tools that allow parents to stay informed without micromanaging Parent engagement is especially important at the independent school level. Families who pay tuition expect transparency, communication, and partnership. An LMS that gives parents appropriate visibility into their child’s coursework, assignments, and feedback reinforces the school’s commitment to that relationship. This is a feature area where many platforms built for public schools fall significantly short. ## Data privacy and security Independent schools hold sensitive student data, and they have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect it. This is non-negotiable. Any LMS under consideration must comply with FERPA regulations and, depending on the age of students served, COPPA requirements as well. Ask vendors direct questions about where data is stored, who has access to it, and how it is encrypted. Understand what happens to student data if the school ends its contract. Review the vendor’s data processing agreements and ensure they align with the school’s obligations to families. Schools that serve international families or participate in international programs should also be aware of GDPR considerations. As [research by the Future of Privacy Forum](https://fpf.org/blog/student-privacy-at-the-intersection-of-ed-tech/) has documented, educational technology platforms vary widely in their data practices, and schools must do their due diligence before signing any agreement. You can review relevant findings here: Student Privacy and Ed Tech: Research from the Future of Privacy Forum Security is not just about compliance. It is about trust. Families choose independent schools partly because of the quality of care they expect. That care must extend to how student information is handled. ## Scalability and pricing that makes sense for smaller schools Most independent schools are small by design. A school with 300 students has very different technology economics than a district with 30,000. Many LMS platforms price by user, which can make costs unpredictable as enrollment shifts. Others charge flat institutional rates that may be reasonable for large institutions but disproportionate for smaller ones. When evaluating cost, look beyond the base license fee. Ask about: - Onboarding and implementation costs - Training and ongoing support fees - Costs for integrations or add-on modules - Annual price escalation terms - What happens if enrollment decreases The best LMS for small schools will offer pricing structures that reflect the realities of independent school budgets. Some vendors have specific tiers or products designed for smaller institutions, and these are worth exploring carefully. A lower price point should not come at the expense of core functionality, but there is no reason to pay for scale you do not need. ## Support, onboarding, and professional development Technology adoption in schools rises or falls based on how well educators are supported through the transition. Even the most intuitive LMS will face resistance if faculty feel unprepared or unsupported. When evaluating vendors, the quality of their implementation and ongoing support should be weighted heavily. Look for vendors who offer structured onboarding programs, not just documentation libraries. Ask whether a dedicated implementation consultant will be assigned to the school or whether support is handled through a generic ticketing system. Find out what training resources are available for new teachers who join after the initial rollout. Ask about the average response time for support requests and what channels are available, including phone, chat, and email. Independent schools often make decisions as a community, and the LMS adoption process should reflect that. Seek vendors who are willing to engage with department heads, IT staff, and faculty representatives during the evaluation and onboarding process, not just with administrators. ## Reporting and analytics for school leaders School administrators need visibility into how the LMS is being used and what it reveals about student learning. Reporting tools should make it easy to track course completion, assignment submission rates, assessment performance, and engagement patterns. These insights help academic deans identify students who may be struggling, inform professional development priorities, and support accreditation documentation. A private school LMS with strong analytics gives leadership meaningful data without requiring advanced technical skills to interpret. Dashboards should be clean, customizable, and exportable. Reports should be available at the individual student level, the course level, and the whole-school level. Accreditation bodies increasingly expect schools to demonstrate how they use data to improve instruction. An LMS with thoughtful reporting tools makes that process significantly more manageable. ## Mobile accessibility and offline capability Students and teachers access learning resources across many contexts. Some students do coursework at home on a laptop. Others use a tablet on a commute or access materials on a phone between classes. Teachers may want to review submissions or respond to messages outside of school hours without being tied to a desktop computer. Mobile accessibility is no longer optional. Any LMS under consideration should offer a fully functional mobile experience, either through a responsive web interface or a dedicated application. The mobile experience should support all core tasks, including accessing content, submitting assignments, participating in discussions, and viewing grades. For schools that serve students in areas with inconsistent internet access, offline capability adds further value. Some platforms allow content to be downloaded for offline viewing and sync progress when connectivity is restored. This kind of thoughtful design reflects how students actually live and learn. ## Making the final decision Selecting an LMS is a significant commitment. The platform will shape how teachers build courses, how students experience learning, and how families engage with the school’s academic life. Getting it right requires a structured evaluation process that goes beyond feature lists and sales demos. Involve multiple stakeholders in the decision. Create a cross-functional evaluation committee that includes teachers, IT staff, administrators, and ideally a student representative. Define your school’s non-negotiable requirements before speaking with any vendor. Use those requirements to eliminate platforms that clearly do not fit, then conduct structured pilots with two or three finalists. Reference checks matter. Speak with other independent schools using each platform and ask honest questions about what works and what does not. Find schools of similar size, mission, and academic model to ensure the comparison is meaningful. The right independent school software will feel like it was built with your school in mind. It will reduce the administrative burden on teachers, increase engagement among students, and support the kind of learning community your school exists to create. That alignment between platform and purpose is what distinguishes a great LMS choice from a costly mistake. ## Final takeaway Independent schools deserve learning management systems that honor their distinctiveness. The evaluation process takes time and discipline, but the investment pays off in a platform that genuinely serves the school’s mission. From curriculum flexibility and data privacy to parent communication and pricing, every factor discussed in this blog deserves careful consideration before a decision is made. The right LMS for independent schools is not necessarily the most popular or the most expensive. It is the one that fits how your school teaches, what your students need, and how your community connects. Start with clarity about your school’s values and requirements, and let that clarity guide every conversation with vendors. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is the difference between an LMS built for independent schools versus one for public schools? Independent school LMS platforms are typically designed with curriculum flexibility, smaller class sizes, and family engagement in mind. Public school platforms often prioritize compliance reporting and large-scale administration. Independent schools benefit most from systems that support non-traditional grading, close community communication, and customizable course structures. ### 2. How many students do you need to justify investing in a dedicated LMS? Even schools with fewer than 200 students benefit from a well-chosen LMS. It reduces administrative workload, centralizes communication, and creates a consistent experience for students and parents. Many vendors offer pricing tiers specifically for smaller institutions, making it financially accessible regardless of enrollment size. ### 3. Can a small independent school manage an LMS without a dedicated IT department? Yes, provided the platform is designed for ease of use. Many LMS platforms built for independent or private schools offer managed hosting, straightforward administration tools, and responsive vendor support that removes the need for in-house technical expertise beyond basic digital literacy. ### 4. How long does it typically take to implement a new LMS at an independent school? Implementation timelines vary based on the platform’s complexity and the school’s readiness. A straightforward deployment with data migration and faculty training typically takes between six and twelve weeks. Schools that plan a phased rollout over a full academic year often report smoother adoption and higher long-term usage rates. ### 5. What questions should we ask an LMS vendor before signing a contract? Key questions include: How is student data stored and protected? What are the total costs including implementation, training, and integrations? How does the platform handle grade migration from our current system? What does the onboarding process look like? Can we speak with reference schools of similar size and mission? What happens to our data if we end the contract? **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** LMS for independent schools, private school LMS, best LMS for small schools, independent school software --- ### [5 things that make the best online gradebook for teachers in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/5-things-that-make-the-best-online-gradebook-for-teachers-in-k12/commentary/) **Published:** May 18, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** 5 things that separate the best online gradebook for teachers from average tools in K-12. **Content:** Grading is one of the most consequential and time-consuming tasks in a teacher’s professional life. The records maintained in a gradebook are not just administrative conveniences. They are the formal documentation of student learning, the basis for family communication, the foundation of report cards, and in many cases, the evidence base for intervention decisions. A poorly designed digital gradebook wastes teacher time, creates reporting errors, and obscures the student data that educators need to support learners effectively. The best online gradebook for teachers in K-12 is not simply a digital version of a paper gradebook. It is an integrated assessment and communication tool that makes student progress visible, actionable, and shareable with the families and colleagues who need it. This article examines five qualities that separate genuinely excellent [digital gradebook software from tools](https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computers-and-education) that are merely adequate. ## 1. Real-time data that is visible to families and teachers simultaneously The most fundamental limitation of paper-based and disconnected digital gradebooks is the delay between when a grade is recorded and when it becomes useful to everyone who needs it. In a traditional model, a parent might wait weeks between report card cycles to see how their child is progressing. A teacher in a team may not know what a colleague has recorded until a meeting. These delays are not just inconvenient. They represent lost opportunities for timely intervention. The best online gradebook for teachers provides real-time grade visibility that is accessible to parents through a family portal, visible to support staff who work with specific students, and available to the teacher on any device at any time. When a student’s grade on a recent assessment drops below a threshold that warrants concern, both the teacher and the family can see that signal immediately, rather than discovering it at a conference weeks later. Real-time visibility also changes the quality of parent-teacher communication. Instead of discussing general impressions, teachers and families can have specific conversations grounded in current data. This shifts the conversation from subjective to evidence-based and makes it far more likely to result in actionable support for the student. ## 2. Alignment with provincial and state curriculum reporting standards A teacher grade tracking system that does not align with the curriculum reporting requirements of the teacher’s jurisdiction creates work rather than reducing it. This is one of the most common failure modes of US-built gradebook tools deployed in Canadian schools. The gradebook’s built-in structures assume a standards-referenced grading model that may not match the provincial achievement reporting model the teacher is required to use. In Ontario, for example, teachers report achievement using the province’s achievement chart, which assesses student performance across four categories: knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, and application. A gradebook that cannot accommodate this structure forces teachers to maintain parallel records or manually translate gradebook data into provincial reporting formats. Neither option is acceptable at scale. The [best digital gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) software is configurable to match the specific reporting requirements of the jurisdiction in which it is deployed. For Canadian school boards, this means not just the ability to enter percentage grades but the ability to structure assessments according to provincial curriculum category weightings and to generate reports that match provincial templates. Vendors who have done this work properly will have existing, tested configurations for each provincial framework. Those who have not will offer vague assurances that the gradebook is ‘flexible.’ ## 3. Seamless integration with SIS and communication tools A digital gradebook that operates in isolation from the rest of the school’s information systems is a significant source of administrative friction. When grades recorded in the gradebook must be manually transferred to the student information system for official reporting, every transfer step introduces potential for error and consumes teacher time. The best online gradebook for teachers is integrated natively with the SIS so that grade data flows automatically into the official record without re-entry. Integration with communication tools is equally important. When a teacher records a grade that warrants a family conversation, the best gradebook platforms enable that communication directly from the grade entry interface. Instead of recording a grade, switching to a messaging platform, finding the parent contact, and drafting a message, the teacher can initiate the communication from within the grading workflow itself. This kind of integration reduces context-switching and makes follow-through on important communications more likely. The SIS integration also enables the gradebook to pre-populate with enrollment data automatically, eliminating the need for manual class setup at the beginning of each term. When students join or leave a class, the change is reflected in the gradebook automatically. These operational efficiencies may seem small in isolation, but collectively represent significant time savings across a school year. [![online gradebook for teachers ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 4. Support for diverse assessment types and learning evidence Modern K-12 pedagogy recognizes that student learning is demonstrated through a wider range of evidence than traditional tests and written assignments. Performance-based assessments, project work, portfolio evidence, oral evaluations, and observation notes are all valid forms of learning evidence that a professional teacher grade tracking system should be able to accommodate. Grading tools for K-12 that only support numerical grades assigned to discrete tasks are not adequate for contemporary assessment practice. The best digital gradebook software allows teachers to record observation notes, attach evidence such as photographs of project work, document assessment conversations, and weigh different forms of evidence according to the school’s assessment policy. This flexibility is what makes the gradebook a genuine professional tool rather than a data entry form. The gradebook should also support comment-based feedback in addition to numerical or letter grades. Research consistently demonstrates that specific, actionable written feedback is more effective for student learning than grades alone. A gradebook that enables teachers to attach feedback comments to assessments, and that makes those comments visible to students and families through the platform’s portal, extends the value of the grading process beyond a simple score. ## 5. Privacy-compliant data handling and audit capability The grade data held in a digital gradebook is among the most [sensitive student data](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/) a school system manages. It documents a child’s academic performance over years of schooling and carries implications for post-secondary opportunity, social identity, and family relationships. The handling of this data must meet the highest standards of privacy protection. Privacy-compliant digital gradebook software provides clear data ownership documentation confirming that the school or district owns the grade data and the vendor has no right to use it commercially. It provides audit logs that show who accessed grade records and when. It stores data within the jurisdiction’s boundaries for schools with data residency requirements. And it provides breach notification protocols that ensure the school can meet its regulatory notification obligations if an incident occurs. ## Final takeaway These requirements are not optional. Schools that deploy gradebook software without verifying these protections take on compliance risk under FERPA, COPPA, and provincial privacy legislation. The best grading tools for K-12 make their data governance practices explicit and verifiable rather than burying them in fine print. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is the most important feature of an online gradebook for teachers in Canadian schools? Provincial curriculum alignment is the most important functional requirement for Canadian schools. A gradebook that cannot be configured to match the specific achievement reporting model of the teacher’s province forces teachers to maintain parallel records and manually produce compliant reports. Boards should verify that any gradebook they consider has existing, tested configurations for their specific provincial curriculum framework before selection. ### 2. How does a digital gradebook with family portal access improve parent engagement? Real-time grade visibility through a family portal changes the quality of school-home communication from periodic and reactive to continuous and evidence-based. Parents who can see their child’s current performance at any time are more likely to initiate contact early when they notice a concerning trend, rather than waiting for a report card or conference to discover a problem that has been developing for weeks. ### 3. What is the difference between a gradebook and a student information system? A gradebook is the tool teachers use to record and manage assessment data for individual classes. A student information system is the district-level platform that maintains official student records, including enrollment, attendance, and cumulative academic history. The best practice is for gradebook data to integrate automatically with the SIS so that official records are updated without manual transfer. When these systems are disconnected, teachers must re-enter data manually, creating inefficiency and error risk. ### 4. Can a digital gradebook support performance-based and portfolio assessment? The best digital gradebook platforms do support diverse assessment types including observation notes, attached evidence such as photographs or documents, oral assessment records, and portfolio evidence. Not all gradebook tools have this capability. Schools using competency-based or portfolio assessment approaches should verify that the gradebook they select can accommodate these evidence types before deployment. ### 5. What questions should a school ask about data privacy when selecting an online gradebook? Schools should ask: Who owns the grade data, and is that ownership documented in the contract? Where is the data stored, and does that location meet any applicable data residency requirements? Can the vendor use grade data for any commercial purpose, including AI model training or product development? What audit capabilities does the platform provide to show who accessed student records and when? What is the breach notification process if an incident occurs? **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** grading tools K-12, teacher grade tracking system, online gradebook for teachers, digital gradebook software --- ### [Student data privacy in LMS: What K-12 schools need to look for](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/) **Published:** April 29, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** What does student data privacy in LMS actually require? Here is what schools must know. **Content:** When a school district selects a learning management system, the conversation almost always starts with features. Does it have a gradebook? Can teachers post assignments? Does it support video content? These are reasonable questions, but they overlook what may be the most consequential dimension of any LMS selection: how the platform handles student data privacy. Data privacy has emerged as a major concern, especially, after [Canvas May 2026 data breach](https://educationintel.substack.com/p/the-contestability-window). Student data privacy in LMS environments is not a compliance checkbox. It is a fundamental obligation that schools owe to every family they serve. The legal frameworks governing how student data can be collected, used, and shared are detailed and consequential. Violations carry real penalties. More importantly, trust violations carry costs that no regulation can fully quantify. Understanding what to look for in an LMS from a data privacy standpoint is essential knowledge for every [K-12 administrator and technology](https://www.solaresearch.org/publications/journal-of-learning-analytics/) director. ## Why student data privacy in LMS matters more than ever The shift to digital learning environments has dramatically expanded the volume of data that schools collect about students. Every login, assignment submission, quiz result, and reading behavior generates data. [Modern LMS platforms](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) can capture detailed behavioral and academic profiles that go far beyond what a paper gradebook ever recorded. This creates genuine educational value when used responsibly. It creates serious privacy risks when it is not. A report from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps used in schools share student information with third parties. Yet 86% of the schools surveyed lacked any mechanism for obtaining parental consent before deploying technology that shares student data. These numbers point to a systemic gap between the privacy obligations schools have under law and what is actually happening in practice. When parents discover that platforms deployed by their child’s school are sharing sensitive student data without their knowledge, trust collapses. That collapse extends not just to the specific app in question but to the school’s entire digital infrastructure. Rebuilding it is slow and difficult. Prevention is far less costly. [![student data privacy](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Key student data privacy laws every school must understand Three major regulatory frameworks shape what FERPA-compliant LMS and other school software must do. Understanding each of them is essential before evaluating any platform. FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is the foundational federal law governing student education records in the United States. It gives parents the right to access their children’s education records, request corrections, and control disclosure of those records to third parties. Schools must have written consent before disclosing personally identifiable information from education records, with limited exceptions. Any LMS that shares student data with third parties without proper contractual protections is a potential FERPA violation. COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, applies to online services directed at children under 13. It requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from these children. Schools acting as intermediaries between students and online platforms can provide consent on behalf of parents under certain conditions, but only when the platform is used strictly for educational purposes, and the school maintains direct control over the data. COPPA school software must not use data collected from children for commercial purposes, including targeted advertising. GDPR education compliance applies to any school or platform serving students in the European Union, as well as to platforms used by EU residents, regardless of where the platform is based. GDPR imposes strict requirements on data minimization, purpose limitation, data subject rights, and breach notification. For Canadian schools, PIPEDA and provincial privacy laws such as PHIPA in Ontario and similar legislation in British Columbia add another layer of obligations. ## What to look for in an LMS from a student data privacy standpoint Evaluating[ student data privacy in LMS platforms](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy/commentary/) requires looking beyond marketing claims. Vendors frequently use phrases like ‘privacy-first’ or ‘secure by design’ without providing the specific contractual and technical evidence that would substantiate those claims. A rigorous evaluation should examine the following areas. Data ownership and use restrictions are the starting point. The contract between the district and the LMS vendor must clearly state that the district owns the student data, that the vendor may only use it to provide the contracted educational services, and that the vendor may not sell or use student data for advertising, analytics product development, or any commercial purpose. Any ambiguity in this language is a red flag. Third-party sharing practices require specific scrutiny. Even if the primary LMS vendor has strong privacy practices, many platforms integrate with third-party tools that may not. Districts should request a complete list of every third party that the LMS shares data with, the purpose of each sharing relationship, and the contractual terms governing each. Data residency and hosting location matter particularly for Canadian schools. Student data stored on servers outside Canada may be subject to foreign government access under laws such as the US PATRIOT Act and CLOUD Act. Many Canadian school boards specifically require that student data be hosted within Canada. Districts should verify not just where data is stored at rest but also where it travels during processing and backup. Breach notification procedures are a critical but often overlooked element. FERPA requires schools to notify affected families of unauthorized disclosures. GDPR requires notification to supervisory authorities within 72 hours. An LMS vendor contract should specify exactly what the vendor will do and within what timeframe if a breach occurs, including notifying the district so it can fulfill its own notification obligations. ## Red flags in LMS data privacy practices Some warning signs in LMS data privacy practices are obvious. Others require careful reading of contracts and technical documentation. The following patterns should give any district pause before signing a vendor agreement. Vague data use language in contracts is the most common red flag. Phrases like ‘we may use aggregated and de-identified data to improve our services’ can mask practices that effectively profile students across multiple districts. True de-identification is technically difficult to achieve, and research has repeatedly demonstrated that supposedly anonymized data sets can be re-identified. The absence of a Data Processing Agreement or School Service Provider Agreement is another warning sign. Reputable vendors proactively offer these agreements as evidence of their commitment to privacy standards. A vendor that resists providing one is a vendor that has not invested seriously in compliance. Platforms that route data through advertising networks, even for analytics purposes, should be disqualified for K-12 use. Student behavioral data is among the most sensitive data categories, and any exposure to advertising infrastructure creates risks that no educational benefit can justify. ## How Edsby approaches student data privacy [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) was built with student data privacy as a design principle rather than an afterthought. The platform stores Canadian school data in Canada, using Microsoft Azure’s Canadian data centres to ensure compliance with provincial and national data residency requirements. This addresses one of the most persistent concerns for Canadian school boards: that data held by US-based vendors is potentially accessible to US law enforcement under federal legislation. Edsby does not use student data for advertising, does not share student information with third-party advertising networks, and limits data sharing to the specific educational purposes outlined in its school service provider agreements. The platform’s architecture is designed to give districts clear visibility into what data is collected and how it is used. For a detailed academic review of student data privacy issues in educational technology, see the research published in the Journal of Learning Analytics: Student data privacy and educational technology. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What does FERPA require from a school’s LMS vendor? FERPA requires that any vendor handling student education records serve as a ‘school official’ under a legitimate educational interest, use the data only for the educational purposes specified by the school, and not share or sell student data to third parties. The contract between the school and the vendor must explicitly establish these obligations. ### 2. How is COPPA different from FERPA in school technology contexts? FERPA governs education records broadly and applies to students of all ages. COPPA specifically regulates online services directed at children under 13 and requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information. Schools can provide consent on behalf of parents for educational tools, but only when those tools are used strictly for educational purposes with no commercial data use. ### 3. Why does data hosting location matter for Canadian schools? Student data stored on servers outside Canada may be subject to access by foreign governments under laws such as the US PATRIOT Act and CLOUD Act. Many Canadian provinces have specific guidance or requirements that student data remain within Canadian borders. Choosing a platform that hosts data in Canadian data centres addresses this concern directly. ### 4. What is a Data Processing Agreement, and why does it matter? A Data Processing Agreement is a contract between a school and a technology vendor that specifies exactly what data is collected, how it is used, who it is shared with, what security measures protect it, and what happens if there is a breach. It is a fundamental requirement for GDPR compliance and is considered best practice for any school technology deployment involving student data. ### 5. Can a school district be held responsible for a third-party app’s privacy violations? Yes. Under FERPA, when a school deploys a technology platform, it is responsible for ensuring that the platform handles student data in accordance with FERPA requirements. If a vendor shares student data without authorization, the school that deployed that vendor may be found non-compliant. This is why contract language and vendor due diligence are so important. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** student data privacy laws, student data privacy, FERPA compliant LMS school, COPPA school software, GDPR education compliance --- ### [AI in education: What actually works in the K-12 landscape](https://www.edsby.com/ai-in-k12-education-landscape/commentary/) **Published:** May 22, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** AI in education is evolving fast. Here is what is actually working in K-12 classrooms. **Content:** Artificial intelligence is reshaping nearly every sector it touches, and K-12 education is no exception. The conversation about AI in classrooms has moved quickly from speculation to implementation, with districts, educators, and families navigating genuine questions about what AI can do, what it should do, and where the risks outweigh the benefits. Separating the hype from the evidence is not always easy, but the data is becoming clearer about which applications of AI in education produce real outcomes and which remain theoretical. This article focuses on what actually works. Not what is being marketed, not what might work eventually, but what the current research and on-the-ground experience from K-12 districts indicate is producing measurable improvements in teaching efficiency, student support, and learning outcomes. ## The state of AI in K-12 classrooms today Adoption of AI tools in K-12 education has been rapid but uneven. Individual teachers have moved faster than institutions, discovering and adopting AI tools through personal initiative rather than organized district strategy. This pattern creates a landscape where AI use varies enormously even within a single school. Some teachers are using AI to draft lesson plans, generate differentiated materials, and provide students with immediate feedback. Others are not using it at all or are using it in ways that have not been reviewed for privacy or pedagogical appropriateness. The absence of institutional guidance is itself a significant finding for [classroom management](https://www.edsby.com/classroom-management-software-teachers-need-in-digital-age/commentary/). Most districts have not yet developed clear policies on AI use by teachers and students. Without that framework, teachers are making individual judgments about tools and practices that carry institutional-level implications. The opportunity cost of this policy gap is high because it means many teachers are not using AI tools they would benefit from, while others may be using tools that create privacy or academic integrity risks. What is clear from early implementation data is that AI works best in K-12 when it is embedded in existing workflows, operates within clear data governance frameworks, and is used to augment rather than replace teacher judgment. Applications that meet these criteria are producing results. Applications that do not meet them are generating friction, concern, and in some cases, genuine harm. ## AI applications that are showing real results Several specific applications of AI in education have accumulated enough implementation evidence to be considered reliably effective. AI-assisted feedback and [formative assessment ](https://www.edsby.com/formative-vs-summative-assessment-software-for-modern-k12/commentary/)are one of the strongest use cases. When AI tools can provide immediate, specific feedback on student writing or problem-solving attempts, students receive guidance much faster than a teacher-only model allows. Research consistently shows that timely feedback is one of the highest-leverage interventions in education. AI does not replace the teacher’s summative judgment but dramatically increases the frequency and speed of formative feedback cycles. Personalized learning pathways represent another area of proven value. AI systems that analyze a student’s performance data to identify knowledge gaps and recommend next steps enable a level of individualization that is impossible to achieve manually in a class of 30 students. Adaptive [learning platforms for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/) that adjust content difficulty based on real-time performance data have shown positive outcomes in mathematics and literacy skill development at the elementary and middle school levels. Administrative automation is perhaps the most immediately impactful area for teachers. Drafting parent communications, generating progress reports, analyzing attendance patterns, and processing grading at scale all consume significant teacher time. AI tools that handle the first pass on these tasks, while keeping teachers in review and approval roles, are producing measurable time savings that translate directly into more instructional capacity. Early warning systems powered by AI are showing particular promise for student support. By analyzing patterns across attendance, grade trends, and behavioral data, AI can flag students who are showing early indicators of disengagement or academic risk weeks before those patterns would be visible through manual monitoring. Early intervention is far more effective than late-stage remediation, and AI early warning systems make timely identification possible at scale. [![AI in education](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Where AI in education falls short Honest evaluation of AI in K-12 education requires acknowledging where current tools are not yet delivering. Several limitations are important for districts to understand before making deployment decisions. AI-generated content is not reliably curriculum-aligned. General-purpose AI tools produce plausible-sounding educational materials that may not align with provincial or state curriculum standards, may contain factual errors, or may be pitched at the wrong complexity level for the intended grade. Teachers who use AI-generated materials without careful review risk exposing students to content that does not serve the intended learning objectives. Academic integrity challenges are real and growing. As AI writing tools become more sophisticated and accessible, the line between student work and AI-generated work is becoming harder to define and verify. Districts that have not yet developed clear academic integrity policies for the AI era are vulnerable to escalating disputes about authenticity and fairness. Equity gaps are a structural concern. AI tools require reliable internet access and device availability to deliver their benefits. Students in rural or lower-income communities may have less reliable access to the connectivity that makes AI tools effective. Districts that deploy AI without addressing these infrastructure gaps risk widening existing equity divides rather than closing them. ## How AI is changing K-12 education at the institutional level Beyond individual classrooms, AI is beginning to reshape how districts operate at the institutional level. Moreover, [district-wide data](https://www.edsby.com/school-district-data-dashboard-for-k12-analytics/commentary/) analytics powered by AI are enabling administrators to identify attendance trends, resource allocation gaps, and program effectiveness patterns that would previously have required extensive manual analysis. This analytical capacity is changing the quality of conversations at the leadership level and improving the speed with which resource decisions can be made. Family engagement is another area where AI is showing institutional-level impact. AI-powered translation capabilities are enabling schools to communicate with multilingual families in their preferred languages at scale, without placing translation burden on individual teachers or administrators. For districts with significant multilingual populations, this represents a genuine equity advance that was previously only achievable with substantial investment in human translation services. According to [educational research](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/rer), the most effective districts are those treating AI not as a technology initiative but as a teaching and learning initiative that requires pedagogy, policy, and professional development alongside the technology itself. Districts that have developed clear AI use policies, invested in teacher training, and selected platforms with strong data governance frameworks are seeing the most consistent positive outcomes from AI deployment. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. What is the strongest evidence-based use case for AI in K-12 classrooms? The strongest evidence base exists for AI-assisted formative feedback and adaptive learning systems in core subjects. Research consistently shows that timely, specific feedback accelerates learning, and AI enables feedback cycles that would be impossible at the frequency and scale required for every student through teacher-only delivery. Adaptive platforms that adjust content difficulty based on real-time performance data have also shown consistent positive outcomes in mathematics and literacy. ### 2. How should a school district develop an AI policy for teachers and students? A district AI policy should address several areas: which AI tools are approved for use by teachers and students, what [student data](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy/commentary/) can and cannot be processed by AI tools, how AI use is disclosed to families, academic integrity standards for student work involving AI, and how teachers are trained and supported in appropriate AI use. The policy should be developed with input from teachers, families, and students, not just technology staff. ### 3. What are the equity implications of deploying AI in K-12 education? AI tools deliver their benefits most effectively when students have reliable high-speed internet access and appropriate devices. Students in rural, low-income, or underserved communities may have less consistent access to these resources. Districts deploying AI must assess their digital equity situation first and ensure that AI does not become another dimension along which educational outcomes diverge between well-resourced and under-resourced students. ### 4. Can AI reliably detect student use of AI-generated content? Currently, no AI detection tool is sufficiently reliable to be used as the sole basis for academic integrity determinations. Detection tools produce both false positives and false negatives at rates that make them unsuitable for consequential judgments about individual students. Districts are better served by developing clear policies about acceptable AI use, building assignments that require personalized responses, and fostering conversations with students about academic integrity in the AI era. ### 5. What does AI in education look like five years from now? The trajectory points toward deeper integration of AI into all core educational workflows, including truly individualized learning pathways, real-time family communication in any language, and AI-powered early warning systems that identify student risk factors across academic, attendance, and social-emotional dimensions. The districts that will benefit most are those building the data infrastructure, governance frameworks, and teacher capacity now to make use of these capabilities responsibly when they mature. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** AI in education, AI in classrooms, AI education trends, AI impact on teachers, how AI is changing K-12 education --- ### [Best learning management platform for K-12 in Canada](https://www.edsby.com/best-learning-management-platform-for-k12-in-canada/commentary/) **Published:** May 12, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Looking for the best learning management platform for K-12 in Canada? Here is what matters. **Content:** Choosing a learning management platform for K-12 in Canada is not the same decision as choosing one in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia. Canadian school boards operate under distinct provincial legislative frameworks, serve multilingual communities with specific communication requirements, and face data sovereignty obligations that many international platforms are not designed to meet. A platform that is widely praised in US districts may fail to meet the specific needs of a Canadian school board, not because it is a poor product, but because it was not built with Canadian requirements in mind. This article examines what Canadian school boards should prioritize when evaluating a learning management platform, and why the choices they make now will shape the digital [learning environment](https://www.cjlt.ca/) in their schools for years to come. ## What makes K-12 software requirements different in Canada Canadian K-12 software requirements are shaped by a combination of provincial curriculum frameworks, data privacy legislation, language requirements, and the specific governance structures of publicly funded school boards. These requirements vary by province and in some cases, create purchasing constraints that do not exist for American districts. Data residency is perhaps the most distinctive requirement. Several Canadian provinces have official guidance or legal requirements that[ student data](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/) be stored within Canadian borders. Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has issued guidance on the use of US-based cloud services. British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act includes strong data localization provisions. Any learning management platform deployed by a Canadian school board must be evaluated against these requirements, and vendors must be able to provide verifiable evidence of Canadian data hosting, not just a claim of compliance. Bilingual requirements apply in many Canadian jurisdictions. In federal institutions and in New Brunswick, the Official Languages Act requires services to be available in both English and French. Quebec school boards operate primarily in French. Many Ontario boards serve significant francophone populations. A learning management platform deployed in these contexts must genuinely support both official languages, not just offer a superficial translation overlay. Indigenous language and cultural requirements are increasingly important. Several Canadian school boards serve First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities that are working to integrate Indigenous language instruction into their curricula. An LMS that cannot accommodate Indigenous language content or that imposes structures incompatible with Indigenous pedagogical approaches is not fit for purpose in these communities. ## Key features to evaluate in a Canadian school LMS Beyond the compliance requirements, Canadian school boards should evaluate learning management platforms on several practical dimensions. Integration with provincial student information systems is essential. Canadian school boards typically use provincial or [board-level SIS platforms](https://www.edsby.com/data-management-for-k12-with-student-information-system/commentary/) to manage enrollment, attendance, and official academic records. An LMS that cannot integrate reliably with these systems creates data entry duplication and reporting inconsistencies. Native integration is far preferable to third-party connector solutions that require ongoing maintenance. Family engagement capabilities matter enormously in the Canadian context. Canadian school boards serve diverse communities where family communication in multiple languages is not optional. A learning management platform that also functions as a family engagement hub, with built-in translation, multichannel communication, and two-way messaging, delivers more value than an LMS that handles learning content but requires a separate system for family communication. Gradebook and assessment tools must align with Canadian curriculum standards. The way student achievement is reported varies by province. Ontario uses a percentage-based system with specific achievement chart categories. British Columbia uses a proficiency scale approach. Alberta uses a percentage and letter grade system. An[ LMS gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) that cannot be configured to reflect provincial reporting requirements creates compliance problems and teacher frustration. ## Why EdTech Canada trends point toward unified platforms The dominant trend in Canadian edtech over the past several years has been consolidation. School boards that spent the previous decade accumulating specialized tools for every function are now discovering that the management overhead of running 10 to 15 separate platforms is unsustainable. IT departments are overwhelmed with integrations. Teachers are navigating too many interfaces. Families are disengaging from a fragmented digital experience. The response across Canadian school boards is a clear move toward unified platforms that consolidate LMS, gradebook, attendance, family communication, and analytics into a single environment. This is not just about convenience. It is about governance. When all core school functions operate within a single platform, data privacy oversight becomes manageable. Integration between functions is native rather than patched. And the vendor relationship is simpler to manage and audit. However,[ Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) was specifically designed for this unified platform model and built on Canadian school board requirements. Canadian data sovereignty is addressed through Azure Canada hosting. Provincial curriculum frameworks are reflected in gradebook and assessment configurations. French language support and multilingual family communication are built into the platform rather than added as afterthoughts. [![learning management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## What school boards Canada should ask vendors When evaluating any learning management platform for Canadian K-12 deployment, school boards should ask specific, verifiable questions rather than accepting general claims of compliance. On data sovereignty, the question is not ‘Is your platform PIPEDA compliant?’ but rather ‘Where specifically are our students’ data stored, in which data centre, in which country, and what is the contractual guarantee that it will not be moved outside Canada?’ On French language support, the question is not ‘Do you offer French?’ but rather ‘Is the French interface a full feature parity translation or a partial overlay, and is the French content developed by francophone educators or machine-translated?’ On SIS integration, the question is not ‘Can you integrate with our SIS?’ but rather ‘Do you have an existing, tested integration with the specific SIS our board uses, and what is the maintenance model for keeping that integration current?’ These questions distinguish vendors who have genuinely invested in Canadian requirements from those who are positioning their existing product as Canadian-compatible without having done the necessary development work. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Does a US-based LMS meet Canadian data privacy requirements for school boards? It depends on the specific platform and the province. A US-based LMS that hosts Canadian school data in Canadian Azure or AWS data centres and provides contractual commitments against cross-border transfer may satisfy data residency requirements. A US-based LMS that stores data on US servers is problematic for many Canadian provinces, particularly British Columbia and Ontario, where guidance strongly favours domestic data hosting for student records. ### 2. What is the most important curriculum alignment consideration for Canadian school boards selecting an LMS? Gradebook and assessment reporting alignment is typically the most critical. Canadian provinces use different achievement reporting systems, and an LMS gradebook that cannot be configured to match provincial reporting requirements creates compliance problems and requires workarounds that cost teacher time. Boards should verify that the LMS supports their specific provincial reporting model before selection. ### 3. How do Indigenous language requirements affect LMS selection for some Canadian school boards? School boards serving First Nations, Metis, or Inuit communities may require LMS platforms that can accommodate Indigenous language content, including languages with non-Latin scripts or unique character sets. They may also need platforms flexible enough to support pedagogical approaches that differ from the structured lesson formats that many LMS platforms assume. These requirements should be explicitly raised with vendors during evaluation. ### 4. What are the most important integration requirements for a Canadian school LMS? The highest priority integration is typically with the provincial or board-level student information system, which holds enrollment, attendance, and official achievement records. Secondary priorities vary by board but often include library management systems, special education record systems, and family communication platforms. Boards should verify that the LMS has existing, tested integrations with their specific SIS rather than accepting a general capability claim. ### 5. How is the Canadian LMS market different from the US LMS market? The Canadian LMS market is more fragmented, with provincial governance structures creating distinct purchasing contexts in each province. Data sovereignty requirements are more pronounced in Canada than in most US states. Bilingual requirements exist in a way that has no direct US equivalent. And the scale of individual Canadian school boards is often smaller than that of large US districts, creating different economics around platform customization and support. Vendors that have invested specifically in Canadian requirements typically outperform internationally positioned products in Canadian board evaluations. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Canadian school software, school boards Canada LMS, edtech Canada trends, learning management platform --- ### [5 ways to use AI for teachers to reduce workload in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/5-ways-to-use-ai-for-teachers-to-reduce-workload-in-k12/commentary/) **Published:** May 12, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** 5 ways AI for teachers can cut workload in K-12 schools. Here is what actually helps. **Content:** Teacher burnout and workload overload are not new problems in K-12 education, but they have reached a critical point. Surveys consistently show that administrative demands are among the leading factors driving experienced educators out of the profession. Grading, [parent communication](https://www.edsby.com/school-apps-for-parent-engagement-k12-data/commentary/), lesson planning, reporting, and attendance management consume hours that teachers would rather spend on instruction and relationship building with students. Artificial intelligence cannot solve the structural issues that create teacher overload, but it can meaningfully reduce the time required for many of the most time-intensive administrative tasks. The key is knowing which AI applications are genuinely useful and which are not yet ready for reliable classroom deployment. This article focuses on five specific areas where AI for teachers is demonstrably reducing workload, with practical guidance on what to look for in tools and how to use them effectively. ## 1. AI-assisted grading and feedback Grading is the most time-intensive repeating task for most teachers, particularly those who assign written work. For a secondary English teacher with five classes of 30 students, reviewing a single set of essays can take 15 to 20 hours. AI grading assistants can process the same set of submissions in minutes, identifying where each piece of writing meets or does not meet rubric criteria and generating draft feedback comments for teacher review. The teacher remains in the review and approval role throughout. AI-assisted grading is not autonomous grading. The educator reviews the AI’s initial assessment, edits the feedback to reflect their own professional judgment, and approves the final grades. What changes is the proportion of the process that requires active teacher attention. Instead of reading every word of every submission cold, the teacher reviews a flagged analysis and edits pre-drafted feedback. For this to work well, the AI grading tool needs to operate within the school’s data governance framework. Student work is sensitive data. Tools that process student submissions outside the school’s managed environment create privacy risks that offset the efficiency gains. Purpose-built AI grading assistants integrated into an established school platform address this concern directly. [![AI for teachers](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 2. AI lesson planning tools for teachers Lesson planning is another area where AI is producing real-time savings without compromising quality. AI lesson planning tools for teachers can generate draft lesson plans based on curriculum objectives, grade level, and available resources in a fraction of the time required to build a plan from scratch. For experienced teachers, this does not replace professional expertise. It eliminates the blank-page problem and handles the formatting and structure so the teacher can focus on refinement and customization. The most effective AI lesson planning tools are those that have access to curriculum alignment data specific to the teacher’s context. A generic AI that generates a lesson plan aligned to US Common Core standards is not particularly useful to a Canadian teacher working within provincial curriculum frameworks. Purpose-built tools that understand the specific curriculum context produce more immediately useful outputs. Teachers report that the largest time saving in lesson planning comes not from the initial draft generation but from differentiation. Creating parallel versions of a lesson plan for students with different learning needs is extraordinarily time-consuming when done manually. AI tools that can generate differentiated versions automatically, for students working above or below grade level, for students with specific learning needs, can reduce this work substantially. ## 3. Family communication drafting and translation Parent communication is a persistent time drain that sits at the intersection of professional obligation and administrative overload. Teachers in high-need schools may spend hours each week writing individual emails, documenting contacts, and following up with families about attendance, academic progress, or behavioral concerns. AI tools that draft these communications based on[ student data ](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy-in-lms-what-k12-schools-need-to-look/commentary/)already in the school’s system can reclaim that time. The productivity gain is largest when AI communication tools are integrated with the school’s student information system. A tool that can automatically pull attendance data, grade trends, and prior contact history to generate a draft family message produces a far more useful starting point than a generic communication template. The teacher reviews the draft, personalizes where needed, and sends. The administrative burden drops significantly. Translation support is another dimension where AI for teachers is delivering genuine equity value. Communicating with multilingual families in their home languages has historically required either translator services or bilingual staff. AI-powered translation built into school communication platforms is enabling teachers to reach families in 100 or more languages without additional staffing cost or turnaround delay. ## 4. AI education automation for attendance and reporting Attendance tracking and reporting are examples of AI education automation that teachers often overlook because the tasks seem simple individually. But at scale, across a full school year, the cumulative time spent on manual attendance processes, absence follow-up, chronic absenteeism reporting, and compliance documentation is significant. AI systems that automatically flag attendance patterns, identify students approaching chronic absenteeism thresholds, generate follow-up communication drafts, and compile attendance reports eliminate most of the manual work in this process. Teachers still review flags and approve communications, but the system does the monitoring and first-pass documentation automatically. Progress reporting is another area where AI automation reduces workload significantly. Generating end-of-term reports that synthesize grade data, attendance records, and behavioral notes into coherent narrative summaries is time-consuming work that AI can handle in a first-draft capacity. Teachers who spend hours writing report card comments individually can instead review, edit, and approve AI-generated drafts in a fraction of the time. ## 5. AI teacher productivity tools for professional development and research A less discussed but genuinely valuable AI application for teachers is in professional development support and curriculum research. Finding [research-backed instructional strategies](https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/teaching-and-teacher-education) for specific learning challenges, identifying resources aligned with specific curriculum objectives, and staying current with developments in educational practice are important professional activities that often fall to the bottom of a busy teacher’s priority list. AI tools that can quickly synthesize research, recommend instructional strategies based on a specific student’s performance profile, and surface relevant professional development resources make it easier for teachers to engage in ongoing professional learning without carving out large blocks of time that most teachers do not have. The cumulative effect is a professional who is better informed and better equipped, with a smaller time investment than traditional professional development models require. ## A final takeaway The essential condition for all five of these applications is that the AI tools used are designed for K-12 contexts, operate within the [school’s data governance framework](https://www.edsby.com/school-district-data-dashboard-for-k12-analytics/commentary/), and keep teachers in the decision-making role. AI that assists teacher judgment rather than attempting to replace it is where the genuine productivity gains lie. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. Which AI task saves teachers the most time in K-12 classrooms? Based on current implementation data, AI-assisted grading and feedback generate the largest raw time savings for teachers who assign written work regularly. Processing a class set of essays with AI assistance can reduce the time required by 60 to 70 percent compared to fully manual grading, while keeping the teacher in the final review and approval role. ### 2. Do AI lesson planning tools for teachers replace the need for lesson design expertise? No. AI lesson planning tools handle the mechanical and structural aspects of lesson design, reducing the time required to build a usable starting point. The professional expertise of the teacher is still essential for evaluating the appropriateness of the content, customizing to the specific needs of their students, and making the pedagogical decisions that require human judgment. AI handles the scaffolding. Teachers handle the substance. ### 3. What privacy risks should teachers know about when using AI tools? The primary risk is student data leaving the school’s managed environment when teachers input student information into general-purpose AI platforms. Student work, grades, and personal information entered into external AI tools may be used for model training or shared with third parties under terms of service that the school has not reviewed. Using AI tools that are integrated into the school’s managed platform eliminates this risk. ### 4. How can AI for teachers support equity in family communication? AI-powered translation built into school communication platforms enables teachers to send family communications in the family’s preferred language without manual translation or additional staffing. This is a concrete equity intervention that removes language as a barrier to family engagement. Schools using platforms with built-in multilingual AI communication capabilities report reaching a significantly higher proportion of non-English-speaking families consistently. ### 5. What should a district consider before deploying AI for teacher productivity tools? Key considerations include data privacy and governance, meaning where student data goes when AI processes it; curriculum alignment, whether the tool generates outputs appropriate for the school’s specific curriculum context; teacher training and support, whether teachers understand how to use the tools effectively and critically evaluate their outputs; and integration, whether the tools work within existing workflows or add another disconnected system to manage. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** AI teacher productivity tools, reduce teacher workload AI, AI education automation, AI lesson planning tool for teachers, AI for teachers --- ### [10 critical school district LMS problems in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/10-signs-of-school-district-lms-problems/commentary/) **Published:** April 27, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Is your K-12 LMS causing more problems than it solves? Here are 10 signs to watch. **Content:** A learning management system is supposed to make education easier. It should connect teachers with students, simplify assignment delivery, and give administrators a clear picture of what is happening across the district. But for many districts across the country, the reality looks very different. Teachers complain that the platform is clunky and confusing. Students disengage because the experience feels outdated. IT teams spend hours troubleshooting school district LMS problems that should never have existed in the first place. This blog lays out 10 clear signs that your school district’s LMS problems go beyond simple technical glitches. If several of these signs sound familiar, it is time to take a hard look at whether your current platform is still the right fit. ## LMS issues that most school districts are facing The truth is that not every LMS is built for the demands of a modern K-12 environment. Some platforms were designed years ago and have never properly evolved. Others are built for corporate training rather than classroom instruction. When a district adopts the wrong LMS or holds onto one for too long, the cost is more than financial. It affects learning outcomes, staff morale, and the district’s ability to serve its students well. Let’s discuss such issues that most school districts are facing. ### 1. Teachers avoid using it whenever possible The most telling sign of LMS inefficiency is when the people it is meant to serve stop using it. When teachers find workarounds, such as emailing assignments directly, sharing documents through personal drives, or printing handouts instead of posting digitally, it is a clear signal that the platform is creating friction rather than reducing it. This avoidance is rarely about laziness or resistance to technology. Most teachers are willing to learn new tools if those tools actually make their work easier. The problem arises when an LMS demands too many steps to post a simple assignment, crashes during a lesson, or fails to save progress. At that point, the platform becomes a liability due to the school district LMS problems. Teacher LMS complaints that are repeated across multiple staff members and multiple schools within the same district should never be dismissed as individual frustration. Patterns of avoidance point to a systemic problem with the platform itself. ### 2. Student engagement on the platform is consistently low Low student engagement on an LMS is often attributed to a student motivation problem. In reality, the platform design plays a significant role. If students find the interface confusing, if assignments are hard to locate, or if notifications fail to reach them reliably, they will disengage. This is especially true for younger students who have less tolerance for clunky navigation. Districts can track login rates, assignment submission rates, and time-on-platform metrics to get a clearer picture. When these numbers are consistently low across a wide range of students, the LMS itself deserves scrutiny. A platform that students find intuitive and accessible will naturally see better participation rates than one that puts barriers between the learner and the content. The connection between LMS design and student outcomes is not trivial. Research published in [journals covering educational technology](https://www.j-ets.net/ETS/journals/18_4/22.pdf) has consistently found that ease of use is one of the most significant predictors of student engagement with digital learning tools. Read more on this topic in this peer-reviewed study from the Journal of Educational Technology and Society. ### 3. Onboarding new teachers takes weeks instead of days Every time a new teacher joins the district, they need to learn the LMS. If onboarding routinely takes weeks and requires several dedicated training sessions just to cover the basics, that is a serious red flag. A [well-designed school management system](https://www.edsby.com/) should be learnable in a matter of hours for core functions, with more advanced features accessible over time. Long onboarding timelines point to poor UX design and an overly complex architecture. When the learning curve is steep, substitute teachers and part-time staff are often left behind entirely, creating uneven experiences for students throughout the year. Districts also bear a hidden cost in training hours that could be redirected toward instructional development. The LMS challenges in K12 environments are compounded when the platform requires specialist knowledge to operate. If only certain staff members know how to set up a course properly, the platform has already failed the district from an operational standpoint. ### 4. Integration with other tools is unreliable or nonexistent Modern classrooms rely on more than one platform. There are assessment tools, video conferencing apps, content libraries, student information systems, and accessibility support tools all working in parallel. A [standards-based grading LMS](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) that cannot connect reliably with these systems forces educators to duplicate work, manually transfer data, and manage multiple logins for every task. Poor integration is one of the most commonly cited school district LMS problems because it creates downstream inefficiencies across the entire organization. When a grade recorded in an assessment tool does not sync automatically with the LMS, a teacher has to enter that grade twice. When the LMS cannot pull roster updates from the student information system, administrators spend time manually updating class lists. These inefficiencies add up. They consume time that should be spent on instruction, planning, and student support. A robust LMS should serve as the connective hub for the digital ecosystem, not a standalone island that everything else has to work around. ### 5. The mobile experience is poor or unusable Students today complete homework on phones and tablets as often as they do on laptops. If your LMS was not designed with a mobile-first or at least mobile-compatible approach, students without reliable access to a desktop computer are at an immediate disadvantage. A poor mobile experience is not just an inconvenience. It is an equity issue. The same applies to teachers who review submissions, send feedback, or check progress while away from their desks. If the mobile version of the platform strips out key features, renders content incorrectly, or makes basic tasks unnecessarily difficult, it reduces the platform’s usefulness to a narrow window of time and context. Why LMS fails in schools often comes down to design decisions made before mobile usage was considered a primary use case. Platforms that have not been updated to reflect how students and teachers actually use technology today are inherently behind. ### 6. Data and reporting tools do not give useful insights Administrators and instructional coaches need data to make informed decisions. They need to see which students are falling behind, which courses have low completion rates, and which teachers need additional support. If the LMS reporting tools are limited, inaccurate, or require manual data exports to generate useful summaries, decision-making suffers. A modern K-12 LMS should provide intuitive dashboards that make it easy to spot trends without requiring an IT specialist to run queries. The data should be actionable and presented in a way that supports both classroom-level and district-level decisions. When reporting is weak, districts often invest in third-party analytics tools to compensate, adding cost and complexity to an already strained technology budget. Poor data reporting is one of the quieter but more impactful LMS challenges in K12 districts. Without clear visibility into how students and staff are using the platform, it is impossible to know whether it is delivering educational value. ### 7. Accessibility and compliance requirements are hard to meet Federal law requires that educational technology used in public schools meet accessibility standards. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines set clear expectations for how digital tools must perform for students with disabilities. If your LMS routinely requires manual workarounds to meet these standards, or if your district has received complaints from families or staff about accessibility barriers, the platform is putting students at risk and the district in a difficult legal position. Accessibility should not be an afterthought bolted onto an existing system. It should be embedded into how content is created, how media is displayed, and how the interface itself behaves for users with visual, auditory, or cognitive differences. An LMS that treats accessibility as a compliance checkbox rather than a core design principle will always struggle in this area. The following accessibility features should be standard in any K-12 LMS: - Screen reader compatibility across all major functions - Adjustable text size and display contrast settings - Captions and transcripts for all video content - Keyboard navigation throughout the platform - Clear alt-text support for images and media ### 8. Customer support is slow and unhelpful When something goes wrong with an LMS mid-semester, the impact on students and teachers is immediate. If the vendor’s support team takes days to respond, provides generic answers, or routes every ticket through a slow ticketing system that offers no real help, the district is left to manage disruptions on its own. Good vendor support is especially important for K-12 districts, which typically do not have large internal IT teams dedicated to managing the LMS. Smaller districts especially rely on vendor responsiveness to keep the platform running smoothly. If your support tickets consistently go unresolved for extended periods, or if the answers you receive do not address the actual problem, that is a clear sign the vendor relationship is not working. LMS inefficiency is compounded when support is poor, because unresolved issues accumulate over time. What starts as a minor bug becomes a persistent problem that disrupts classrooms and erodes trust in the platform across the district. ### 9. The platform has not meaningfully evolved in years Technology moves fast. Pedagogical approaches evolve. The student needs to change. A platform that looked modern and capable five years ago may be genuinely outdated today. If your LMS vendor has not released meaningful updates, added relevant new features, or addressed long-standing user requests in the past several years, it is a sign that the product is stagnating. Look at the vendor’s release notes, roadmap communications, and community forums. Are they actively developing the product in response to user feedback? Are they investing in features that reflect current educational trends, such as competency-based learning, social-emotional learning integrations, or AI-assisted feedback tools? If the answer is no, the platform may have a limited future, and districts that stay on it will increasingly find themselves working around its limitations rather than benefiting from its strengths. This is one of the more strategic school district LMS problems, because it affects long-term planning. A district that waits too long to switch often finds itself facing a more disruptive transition later than if it had acted earlier. ### 10. The total cost of ownership keeps growing without added value The sticker price of an LMS is only part of the true cost. Districts also absorb costs related to staff training time, IT support hours, third-party integrations needed to fill gaps, and the productivity lost when teachers and students struggle with a difficult system. If the annual cost of maintaining your current LMS keeps rising while the platform itself delivers the same or diminishing value, the return on investment is moving in the wrong direction. Budget conversations around an LMS should include a full accounting of these hidden costs. Districts sometimes hold onto an underperforming platform because switching seems expensive, without fully accounting for the ongoing cost of staying. A transparent cost-benefit analysis often reveals that migration to a better-fit platform is not only educationally justified but financially sensible over a three to five-year horizon. When the total cost of ownership grows alongside growing teacher LMS complaints and declining student engagement, the platform is no longer serving the district. At that point, the question is not whether to switch, but when and to what. ## What to do when you recognize these signs Recognizing that your LMS is failing the district is an important first step, but it needs to be followed by structured action. Start by gathering honest input from teachers, students, parents, and administrators through surveys and focus groups. Quantify the impact where possible: how many support tickets per month, what the training hours look like, and how many integrations require manual workarounds. Then build a cross-functional evaluation team that includes instructional staff, IT, curriculum leadership, and administration. Use this team to develop a clear set of requirements before evaluating alternative platforms. Do not evaluate a new LMS against your current one. Evaluate it against what your district actually needs. Finally, plan the transition carefully. Rushed migrations often fail not because the new platform is bad, but because staff were not properly prepared and supported through the change. Phased rollouts, dedicated training, and clear communication can make the difference between a smooth transition and a chaotic one. [![ school district LMS problems ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Final takeaway An LMS is one of the most consequential pieces of technology a school district uses. When it works well, it supports great teaching and meaningful learning. When it fails, the effects ripple out across every classroom, every teacher, and every student in the district. The ten signs covered in this blog are not isolated complaints. They are patterns that, when taken together, indicate a platform that has outgrown its usefulness for the district it is supposed to serve. If several of these signs describe your current situation, it is worth starting the conversation now. The longer a failing LMS stays in place, the more it costs in time, money, and educational opportunity. Your district’s students and teachers deserve a platform that genuinely supports the work they do every day. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### Q1: How do I know if our LMS problems are serious enough to justify switching platforms? If your district is experiencing multiple signs from this list, such as teacher avoidance, poor student engagement, weak reporting, and rising support costs, it is worth conducting a formal evaluation. A structured needs assessment will help you determine whether the issues are fixable or systemic. ### Q2: What is the average timeline for migrating a K-12 district to a new LMS? Most district-wide LMS migrations take between six and eighteen months, depending on the size of the district, the complexity of existing content, and the level of staff training required. Phased rollouts by school or grade level are common and help reduce disruption. ### Q3: How should we involve teachers in the LMS evaluation process? Teachers should be part of the evaluation team from the start. Their day-to-day experience with the platform provides insight that administrators cannot get from a product demo. Pilot programs where teachers test candidate platforms in real classroom conditions are especially valuable. ### Q4: Can a poor LMS directly affect student learning outcomes? Yes. Research consistently links usability and accessibility of digital learning tools to student engagement and performance. A platform that is hard to navigate, unreliable, or inaccessible creates barriers that affect how much students learn and how much they participate. ### Q5: What should be the top priorities when selecting a replacement LMS for a K-12 district? Ease of use for both teachers and students, strong mobile support, reliable integrations with existing tools, accessible design, responsive vendor support, and transparent pricing are the core priorities. Districts should also evaluate the vendor’s roadmap to ensure the platform will continue to evolve in step with their needs. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** strict LMS problems, LMS challenges K12, why LMS fails in schools, LMS inefficiency, teacher LMS complaints, school district LMS problems --- ### [Consolidated K-12 LMS vs 12 apps: A real cost comparison](https://www.edsby.com/consolidated-k12-school-app-vs-12-apps-a-cost-comparison/commentary/) **Published:** April 24, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Is consolidating school apps less expensive than running 12? The data says yes. **Content:** Most school districts in North America are running on a fragmented technology stack. An attendance app here, a grading portal there, a messaging platform somewhere else, and a learning management system layered on top of all of it. Administrators often do not realize how much this fragmentation costs until they sit down and add up every subscription, every support contract, and every hour spent training staff on disconnected tools. The cost comparison between consolidated K-12 LMS vs 12 apps is not simply about licensing fees. It reaches into teacher time, family frustration, IT burden, and ultimately student outcomes. This article breaks down what the data and real-world experience tell us about the true cost of app sprawl in K-12 education, and why a unified school platform is not just a convenience but a sound financial and operational decision. ## The hidden costs of running 12 or more school apps When districts evaluate technology spending, they usually compare sticker prices. Subscription A costs this much per student. Subscription B costs that much per year. What rarely appears in a line-item budget review is the cost of integration failures, staff hours lost to platform switching, and the downstream impact on family engagement when parents give up trying to navigate a dozen different apps. A 2025 research report titled[ App Overload, conducted by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/), found that most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate educational apps. Some districts officially sanction more than 16 platforms. The cumulative cost of this fragmentation shows up in several ways. First, there is the direct subscription cost. Each app carries its own per-student or per-district licensing fee. When multiplied across 10 to 15 tools, many of which overlap in functionality, districts are paying multiple times for capabilities a single unified platform would deliver once. Second, IT departments spend disproportionate time managing integrations between systems that were never designed to talk to each other. Every time a vendor updates their API or changes a data format, the district pays in staff hours to fix broken connections. Third, and perhaps most costly in the long run, is the impact on adoption. When teachers must toggle between multiple platforms to complete daily tasks, usage rates drop. Low usage means districts are paying for tools that are not delivering value. The App Overload report found that 80% of administrators believed teachers were satisfied with their existing tools. Teachers themselves reported moderate dissatisfaction. That gap between perception and reality is expensive. [![school app](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## What consolidated K-12 LMS actually saves Consolidating to a unified school platform eliminates redundant licensing costs immediately. But the savings go well beyond subscription fees. When LMS SIS integration is handled natively within a single platform rather than patched together through third-party connectors, the IT maintenance burden drops significantly. Districts that have moved to unified platforms consistently report reductions in help desk tickets, faster onboarding for new staff, and less time lost to troubleshooting. There is also a measurable impact on teacher productivity. A teacher who can access attendance records, grade entry, parent messaging, and lesson planning from one interface spends less time on administrative tasks and more time on instruction. Research from the SchoolStatus 2024 national survey found that only 32% of educators use student data for family communication, partly because pulling data from multiple systems is too cumbersome. Consolidation removes that friction. Family engagement is another dimension where consolidation produces returns. The same App Overload report found that 85% of parents rated their satisfaction with multiple school apps at five out of ten or lower. Low satisfaction translates to lower engagement, and lower engagement is directly linked to weaker student attendance and academic outcomes. When parents have one place to check everything, they actually use it. ## Comparing the total cost of ownership: fragmented vs unified A true total cost of ownership comparison between running 12 or more apps versus a consolidated platform needs to account for the following categories. Licensing and subscription fees are the most visible. But integration and maintenance costs, staff training time per platform, IT support overhead, onboarding costs for new staff and families, and the opportunity cost of low adoption all belong in the calculation. When districts run this analysis honestly, the unified platform almost always comes out ahead. The per-student cost of a comprehensive unified platform is frequently lower than the combined licensing costs of the individual tools it replaces. Add in the productivity and engagement gains, and the case for consolidation becomes difficult to argue against. Consider also the data privacy implications. A report from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps used in schools share student information with third parties. Each additional app in a district’s stack introduces another data-sharing relationship that needs to be audited, consented to, and managed. Consolidation reduces this surface area and simplifies compliance with FERPA, COPPA, and similar regulations. ## LMS and SIS integration as a consolidation anchor One of the most powerful arguments for consolidation is the value of native LMS SIS integration. When a learning management system and a student information system share the same data layer, enrollment updates flow automatically, grade data is consistent across reporting surfaces, and teachers do not have to re-enter information manually. Districts that achieve true LMS SIS integration eliminate one of the largest sources of administrative error and wasted staff time in K-12 technology. Edsby, for example, was designed from the ground up to serve as a unified platform that combines LMS, gradebook, attendance, family communication, and analytics in a single environment. Rather than forcing districts to stitch together separate tools, a platform like Edsby provides the integration natively. This design philosophy is what makes genuine consolidation possible rather than just aspirational. ## Final takeaway Districts that have successfully consolidated their app ecosystems describe the transition as requiring strong leadership commitment, a clear communication plan for families and staff, and a formal onboarding process. The App Overload report specifically recommends establishing a formal onboarding process for parents and teachers as a core part of any platform transition. Without it, the new unified platform risks the same low adoption rates that plagued the tools it replaced. The key steps in a successful consolidation transition include conducting a full audit of every app currently in use and the functionality each provides, identifying a unified platform that covers the majority of use cases, developing a structured onboarding plan that includes training sessions and accessible help resources, setting clear timelines for sunsetting legacy tools, and establishing feedback loops so families and teachers can flag gaps early. According to [research](https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computers-and-education), districts that approach consolidation as a strategic initiative rather than a technology swap see the strongest results. The goal is not just to reduce the number of apps. It is to build a communication and learning infrastructure that actually serves students, families, and educators reliably. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. How many school apps does the average K-12 district use? Research from the 2025 App Overload report found that most schools without a unified platform require families to manage between 10 and 15 separate educational apps. Some districts officially sanction more than 16 platforms, creating significant cognitive overload for both families and teachers. ### 2. What is the highest hidden cost of using multiple school apps? Beyond direct subscription fees, the highest hidden costs are staff time lost to platform switching, IT overhead for managing integrations between disconnected systems, and the opportunity cost of low family adoption. When parents disengage because the digital experience is too fragmented, the downstream impact on student attendance and outcomes is measurable. ### 3. What does LMS SIS integration mean for a school district? LMS SIS integration refers to the native connection between a learning management system and a student information system. When these two systems share the same data layer, enrollment updates, grade records, and attendance data flow automatically without manual re-entry, reducing errors and saving significant staff time. ### 4. How does consolidating school apps affect data privacy compliance? Each additional app in a district’s technology stack introduces a new data-sharing relationship that must be audited and managed under regulations such as FERPA and COPPA. Consolidating to a unified platform reduces the number of third-party data relationships, simplifies consent management, and gives districts a clearer view of how student data is being used. ### 5. What is the first step a district should take toward school app consolidation? The first step is a full technology audit that catalogs every app currently in use, the functionality each provides, the cost of each license, and the actual adoption rate among teachers and families. Many districts discover during this audit that they are paying for tools with very low usage or that duplicate the functionality of other tools they already own. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** unified school platform, consolidate school software, LMS SIS integration, school app, Consolidated K-12 LMS --- ### [Georgia previews Edsby-powered national K-12 LMS](https://www.edsby.com/georgia-edsby-national-lms/customers/) **Published:** June 3, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Leaders from schools around the country of Georgia gathered in the capital Tbilisi to see the country's new LMS, Edsby. **Content:** #### Leaders from schools around the country of Georgia gathered in the capital Tbilisi to see the country’s new K-12 LMS, Edsby Staff from the Georgian Ministry of Education, Science and Youth (MESY) hand picked 60 education leaders across the country to review capabilities of its new Edsby-based national K-12 learning management system (LMS). Organizers fielded many questions that showed attendees understood and appreciated the scope of the new platform. Many attendees were surprised how comprehensive Edsby was. [Family engagement](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/) aspects of Edsby and [teacher capacity building](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/building-capacity/) resonated in particular. Edsby has been customized to the language, local curriculum and assessment and reporting policies unique to the Georgian K-12 system courtesy of local technology integrator [Orient Logic](https://www.ol.ge/en/). The national project is to provide a unified system for the country’s 600,000 K-12 learners and their families. [Edsby was selected](https://www.edsby.com/georgian-ministry-of-education-national-lms/pressreleases/) as the platform provider in late 2024. Goals for the system include: - Improve the quality of and access to early childhood education - Foster quality teaching and learning in general education - Strengthen financing options and promote internationalization in higher education - Strengthen systems and stakeholder communications **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Standards-based grading LMS: The complete implementation guide for K-12 districts](https://www.edsby.com/standards-based-grading-lms-complete-implementation-guide-for-k12-districts/commentary/) **Published:** April 24, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Standards-based grading works. Here is what the data shows and how to implement it right. **Content:** Traditional grading has shaped American education for more than a century. Letter grades, percentage scores, and grade point averages have defined how schools communicate student progress. Yet a growing body of research and real-world district experience is challenging this model at its foundations. Standards-based grading LMS platforms and implementation frameworks are now giving K-12 districts a practical path to replace outdated grading practices with something far more meaningful for students, families, and educators. This guide covers everything district leaders, curriculum directors, and building principals need to understand about [SBG implementation in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/compliance-to-competency-standards-based-assessment/commentary/): what standards-based grading actually is, why the research supports it, how to plan and execute a district-wide rollout, what technology infrastructure it requires, and how to navigate the very real resistance it will encounter. If your district is serious about grading reform, this is the complete picture. ## What standards-based grading actually means Standards-based grading (SBG) is a system in which student performance is reported according to clearly defined learning standards rather than aggregated point totals. Instead of a single letter grade reflecting a mix of homework completion, attendance, extra credit, and test scores, SBG separates each learning objective and reports mastery of that objective independently. A student’s grade in mathematics, for example, might reflect separate proficiency ratings for number sense, algebraic thinking, and geometry rather than a single averaged score across all of these domains. The philosophical shift this represents is significant. Traditional grading systems often conflate academic achievement with behaviors like effort, punctuality, and participation. SBG strips these factors apart. It asks one focused question: Does this student understand this specific skill or concept at this point? That narrow focus produces information that is far more actionable for teachers, far more transparent for parents, and far more motivating for students who might otherwise give up on a subject because one bad test tanked an irreversible average. Standards-based report cards visibly reflect this philosophy. Rather than a grid of letter grades by subject, families see a detailed breakdown by learning standard. A third-grade reading report card might show separate ratings for phonics, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. Each standard is typically rated on a four-point or three-point proficiency scale: exceeds standard, meets standard, approaching standard, and below standard, or some equivalent language. This granularity is precisely what makes SBG so much more informative than traditional grading. Edsby, the[ winner of the EdTech Awards 2026 for best Learning Management System](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/), is recognized for its standards-based grading system approach. ## The research case for grading reform in schools The research supporting standards-based grading is substantial. A landmark study published in Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice found that traditional grading practices yield highly inconsistent grades across teachers, even for identical student work. Different teachers routinely assign different grades to the same paper because the criteria they apply are subjective, personal, and unstated. SBG addresses this directly by anchoring grades to explicit, shared performance descriptions. Research by Ken O’Connor, Thomas Guskey, and Robert Marzano, three of the leading scholars in grading reform, consistently documents how traditional grade averaging destroys the accuracy of performance data. When a student earns a 40% on a test at the beginning of a unit and a 95% by the unit’s end, averaging those scores to 67% tells a completely false story about that student’s current level of mastery. Standards-based grading resolves this by prioritizing the most recent evidence of learning. A comprehensive [review of grading reform outcomes](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654308325185), available through Google Scholar and cited widely in K-12 policy discussions, found that schools implementing SBG reported improvements in student motivation, reduced grade-related anxiety, more productive parent-teacher conversations, and stronger alignment between classroom instruction and assessed standards. These outcomes are not guaranteed by adopting SBG, but they are consistently associated with well-implemented programs. The research is reviewed at This peer-reviewed analysis outlines the foundational misalignments in traditional grading and the evidence base for reform. ## Why most SBG rollouts fail and what separates the districts that succeed Despite the strong research base, SBG implementation in K-12 has a mixed track record at the district level. Many districts have attempted grading reform only to retreat after a year or two, driven back by parent backlash, teacher resistance, or the collapse of their reporting infrastructure. Understanding why these rollouts fail is essential before committing to implementation. The most common failure mode is moving too fast. Districts that announce an SBG transition and expect teachers to overhaul their grading philosophy, redesign their assessments, and learn a new reporting system within a single school year are setting themselves up for burnout and backlash. Standards-based grading is not a software update. It is a fundamental change in how educators think about the purpose of grades. That shift requires time, professional development, and ongoing collaborative support. A second common failure is rolling out SBG without aligning the technology infrastructure. When teachers have to manually calculate and enter proficiency scores into spreadsheets or paper forms, the administrative burden becomes unsustainable. A [standards-based grading LMS](https://www.edsby.com/) that natively supports standards alignment, proficiency tracking, and automated reporting is not optional for a sustainable rollout. It is foundational. Districts that succeed share several characteristics. They invest heavily in the preparation phase, often spending a full year building teacher understanding and buy-in before changing a single grade. They communicate proactively with families, explaining what SBG is, why it matters, and how to read standards-based report cards, long before the first report card arrives. And they select technology platforms that reduce, rather than increase, the work required of teachers to implement the model faithfully. ## Planning a standards-based grading implementation: phase by phase A successful district SBG implementation unfolds across distinct phases. Compressing these phases or skipping steps is the surest path to a failed rollout. Each phase builds the conditions for the next, and the sequence matters. ### Phase 1: foundations and readiness (6 to 12 months) The first phase is entirely about preparation. District leaders convene a grading reform committee that includes teachers, curriculum specialists, building administrators, assessment staff, and ideally a few parent representatives. This committee conducts a thorough audit of current grading practices, establishes a shared understanding of what SBG means in the district’s specific context, and begins the process of aligning grades to adopted academic standards. Professional development during this phase focuses on the why before the how. Teachers need to deeply understand the problems with traditional grading before they will embrace the shift to standards-based reporting. Book studies, external consultants, and visits to districts already implementing SBG are all effective tools at this stage. The goal is not to produce experts but to generate enough shared understanding that the transition plan has genuine staff support. This phase is also when the district evaluates and selects a standards-based grading LMS. The platform must be capable of housing the district’s full standards framework, allowing teachers to link assessments and assignments to specific standards, generating proficiency-level reports for families, and integrating with the existing student information system. Getting this infrastructure decision right before the launch is far less expensive than trying to fix it mid-implementation. ### Phase 2: pilot implementation (1 school year) The second phase involves piloting SBG in selected grade levels or content areas before a district-wide rollout. Most districts choose either a single grade band, such as all elementary schools, or a single content area across multiple buildings. The pilot serves two purposes: it generates real-world learning about what works in the district’s specific context, and it creates a cohort of experienced teachers who can support their colleagues in later phases. During the pilot year, it is critical to collect structured feedback from every stakeholder group. Teachers need regular collaborative time to troubleshoot grading decisions and calibrate their proficiency ratings. Parents need clear communication about how to interpret standards-based report cards and what the ratings mean for their child. Building administrators need to monitor teacher workload and flag signs of implementation drift, where teachers revert to traditional grading practices without explicitly deciding to do so. ### Phase 3: district-wide expansion (1 to 2 school years) Expansion to the full district follows a sequence determined by the lessons of the pilot. Grade levels or departments that were not part of the pilot receive intensive preparation in the summer before their first SBG year. Pilot teachers serve as internal coaches and resources. The standards-based grading LMS is fully deployed across all buildings, with IT and curriculum staff available to support onboarding and troubleshoot reporting issues in real time. District-wide expansion also requires a comprehensive family communication strategy. A parent information campaign that explains the SBG model, walks through how to read the new report cards, and answers the most common questions reduces anxiety and builds trust. Many districts host family information nights, create short explainer videos, and publish FAQ documents well before the first standards-based report cards are issued under the new system. ## Choosing the right standards-based grading LMS Technology is not the driver of successful SBG implementation, but it is a critical enabler. A well-designed standards-based grading LMS reduces the administrative burden on teachers, ensures consistent reporting across classrooms and buildings, and makes the resulting data accessible and meaningful for families. Choosing the wrong platform, or choosing the right platform and deploying it poorly, undermines even the most thoughtfully designed implementation plan. There are several non-negotiable capabilities that any standards-based grading LMS must provide for K-12 implementation. These are not nice-to-have features. They are structural requirements for the model to function. - Standards library and alignment: The platform must allow administrators to import and maintain the district’s full standards framework, and allow teachers to link every assignment, assessment, and graded task to one or more specific standards. - Proficiency scale configuration: The platform must support the district’s chosen proficiency scale and allow for different scales across grade levels or content areas if the district’s model requires it. - Aggregation logic flexibility: The platform must allow districts to configure how multiple scores on the same standard are aggregated. SBG models vary in whether they use the most recent score, a weighted recent average, or a modal score, and the LMS must support the chosen approach. - Standards-based report card generation: The platform must generate reports for families that clearly display proficiency by standard, in language that is accessible to non-educators. - SIS integration: The platform must integrate cleanly with the district’s student information system to avoid duplicate data entry and ensure that reporting feeds into official records. Beyond these requirements, the most effective platforms for grading reform in schools also offer robust teacher-facing dashboards that show proficiency trends by standard across a class, built-in communication tools that allow teachers to share progress data with families directly, and analytics that help curriculum leaders identify standards where students are systematically struggling. These capabilities transform the grading system from a reporting mechanism into an instructional feedback engine. [![school management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Navigating teacher and parent resistance to SBG No SBG implementation succeeds without addressing resistance head-on. Both teachers and parents will push back, and their concerns are not irrational. They are rooted in genuine uncertainty about change, attachment to familiar systems, and real questions about how the new model will serve students. District leaders who dismiss or minimize this resistance accelerate it. Those who engage with it openly tend to convert skeptics into advocates. Teacher resistance most often surfaces around three issues. The first is workload. Teachers worry, often correctly, that standards-based grading will require them to redesign assessments, learn a new platform, and spend more time on reporting. Addressing this concern requires demonstrating that the right LMS reduces grading time once teachers are trained, and ensuring that professional development is structured and compensated rather than added to already full schedules. The second teacher’s concern is philosophical. Many experienced educators genuinely believe that traditional grades communicate something meaningful and that moving away from them diminishes rigor. Engaging these teachers in the research, giving them time to explore the limitations of their current grading practices, and inviting them into the design process rather than presenting them with a finished mandate goes a long way. Teachers who help design the SBG model are far more likely to implement it faithfully. Parent resistance is usually concentrated around a few specific fears: that SBG grades will look unusual to college admissions offices, that they cannot tell whether their child is doing well or poorly from a proficiency scale, and that the system seems to tolerate lower performance by removing consequences for incomplete work. Each of these concerns deserves a direct, evidence-based response. Districts that prepare thorough family communication materials before launching standards-based report cards significantly reduce the volume and intensity of parent complaints. ## Standards-based grading LMS at the secondary level: unique challenges SBG implementation at the secondary level introduces challenges that elementary schools rarely face. The most significant is the GPA and transcript question. High school grades are used in college admissions, scholarship decisions, and class rank calculations. Many families and educators worry that a proficiency-scale grade will not translate cleanly into a GPA, and that students applying to colleges will be disadvantaged compared to peers from schools using traditional grading. Districts implementing SBG in high schools address this in several ways. Some maintain a parallel conversion system where proficiency ratings map to letter grades for transcript purposes, while the internal reporting remains standards-based. Others work directly with college admissions offices to explain the transcript format and have found that admissions staff are far more open to non-traditional transcripts than most people assume, particularly when the school provides a clear guide to interpreting the document. The subject-area breadth of secondary school also creates complexity. An elementary classroom teacher can align a manageable set of standards for reading and math. A high school biology teacher, by contrast, may be working with dozens of content standards across a year-long course. Identifying which standards are truly essential, sometimes called power standards or priority standards, and building assessments around those standards rather than attempting to grade everything equally, is a critical design decision in secondary SBG. Professional learning communities at the secondary level play a particularly important role in SBG implementation. Department teams must develop shared proficiency scales and common assessment anchors so that a student’s proficiency rating in AP Chemistry means the same thing regardless of which teacher they have. Without this calibration work, secondary SBG produces inconsistent reporting that undermines the model’s entire value proposition. ## Measuring the success of SBG implementation in K12 District leaders need clear metrics for evaluating whether their SBG rollout is producing the intended results. Measuring implementation success requires looking at multiple layers: teacher implementation fidelity, family understanding and satisfaction, and ultimately student academic outcomes. Each layer requires different data collection strategies. Implementation fidelity can be assessed through classroom walk-throughs focused on grading practices, review of gradebooks in the standards-based grading LMS to verify that assignments are linked to standards and proficiency scores are being used consistently, and teacher survey data collected at regular intervals throughout the year. Fidelity is not about compliance enforcement. It is about identifying where teachers need more support and where the implementation design itself may need adjustment. Family understanding is a critical and often overlooked metric. Districts should survey parents after the first reporting period to assess whether they understand what their child’s standards-based report cards are communicating and whether they find the information useful. Low comprehension scores are a signal to invest in clearer communication materials, not a sign that the model is failing. Student outcome data is the ultimate measure of whether grading reform in schools is delivering on its promise. Districts should track whether standards-based grading correlates with improvements in state assessment performance, reductions in grade-level retention, narrowing of achievement gaps across demographic groups, and improvements in student self-efficacy as measured by survey instruments. These outcomes take time to materialize. Two to three years of data is typically needed before meaningful trend analysis is possible. ## District examples and what they reveal about effective SBG Several K-12 districts across the country have been implementing SBG long enough to offer meaningful lessons. Their experiences reveal patterns that transcend geography, district size, and demographics. The through-line in every successful implementation is sustained leadership commitment, investment in professional development, and patience with the timeline. Districts in the Midwest that adopted SBG across elementary grades consistently report that the biggest early win was the quality of parent-teacher conference conversations. When teachers can speak to a family about their child’s specific areas of strength and specific gaps in proficiency, rather than explaining why a 78% is or is not cause for concern, the conversation becomes genuinely useful. Parents leave these conferences with actionable information. Teachers feel that the data they have gathered means something. Secondary implementations in larger urban districts have demonstrated that SBG is particularly powerful for students who were previously lost in the middle of traditional grading distributions. A student who consistently earned C grades may have had genuine mastery in some areas and significant gaps in others, but the average grade obscured both. SBG makes visible what a student actually knows and can do, which is exactly the kind of diagnostic clarity that allows teachers and intervention specialists to direct support where it is needed most. ## The path forward for K-12 districts Standards-based grading is not a trend. It is a research-supported evolution in how schools understand and communicate student learning. The evidence that SBG produces more accurate, more meaningful, and more equitable information about student mastery is substantial, and the districts that have committed to implementation with patience and rigor are producing results that validate that evidence. The path forward requires a willingness to invest in preparation, a commitment to choosing the right standards-based grading LMS infrastructure, and an honest reckoning with the resistance that change always generates. Districts that treat SBG as a software rollout will fail. Districts that treat it as a multi-year professional and cultural transformation, supported by thoughtful technology choices, will find that it delivers on everything the research promises. Grading reform in schools is not about lowering standards or abandoning accountability. It is about making standards the actual center of how schools measure and report student learning, rather than a backdrop to a point-accumulation game. That shift, when executed well, changes what school means for students, families, and teachers alike. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. How long does a full SBG implementation K12 typically take from planning to district-wide adoption? A well-structured SBG implementation typically takes three to four years from the beginning of the planning phase to full district-wide adoption. The preparation and foundations phase alone should last six to twelve months before any pilot work begins. Districts that rush this timeline trade short-term speed for long-term sustainability. The most successful implementations treat the first year as entirely preparatory, the second year as a targeted pilot, and years three and four as phased expansion across remaining grade levels and departments. ### 2. How do standards-based report cards affect students applying to colleges and universities? College admissions offices are more familiar with non-traditional transcripts than most families assume. Many universities now receive applications from students at SBG schools and have developed processes for interpreting proficiency-scale transcripts. Districts implementing SBG at the high school level typically provide a school profile document alongside the transcript that explains the reporting system. Some districts also maintain a GPA conversion for transcript purposes. Engaging directly with local colleges and universities during the implementation planning process is strongly recommended. ### 3. What is the difference between standards-based grading and competency-based education? Standards-based grading and competency-based education share a common foundation in aligning learning to defined outcomes, but they differ in scope. SBG primarily refers to how student performance is measured and reported. Competency-based education goes further, allowing students to advance through coursework at their own pace once they demonstrate mastery of a competency rather than spending a fixed amount of time in a course. Many competency-based programs use SBG as their grading framework, but a school can implement SBG within a traditional time-based structure. ### 4. Can a standards-based grading LMS integrate with existing student information systems? Most major standards-based grading LMS platforms are designed with SIS integration as a core capability. Common integrations include PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Skyward, and Illuminate Education. Before selecting a platform, districts should verify the specific integration method, whether it is a native connector, an API integration, or a file-based data transfer, and assess the real-time versus batch nature of the data sync. Clean SIS integration is critical for ensuring that standards-based proficiency data flows into official records without requiring manual duplication by teachers or administrative staff. ### 5. How should districts handle grading for special education students under an SBG model? Standards-based grading and special education are not in conflict, but their intersection requires intentional design. For students with IEPs, grading should reflect progress toward the standards identified in the student’s individualized goals, which may differ from grade-level standards. Many SBG platforms allow schools to link assessments to modified or IEP-specific standards rather than the standard grade-level framework. Special education staff should be core participants in the SBG implementation planning process to ensure that the model is designed equitably from the start and does not inadvertently create reporting gaps for students with disabilities. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** SBG implementation K12, grading reform schools, standards based report cards, standards-based grading LMS --- ### [Formative vs summative assessment software: What modern K-12 tools must support](https://www.edsby.com/formative-vs-summative-assessment-software-for-modern-k12/commentary/) **Published:** April 24, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** In 2026, assessment software must do more than test students. It must inform teaching. **Content:** Assessment has always sat at the heart of teaching and learning. It is how educators understand what students know, where they are struggling, and how instruction needs to change. But in 2026, the landscape of assessment in K-12 education looks very different from what it was even five years ago. Digital platforms have moved the conversation well beyond bubble sheets and semester-end exams. Today, the question is not whether schools use technology for assessment. The question is whether that technology is designed to support both formative and summative assessment in ways that genuinely drive student growth. The distinction between formative and summative assessment is foundational, yet it is misunderstood in practice more often than it should be. Many schools invest in formative summative assessment software without a clear framework for what each type of assessment is meant to accomplish and what the platform must be able to do for teachers and students in each context. That gap between tool and purpose is where student progress stalls. Understanding the difference and what modern platforms must support for each is the starting point for getting assessment right in today’s classrooms. ## Defining the two approaches: formative and summative assessment Formative assessment is assessment for learning. It happens during the instructional process, continuously and informally, to give both teachers and students real-time feedback about where understanding stands. A quick exit ticket at the end of a lesson, a digital poll mid-lecture, a short diagnostic quiz before a new unit begins: these are all formative tools. Their purpose is not to assign a grade. Their purpose is to guide what happens next in the classroom. Summative assessment, by contrast, is an assessment of learning. It measures what students have achieved at the end of an instructional period, whether that is a unit, a semester, or an academic year. Standardized state tests, final exams, end-of-unit projects, and annual benchmarks all fall into this category. Summative assessments are typically tied to grades, accountability reporting, and program evaluation. They tell schools and families how well students have mastered a defined body of content. The two types of assessment are not in competition with each other. They are complementary. What has changed in 2026 is that [modern K-12 platforms](https://www.edsby.com/top-k-12-lms-platforms-compared/commentary/) are now expected to support both within an integrated system, connecting the ongoing data generated by formative practice to the broader performance picture that summative assessments provide. Schools that use disconnected tools for each type of assessment lose the ability to trace the relationship between daily instruction and long-term outcomes. ## Why the assessment software gap matters more in 2026 The post-pandemic recovery in K-12 education has accelerated pressure on assessment systems. Learning loss, chronic absenteeism, and widening achievement gaps have made it more important than ever for educators to have clear, timely data about where each student stands. Yet a significant share of assessment tools for teachers were not designed with this urgency in mind. Many platforms still function as gradebooks with a quiz feature added. They collect data but do not interpret it. They store scores but do not connect them to instructional decisions. Research supports the urgency of getting this right. A widely cited meta-analysis by John Hattie, synthesizing findings from hundreds of studies, places formative evaluation among the highest-impact influences on student achievement. The effect size is substantial, meaning that when teachers have access to frequent, specific feedback about student understanding and use it to adjust instruction, learning outcomes improve significantly. The problem is that most current platforms make this process harder than it should be. Students’ progress tracking has also become more complicated in a hybrid and personalized learning environment. Students in the same classroom may be working on different units, at different paces, through different content pathways. Assessment platforms that assume a single-track classroom model cannot keep up. In 2026, the expectation is that platforms support flexible, differentiated assessment across diverse learner profiles, not just a standardized experience built for an average student who does not actually exist. ## What modern platforms must support formative assessment A strong formative assessment platform does several things that older tools simply cannot. The most important thing is real-time visibility. Teachers need to see, as a lesson is happening or immediately after, how individual students and the class as a whole are responding to instruction. This is not about generating a report that gets reviewed the following week. It is about surfacing actionable signals fast enough for a teacher to respond before misunderstanding hardens into a knowledge gap. The design of formative assessments on a platform also matters enormously. Question variety supports different types of thinking and different learner strengths. A platform limited to multiple-choice questions misses the full picture of student understanding. Modern formative assessment platforms should support a range of item types, including open-ended short responses, drawing and annotation tools, audio responses, and collaborative discussion prompts. Each format generates different insights into student cognition. Several specific capabilities distinguish strong formative assessment tools from weak ones. When evaluating a platform’s formative features, school leaders should look for the following: - Live response dashboards that show teacher-facing data in real time during instructional activities, not after the fact. - Automated flagging of students who fall below mastery thresholds so teachers can prioritize support before moving to the next topic. - Student-facing feedback tools that allow teachers to deliver specific, timely comments rather than just a score or a percentage. - Item banks aligned to current grade-level standards so that assessment creation does not become a time-consuming extra task for already overloaded teachers. The frequency and ease of formative assessment also matter. If creating a formative check takes a teacher thirty minutes of setup, it will not happen as often as it should. Platforms that prioritize speed and simplicity in creating formative checks, while still producing useful data, are the ones used consistently. And consistency is what makes formative assessment work. A single exit ticket tells you almost nothing. A pattern of data across multiple days and topics tells you everything you need to know about a student’s learning trajectory. ## What modern platforms must support summative assessment? Summative assessment in 2026 has its own set of platform requirements, which differ substantially from those on the formative side. Summative data is used for decisions at a different scale: grading, promotion, program evaluation, state accountability, and resource allocation. The platform supporting summative assessment must therefore be reliable to a level beyond that of typical classroom tools. Security, validity, and alignment to standards are non-negotiable features, not optional add-ons. Test security is one of the most significant technical requirements for summative assessment platforms. Schools conducting high-stakes end-of-year tests need lockdown browser functionality, randomized item ordering, and session monitoring capabilities that prevent academic dishonesty without creating a hostile or anxiety-inducing testing environment. The platform must also handle accommodations reliably, providing extended time, text-to-speech, enlarged print, and other accessibility features for students with individualized education programs or 504 plans. Reporting is where summative assessment data either delivers value or gets buried. A platform that generates detailed performance reports that administrators can actually use, that families can understand, and that feeds back into the next cycle of instructional planning, closes the loop between assessment and improvement. Platforms that generate dense PDF reports with no actionable structure waste the data they collect. In 2026, the expectation is interactive, filterable reporting with the ability to break performance down by subgroup, standard, and grade level simultaneously. Standards alignment is also a critical feature for summative tools. State standards shift periodically, and platforms that require manual updates every time a standard changes create significant burdens for curriculum and assessment teams. Modern formative summative assessment software should maintain current, auto-updated standards libraries for all 50 states, enabling schools to build and run assessments that are always aligned without requiring a full platform overhaul every legislative cycle. [![formative summative assessment software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The integration imperative: connecting formative and summative data One of the most significant weaknesses in current K-12 assessment practice is the separation of formative and summative data streams. Schools may use one platform for daily formative checks and a separate system for benchmark and summative assessments. The result is that the rich picture of student learning that exists across both data sets never gets assembled in one place. Teachers make instructional decisions based on incomplete information. Administrators evaluating program effectiveness cannot trace the connection between classroom-level formative practice and school-wide summative outcomes. Integration solves this problem directly. A platform that brings formative and summative data into a single student profile gives teachers a longitudinal view of learning. When a student’s benchmark scores drop in the third quarter, a teacher with integrated data can trace that trend back through weeks of formative check results to identify exactly when and where understanding began to falter. That diagnostic precision is simply not possible when data lives in multiple disconnected tools. The research base for integrated student progress tracking is compelling. A study published in the A peer-reviewed analysis of assessment integration practices published in the[ journal Studies in Educational Evaluation](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X2200032X) found consistent evidence that when schools connect ongoing formative feedback to summative accountability measures, teachers make more targeted instructional decisions and students demonstrate stronger long-term retention. Integration is not just a feature. It is a prerequisite for evidence-based teaching at scale. ## Student progress tracking: the data layer every platform needs Student progress tracking in modern platforms has moved well beyond the gradebook. Today’s expectations include longitudinal performance charts that show growth over time, standards mastery maps that visualize which learning targets have been met and which remain open, and predictive indicators that flag students who are trending toward underperformance before a summative assessment confirms it. These capabilities represent the difference between a platform that records what happened and one that helps educators respond to what is happening. Early warning systems are one of the most valuable applications of integrated progress tracking data. When a platform can correlate attendance patterns, assignment completion rates, formative performance trends, and benchmark scores into a single risk indicator, teachers and counselors can intervene earlier and more precisely. The intervention does not have to wait for a failing grade on a summative test. It can happen the week that the warning signal first appears, when there is still meaningful time to change the trajectory. Family access to progress data is another dimension that strong platforms must support. Parents who can see real-time information about their child’s assessment performance, including both the frequency of formative checks and the outcomes of summative benchmarks, are better positioned to support learning at home. Platforms that restrict progress visibility to teachers and administrators miss an important lever. Family engagement and student achievement are deeply connected, and shared data is one of the most direct ways to activate that connection. ## Assessment tools for teachers: what usability really means in 2026 The most technically sophisticated assessment platform is worthless if teachers do not use it. Usability is not a secondary consideration in platform selection. It is a primary one. In 2026, teachers are managing more responsibilities than ever, and cognitive load is already high. Assessment tools that add friction to the instructional workflow, that require multiple steps to create a simple quiz or that generate data reports too complex to act on quickly, will be used minimally and inconsistently. The best assessment tools for teachers share a set of design principles that go beyond feature lists. First, they reduce creation time without reducing quality. AI-assisted item generation, shared question banks, and template-based assessment design all serve this goal. Second, they surface insights at the point of decision rather than requiring teachers to navigate through multiple dashboards to find the information they need. A teacher looking at tomorrow’s lesson plan should be able to see, in the same interface, which students did not demonstrate mastery today. Third, they support collaboration. Assessment teams work better when teachers can share item banks, compare results across classrooms, and build common assessments together. Platforms that silo each teacher’s assessment data within individual accounts miss the collaborative dimension of professional learning communities. When a third-grade team at a school can look at formative results from all four classrooms side by side, they can have a much more informed conversation about pacing and reteaching priorities than any individual teacher can have alone. Professional development integration is a feature that is often overlooked but genuinely differentiates strong platforms. When a platform can identify patterns in assessment data that suggest a need for targeted teacher support and connect that signal to professional learning resources, it becomes more than a data tool. It becomes part of a continuous improvement system that benefits both teachers and students. ## Equity and accessibility in assessment platform design Assessment equity is a topic that has moved from the margins to the center of platform evaluation in 2026. Districts that serve multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and students from low-income households cannot afford assessment tools that were built only with the mainstream student in mind. The technical requirements of equitable assessment go well beyond a checkbox list of accessibility features. They reflect a design philosophy that starts from the assumption that all students deserve an equal opportunity to demonstrate what they know. Language access is one of the most immediate equity issues in assessment. Students who are assessed only in English when their dominant language is Spanish, Mandarin, or Haitian Creole are being assessed on language proficiency as much as content knowledge. Platforms that offer native-language assessment options or high-quality translation for assessment items give multilingual learners a fairer opportunity to show mastery of the actual content standard being measured. Accommodation support must be built into the platform architecture, not bolted on as an afterthought. Text-to-speech for students with reading disabilities, extended time settings that operate automatically based on student profile data, and simplified interface options for students with cognitive challenges are all baseline requirements for a platform serving a genuinely diverse student population. Districts purchasing assessment software in 2026 should conduct a full accessibility audit before deployment, verifying that the platform meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards at a minimum. ## What district leaders should look for when selecting a platform? The decision to adopt a new formative assessment platform, or to replace an existing one, is consequential enough to deserve a structured evaluation process. District leaders who approach platform selection with clear criteria, grounded in the research on effective assessment practice, are far more likely to make choices that serve teachers and students well over the long term. Technology vendor demonstrations are almost always impressive. What matters is whether the platform performs under real classroom conditions, with real teachers managing real instructional demands. The most important evaluation questions are not about features. They are about integration, usability, and data quality. Does the platform integrate with the student information system already in use, so that student rosters, demographic data, and attendance information do not have to be manually maintained in a second system? Does it integrate with the curriculum platform so that formative checks can be embedded directly into instructional content? Does it produce data that teachers can act on today, or only data that administrators can review next month? Piloting with a representative group of teachers before full deployment is a practice that consistently distinguishes successful platform adoptions from failed ones. Teachers who have used a platform in real instructional conditions can provide feedback that no vendor demo can replicate. Their input on usability, workflow fit, and data usefulness should be a formal part of the selection process, not a courtesy consultation after the decision has already been made. ## The path forward: assessment as a continuous learning system The most important shift in assessment thinking in 2026 is the move away from assessment as an event and toward assessment as a system. Individual tests, whether formative or summative, are only valuable to the extent that they contribute to a coherent picture of student learning over time. That picture is what drives better instruction, earlier intervention, stronger family engagement, and ultimately higher student achievement. Building that picture requires platforms that are designed with integration, usability, and equity at their core. Schools that invest in [strong formative summative assessment software](https://www.edsby.com/), and that build the human processes around it to ensure consistent use, will see the results in the data that matters most: attendance trends, academic growth, and the sense among teachers that they actually know their students well enough to teach them effectively. Assessment technology should make that knowledge easier to acquire and act on, not harder. In 2026, the platforms that succeed are the ones built with that purpose at the center. ## Frequently asked questions ### 1. How is formative summative assessment software different from a traditional gradebook? A traditional gradebook records scores after the fact. Modern formative summative assessment software is a learning management system that captures data during and after instruction, connects formative check results to summative outcomes, and surfaces actionable insights that guide instructional decisions in real time. The core difference is that assessment software is designed to change what happens in the classroom, not just document what already happened. ### 2. Can small or underfunded districts afford integrated assessment platforms? Yes. The assessment technology market in 2026 includes scalable platforms designed for districts of all sizes and funding levels. Many platforms offer tiered pricing, grant-eligible licensing, and free tiers for basic functionality. Title I funds and ESSER-related grants have also been used by smaller districts to invest in integrated assessment infrastructure. The more important question is not whether a district can afford the platform. The question is whether the district can afford to continue operating without the data clarity that integrated assessment software provides. ### 3. How often should formative assessments be conducted within a modern platform? Research generally supports daily or near-daily formative check-ins at the elementary level and multiple times per week at the secondary level, particularly in subjects where concepts build on each other sequentially. The platform should make assessment creation fast enough that frequency is not a burden. When a teacher can deploy a formative check in two minutes and review results in three, daily practice becomes realistic. The goal is not to add more testing. It is to make the feedback loop between teaching and learning as tight as possible. ### 4. What role does AI play in modern assessment platforms? AI in 2026 assessment platforms serves several functions. It assists with item generation, allowing teachers to build standards-aligned questions faster. It powers automated scoring for open-ended responses, reducing grading burden. It also drives predictive analytics, identifying students who are trending toward academic risk before that risk becomes visible in summative scores. The strongest platforms use AI to amplify teacher judgment, not replace it, by surfacing signals that would be too time-consuming to detect manually across a full class roster. ### 5. How should schools communicate assessment platform changes to families? Family communication about assessment platform changes should begin before the platform launches, not after. Schools should clearly explain what data will be collected, how it will be used, and what access families will have to their child’s results. Platforms that include family-facing dashboards require dedicated onboarding so that parents understand what they are seeing. Communication should be multilingual in communities where English is not the primary home language. Trust in the assessment system begins with transparency about how student data is managed and what parents can expect to receive. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** ssment tools for teachers, student progress tracking, formative assessment platform, formative summative assessment software --- ### [The parent engagement K-12 data: Why most school apps fail to bridge the gap](https://www.edsby.com/school-apps-for-parent-engagement-k12-data/commentary/) **Published:** April 20, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Most school apps fail parents. Here is what the data shows and what actually works. **Content:** Every school district in America wants the same thing: parents who are informed, involved, and invested in their children’s education. Billions of dollars have been spent on technology meant to bridge the gap between classrooms and homes. Hundreds of school apps promise seamless communication, real-time updates, and stronger family relationships. Yet the parent engagement K-12 data tells a very different story. Most of these tools are not working, and the evidence is hard to ignore. The frustration is not simply a technology problem. It is a design problem, a strategy problem, and in many cases, a trust problem. Schools roll out new platforms with good intentions, but families are left navigating a fragmented digital landscape that demands more effort than it returns. Understanding why this keeps happening, and what the data reveals about what actually works, is the first step toward building a school-home partnership that genuinely serves students. ## The scale of the problem: what the numbers reveal The 2024 SchoolStatus national survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and administrators surfaced a striking contradiction. While 90% of respondents said school-family communication is important for student success, only 32% reported using student data for data-driven discussions with families. That is an enormous gap between belief and practice, and it sits at the heart of the parent engagement crisis in American schools. The picture becomes sharper when you look at the app overload crisis. A 2025 research report titled App Overload: How a Fragmented Digital Landscape is Failing K-12 Education, conducted by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby, surveyed over 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America. The findings were alarming. Most schools without a unified platform require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate educational apps. Some districts use more than 16 officially sanctioned platforms. And parent satisfaction? It barely registers. In the [Cornerstone-Edsby study](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Grade-Your-LMS-poll-results-071521.pdf), 85% of parents rated their satisfaction with multiple school apps at five out of ten or lower. In open-ended responses, parents consistently described the experience of tracking their child’s academic progress across multiple platforms as confusing and time-consuming. Administrators, meanwhile, were largely satisfied with the status quo, with 80% believing teachers were also satisfied. They were wrong. Teachers reported moderate dissatisfaction due to the administrative burden of managing so many disconnected tools. This disconnect between administrative perception and on-the-ground reality is one of the defining features of the parent engagement gap. Decision-makers believe their systems are working. The people actually using those systems, parents and teachers, know otherwise. ## Why most school apps fail families The failure of school communication apps is rarely about the technology itself. Most modern platforms are well-built, secure, and feature-rich. The problem is how they are selected, deployed, and multiplied over time. Districts accumulate tools in layers, adding a new attendance app here, a grading portal there, a messaging platform somewhere else. Each tool solves a narrow problem but creates a broader one: families lose the thread. There are several specific reasons why app-based parent communication consistently underperforms, and the research points to each of them: ### Fragmentation fatigue When parents must check multiple platforms to get a complete picture of their child’s school day, most simply give up. The cognitive load of managing separate logins, notification settings, and interfaces for different apps is not sustainable for busy families. ### Language barriers The SchoolStatus 2024 survey found that 32% of educators cite language barriers as a significant obstacle to effective family communication. Many apps offer limited or no translation support, immediately excluding a large segment of families. ### One-way communication design Many school apps are built to push information out to parents rather than create genuine dialogue. Families receive updates but have no easy way to respond, ask questions, or flag concerns in real time. ### Poor onboarding The report recommends establishing a formal app onboarding process for parents and teachers, a step most districts currently skip. Without it, families are left to figure out platforms on their own, and many never fully engage. There is also a data privacy dimension that erodes family trust. A report from the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs found that 96% of apps used in schools share student information with third parties. Yet 86% of the schools surveyed lacked any mechanism for obtaining parental consent before deploying technology that shares student data. When parents discover that apps meant to connect them to their child’s education are also collecting and sharing sensitive information without their knowledge, trust in those tools collapses entirely. From here has emerged the [necessity of unified school management systems in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/). ## The real cost of low parent engagement in K-12 The stakes here go well beyond user experience frustration. A substantial body of research confirms that strong parental engagement is one of the most powerful drivers of student academic achievement. A major second-order meta-analysis published in [ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X) concluded that there is a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student academic achievement across grade levels. The research is reviewed at ScienceDirect: Fifty years of parental involvement and achievement research. Students with engaged parents show better attendance, stronger academic performance, improved social skills, and are more likely to complete high school and pursue post-secondary education. The relationship is not marginal. It is foundational. When schools fail to improve parent communication, they are not just creating an inconvenience. They are removing one of the most reliable levers for lifting student outcomes. The attendance crisis makes this even more urgent. The SchoolStatus survey found that 73% of educators identify attendance as crucial for academic success, yet 46% say they struggle to get families to prioritize student attendance. Chronic absenteeism has reached historic levels in many districts following the pandemic years, and research consistently links family communication quality to attendance outcomes. When a parent does not hear from the school until attendance has already become a serious problem, the window for early intervention has closed. More than 70% of teachers and educators, according to the National Association of Family Support and Community Engagement (NAFSCE), have experienced challenges with parental and community involvement in schools. This is not a niche problem confined to a handful of struggling districts. It is a systemic issue that affects schools of all sizes, in all regions, at every funding level. ## What effective family engagement platforms actually look like The solution the data points toward is not simply a better app. It is a fundamentally different approach to how schools design their communication infrastructure. Districts that successfully improve parent communication in schools tend to share several qualities that distinguish them from the majority. - The first quality is consolidation. The App Overload report recommends a unified portal as the primary intervention, replacing the patchwork of individual tools with a single, integrated system where parents can find everything they need. This is not just about convenience. It is about reducing the friction that causes disengagement. When a parent has one place to check attendance, view grades, read announcements, and message a teacher, they actually use it. - The second quality is data integration. The SchoolStatus survey found that only 32% of educators currently use student information for data-driven family conversations, even though 86% say data gaps limit their ability to support students. Effective school parent engagement tools give educators a real-time, complete view of student data so they can reach out to families with specific, actionable information rather than generic updates. A parent who receives a message saying their child has missed 8 days this semester and is at risk of falling below the attendance threshold responds very differently from one who receives a generic reminder about the attendance policy. - The third quality is multilingual accessibility. When 32% of educators cite language barriers as a challenge to family communication, any platform that operates only in English is immediately excluding a significant portion of the families it is supposed to serve. Leading family engagement platforms now offer communication in 100 or more languages, making it possible for schools to reach every family in their preferred language without placing additional work on teachers or administrators. - The fourth quality is multichannel reach. Different families prefer different communication channels. Some respond quickly to text messages. Others check email. Some need a phone call. Platforms that restrict communication to a single channel will always leave a portion of families unreachable. Effective family engagement platforms allow educators to connect through the channel each family uses most, and to automate follow-up based on whether a message was opened or responded to. A unified school management platform, [Edsby, has won EdTech Award (Best parent student solution)](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2026-finalists-winners/) for exhibiting all these qualities stated above. [![parent engagement k-12 data](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The role of data in closing the engagement gap One of the most underutilized assets in K-12 schools is the data that already exists within district systems. Every school generates enormous volumes of data on student attendance, academic performance, behavioral patterns, and family contact history. Most of it never reaches the families who need it most, in a form they can act on. The PowerSchool 2024 Education Focus Report found that while using data effectively is widely viewed as vital to understanding students, the connection between data insights and family communication remains weak in most districts. School leaders prioritize data for instructional decisions but rarely consider it a tool for improving parent engagement. That gap represents a significant missed opportunity. Data-driven family engagement works by making communication timely, specific, and relevant. Instead of waiting until parent-teacher conference season to discuss academic progress, a data-integrated platform allows educators to alert families the moment an early warning indicator appears. A drop in homework completion rates. A pattern of tardiness. A declining grade in a single subject. When these signals reach parents quickly and clearly, intervention is possible before a small issue becomes a large one. There is also a two-way dimension to parent engagement K-12 data that most schools have not explored. Parents have information about their children that schools do not have access to: health challenges, family circumstances, changes at home that affect behavior and attention. Platforms that create genuine channels for parents to share this context with educators, not just receive information from them, enable a more complete picture of each student and a stronger foundation for academic support. ## What districts with strong engagement do differently Districts that achieve measurably higher levels of family engagement do not rely on a single platform rollout or a one-time parent outreach initiative. They treat engagement as an ongoing operational priority, reflected in how they structure communication workflows, train staff, measure outcomes, and allocate resources. Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia, for example, described the impact of centralizing student data and communication through a unified platform as transformative. According to the district’s Director of Information and Instructional Technology, having all student information in one place made it significantly faster to identify which students needed intervention and support. Real-time data insights were described as invaluable given the district’s resource constraints. Several patterns distinguish high-engagement districts from the rest. First, they systematically collect feedback from families about what is working and what is not, and they make adjustments based on that feedback rather than assuming the technology is performing well. Second, they invest in formal onboarding for both parents and teachers when introducing new platforms, rather than assuming users will figure things out independently. Third, they set clear communication standards, not leaving it to individual teachers to decide how often and through which channels to contact families. High-engagement districts also recognize that equity is a core parent engagement K-12 data issue. Families with lower incomes, limited English proficiency, or lack of reliable internet access are systematically less likely to engage with digital-only communication systems. Effective districts design their family engagement platform strategy with these families in mind from the start, not as an afterthought. ## Building toward a better model: what the research recommends The convergence of multiple data sources, from national surveys to meta-analytic research, points toward a clear model for improving parent engagement data at the K-12 level. It is not about finding the next great app. It is about rethinking how schools and families relate to each other, with technology as the enabler of a human-centered process rather than a replacement for it. The App Overload report’s core recommendation is consolidation: eliminate redundant tools, establish a single unified portal, and build an onboarding process that ensures both families and educators can use it effectively. This alone would address a large share of the frustration that currently drives parent disengagement. Beyond consolidation, the research calls for proactive communication rooted in data. The default model in most schools is reactive: contact families when there is a problem. High-performing engagement models flip this, using student data to initiate positive, proactive outreach that builds trust before a crisis arises. When a family hears from the school only when something goes wrong, they begin to associate school contact with bad news. When they hear from the school regularly, with specific and useful information, they stay connected. The translation and accessibility dimension is non-negotiable. Schools that serve multilingual communities cannot rely on English-only platforms and expect meaningful engagement from all families. The technology exists to deliver automated, high-quality translation across dozens of languages. Using it is not optional if equity in family engagement is the goal. Finally, the data privacy issue demands direct attention. Schools should conduct a full audit of every technology platform that touches student or family data, verify that consent mechanisms are in place, and communicate clearly with families about what data is collected and how it is used. Trust is the prerequisite for engagement, and trust cannot exist in the absence of transparency. ## The path forward for schools and districts The parent engagement K-12 data makes one thing unambiguous: the status quo is not acceptable. Schools are spending money on tools that are not delivering results, frustrating the very families they are meant to serve, and leaving one of education’s most powerful student success levers largely unused. The good news is that the path forward is reasonably clear. Schools that take parent communication seriously enough to audit their current technology stack, eliminate redundant platforms, invest in a genuinely unified family engagement platform, and build the human processes around it will see measurable improvements. Not just in app satisfaction scores, but in the metrics that matter most: attendance rates, academic outcomes, and the sense among families that the school is a true partner in their child’s education. The parent engagement gap K-12 data is real. It is well-documented. And it is closing only in the districts that have decided closing it is a strategic priority, not just a technology purchase decision. The data shows what works. The question is whether school leaders are ready to act on it. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What does current parent engagement K-12 data actually show about family involvement? Current data present a contradictory picture. While 90% of educators agree that school-family communication is essential for student success, only around 32% actively use student data to drive family conversations. Simultaneously, 85% of parents in multi-app environments rate their satisfaction at five out of ten or lower, signaling that the tools schools deploy are not meeting family needs. Research also confirms that over 70% of teachers experience challenges with parental involvement, pointing to a gap that technology alone has not closed. ### 2. How many school apps are too many for parents to manage effectively? Research from the 2025 App Overload report suggests that the tipping point comes well before the 10 to 15 apps that most schools without a unified platform currently require. Even managing five or more separate platforms creates cognitive overload for busy families, especially when each app has different login credentials, notification settings, and update frequencies. Parent satisfaction drops sharply as the number of required platforms increases, with the steepest decline occurring when families are asked to use more than a handful of disconnected tools. ### 3. What specific features make a family engagement platform effective? Effective family engagement platforms share several characteristics: they consolidate all communication and student data into a single interface, they support multilingual communication so non-English-speaking families can engage fully, they allow multichannel outreach including text, email, and voice, and they integrate real-time student data so educators can reach out proactively rather than reactively. Platforms that also include two-way communication features, allowing parents to respond or share context, tend to produce stronger engagement outcomes than one-directional notification tools. ### 4. Why does parent engagement tend to decline as students get older? Longitudinal research, including a 2024 study analyzing data from nearly 2,900 students in Finland, confirms that parental involvement generally decreases as children progress through school. Several factors contribute to this trend. Adolescents actively seek greater independence, and parents often interpret this as a signal to step back. Secondary school communication systems also tend to be more fragmented and harder for parents to navigate than elementary systems. Schools themselves often shift to a more information-delivery model at the secondary level, reducing opportunities for genuine family participation. Addressing this drop-off requires intentional outreach strategies designed specifically for middle and high school families. ### 5. How can schools measure whether their parent communication efforts are actually working? Measuring family engagement effectiveness requires looking beyond login counts and message delivery rates. Schools should track response rates to outbound communications, the percentage of families attending conferences or school events, parent survey satisfaction scores, and, most importantly, whether engagement correlates with improvements in attendance and academic outcomes. Schools should also track equity metrics, such as whether engagement rates differ significantly across demographic groups, to identify where technology or communication barriers are excluding particular families. Platforms that provide built-in analytics dashboards make this kind of ongoing measurement far easier to sustain. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** parent engagement K-12 data, improve parent communication schools, school parent engagement tools, family engagement platform --- ### [Downside of school-parent Facebook communication](https://www.edsby.com/school-parent-facebook-communication-risks/commentary/) **Published:** April 20, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Facebook puts student data at risk. Here is what schools should use instead. **Content:** It starts with good intentions. A teacher creates a class Facebook group to share homework reminders and event updates. Parents join because it feels easy and familiar. Within weeks, the group becomes the school’s de facto communication hub. But behind the convenience, a serious school-parent Facebook communication risk is quietly building, one that most educators and administrators never fully see until something goes wrong. Facebook was not built for schools. It was built for advertising. Its privacy model, data practices, and content algorithms are designed around engagement and monetization, not the protection of minors or the confidentiality of student information. When teachers use it to communicate with families, they are introducing a consumer social media platform into a professional relationship that carries legal, ethical, and reputational obligations schools cannot afford to ignore. This is not a matter of personal preference or generational habit. It is a structural problem with documented consequences. Understanding those consequences, and what a secure parent communication platform can do differently, is essential for any school or district serious about protecting both students and staff. ## The real privacy problem with Facebook in schools The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives parents the right to control access to their children’s educational records. Schools that use Facebook groups to discuss student performance, attendance, or behavior may be creating FERPA violations they do not even realize are occurring. Even a casual comment like ‘remind your child to turn in the reading log’ becomes a disclosure of educational activity when it is posted in a semi-public social media space that Facebook can scan, store, and use for advertising purposes. Facebook’s data practices make this worse. The platform collects data from group members, including browsing behavior, device information, and interaction patterns. It uses this data to build detailed user profiles and serve targeted advertisements. Parents who join a class Facebook group to stay informed about their child’s school day are, without realizing it, feeding this data engine. Schools cannot obtain or enforce data processing agreements with Facebook in the way that FERPA and similar state laws require of educational technology vendors. There is also the matter of consent. A parent who joins a class Facebook group may have no idea that their activity on that group will be used to inform ads they see across the platform. Schools have no way to audit how Facebook processes that data, no way to delete it on the family’s behalf, and no legal mechanism to hold the platform accountable under educational privacy standards. The school-parent Facebook communication risk here is not hypothetical. It is baked into the platform’s design. ## Why ‘everyone uses it’ is not a good enough reason The most common defense of Facebook as a school communication tool is the adoption rate. Teachers point out that most parents are already on the platform, reducing friction for getting families engaged. This argument has surface-level logic but collapses under scrutiny. Ease of adoption is not the same as appropriateness for the context. Schools do not choose health record systems based on which one is most familiar to patients. The same standard should apply to systems that handle information about children. The adoption argument also ignores the families it leaves out. Not every parent is on Facebook. Many have deliberately avoided the platform due to privacy concerns, political reasons, or past negative experiences. Others belong to communities where Facebook use is low. When a school makes Facebook its primary communication channel, it is making a structural choice to exclude these families. This is a direct equity problem, and it directly undermines the goal of building inclusive family engagement across the school community. Beyond privacy and equity, there is a professional boundary issue that rarely gets discussed. Facebook is a personal social space. When teachers use it to communicate with parents, the line between professional and personal identity becomes difficult to maintain. Parents can see a teacher’s personal posts, political opinions, and social activity even when profiles are set to limited visibility. Teachers can see the same from parents. This mixing of personal and professional contexts creates liability for the school and discomfort for the educators involved. ## What the research says about fragmented school communication The case against informal social media tools for school communication is not just about legal risk. Research shows that fragmented communication systems actively undermine family engagement. The 2025 App Overload report, conducted by Cornerstone Communications in partnership with Edsby, surveyed over 275 educators, administrators, and parents across North America. It found that schools without a unified platform typically require families to navigate between 10 and 15 separate tools. Parent satisfaction in these environments averaged five out of ten or lower for 85% of respondents. Facebook groups added to this mix do not simplify anything. They add another login, another notification stream, and another place where critical information can get buried under social posts and irrelevant content. A parent trying to find a message about a field trip permission slip should not have to scroll past birthday photos and news articles to find it. When the information environment is chaotic, families disengage, not because they do not care, but because the effort required exceeds what busy households can sustain. A large body of research confirms that family engagement is one of the strongest predictors of student academic success. A major meta-analysis published in[ ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X2200032X), synthesizing 23 separate meta-analyses and over 1,100 primary studies across 50 years, confirmed a consistent positive association between parental involvement and student achievement. Schools that use unreliable, informal communication tools are not just creating inconvenience. They are weakening one of their most powerful levers for student success. ## The specific risks teachers face personally The school-parent Facebook communication risk is not limited to institutional liability. Individual teachers carry personal risk when they use social media platforms for professional communication. If a parent screenshots a message sent through Facebook Messenger and shares it publicly, the teacher has no recourse through the platform. No audit trail meets legal standards, no message recall function, and no security protocol that protects the educator in a dispute. Teachers can also become targets of harassment when their professional and personal identities overlap on social platforms. A parent upset about a grade or a disciplinary decision can use information visible on a teacher’s Facebook profile to make complaints feel more personal and targeted. When professional communication happens through platforms designed for personal social interaction, the protections that normally exist in institutional communication channels disappear. There is also the issue of documentation. School messaging systems maintain records that can be retrieved during investigations, legal proceedings, or compliance audits. Facebook messages do not meet these standards. If a parent later claims they were not informed about something or disputes what was communicated about their child, the school cannot use Facebook messages as reliable evidence. This leaves teachers in an exposed position that they may not recognize until it is too late. ## What a secure parent communication platform does differently A school messaging system built specifically for K-12 environments is designed around the needs that Facebook fundamentally cannot meet. It keeps student and family data within a controlled environment where the school remains the data controller. It creates auditable records of every communication. It does not use family data for advertising. And it gives administrators visibility into how communication is happening across their school, making it possible to spot gaps and improve outreach systematically. The best parent communication tools for K-12 schools, like Edsby, t[he winner of the 2026 Best Parent/Student Solution EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2026-finalists-winners/), can deploy a set of qualities that distinguish them from consumer social platforms. These qualities are not optional extras. They are baseline requirements for a communication system that serves students, families, and staff appropriately. - Data privacy compliance: The platform must be FERPA-compliant and have a signed data processing agreement in place. It should not share student or family data with third parties for commercial purposes. - Multilingual support: Families who speak languages other than English should be able to receive and respond to messages in their preferred language without requiring additional work from teachers. - Two-way communication: Parents should be able to reply, ask questions, and share context with educators, not just receive broadcast notifications. - Message records and audit trails: Every communication should be logged and retrievable by administrators, creating accountability and legal protection for staff and families alike. - Integration with student data: Educators should be able to see attendance records, academic performance, and contact history in one place so they can communicate proactively rather than reactively. When teachers have access to a platform that meets these requirements, the quality of school-home communication changes fundamentally. Instead of broadcasting generic updates into a social media feed, educators can reach out with specific, timely, relevant information that families can actually act on. That is a different kind of engagement from anything Facebook can provide. [![school management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The equity argument that schools cannot ignore One of the most serious problems with Facebook as a school communication channel is the equity gap it creates. Facebook use is not uniform across all communities. Parents with limited English proficiency are less likely to use English-language social platforms effectively. Families in lower-income households may have limited or shared device access that makes managing a social media account alongside a school communication obligation impractical. Older parents and grandparents who serve as primary caregivers may not use Facebook at all. A 2024 SchoolStatus national survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and administrators found that 32% of educators cite language barriers as a significant obstacle to effective family communication. Any communication system that does not actively address this barrier is making a choice, deliberately or not, to leave a significant portion of families behind. Schools that serve multilingual communities cannot rely on a platform that operates primarily in English and offers no meaningful translation support. Secure parent communication platforms built for K-12 schools increasingly offer communication in 100 or more languages, with automated translation that does not require teachers to do extra work. This is not a luxury feature. It is a basic requirement for schools that serve diverse communities and take their equity commitments seriously. A school messaging system that can reach every family, regardless of language or digital literacy, is a fundamentally different tool from a social media platform that was designed for the already-connected. ## How to make the transition away from Facebook Shifting away from Facebook as a communication channel requires more than just selecting a new platform. It requires a deliberate change management process that brings parents along rather than simply mandating a new tool without explanation. Schools that have made this transition successfully tend to follow a similar pattern. The first step is communicating the reason for the change clearly and specifically. Parents who have been using a Facebook group for months or years deserve to understand why the school is moving to a different system. Explaining the privacy risks, the equity limitations, and the functionality improvements that a purpose-built platform offers gives families context that makes them partners in the transition rather than recipients of a confusing policy change. The second step is investing in formal onboarding. The App Overload research explicitly recommends establishing a formal app onboarding process as a key intervention for improving family engagement. Most districts skip this step and then wonder why adoption is low. When families receive clear instructions, accessible tutorials, and a point of contact for technical questions, they engage with new systems at much higher rates. This is especially important for families with limited digital literacy or those who were relying on Facebook precisely because it was familiar. The third step is ensuring that the transition is complete. A school that moves to a secure parent communication platform but allows Facebook groups to continue running in parallel has not actually solved the problem. It has added another tool to an already fragmented communication landscape. District leadership needs to set clear expectations that official school communication happens through official school channels and that this applies to all staff. ## What good looks like: districts that got it right Districts that have moved deliberately to purpose-built family engagement platforms report consistent improvements in both the quality of communication and family participation rates. The shift tends to produce changes that go beyond user experience. When educators have access to real-time student data alongside communication tools, the nature of outreach changes. Instead of generic reminders, families receive timely, specific messages about their own child’s situation. A parent who learns that their child has missed six days this semester and is at risk of falling below the district’s attendance threshold responds very differently from one who receives a generic reminder about the importance of attendance. Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia documented exactly this kind of change after centralizing student data and communication through a unified platform. District administrators described the ability to identify which students needed intervention as significantly faster and more precise. Real-time data insights were described as invaluable given the district’s resource constraints. This is what parent communication tools K12 schools genuinely need: systems that connect the information educators already have to the families who need it most. The common thread among high-performing districts is that they treat family communication as a strategic operational priority, not an afterthought managed through whatever tools individual teachers happen to prefer. They set standards, invest in platforms that meet those standards, and measure whether the investment is producing results. These districts have also recognized that moving away from informal tools like Facebook is not a restriction on teacher autonomy. It is a protection for teachers, families, and students alike. ## The bottom line for school leaders The school-parent Facebook communication risk is real, documented, and entirely avoidable. No school district should be relying on a commercial social media platform as a primary channel for communicating with families about their children’s education. The privacy exposure alone is sufficient reason to act. The equity implications, the professional liability for teachers, and the structural limitations of an engagement model built around a social feed make the case even clearer. School leaders who want to improve parent engagement and build genuine trust with families need to start by examining what tools they are actually using and whether those tools meet the standards that families, students, and staff deserve. A secure [parent communication platform designed specifically for K-12 contexts](https://www.edsby.com/) is not a luxury. It is the baseline for responsible, effective family engagement in a modern school. The technology exists. The research points clearly toward consolidation, data integration, multilingual access, and privacy compliance as the foundations of effective family engagement. The question is whether school leaders are ready to replace convenience with intention, and informal habit with professional standard. Students and families are waiting for the answer. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. Is it actually illegal for teachers to use Facebook to communicate with parents about students? Using Facebook is not automatically illegal, but it creates significant legal exposure. FERPA requires schools to protect student educational records and to maintain control over how that data is stored and accessed. Facebook’s data practices are incompatible with these requirements. If a teacher uses Facebook to share any information tied to a specific student’s academic record, behavior, or school performance, the school may be in violation of FERPA. State privacy laws add additional layers of risk. The practical advice from most school attorneys is to avoid consumer social platforms for any communication that involves student-specific information. ### 2. What should a school look for when choosing a secure parent communication platform? Schools should prioritize FERPA compliance and a signed data processing agreement as non-negotiable starting points. Beyond legal compliance, an effective school messaging system should offer multilingual communication support, two-way messaging capabilities, integration with student data systems, and administrator-level analytics and oversight. The platform should work across multiple communication channels, including text, email, and voice, so that families can be reached through whichever channel they use most. Built-in audit trails and message history are also important for documentation purposes. ### 3. How do you get parents to stop using the Facebook group and move to a new platform? Successful transitions require clear communication about the reason for the change, not just an announcement. Parents need to understand why the move is happening and what benefits the new platform offers them. Formal onboarding with accessible tutorials, help resources, and a support contact makes a significant difference in adoption rates. Schools should also close down the Facebook group rather than leaving it active alongside the new system. Running parallel channels undermines the transition and keeps families fragmented across multiple tools. ### 4. Does switching to a dedicated platform mean parents need to learn another new app? The goal of a secure parent communication platform is to reduce app overload, not add to it. Well-designed K-12 communication platforms consolidate multiple functions, including messaging, attendance updates, grade notifications, and school announcements, into a single interface. For families currently managing 10 or more separate school apps, a unified platform actually reduces complexity. The short-term learning curve of adopting one new system is far smaller than the ongoing cognitive burden of managing a fragmented digital landscape across dozens of disconnected tools. ### 5. What if most parents in our school community prefer to communicate via Facebook? Parent preference for familiar tools is understandable, but it should not override the school’s legal and ethical obligations. Schools would not allow teachers to store student records on personal social media accounts simply because families prefer a particular platform. The same standard applies to communication. Schools can acknowledge the preference respectfully while explaining clearly why a purpose-built school messaging system is necessary. Most families, when given a clear explanation of the privacy and safety reasons for the change, are supportive. The families who are hardest to reach through Facebook are often the ones who most benefit from a platform designed with accessibility and multilingual support in mind. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school parent Facebook communication risk, Secure parent communication platform, school messaging system, parent communication tools K12 --- ### [The hidden cost of running 6 different EdTech tools](https://www.edsby.com/hidden-edtech-tools-costs/commentary/) **Published:** March 26, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** The real cost of running multiple EdTech tools in school districts is explained. **Content:** At first glance, using multiple EdTech tools in a school district seems like a practical approach. Each platform solves a specific problem. One handles learning management. Another tracks attendance. A third manages communication. Over time, districts build a toolkit that appears comprehensive and efficient. But beneath the surface, the real story is different. Running six or more disconnected tools often creates hidden costs that are not immediately visible in budgets or reports. These costs accumulate quietly across departments, affecting productivity, data accuracy, user experience, and long-term financial planning. Understanding EdTech tool costs requires looking beyond subscription fees. The true expense lies in how these tools interact, or fail to interact, within the broader system. ## The illusion of affordable tools Most EdTech tools are adopted individually, often at reasonable price points. A district may justify each purchase based on immediate needs and perceived value. When viewed in isolation, each tool appears cost-effective. The problem arises when these tools are used together without proper integration. What starts as a set of affordable solutions gradually becomes a fragmented ecosystem. Each new addition increases complexity. Over time, districts begin to experience the compounded impact of managing multiple platforms. This is where the cost of multiple[ school software tools](https://www.edsby.com/) becomes evident. The issue is not just what districts pay, but what they lose in efficiency, time, and clarity. ## What are the hidden costs of using multiple EdTech tools? The hidden costs of running multiple tools are often overlooked because they are distributed across different areas of the district. However, they have a significant cumulative impact. ### 1. Time lost in daily operations One of the most immediate costs is time. Teachers and administrators frequently switch between platforms to complete routine tasks. A teacher might take attendance in one system, upload assignments in another, and communicate with parents through a separate app. Each transition takes time and interrupts the workflow. Over the course of a day, these small inefficiencies add up. Across an entire district, they translate into thousands of lost hours every year. ### 2. Duplicate work and data entry When systems are not integrated, the same information must be entered multiple times. Student data, grades, attendance records, and communication logs are often duplicated across platforms. This not only increases workload but also creates opportunities for errors. Inconsistent data leads to confusion and reduces trust in the system. It also makes reporting more complicated and less reliable. ### 3. Training and onboarding costs Every new tool requires training. Districts must invest time and resources to ensure that teachers, administrators, and staff understand how to use each platform effectively. This becomes particularly challenging when there are multiple tools with different interfaces and workflows. New hires face a steep learning curve, which slows down onboarding and reduces productivity in the early stages. These training efforts contribute significantly to managing the cost of multiple EdTech platforms. ### 4. IT Maintenance and support burden Behind the scenes, IT teams carry a heavy load. Each platform requires: - Setup and configuration - Regular updates - Troubleshooting and support When multiple vendors are involved, coordination becomes more complex. IT teams must manage different systems, resolve compatibility issues, and ensure that integrations function properly. This increases operational overhead and diverts resources away from strategic initiatives. ### 5. Integration and middleware expenses To make disconnected tools work together, districts often invest in[ integration solutions](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035524000661) or middleware. While these tools help bridge gaps between systems, they introduce additional costs. They also require ongoing maintenance and monitoring. Even with integration, the experience is rarely seamless. Data delays, synchronization issues, and technical glitches can still occur. ### 6. Poor user experience and reduced adoption When users are required to navigate multiple systems, the experience becomes fragmented. Students may struggle to find assignments or track progress. Parents may find it difficult to stay informed. Teachers may feel overwhelmed by the number of platforms they need to manage. This leads to lower adoption rates and reduced effectiveness of the tools. In some cases, districts end up paying for software that is underutilized. ### 7. Limited visibility and reporting challenges District leaders rely on data to make informed decisions. However, when data is spread across multiple systems, it becomes difficult to generate comprehensive reports. Information must be collected, cleaned, and combined manually. This process is time-consuming and prone to errors. As a result, decision-making is often delayed or based on incomplete data. ## How much does EdTech tool sprawl cost a school district? Tool sprawl does not show up as a single line item in the budget, which makes it harder to quantify. However, its financial impact is significant when all factors are considered. The total district technology spending related to multiple tools typically includes: - Subscription fees for each platform - Costs of integration tools or middleware - Training and professional development expenses - IT staffing and support costs - Productivity losses due to inefficiencies Individually, these costs may seem manageable. Combined, they create a substantial financial burden. For many districts, the hidden costs can exceed the actual licensing fees of the tools themselves. This is why evaluating school software expenses requires a holistic approach. ## Why are disconnected school software tools expensive? Disconnected tools are expensive because they create inefficiencies at every level of operation. At the classroom level, teachers spend more time managing systems than engaging with students. At the administrative level, staff must coordinate across platforms to complete basic tasks. At the leadership level, decision-making is slowed by a lack of clear and timely data. The lack of integration also increases risk. Data inconsistencies can lead to errors in reporting, compliance issues, and misinformed decisions. These risks carry both financial and reputational consequences. In essence, the cost of disconnection is not just operational. It affects the overall effectiveness of the district. ## The compounding effect of multiple tools One of the most overlooked aspects of EdTech tool costs is how they compound over time. Adding one tool may have a minimal impact. Adding six creates exponential complexity. Each additional system increases: - The number of integrations required - The volume of data that must be managed - The effort needed for training and support This compounding effect makes it increasingly difficult for districts to maintain efficiency as their technology stack grows. ## A smarter approach to managing EdTech costs To address these challenges, many districts are rethinking their approach to technology. Instead of continuing to add tools, they are focusing on consolidation. This involves evaluating existing systems, identifying redundancies, and moving toward a more integrated solution. A unified approach reduces complexity and allows districts to optimize their resources. It also creates a more consistent experience for all users. While consolidation requires careful planning, it offers a clear path to reducing long-term costs and improving overall efficiency. ## Signs your district is paying too much for EdTech In many cases, districts are not fully aware of how much they are spending on fragmented systems. However, there are clear indicators that costs are higher than they should be. A few common signs include: - Staff frequently switch between multiple platforms - Duplicate data entry across systems - Difficulty generating accurate reports - High IT workload related to maintenance and support - Low adoption rates for certain tools These signs suggest that the current system is not operating efficiently and may benefit from consolidation. ## The long-term impact on district performance The financial cost of multiple tools is only part of the picture. Over time, inefficiencies in the system can affect overall district performance. Teachers may experience burnout due to administrative overload. Students may face barriers to engagement. Parents may struggle to stay connected. These challenges can impact learning outcomes and community trust. Reducing the hidden costs of using multiple EdTech tools in school districts is not just about saving money. It is about creating a more effective and supportive environment for education. ## Final takeaway Running multiple EdTech tools may seem manageable in the short term, but the hidden costs quickly add up. From lost time and duplicate work to increased IT burden and reduced visibility, the impact is felt across the entire district. Understanding the true scope of EdTech tool costs requires looking beyond surface-level expenses. Districts must consider how their systems work together and what inefficiencies may be holding them back. By addressing tool sprawl and moving toward more integrated solutions, districts can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and create a better experience for everyone involved. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What are the hidden costs of using multiple EdTech tools? Hidden costs include time loss, duplicate data entry, training expenses, IT maintenance, and reduced productivity across the district. ### 2. How much does tool sprawl cost a school district? Tool sprawl increases costs through subscriptions, integrations, training, IT support, and inefficiencies, often exceeding expected budgets. ### 3. Why are disconnected school software tools expensive? They create inefficiencies, data silos, and operational complexity, which increase both direct and indirect costs. ### 4. How can districts reduce EdTech tool costs? By consolidating tools, improving integration, and adopting unified platforms that streamline operations and reduce redundancy. ### 5. What are the signs of high EdTech spending inefficiency? Common signs include duplicate work, multiple logins, low tool adoption, high IT workload, and difficulty accessing accurate data. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** EdTech platform consolidation, Edtech tool consolidation --- ### [How to consolidate your school tech stack](https://www.edsby.com/how-to-consolidate-your-school-tech-stack/commentary/) **Published:** March 25, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** A practical guide to simplifying school tech systems and improving efficiency. **Content:** Over the past decade, K-12 institutions have rapidly adopted digital tools to enhance teaching, learning, communication, and administration. While this surge in innovation has brought undeniable benefits, it has also created a new problem: fragmented systems. Schools now juggle dozens of applications—learning management systems, grading tools, communication apps, assessment platforms, and more. This phenomenon, often referred to as school digital tool overload, is no longer just an inconvenience—it’s a strategic challenge. Administrators struggle with oversight, teachers deal with complexity, and students face inconsistent experiences. As budgets tighten and expectations rise, districts are asking a critical question: how do we simplify without sacrificing functionality? The answer lies in one strategic initiative- consolidate school tech stack. This guide explores how schools can approach consolidation effectively, reduce inefficiencies, and build a streamlined, scalable digital ecosystem. ## Understanding the problem: Why school tech stacks become bloated Most schools didn’t intentionally build a fragmented system. Instead, their current tech stack evolved through reactive decision-making. A new tool was introduced to solve a specific problem: remote learning, assessment tracking, parent communication—but rarely integrated into a broader system. Over time, this leads to overlapping functionalities. For example, a district might use one platform for assignments, another for communication, and a third for grading; each requiring separate logins and workflows. This lack of cohesion creates friction at every level. Teachers spend more time managing tools than teaching. IT teams face integration challenges. Students and parents struggle to keep up with multiple platforms. At its core, poor K-12 tech stack management results from a lack of long-term planning and centralized governance. ## The true cost of a fragmented tech stack The cost of multiple tools extends far beyond licensing fees. In fact, the most significant impact is often hidden. Operational inefficiency is one of the biggest issues. Teachers switching between platforms lose valuable instructional time. Even small inefficiencies, like logging into multiple systems, compound over weeks and months. There’s also a financial burden. Schools often pay for redundant tools that offer similar features. Without a clear view of usage data, districts may continue renewing licenses for underutilized platforms. From a data perspective, fragmentation is equally problematic. When systems don’t communicate, data becomes siloed. This makes it difficult to generate meaningful insights, track student progress holistically, or make informed decisions. Security risks also increase. More tools mean more entry points for potential breaches, especially if some platforms lack robust compliance measures. Ultimately, failing to address these issues undermines effective district technology management. ## What does it mean to consolidate your school tech stack? To consolidate the school tech stack doesn’t mean eliminating all tools. It means creating a unified, efficient system where tools work together seamlessly or, ideally, are replaced by a single integrated platform. The goal is to reduce redundancy, improve usability, and ensure that every tool serves a clear, essential purpose. Effective school software consolidation focuses on: - Reducing the number of platforms - Integrating remaining tools into a cohesive ecosystem - Standardizing workflows across schools and classrooms - Enhancing user experience for teachers, students, and parents This process is not just technical—it’s strategic. It requires alignment between educational goals, operational needs, and technology decisions. [![school management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Step 1: Audit your existing tech stack Before making any changes, schools need a clear understanding of their current landscape. Start by conducting a comprehensive audit of all tools in use across the district. This includes instructional tools, administrative systems, communication platforms, and even niche applications used by specific departments. For each tool, evaluate: - Purpose and functionality - Usage levels (active vs. dormant users) - Cost (licensing, training, support) - Integration capabilities - User satisfaction This step often reveals surprising insights. Many districts discover duplicate tools serving the same purpose or platforms that are rarely used despite high costs. A thorough audit lays the foundation for effective EdTech tool consolidation. ## Step 2: Identify redundancies and gaps Once the audit is complete, the next step is to analyze overlaps and missing capabilities. Redundancies are common in areas like communication, grading, and content delivery. For example, teachers might use one tool for announcements and another for messaging, both addressing similar needs. At the same time, there may be gaps. A district might lack a centralized system for tracking student progress across schools or managing parent engagement. The goal is to strike a balance: eliminate unnecessary duplication while ensuring all critical functions are covered. This stage is essential for optimizing education technology platform integration. ## Step 3: Define your ideal tech ecosystem Rather than simply removing tools, schools should define what their ideal tech stack looks like. This involves setting clear priorities. For example: - Do you want a single platform that combines LMS, SIS, and communication? - Is real-time data visibility a top priority? - How important is mobile accessibility for parents and students? By aligning technology decisions with educational objectives, districts can build a system that supports both teaching and administration effectively. A well-defined vision ensures that efforts to streamline classroom technology lead to meaningful outcomes. ## Step 4: Prioritize integration over addition One of the most common mistakes in K-12 tech stack management is adding new tools without considering integration. When evaluating solutions, integration capabilities should be a top priority. Tools that can seamlessly connect with existing systems reduce friction and improve data flow. APIs, single sign-on (SSO), and centralized dashboards are critical features to look for. These enable users to access multiple functionalities through a single interface, simplifying workflows. In many cases, schools find that replacing multiple standalone tools with one integrated platform significantly improves efficiency. ## Step 5: Engage stakeholders early Technology decisions should not happen in isolation. Teachers, students, administrators, and IT staff interact with the tech stack in different ways, and their input is invaluable. Engaging stakeholders early helps identify pain points that may not be visible at the administrative level. For example, a tool that seems effective on paper may be cumbersome for daily classroom use. By involving users in the decision-making process, schools can ensure higher adoption rates and smoother transitions. This collaborative approach is key to successfully reducing school tech tools without disrupting workflows. ## Step 6: Create a phased consolidation plan Consolidation should not happen overnight. A phased approach minimizes disruption and allows time for adjustment. Start by targeting high-impact areas, such as: - Tools with overlapping functionalities - Platforms with low usage but high cost - Systems that create significant friction for users Gradually transition users to the new system while providing adequate training and support. Clear communication is essential during this phase. Stakeholders should understand why changes are happening and how they will benefit. A structured plan ensures [smoother school software consolidation](https://www.edsby.com/). ## Step 7: Focus on training and change management Even the best technology will fail if users don’t adopt it effectively. Training should go beyond basic functionality. Teachers need to understand how the new system improves their workflows. Administrators should see how it enhances decision-making. Ongoing support is equally important. Provide resources such as tutorials, help desks, and peer training sessions. Change management is often overlooked, but it plays a critical role in successful EdTech tool consolidation. ## Step 8: Monitor, measure, and optimize Consolidation is not a one-time project—it’s an ongoing process. After implementing changes, track key metrics such as: - User adoption rates - Time spent on administrative tasks - Cost savings - Student engagement levels Regular reviews help identify areas for improvement and ensure the tech stack continues to align with evolving needs. This continuous optimization strengthens overall [district technology management](https://www.edsby.com/why-districts-are-replacing-patchwork-tools-with-unified-school-platforms/commentary/). ## Benefits of consolidating your school tech stack When done correctly, consolidation delivers measurable benefits across the entire district. ### Improved efficiency With fewer tools, teachers spend less time navigating systems and more time focusing on instruction. Workflows become simpler and more intuitive. ### Cost savings Eliminating redundant tools reduces licensing and maintenance costs. Schools can reallocate budgets to higher-impact initiatives. ### Better data insights Integrated systems provide a unified view of student data, enabling more informed decision-making. ### Enhanced user experience Students and parents benefit from a consistent, streamlined interface, improving engagement and communication. ### Stronger security Fewer platforms mean fewer vulnerabilities, making it easier to manage compliance and protect sensitive data. ## Common challenges in tech stack consolidation Despite its benefits, consolidation comes with challenges. Resistance to change is one of the biggest hurdles. Teachers and staff may be comfortable with existing tools and hesitant to switch. Data migration can also be complex, especially when dealing with legacy systems. Ensuring [data accuracy](https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/165Rhfr6DR4M3CoT3IM0FyuKWQP37ar43XCkyBfyl9a8/edit) and continuity requires careful planning. Another challenge is vendor dependency. Moving to a single platform can create reliance on one provider, so it’s important to evaluate long-term scalability and support. Addressing these challenges proactively is essential for successful school software consolidation. ## Best practices for long-term success To sustain the benefits of consolidation, schools should adopt a proactive approach to tech management. Establish clear governance policies for adopting new tools. Every addition should align with the overall tech strategy. Regularly review the tech stack to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement. Encourage feedback from users to ensure the system continues to meet their needs. Finally, prioritize platforms that evolve with changing educational requirements, ensuring long-term scalability. ## A final takeaway The rapid growth of digital tools in education has created both opportunities and challenges. While technology can enhance learning and streamline operations, an unstructured approach leads to complexity and inefficiency. To truly unlock the value of digital transformation, schools must take a strategic approach to consolidate their school tech stack. By auditing existing tools, eliminating redundancies, prioritizing integration, and engaging stakeholders, districts can build a streamlined, scalable system that supports both educators and students. In an environment where resources are limited and expectations are high, consolidation is not just an option—it’s a necessity. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. How do I know if my school has too many tech tools? If teachers and students are using multiple platforms for similar tasks, experiencing login fatigue, or struggling with inconsistent workflows, it’s a strong sign of tool overload. ### 2. What is the first step to consolidate school tech stack? Start with a full audit of all existing tools to understand usage, cost, and functionality before making any decisions. ### 3. Will consolidation disrupt classroom activities? If done with a phased approach and proper training, disruption can be minimized while improving long-term efficiency. ### 4. Can one platform replace all school tools? In many cases, a comprehensive platform can replace multiple tools, but the goal should be optimization—not forced replacement. ### 5. How often should schools review their tech stack? At least once a year, or whenever major changes occur, to ensure alignment with educational and operational goals. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Edtech tool consolidation, K-12 tech stack management, school software consolidation, district technology management, reduce school tech tools, streamline classroom technology, school digital tool overload, education technology platform integration, Consolidate school tech stack --- ### [LMS vs SIS: What’s the difference for schools?](https://www.edsby.com/lms-vs-sis-what-is-the-difference-for-schools/commentary/) **Published:** March 22, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Confused about LMS vs SIS? Learn the key differences, use cases, and why schools need both. **Content:** Digital transformation in K-12 education has introduced a wide range of platforms designed to simplify operations and improve learning outcomes. Among these, two systems often create confusion for school leaders: the Learning Management System (LMS) and the Student Information System (SIS). If you are evaluating school technology or planning a platform upgrade, understanding the LMS vs SIS distinction is essential. While both systems manage critical data and workflows, they serve very different purposes. Misunderstanding this difference can lead to poor purchasing decisions, fragmented workflows, and limited adoption. This guide breaks down what LMS and SIS platforms are, how they differ, and why most schools need both working together. ## What is an LMS? A Learning Management System (LMS) is a platform designed to manage, deliver, and track teaching and learning activities. In simple terms, the LMS is where learning happens digitally. Teachers use an LMS to create and distribute course materials, assignments, and assessments. Students use it to access lessons, submit work, collaborate with peers, and track their academic progress. An LMS focuses on instructional workflows. Its primary capabilities include: - Course creation and content management - Assignment distribution and submission - Online quizzes and assessments - Grading and feedback - Discussion forums and collaboration tools - Learning progress tracking In K-12 environments, LMS platforms play a central role in enabling blended learning, remote instruction, and personalized education. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### Examples of LMS usage in schools A teacher uploads a lesson plan, attaches videos and reading materials, assigns homework, and tracks submissions all within the LMS. Students log in daily to access everything they need for learning. This makes LMS platforms essential for [digital learning platforms in K-12 environments](https://www.edsby.com/). ## What is an SIS? A Student Information System (SIS) is designed to manage administrative and operational data related to students. In contrast to the LMS, the SIS is where student data is stored and managed. It acts as the central database for student records and supports school administration processes such as enrollment, attendance, and reporting. An SIS focuses on institutional data and operations. Its main capabilities include: - Student enrollment and registration - Attendance tracking - Timetables and scheduling - Grade reporting and transcripts - Demographic and contact information - Compliance and reporting In short, the SIS is the backbone of school data management systems. ### Examples of SIS usage in schools Administrators use the SIS to record attendance, generate report cards, manage class rosters, and maintain student records. Parents may also access the SIS to view grades and attendance. ## LMS vs SIS: The core difference At a high level, the LMS vs SIS difference comes down to purpose: The LMS supports teaching and learning, while the SIS supports administration and [data management](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X24000587), but the distinction becomes clearer when you look at how each system handles data and workflows. ### Learning vs administration The LMS is designed for classroom interactions. It handles assignments, learning materials, and feedback. The SIS is designed for institutional processes. It tracks student records, schedules, and compliance data. ### Student data vs learning data One of the most important distinctions between LMS and SIS in schools is the type of data each system manages. The SIS handles student data such as enrollment details, attendance records, and demographics The LMS handles learning data such as assignment submissions, quiz scores, and engagement metrics This difference explains why both systems are needed. ### User experience The LMS is used daily by teachers and students as part of the learning process. The SIS is used primarily by administrators, with occasional access by teachers and parents. ## Why the LMS vs SIS confusion exists Many schools struggle with what is LMS vs SIS because modern platforms often overlap in features. For example: Some LMS platforms include gradebooks Some SIS platforms include basic communication tools Both systems may offer parent portals This overlap creates the illusion that one system can replace the other. In reality, these features are often limited and do not fully cover the core functionality of the other system. ## Do schools need both LMS and SIS? A common question from district leaders is: Do schools need both LMS and SIS? The short answer is yes. While there is some overlap, the two systems serve fundamentally different roles. Trying to use one system to replace the other often leads to inefficiencies. What happens without an LMS? Without an LMS, teachers lack a centralized platform for managing digital learning. This results in: - Fragmented tools - Inconsistent workflows - Limited visibility into student learning ## What happens without an SIS? Without an SIS, schools struggle with administrative organization. This leads to data inconsistencies, manual processes, compliance risks, and an ideal setup. Most schools benefit from using both systems together. The SIS manages who the students are, and the LMS manages how they learn. ## How LMS and SIS work together Understanding how LMS and SIS work together is key to building an efficient digital ecosystem. When integrated properly, these systems create a seamless experience for teachers, students, and administrators. ### Data synchronization The SIS acts as the system of record. It stores official student data such as enrollment and class rosters. This data is then synced to the LMS, ensuring that: - Students are automatically enrolled in the correct courses - Teachers have accurate class lists - Updates in the SIS are reflected in the LMS - Grade flow In many setups, grades entered in the LMS are pushed back to the SIS for official reporting. This eliminates duplicate data entry and reduces errors. ### Unified experience When LMS and SIS platforms are tightly integrated. Single sign-on access, consistent data across systems, reduced administrative workload ## Challenges when LMS and SIS are not aligned Many districts face challenges when their LMS and SIS are not properly integrated, such as: ### Duplicate data entry Teachers may need to enter grades in both systems manually, increasing workload and risk of errors. ### Inconsistent data If systems are not synced, discrepancies can arise between reported grades and actual performance. ### Poor user adoption When systems feel disconnected, teachers and students are less likely to engage fully. ### Limited insights Without integration, schools cannot easily connect student data to learning data, making it harder to drive meaningful decisions. ## The role of integration in modern school systems Integration is no longer optional. It is essential for scaling digital learning across districts. Modern platforms are increasingly designed to bridge the gap between LMS and SIS functionality. A well-integrated system should provide automatic roster syncing, real-time grade updates, unified dashboards, and centralized communication tools. ### Benefits of integration When LMS and SIS systems are connected, schools gain: - Improved efficiency - Better data accuracy - Enhanced user experience - Stronger data-driven decision making ## Choosing the right LMS and SIS setup Selecting the right combination of platforms requires careful planning. There are certain things that the school leaders must consider, such as: - Ease of integration between LMS and SIS - User experience for teachers and students - Scalability across multiple schools - Data security and compliance - Reporting and analytics capabilities Many districts make the mistake of choosing systems in isolation. Instead, focus on how platforms work together within a unified ecosystem. ## The future of LMS and SIS in K-12 education The line between LMS and SIS is gradually evolving. Vendors are increasingly building platforms that combine elements of both systems, aiming to provide a more unified experience. Emerging trends include : - Unified platforms that blend learning and data management - Increased focus on real-time analytics - Improved parent engagement tools - AI-driven insights for student performance Despite these advancements, the core distinction between LMS and SIS remains important. ## Final thoughts The conversation around LMS vs SIS is ultimately about clarity. An LMS enables teaching and learning. An SIS manages student data and operations. Both are essential. But their true value emerges when they work together seamlessly. For schools navigating digital transformation, the goal should not be choosing one over the other. It should be building an integrated system that connects learning with data in a meaningful way. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. How does LMS and SIS integration impact teacher workload? When LMS and SIS systems are properly integrated, teachers spend less time on manual data entry, grading duplication, and administrative tasks. This allows them to focus more on instruction and student engagement rather than system management. ### 2. What are the risks of using disconnected LMS and SIS platforms? Disconnected systems can lead to data silos, reporting inaccuracies, and communication gaps between teachers, administrators, and parents. Over time, this reduces trust in data and slows down decision-making. ### 3. How does LMS and SIS alignment support data-driven decision making in schools? Aligned systems connect learning activity with official student records, enabling schools to analyze performance trends, identify learning gaps, and make informed academic and operational decisions. ### 4. Are there cost implications in maintaining both LMS and SIS? Yes, maintaining both systems involves licensing, integration, and training costs. However, when implemented correctly, the efficiency gains and improved outcomes typically outweigh the investment. ### 5. What role do LMS and SIS play in parent engagement? Together, LMS and SIS platforms provide parents with a complete view of their child’s academic journey, including classroom activity, performance updates, attendance, and school communication. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** LMS vs SIS difference, what is LMS vs SIS, LMS and SIS difference in education, difference between LMS and SIS in schools, do schools need both LMS and SIS, how LMS and SIS work together, school data management systems, student data vs learning data, digital learning platforms K-12, LMS vs SIS --- ### [Complete guide to choosing the best LMS for K-12 in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/complete-guide-to-choosing-the-best-lms-for-k12/commentary/) **Published:** March 19, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn how to select the best K-12 LMS for your district in 2026. **Content:** Selecting a learning management system for schools is no longer a technology experiment. It is an infrastructure decision that shapes how teachers teach, how students learn, and how parents stay connected to their children’s education. In 2026, every district leader, technology coordinator, and principal faces the same challenge: finding the best LMS for K-12 learning platforms that actually work for real classrooms, real schedules, and real students. The stakes are significant. A poorly chosen platform creates friction in daily workflows, frustrates teachers, and leaves administrators with incomplete data. A well-chosen platform does the opposite. It streamlines attendance, simplifies grading, unifies communication, and provides actionable insights that help educators intervene before small problems become large ones. This guide exists to help you navigate that decision with clarity. Over the following sections, we will explore what makes a K-12 LMS different from platforms designed for higher education or corporate training. We will examine the essential features that matter most for elementary, middle, and high school environments. We will walk through integration requirements, implementation considerations, and the total cost of ownership. And we will provide a detailed school LMS comparison that puts the leading platforms side by side. By the end, you will have a comprehensive framework for evaluating district LMS software and selecting the best LMS for K-12 that fits your unique context. ## Why K-12 learning management systems are fundamentally different Before diving into features and comparisons, it is worth pausing on a critical point that many districts overlook. K-12 education is not corporate training. It is not higher education. And platforms designed for those environments rarely translate well to elementary classrooms or high school schedules. ### The learner profile is different Adult learners bring self-direction, intrinsic motivation, and established digital literacy to online learning environments. A seven-year-old does not. Young students need visual cues, simplified navigation, and age-appropriate interfaces that minimize cognitive load. High school students need structure and organization, but they also need tools that support independence without overwhelming them with complexity. The best LMS for K-12 recognizes this spectrum. It provides differentiated experiences based on grade level, ensuring that a second grader sees a fundamentally different interface than a tenth grader using the same platform. ### The stakeholder ecosystem is more complex In corporate training, there is typically one primary user: the employee. In higher education, the student is central, with instructors playing a supporting role. In K-12 education, the stakeholder map is far more intricate. Teachers need tools for attendance, grading, lesson planning, and parent communication. Students need access to assignments, feedback, and learning resources. Parents need visibility into their child’s progress, attendance, and upcoming deadlines. Administrators need district-wide analytics, compliance reporting, and operational oversight. Each group has different needs, different levels of technical comfort, and different expectations for how the platform should work. A learning management system for schools must serve all of these stakeholders simultaneously, without forcing any group to navigate a platform designed for someone else. ### The regulatory and compliance environment is unique K-12 schools operate under strict data privacy regulations that do not apply to corporate or higher education environments in the same way. In the United States, FERPA governs student records. COPPA imposes additional requirements for children under 13. State-level regulations add further complexity. Districts must ensure that any platform they adopt meets these requirements fully, not just in theory but in actual implementation. This means that district LMS software must provide robust data security, clear data ownership terms, and compliance documentation that withstands scrutiny from auditors and legal teams. ### The integration landscape is more fragmented Most K-12 districts do not operate with a single, unified technology stack. They have student information systems from one vendor, assessment tools from another, communication platforms from a third, and specialized applications for special education, English language learners, and gifted programs. A learning management system that cannot integrate with these existing systems creates data silos, manual workarounds, and frustrated staff. The best K-12 learning platforms offer robust integration ecosystems that connect seamlessly with the tools districts already use. They support standards like OneRoster and LTI, and they provide APIs that enable custom integrations when standard protocols are insufficient. ## Essential features for K-12 learning management systems With the unique requirements of K-12 education established, we can turn to the specific features that matter most when evaluating district LMS software. Not every platform will excel in every area, but the best LMS for K-12 will demonstrate strength across the following categories. ### Student information management At the foundation of any learning management system for schools is the ability to manage student records effectively. This includes enrollment data, demographic information, course schedules, and academic history. Some platforms treat this as a separate student information system function, while others integrate SIS capabilities directly into the LMS. The distinction matters because integrated systems reduce data fragmentation. When student information and learning management live in the same environment, teachers do not need to toggle between applications to take attendance and record grades. Administrators do not need to reconcile data from multiple sources to generate reports. Parents access a single portal rather than logging into multiple systems with different credentials. Districts evaluating k12 learning platforms should consider whether they want a unified SIS and LMS environment or whether they prefer best-of-breed solutions that integrate through data exchange protocols. Both approaches have merit, but the total cost and operational complexity differ significantly. ### Gradebook and assessment tools The gradebook is where teachers spend much of their time. A well-designed gradebook streamlines grade entry, supports multiple grading scales and weighting schemes, and provides clear visibility into student performance over time. It should handle formative assessments, summative assessments, and everything in between. Beyond basic grade entry, the best LMS for K-12 provides assessment creation tools that allow teachers to build quizzes, tests, and assignments directly within the platform. These tools should support various question types, from multiple choice to short answer to essay. They should allow for rubric-based grading that ensures consistency and transparency. And they should provide options for peer assessment and self-assessment when pedagogically appropriate. Assessment data should flow automatically into the gradebook, eliminating manual data entry and reducing the risk of transcription errors. When a student completes an online quiz, the score should appear in the gradebook without teacher intervention. When a teacher grades an essay using a rubric, the weighted score should be calculated automatically based on the criteria defined. ### Attendance tracking Attendance is not merely an administrative function. It is an early indicator of student engagement and a predictor of academic outcomes. Students who miss class frequently are at higher risk for falling behind, and early identification of attendance patterns allows for timely intervention. A learning management system for schools should make attendance tracking effortless for teachers. Taking attendance should require minimal clicks and minimal time, so that instructional minutes are preserved. The system should support various attendance codes, from present and absent to tardy and excused, and it should allow districts to customize codes to match local policies. Beyond classroom-level tracking, district LMS software should aggregate attendance data at the school and district-level. Administrators should be able to see attendance trends across grade levels, identify schools with chronic absenteeism challenges, and generate reports required for state compliance. When attendance data lives in the same system as learning data, it becomes possible to correlate attendance patterns with academic performance and identify students who need additional support. ### Communication and engagement tools Communication between schools and families is essential for student success, but it is often fragmented across email, phone calls, paper notes, and multiple apps. A unified learning management system for schools can consolidate these communication channels and ensure that important messages reach the right people at the right time. Effective communication features include direct messaging between teachers and parents, class-wide announcements, and school or district-level broadcasts. The platform should support multiple notification channels, including email, SMS, and push notifications to mobile apps. It should allow parents to set their preferred communication methods and frequency, respecting their preferences while ensuring critical information gets through. Beyond one-way communication, the best LMS for K-12 facilitates genuine engagement. Parents should be able to see their child’s upcoming assignments, recent grades, and attendance records without waiting for a report card. They should be able to schedule conferences, complete permission forms, and access school resources through a single portal. This transparency builds trust and invites parents to become active partners in their child’s education. ### Curriculum and content management Teachers need tools to organize, sequence, and deliver instructional content. This includes the ability to create and store lesson plans, upload documents and multimedia, and structure learning activities into coherent units and courses. A learning management system for schools should support multiple content formats, from text documents and PDFs to videos, audio files, and interactive simulations. It should allow teachers to embed content from external sources and integrate with content repositories and digital curriculum providers. It should provide options for organizing content into modules, units, and lessons that reflect the structure of the curriculum. Content management also involves sharing and collaboration. Teachers should be able to share lessons with colleagues, adapt materials created by others, and build on the work of their professional learning communities. District curriculum coordinators should be able to create template courses that teachers can adopt and customize, ensuring consistency while allowing for local adaptation. ### Analytics and reporting Data-driven decision-making is not just a buzzword. It is a practical necessity for districts seeking to improve outcomes at scale. A learning management system for schools should provide robust analytics that surface actionable insights for teachers, principals, and district leaders. At the classroom level, teachers need visibility into which students are struggling with which concepts, which assignments are taking longer than expected, and which students have not logged in recently. This information enables targeted intervention and differentiated instruction. At the school level, principals need to see patterns across classrooms. Which teachers have high assignment completion rates? Where are attendance concerns concentrated? Which grade levels are showing the most progress on formative assessments? At the district level, administrators need aggregate data for strategic planning, resource allocation, and accountability reporting. They need to track progress toward goals, identify schools that need additional support, and demonstrate outcomes to school boards and community stakeholders. The best K-12 learning platforms provide dashboards and reports at each level, with appropriate access controls to ensure that users see only the data relevant to their role. They allow for custom report creation and scheduled report delivery. And they provide data export capabilities for districts that need to perform additional analysis in external tools. ### Mobile accessibility Students and parents do not always access school systems from desktop computers. Mobile access is essential for modern k12 learning platforms. This means more than a responsive web design that adjusts to smaller screens. It means native mobile applications that provide a seamless experience on smartphones and tablets. For students, mobile access enables learning anywhere. They can review assignments on the bus, complete readings at home, and receive notifications about upcoming deadlines. For parents, mobile access provides visibility without requiring them to find time to sit at a computer. They can check grades during a lunch break, respond to a teacher’s message while waiting in line, and stay informed about school events throughout the day. District LMS software should provide mobile applications for iOS and Android that offer full functionality, not a limited subset of features. The mobile experience should be fast, intuitive, and designed with the constraints of smaller screens in mind. ### Security and privacy The security of student data is non-negotiable. A learning management system for schools must implement robust security measures that protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, data breaches, and malicious actors. This includes encryption of data in transit and at rest, strong authentication mechanisms, role-based access controls, and regular security audits. It includes clear data retention and deletion policies that comply with regulatory requirements. And it includes incident response procedures that ensure rapid notification and remediation in the event of a security breach. Beyond technical security, privacy considerations extend to vendor relationships and data governance. Districts should understand how vendors use student data, whether data is shared with third parties, and what happens to data when the contract ends. The best LMS for K-12 vendors are transparent about their data practices and provide contractual commitments that protect district interests. ## School LMS comparison: evaluating the leading platforms With a clear understanding of essential features, we can now examine how leading platforms stack up. The following school lms comparison evaluates several prominent solutions across the dimensions that matter most for K-12 districts. ### Edsby Edsby, [one of the best LMSs for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/), is purpose-built for K-12 education. Unlike platforms originally designed for higher education or adapted from legacy student information systems, Edsby was engineered specifically to unify student information, classroom management, assessment, analytics, and parent engagement in a single environment. This unified architecture is the platform’s defining characteristic. By combining SIS and LMS capabilities into one cohesive system, Edsby eliminates the data silos and complex integrations that plague districts using separate instructional and administrative systems. Student data, grades, attendance, and communication records all reside in the same place, making reporting more accurate and timely. The platform emphasizes usability across all stakeholders. Teachers manage attendance, grading, assessments, and communication from a single interface. The workflow efficiency reduces clicks, training time, and support overhead. Parents access real-time updates on student progress without navigating multiple portals. Students experience a consistent environment from elementary through high school. Edsby provides secure, scalable cloud infrastructure that supports districts of all sizes. Its district-wide analytics and reporting capabilities give administrators visibility into performance trends, attendance patterns, and engagement metrics. Built-in parent and student engagement tools foster the home-school connection that research consistently identifies as a factor in student success. For districts seeking a modern, unified K-12 ecosystem rather than a patchwork of stitched-together solutions, Edsby represents a compelling option that addresses the unique requirements of K-12 education. [![K-12 school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### PowerSchool PowerSchool is one of the most widely deployed platforms in K-12 education, with a market presence that spans thousands of districts. The company has grown through both organic development and acquisition, assembling a portfolio of products that spans student information, learning management, assessment, and talent management. This breadth creates both opportunities and challenges. On the positive side, PowerSchool offers solutions for nearly every district’s needs. On the other hand, the product portfolio reflects its acquisition-driven growth, with different modules sometimes feeling like separate products rather than a unified system. PowerSchool’s SIS capabilities are robust, with deep support for the administrative and compliance functions that districts require. Its learning management features have improved over time, though some users report that the LMS components do not integrate as seamlessly with the SIS as they would prefer. The platform’s scale means extensive resources for implementation, training, and support. Districts can find consultants, user communities, and documentation for nearly every scenario. However, this scale also means that customization and support experiences can vary significantly depending on district size and contract terms. ### Infinite Campus Infinite Campus positions itself as a student information system first, with learning management capabilities as an extension of its core SIS functionality. The platform serves a significant portion of the K-12 market, particularly among larger districts and state education agencies. The company’s roots in student information management mean that its SIS capabilities are mature and comprehensive. Attendance, enrollment, scheduling, and compliance reporting are strengths. The platform supports complex district configurations and provides the data management tools that large organizations require. Learning management features are available but are not the platform’s primary focus. Districts seeking a best-in-class LMS experience may find that Infinite Campus serves their administrative needs well while requiring supplementary instructional tools. ### Blackboard Blackboard is a legacy name in learning management, with origins in higher education that date back decades. The company has expanded into K-12 markets, offering platforms that serve both sectors. The platform’s higher education heritage is both a strength and a limitation for K-12 contexts. Blackboard brings mature LMS functionality that supports content delivery, assessment, and gradebook management. However, the interface and workflows sometimes reflect assumptions about learner independence and technical sophistication that do not translate well to elementary classrooms. Districts considering Blackboard should evaluate whether the platform’s K-12 specific features and interface adaptations meet the needs of their youngest learners and whether the user experience works for parents who expect consumer-grade simplicity. ### Canvas (Instructure) Canvas has gained significant market share in both higher education and K-12 over the past decade. The platform is known for its modern interface, open architecture, and active developer community. Canvas provides solid LMS functionality with strengths in content management, assignment workflows, and integration capabilities. Its open API and LTI support make it relatively easy to connect with third-party tools and content providers. However, Canvas is primarily a learning management system, not a student information system. Districts using Canvas typically need a separate SIS and must manage the integration between the two systems. This creates additional complexity and potential for data fragmentation. The platform’s roots in higher education are evident in some design choices that may not align perfectly with K-12 workflows, particularly at the elementary level. Districts should evaluate whether the interface works well for their youngest students and whether teachers find the workflows intuitive for the specific demands of K-12 instruction. ### Moodle Moodle is an open source learning management system with a global user base spanning K-12, higher education, corporate training, and nonprofit organizations. The platform is free to download and use, with costs arising from hosting, customization, and support. The open source model offers flexibility that proprietary platforms cannot match. Districts with strong technical teams can customize Moodle extensively, adding features, modifying workflows, and integrating with other systems in ways that closed platforms do not permit. However, this flexibility comes with responsibility. Districts must manage hosting, security updates, and customizations themselves or contract with Moodle partners for these services. The total cost of ownership may be lower than commercial alternatives for districts with technical capacity, but it can be higher for districts that need to purchase all services externally. Moodle’s interface has improved over the years, but it still reflects the platform’s origins as a tool for technically sophisticated users. Districts should evaluate whether teachers and students will find the interface intuitive or whether extensive training and support will be required. ### D2L Brightspace Brightspace by D2L serves both higher education and K-12 markets with a platform that emphasizes personalized learning and adaptive capabilities. The company has invested in learning science and analytics, positioning the platform as a tool for differentiated instruction. Brightspace provides solid LMS functionality with particular strengths in assessment and adaptive learning pathways. The platform supports competency-based approaches and provides analytics that help teachers understand individual student progress. Like Canvas, Brightspace is primarily an LMS that requires integration with a separate SIS. Districts should consider whether the adaptive learning features justify the additional integration complexity compared to unified platforms that combine SIS and LMS capabilities. ## Integration requirements for K-12 learning platforms No learning management system operates in isolation. Districts have existing technology investments that must connect with any new platform. Understanding integration requirements is essential for a successful implementation. ### Student information system integration If the district is not adopting a unified SIS and LMS platform, integration between these systems is critical. Student roster data must flow from the SIS to the LMS to ensure that teachers see the correct students in their courses. Grade data should flow back from the LMS to the SIS for official transcript purposes. The OneRoster standard has emerged as the primary mechanism for this data exchange in K-12 education. Districts should verify that any platform under consideration supports OneRoster and should clarify the frequency and direction of data synchronization. ### Single sign-on and identity management Teachers, students, and parents should not need to remember multiple usernames and passwords. Single sign-on integration with district identity systems simplifies access and improves security. Most modern k12 learning platforms support SAML, OAuth, or similar protocols for authentication integration. Districts should verify that the platform integrates with their existing identity provider, such as Microsoft Azure AD, Google Workspace, Clever, ClassLink, or another solution. ### Learning tool interoperability LTI is the standard that allows learning platforms to integrate with external tools and content. When a teacher wants to embed content from a digital curriculum provider, launch an assessment from a testing platform, or access a specialized learning application, LTI makes this possible without separate logins or data re-entry. Districts should ensure that any platform under consideration supports current LTI standards and has an ecosystem of LTI integrations with the tools the district uses or plans to adopt. ### Assessment and testing integration State assessments, benchmark assessments, and formative assessment tools often operate as separate systems. Integration with the LMS allows teachers to see assessment results alongside classroom data, creating a more complete picture of student performance. Districts should identify which assessment platforms they use and verify that the LMS can import results or integrate directly with those systems. ### Communication platform integration Some districts use separate communication platforms for mass notifications, emergency alerts, or parent engagement. If the LMS does not provide all required communication functionality, integration with existing communication tools may be necessary. ### Data warehouse and analytics integration Districts with data warehouses or business intelligence tools need the ability to extract data from the LMS for combined analysis. The platform should provide data export capabilities, API access, or direct integration with common analytics tools. ## Implementation considerations for district LMS software Selecting the right platform is only the first step. Successful implementation requires careful planning, adequate resources, and sustained attention to change management. ### Project planning and governance Implementation should begin with clear project governance. This means identifying executive sponsors, establishing a steering committee, and defining roles and responsibilities for project management, technical implementation, training, and communications. A realistic timeline acknowledges that implementation is not just a technical task. It involves workflow redesign, data migration, training, and cultural change. Districts should plan for pilot phases, gradual rollout, and iterative improvement rather than attempting to deploy everything to everyone at once. ### Data migration Existing data must move from legacy systems to the new platform. This includes student records, historical grades, course structures, and potentially years of content created by teachers. Data migration is often more complex and time-consuming than anticipated. Districts should work with the vendor to understand migration tools and services, plan for data validation, and establish cutover procedures that minimize disruption. ### Training and professional development Teachers will not adopt a new platform simply because it is available. They need training that shows them how the platform makes their daily work easier. Training should be differentiated based on role and technical comfort level, with ongoing support available as teachers encounter challenges in actual use. Professional development should extend beyond initial training to include advanced features, best practices, and peer learning opportunities. Districts should plan for sustained investment in professional development, not just launch week workshops. ### Change management Technology change involves human change. Teachers may be attached to familiar tools, skeptical of new systems, or overwhelmed by the prospect of learning something new while managing full teaching loads. Effective change management acknowledges these realities and addresses them through clear communication, involvement of teachers in planning, visible support from leadership, and responsiveness to feedback. Districts should identify change champions in each school who can support their colleagues and surface issues early. ### Ongoing support and continuous improvement Implementation does not end at go-live. Districts need ongoing support structures to help users resolve issues, answer questions, and continue developing skills. This may include help desk services, online knowledge bases, office hours, and peer support networks. Beyond support, districts should plan for continuous improvement. Gather feedback systematically, monitor adoption metrics, and iterate on configurations and workflows based on what you learn. The platform should evolve as the district’s needs and capabilities develop. ## Total cost of ownership for K-12 LMS platforms The sticker price of a learning management system is rarely the full cost. Districts should understand the total cost of ownership, which includes initial costs, ongoing costs, and hidden costs that may not be apparent at contract signing. ### Initial costs Initial costs typically include licensing or subscription fees, implementation services, data migration, integration development, and training. Some vendors bundle these costs into a single implementation fee, while others price each component separately. Districts should request detailed quotes that break down initial costs by component and clarify what is included versus what requires additional investment. ### Ongoing costs Ongoing costs include annual subscription or licensing fees, which may be based on student count, staff count, or a flat rate. They also include support contracts, hosting fees for on-premises solutions, and costs for ongoing professional development. Districts should understand how pricing scales as enrollment changes, what happens to pricing at contract renewal, and whether multi-year commitments offer meaningful discounts. ### Hidden costs Hidden costs are the expenses that do not appear in vendor quotes but that districts incur nonetheless. These include staff time for implementation and ongoing administration, integration development and maintenance, customization work, and productivity losses during the transition period. Hidden costs also include opportunity costs. Time spent on a difficult implementation is time not spent on instruction. A platform that creates ongoing friction diverts attention from teaching and learning. ### Comparing the total cost of ownership When comparing platforms, districts should build total cost of ownership models that include all categories above. A platform with a lower sticker price may have a higher total cost if it requires more integration work, more training, or more ongoing administration. Unified platforms that combine SIS and LMS capabilities may show higher apparent cost than standalone LMS solutions, but the total cost comparison often favors unified systems when integration, administration, and workflow efficiency are factored in. ## Making the final decision After evaluating features, comparing platforms, understanding integration requirements, planning implementation, and analyzing costs, how should districts make the final decision? ### Define decision criteria and weights Document the criteria that matter most for your district and assign weights that reflect relative importance. Some districts may prioritize integration with existing systems. Others may weigh usability for elementary students heavily. Still others may focus on analytics capabilities or total cost of ownership. ### Score platforms against criteria Evaluate each platform against your defined criteria. This can be done through vendor demonstrations, reference calls with other districts, pilot implementations, or a combination of approaches. Document scores systematically so that the evaluation process is transparent and defensible. ### Involve stakeholders The decision should not be made by technology staff alone. Teachers who will use the platform daily should have input. Principals who will manage implementation at the school level should be heard. Parents and students can provide perspective on usability and engagement. Broad involvement builds buy-in and surfaces concerns that might otherwise emerge only after implementation. ### Negotiate effectively Once a preferred vendor is identified, negotiate contract terms that protect district interests. This includes pricing protections, performance guarantees, data ownership and portability provisions, and exit clauses that allow the district to change course if the relationship does not work out. ### Plan for success Selection is not the end. It is the beginning of a journey that will require sustained attention, resources, and leadership. Plan for successful implementation from day one, and maintain focus on adoption, improvement, and outcomes throughout the contract term. ## The future of K-12 learning management systems The landscape of k12 learning platforms continues to evolve. Several trends are shaping where the category is heading. ### Artificial intelligence and personalization AI capabilities are increasingly embedded in learning platforms. These range from basic automation, like suggested due dates based on workload analysis, to more sophisticated personalization, like [adaptive learning pathways](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608025001578) that adjust to individual student progress. Districts should evaluate current AI capabilities and vendor roadmaps for future development. ### Interoperability and open ecosystems The trend toward open standards and interoperability continues. Vendors that embrace open ecosystems enable districts to choose best of breed tools while maintaining data integration. Those who rely on lock-in strategies may find themselves at a disadvantage as districts demand flexibility. ### Parent and student experience Consumer technology has raised expectations for user experience. Parents who use intuitive apps for banking, shopping, and social media expect similar simplicity from school platforms. Vendors are responding with improved interfaces, mobile applications, and experience design that prioritizes ease of use. ### Data privacy and security Privacy regulations continue to tighten, and public attention to data security remains high. Vendors must demonstrate robust security practices and transparent data governance. Districts should expect and demand clear commitments on data protection. ### Equity and accessibility Platforms must serve all students, including those with disabilities, those without reliable internet access, and those from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Accessibility compliance, offline capabilities, and multilingual support are increasingly essential. ## A final takeaway Choosing the best LMS for k12 is a significant decision with lasting consequences for teaching, learning, and operations. The right platform streamlines daily workflows, provides actionable data, and connects schools with families. The wrong platform creates friction, frustration, and fragmented information. This guide provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating K-12 learning platforms. We have examined what makes K-12 requirements unique and outlined the essential features. Most compared leading platforms, explored integration requirements, addressed implementation considerations, and analyzed the total cost of ownership. The decision ultimately depends on your district’s specific context, priorities, and constraints. No single platform is best for every district. But armed with the framework in this guide, you can evaluate options systematically, involve stakeholders appropriately, and make a decision that positions your district for success. For districts seeking a unified, purpose-built K-12 solution that combines student information, learning management, analytics, and engagement in a single platform, Edsby offers a compelling option worth serious consideration. Its architecture reflects the unique requirements of K-12 education, and its design prioritizes usability for teachers, students, parents, and administrators alike. Whatever platform you choose, remember that selection is just the beginning. Successful implementation requires ongoing attention to training, support, and continuous improvement. The goal is not just to deploy technology but to improve outcomes for students and make life easier for the educators who serve them. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### What is the best LMS for K12 schools in 2026? The best LMS for K12 depends on your district’s specific needs, but platforms purpose-built for K-12 education, like Edsby, offer advantages over solutions adapted from higher education or corporate training. Unified platforms that combine SIS and LMS capabilities reduce data silos and simplify workflows for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. ### How do K-12 learning management systems differ from higher education LMS platforms? K-12 learning management systems must serve a more complex stakeholder ecosystem, including teachers, students, parents, and administrators. They require age-appropriate interfaces for learners ranging from kindergarten through high school, stricter data privacy compliance for minors, and deeper integration with [student information systems for attendance](https://www.edsby.com/data-management-for-k12-with-student-information-system/commentary/), grading, and compliance reporting. ### What features should districts prioritize when evaluating district LMS software? Districts should prioritize student information management, gradebook and assessment tools, attendance tracking, communication and engagement features, curriculum management, analytics and reporting, mobile accessibility, and security and privacy protections. The relative importance of each feature depends on district context and existing technology investments. ### How much does a learning management system for schools typically cost? Costs vary significantly based on platform, district size, and implementation scope. Districts should evaluate the total cost of ownership, including initial implementation, ongoing subscriptions, integration development, training, and internal administration time. Unified platforms may have higher apparent costs but lower total costs when integration and administrative efficiency are factored in. ### How long does it take to implement a K-12 learning platform? Implementation timelines vary from a few months to over a year, depending on platform complexity, data migration requirements, integration scope, and district capacity. Districts should plan for pilot phases, gradual rollout, and sustained professional development rather than attempting full deployment immediately. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** best lms for k-12, learning management system for schools, k12 learning platforms, school lms comparison, district lms software --- ### [Why consistent digital workflows matter in K-12 education](https://www.edsby.com/why-consistent-digital-workflows-in-education-matter/commentary/) **Published:** March 18, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn how digital workflows in education improve efficiency and reduce workload in K-12 schools. **Content:** Schools today face greater complexity than ever before. From hybrid learning models and increasing parent expectations to administrative overload and compliance requirements, the modern K-12 environment is under constant pressure to do more with limited resources. In this context, digital workflows in education are no longer a “nice-to-have” — they are foundational to how schools operate efficiently and deliver consistent learning experiences. However, simply adopting digital tools is not enough. The real impact comes from consistent digital workflows — structured, repeatable processes that streamline how tasks are completed across teaching, administration, and communication. This blog explores why consistency in digital workflows is critical for K-12 schools, how it directly impacts outcomes, and how education process automation enables schools to scale without adding complexity. ## What are digital workflows in education? A digital workflow in education refers to a structured sequence of tasks completed using digital tools, rather than manual or fragmented methods. For example: - Assignments created, distributed, submitted, and graded digitally - Attendance is recorded and shared automatically with administrators and parents - Parent communication standardized through a single platform - Administrative approvals routed through automated systems A consistent digital workflow ensures that these processes happen the same way every time- regardless of the teacher, class, or department. Without consistency, even [digital K-12 systems](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123000840) become chaotic. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Why consistency is the real game-changer Digital adoption in schools often focuses too heavily on tools, while overlooking the importance of process design. This is where many implementations fall short. A school may invest in multiple platforms, but without consistent workflows, the system quickly becomes fragmented. Consistency in [digital workflows in education acts as the connective tissue](https://www.edsby.com/) that brings structure to everyday operations. When processes are standardized, they reduce ambiguity. Teachers don’t need to reinvent how they assign work or communicate with parents. Students don’t need to adjust to different expectations across classrooms. Instead, everyone operates within a predictable framework. This predictability creates stability. Over time, it builds a system where tasks are executed with clarity, reducing friction across the board. It also ensures that digital tools deliver value rather than add layers of complexity. Another key impact of consistency is cognitive relief. Teachers are constantly making decisions throughout the day. When workflows are standardized, many of these micro-decisions disappear. The result is a more focused, less mentally taxing work environment that allows educators to direct their energy toward teaching rather than managing processes. Consistency also strengthens accountability. When everyone follows the same workflows, it becomes easier to track performance, identify gaps, and implement improvements. This level of operational clarity is critical for schools aiming to scale effectively. ## The role of education process automation Consistency at a small scale can be managed manually, but as schools grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain without automation. This is where education process automation becomes essential. Automation ensures that workflows are executed exactly as designed, every single time. It removes the variability that often comes with manual processes and replaces it with reliability. For example, instead of teachers manually reminding students about deadlines, automated [school management software](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) systems can trigger notifications at predefined intervals. This not only saves time but also ensures that no step is missed. Beyond efficiency, automation introduces precision. Data is captured uniformly, processes are logged systematically, and outcomes become easier to measure. This structured data environment allows school leaders to gain deeper insights into operations and make informed decisions. Another important aspect of automation is time redistribution. When repetitive administrative tasks are automated, teachers and staff can redirect their efforts toward higher-value activities such as student engagement, lesson planning, and personalized support. At an institutional level, automation also enhances transparency. Processes such as approvals, reporting, and communication become traceable. This visibility reduces confusion and builds trust among stakeholders, including parents and administrators. ## Key areas where consistent workflows matter most The impact of consistent workflows becomes most visible in day-to-day school operations. In classrooms, consistency ensures that students experience a structured learning environment. Assignments follow a predictable format, deadlines are clearly communicated, and feedback is delivered promptly. This structure helps students stay organized and reduces anxiety caused by uncertainty. In assessment and grading, standardized workflows play a crucial role in maintaining fairness. When evaluation processes are consistent, students are assessed on equal parameters. It also helps teachers manage grading more efficiently, especially when dealing with large class sizes. Parent engagement is another area where consistency makes a significant difference. When communication follows a defined workflow, parents receive timely and uniform updates. This eliminates confusion and strengthens their confidence in the school’s processes. Teacher collaboration also improves when workflows are aligned. Educators can share resources, coordinate lesson plans, and maintain consistency across subjects and grades. This alignment fosters a more cohesive academic environment. From an operational perspective, consistent workflows streamline administrative functions. Tasks such as scheduling, reporting, and approvals become more efficient and less prone to delays. Over time, this leads to a smoother and more responsive school system. ## Challenges in implementing digital workflows Despite the clear advantages, implementing consistent digital workflows is not without challenges. One of the most common barriers is resistance to change. Teachers and staff who are accustomed to traditional methods may find it difficult to adapt to new systems. This resistance is often rooted in uncertainty rather than unwillingness. Another challenge is the tendency to adopt multiple disconnected tools. While each tool may serve a specific purpose, the lack of integration creates fragmented workflows. This not only increases complexity but also reduces overall efficiency. Training is another critical factor. Even the most well-designed workflows can fail if users do not fully understand how to use them. Without proper onboarding and ongoing support, adoption rates remain low, and inconsistencies persist. A less obvious but equally important challenge is poor workflow design. Digitizing an inefficient process does not solve the problem; it simply accelerates it. Schools need to carefully evaluate and refine their processes before implementing them digitally. Addressing these challenges requires a strategic approach that balances technology adoption with human factors. Schools must focus on building confidence, simplifying systems, and continuously refining workflows based on real-world usage. ## Best practices for building consistent digital workflows Creating effective digital workflows requires more than just selecting the right tools. It involves a deliberate effort to design processes that are simple, scalable, and aligned with the school’s objectives. A good starting point is to focus on core processes that have the highest impact on daily operations. These typically include assignments, attendance, and communication. Standardizing these areas first creates a strong foundation for broader workflow adoption. Simplicity should be a guiding principle. Overly complex workflows can lead to confusion and low adoption. The goal is to create processes that are intuitive and easy to follow, even for users who are not highly tech-savvy. Another important consideration is system integration. Using a single, unified platform helps eliminate fragmentation and ensures that all workflows are connected. This reduces the need for switching between tools and creates a more seamless experience. Clear protocols also play a vital role. Schools should define how tasks are performed, who is responsible, and what tools are used. This clarity ensures that everyone is aligned and reduces variability in execution. Automation should be applied selectively to tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming. By automating these processes, schools can significantly improve efficiency without overcomplicating the system. - Focus on automating high-frequency tasks like attendance, reminders, and reporting - Avoid over-automation that removes necessary human judgment - Continuously review workflows to ensure they remain effective Finally, workflows should not be static. Regular monitoring and feedback are essential for continuous improvement. Schools should treat workflows as evolving systems that adapt to changing needs. ## Long-term impact of consistent digital workflows The true value of consistent digital workflows in education becomes evident over time. As workflows mature, schools begin to experience a compounding effect where small efficiencies add up to significant operational improvements. One of the most important long-term benefits is scalability. Schools can accommodate growth, whether in student numbers, staff, or programs, without a proportional increase in administrative workload. This scalability is critical for institutions aiming to expand sustainably. Teacher satisfaction also improves significantly. When administrative burdens are reduced, educators can focus more on teaching and less on managing processes. This not only reduces stress but also contributes to better retention rates. From a parent’s perspective, consistency builds trust. When communication is clear and reliable, parents feel more connected and confident in the school’s ability to manage their child’s education effectively. Another major advantage is the shift toward data-driven decision-making. With consistent workflows, data is captured in a structured manner, making it easier to analyze trends and identify areas for improvement. This allows school leaders to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive planning. Ultimately, the biggest beneficiaries are students. A consistent and well-structured environment supports better learning outcomes. Students know what to expect, receive timely feedback, and can focus more on learning rather than navigating inconsistencies. ## Final takeaway Digital transformation in K-12 education is not defined by the number of tools a school uses, but by how effectively those tools are integrated into daily operations. Consistency is the factor that turns digital adoption into real impact. By prioritizing structured digital workflows in education and supporting them with education process automation, schools can create systems that are efficient, reliable, and scalable. The result is an environment where teachers can teach more effectively, administrators can operate more efficiently, and students can learn with greater clarity and confidence. In the long run, consistent workflows are not just an operational advantage; they are a strategic necessity for modern education. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. How do digital workflows impact school compliance and record-keeping? Consistent digital workflows help schools maintain accurate and audit-ready records. Automated logs, timestamped actions, and centralized data storage make it easier to meet regulatory requirements and respond to audits without last-minute data collection. ### 2. Can small or budget-constrained schools implement digital workflows effectively? Yes, even smaller schools can adopt digital workflows by starting with essential processes and gradually expanding. Many platforms offer scalable solutions, allowing schools to implement automation in phases without heavy upfront investment. ### 3. How long does it typically take to see results after implementing digital workflows? Schools often start noticing operational improvements within a few weeks, especially in areas like communication and attendance tracking. However, deeper impact, such as reduced workload and better data usage, usually becomes evident over a few months. ### 4. What role do school leaders play in ensuring workflow consistency? School leadership is critical in driving adoption. Leaders set expectations, enforce standard processes, and ensure accountability. Their involvement also helps in aligning workflows with broader academic and operational goals. ### 5. How can schools measure the success of their digital workflows? Success can be measured through indicators such as reduced administrative time, faster task completion, improved parent engagement, fewer process errors, and increased teacher satisfaction. Tracking these metrics over time helps evaluate effectiveness. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** digital workflows in education, education process automation --- ### [How digital productivity tools reduce teacher workload without adding complexity](https://www.edsby.com/how-teacher-productivity-tools-reduce-teacher-workload/commentary/) **Published:** March 9, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Learn how teacher productivity tools reduce workload and simplify education compared to manual vs digital school systems. **Content:** Schools everywhere are asking teachers to do more than ever before. Lesson planning, grading, parent communication, student tracking, administrative paperwork, and reporting all compete for a teacher’s limited time. While technology promises efficiency, many educators fear that adding new tools may actually increase complexity rather than reduce workload. This concern is valid. When schools implement multiple disconnected systems, teachers end up switching between platforms, entering the same data repeatedly, and managing more logins than before. Instead of saving time, poorly implemented technology creates digital chaos. However, when designed properly, teacher productivity tools can significantly reduce workload while simplifying everyday tasks. The key lies in adopting integrated systems that replace manual processes rather than layering technology on top of them. In this blog, we will explore how modern digital tools streamline teaching workflows, eliminate repetitive work, and support educators without increasing complexity. We will also examine the difference between manual vs digital school systems and how the right technology can restore valuable teaching time. ## The growing workload challenge in modern classrooms Over the past decade, teaching responsibilities have expanded far beyond delivering lessons in the classroom. Teachers today must manage data, documentation, communication, and reporting tasks that were once handled by administrators. These additional duties often extend well beyond school hours. A typical teacher may spend time each week on activities such as grading assignments, tracking attendance, preparing reports, updating student records, communicating with parents, and planning lessons. When these tasks rely on manual systems or disconnected tools, they become time-consuming and repetitive. The problem becomes more visible when schools rely on paper-based processes or multiple standalone platforms. Teachers may have to record attendance in one system, update grades in another, and communicate with parents through separate apps or email threads. This fragmentation increases administrative burden rather than reducing it. The purpose of modern teacher productivity tools is to consolidate these tasks into a unified digital workflow, allowing educators to spend less time on administration and more time on instruction. ## Why many digital tools actually increase teacher workload Not all education technology improves efficiency. In fact, poorly implemented tools can make work harder for teachers. Many schools adopt new platforms one at a time without considering how they integrate with existing systems. Over time, this creates a patchwork of tools that teachers must navigate daily. For example, a teacher might use one system for attendance, another for grading, a separate messaging app for parents, and a different tool for assignment submissions. Each platform requires separate logins, workflows, and training. This results in: - duplicate data entry - inconsistent records - confusion across systems - increased administrative workload Teachers often spend valuable time switching between tools rather than focusing on students. This is why the debate around manual vs digital school systems is not simply about replacing paper with technology. The real goal is to design digital systems that simplify processes instead of complicating them. ## What defines effective teacher productivity tools Effective teacher productivity tools share one important characteristic: they remove friction from everyday workflows. Rather than adding new steps, they automate repetitive tasks and bring [essential functions](https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-jefferson-practicalfoundations/chapter/four-basic-purposes-of-schools/) into a single interface. These tools typically focus on three core principles: ### Automation of repetitive work Automation eliminates manual tasks such as calculating grades, generating reports, or tracking attendance patterns. Teachers no longer need to compile information manually. ### Centralized information management All student information, grades, assignments, communication logs, and attendance records are stored in one place. This eliminates the need to maintain separate records. ### Simplified communication channels Teachers, parents, and students can communicate within the same platform, reducing email clutter and ensuring messages are organized by class or student. When these elements work together, digital tools become a time-saving asset rather than another responsibility. ## How digital tools simplify lesson planning Lesson planning is one of the most important yet time-consuming responsibilities teachers face. In traditional systems, teachers often create lesson plans using documents or spreadsheets stored across different folders. Sharing these plans with colleagues or administrators can be difficult, and retrieving past materials takes time. Today’s[ school management software solutions](https://www.edsby.com/a-guide-on-school-management-software-for-modern-k12-schools/commentary/) simplify lesson planning by organizing curriculum resources in structured formats. Teachers can: - store lesson plans in centralized libraries - reuse previous materials - align lessons with curriculum standards - collaborate with other teachers Instead of recreating lesson structures each year, teachers can build upon existing plans and make small adjustments as needed. Over time, this significantly reduces preparation workload. ## Streamlining grading and assessment Grading assignments is another major contributor to teacher workload. Manual grading processes often involve physical papers, spreadsheets, and manual calculations. Digital grading tools simplify this process dramatically. Teachers can create assignments within the platform, collect submissions digitally, and grade them using built-in rubrics. Scores are automatically recorded and calculated, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Many systems also provide features such as: - automated quiz grading - assignment feedback templates - grade analytics dashboards - performance tracking across terms These capabilities reduce repetitive tasks while giving teachers deeper insight into student performance. This combination of automation and visibility is one of the most powerful advantages of modern teacher productivity tools. ## Improving classroom communication Communication between teachers, students, and parents is essential but often fragmented. Traditional communication methods rely on emails, printed notes, phone calls, and multiple messaging platforms. Important updates can easily get lost in these scattered channels. Digital communication platforms bring all stakeholders into a single environment. Teachers can send announcements, share assignments, update grades, and communicate with parents directly through one system. Messages are automatically linked to the relevant student or class. Benefits include: - organized communication history - reduced email overload - faster response times - better parent engagement When communication becomes streamlined, teachers spend less time managing messages and more time focusing on instruction. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Reducing administrative paperwork Administrative paperwork consumes a surprising portion of a teacher’s workday. Tasks such as attendance reporting, progress tracking, student records management, and compliance documentation often require multiple forms and manual data entry. Digital systems automate many of these processes. For example, attendance can be recorded within seconds using a classroom dashboard. The system automatically updates school records and generates reports when needed. Similarly, student performance reports can be created automatically using existing grade data. This eliminates hours of manual compilation each term. The shift from manual vs digital school systems becomes particularly clear when examining how much administrative work disappears through automation. ## Enabling data-driven teaching without extra effort One of the most valuable aspects of digital platforms is their ability to transform raw data into actionable insights. Traditionally, analyzing student performance required teachers to manually review grades, assignments, and test results across multiple documents. This process was time-consuming and often impractical. Modern teacher productivity platforms automatically aggregate this data and present it in visual dashboards. Teachers can quickly identify patterns such as: - students struggling with specific topics - attendance trends affecting performance - assignment completion rates - progress across learning objectives These insights help teachers adjust instruction more effectively without spending hours analyzing spreadsheets. ## Simplifying collaboration between teachers Teaching is often collaborative, yet many traditional systems isolate teachers from one another. Lesson materials, student data, and instructional strategies may exist in separate folders or personal files, making collaboration difficult. Digital platforms enable teachers to share resources and insights easily. Examples include: - shared lesson libraries - collaborative curriculum planning - shared student performance insights - cross-class communication tools When teachers collaborate effectively, they reduce duplication of effort and improve instructional quality across the school. This shared workflow is another reason why integrated [teacher productivity tools can dramatically improve efficiency](https://www.edsby.com/). ## How integrated systems reduce complexity The real advantage of digital tools emerges when multiple functions operate within a single integrated platform. Instead of managing separate systems for grading, attendance, communication, and reporting, teachers can access everything from one interface. This integration reduces complexity in several ways. First, teachers only need to learn one system instead of several. Training time decreases significantly. Second, data flows automatically between modules. Attendance records can influence reports, grades update progress dashboards, and communication logs link to student profiles. Third, administrators gain a unified view of school operations without requesting additional reports from teachers. When schools move from fragmented tools toward integrated systems, the difference between manual vs digital school systems becomes much clearer. ## Real classroom impact of teacher productivity tools The benefits of digital systems extend beyond administrative efficiency. They also improve teaching quality and student outcomes. When teachers spend less time managing paperwork, they can invest more time in: - individualized instruction - student feedback - creative lesson design - classroom engagement Teachers also experience reduced stress when their workload becomes more manageable. Studies consistently show that teacher burnout often stems from administrative overload rather than classroom teaching itself. Reducing these burdens helps educators remain focused and motivated. ## Implementation strategies that prevent complexity Schools sometimes worry that adopting digital tools will disrupt existing workflows. However, thoughtful implementation can prevent this issue. Successful schools follow several key strategies. ### Start with workflow analysis Before introducing new technology, schools should evaluate how teachers currently perform tasks such as grading, attendance tracking, and communication. Understanding these workflows helps identify which processes should be automated. ### Choose integrated platforms Instead of adopting multiple standalone tools, schools should prioritize platforms that combine core functions into a single environment. This prevents software fragmentation. ### Provide teacher-focused training Training should focus on practical classroom workflows rather than technical features. Teachers should learn how tools simplify their daily tasks. ### Phase implementation gradually Introducing digital systems step by step helps teachers adapt comfortably without feeling overwhelmed. When implementation focuses on usability, digital tools enhance productivity without increasing complexity. ## The long-term advantages of digital school systems Schools that successfully transition from manual workflows to digital platforms often experience lasting improvements across the entire organization. Over time, benefits include: - reduced administrative workload - improved data accuracy - faster communication - stronger collaboration - better student performance tracking Teachers gain the freedom to focus on their core responsibility: supporting student learning. The conversation about manual vs digital school systems ultimately centers on efficiency, visibility, and sustainability. Digital platforms provide the infrastructure needed for modern education environments. ## Final takeaway Technology should make teaching easier, not harder. When digital tools are poorly integrated, they create confusion and additional work for educators. But when thoughtfully designed and implemented, teacher productivity tools simplify everyday workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and centralize essential information. From lesson planning and grading to communication and reporting, digital platforms remove unnecessary administrative burdens that consume valuable teaching time. The transition from manual vs digital school systems represents more than a technological shift. It reflects a broader effort to support teachers, improve classroom efficiency, and build sustainable education environments. By adopting integrated systems that prioritize simplicity and usability, schools can empower teachers to focus on what matters most: helping students succeed. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What are teacher productivity tools? Teacher productivity tools are digital platforms that help educators manage tasks such as lesson planning, grading, attendance tracking, communication, and reporting more efficiently. ### 2. How do digital tools reduce teacher workload? Digital tools automate repetitive tasks like grade calculations, attendance tracking, and report generation. They also centralize information so teachers avoid duplicate data entry. ### 3. Are digital school systems better than manual systems? Digital systems are generally more efficient than manual systems because they reduce paperwork, improve data accuracy, and provide real-time insights into student performance. ### 4. Can digital tools improve classroom communication? Yes. Many teacher productivity tools include messaging systems that allow teachers, parents, and students to communicate through one platform, reducing reliance on emails and printed notes. ### 5. What should schools consider when choosing teacher productivity tools? Schools should prioritize integrated platforms that combine multiple functions, offer user-friendly interfaces, and align with existing teaching workflows. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** teacher productivity tools, manual vs digital school systems --- ### [Manual processes vs digital school management](https://www.edsby.com/manual-processes-vs-digital-school-management/commentary/) **Published:** March 9, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Manual school processes slow operations. Learn how digital management improves efficiency. **Content:** Schools are complex ecosystems. Every day, they manage student information, attendance, communication, grading, scheduling, reporting, and administrative tasks. For decades, many institutions relied on manual systems such as paper records, spreadsheets, and disconnected software tools to manage these responsibilities. While these approaches may have worked in the past, modern education demands greater efficiency, transparency, and data-driven decision making. This is where digital school management becomes essential. Digital systems bring together administrative, academic, and communication workflows in a single environment, allowing schools to operate more efficiently and support better learning outcomes. However, many schools still depend on manual processes. At first glance, these methods may appear simple and familiar. But behind the scenes, they create hidden inefficiencies that affect teachers, administrators, students, and parents. Understanding the difference between manual processes and digital management helps school leaders recognize what their institutions may be losing by delaying digital adoption. ## Understanding manual school processes Manual school processes refer to administrative and academic tasks managed through paper-based systems, spreadsheets, or disconnected tools. These processes often rely heavily on human effort and repeated data entry. Examples of common manual processes include: - Recording attendance in paper registers - Maintaining student records in physical files - Sending notices through printed circulars - Calculating grades manually in spreadsheets - Managing schedules using separate documents In many schools, these tasks are handled by multiple departments without a unified platform. As a result, information often exists in different places and formats. While manual systems may seem manageable for smaller institutions, they quickly become difficult to maintain as schools grow. Over time, the lack of integration creates delays, errors, and administrative burden. ## What is digital school management? An [advanced digital school management refers to the use of integrated technology platforms](https://www.edsby.com/) to manage school operations, academic processes, and communication in a centralized environment. Instead of relying on separate tools and paperwork, schools use digital platforms that combine multiple functions such as: - Student information management - Attendance tracking - Gradebooks and assessments - Communication with parents - Scheduling and timetables - Learning management features These systems provide real-time access to information and reduce the need for repetitive administrative work. Digital platforms also allow educators to analyze student performance, track trends, and make informed decisions that support academic success. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## The hidden costs of manual school systems At first glance, manual systems appear inexpensive because they do not require large technology investments. However, the real cost often appears in inefficiencies, lost time, and missed opportunities. Manual systems consume significant staff hours. Teachers and administrators spend time entering data, searching for records, and correcting errors. These tasks reduce the time available for instruction and student support. Another hidden cost is data inconsistency. When multiple departments maintain separate records, discrepancies often occur. Updating information across several files can lead to outdated or conflicting data. Over time, these inefficiencies accumulate and affect the overall productivity of the school. ## Limited visibility into student performance One of the biggest disadvantages of manual school processes is the lack of real-time visibility into student performance. When data is stored in separate spreadsheets or physical files, it becomes difficult to see the complete academic picture. Teachers may track grades individually, but administrators often struggle to identify patterns across classes or grade levels. Without centralized data, schools face challenges such as: - Delayed identification of struggling students - Difficulty tracking academic progress over time - Limited ability to analyze learning trends Digital platforms address this issue by consolidating academic data in a single system. Educators can view performance indicators instantly and provide targeted support to students who need it. ## Administrative overload for teachers Teachers already manage lesson planning, classroom instruction, assessments, and student engagement. Manual administrative tasks add another layer of workload. When attendance, grading, and reporting are handled manually, teachers must spend additional hours completing paperwork or updating spreadsheets. Common administrative burdens include: - Re-entering the same student data across multiple systems - Calculating grades and averages manually - Preparing printed progress reports - Maintaining separate records for attendance and assessments Over time, these tasks reduce instructional focus and contribute to teacher burnout. Digital school management platforms automate many of these responsibilities. Attendance tracking, grading calculations, and report generation can happen within the same system, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching. ## Communication gaps between schools and families Communication plays a critical role in student success. Parents need regular updates about attendance, academic progress, and school activities. Manual systems often rely on printed notices or occasional parent meetings. These approaches create delays and sometimes fail to reach families on time. Some common communication challenges include: - Lost or delayed printed notices - Limited visibility into student progress - Slow response to parent inquiries Digital platforms improve communication by enabling instant updates and notifications. Parents can access attendance records, grades, and school announcements through secure portals or mobile apps. This transparency strengthens collaboration between schools and families. ## Difficulty managing school data Data is one of the most valuable resources in modern education. Schools collect information about attendance, academic performance, behavior, and engagement. In manual systems, this data is scattered across multiple documents and formats. Retrieving specific information can require searching through several records. For example, generating a report about attendance trends may require staff to compile data from different registers and spreadsheets. Digital systems simplify this process by storing data in structured databases. Administrators can generate reports instantly and use insights to guide policy decisions. ## Increased risk of errors and data loss Human error is inevitable in manual processes. Data entry mistakes, misplaced documents, and inconsistent record updates are common issues in paper-based systems. Some typical risks include: - Incorrect grade calculations - Missing attendance records - Lost student documents - Duplicate data entries These errors can affect academic reporting and administrative decisions. Digital platforms reduce these risks through automated calculations, centralized storage, and controlled data access. Information remains secure and easily retrievable. ## Limited scalability for growing schools As schools expand, their administrative workload increases. More students, teachers, and programs mean more records and communication. Manual systems struggle to scale with this growth. Staff must manage larger volumes of paperwork and maintain increasingly complex spreadsheets. This often leads to: - Slower administrative workflows - Increased data management challenges - Greater reliance on additional staff Digital school management systems are designed to handle growth efficiently. New students, classes, and data can be added without increasing administrative complexity. ## The operational advantages of digital school management Schools that adopt digital management platforms experience significant improvements in efficiency and coordination. A centralized digital system enables seamless workflows across departments. Instead of maintaining separate tools, schools manage all operations within a single platform. Key operational improvements include: - Automated attendance tracking - Real-time gradebook updates - Instant report generation - Streamlined scheduling and timetables These capabilities allow administrators to focus on strategic planning rather than routine administrative tasks. ## Enhancing data-driven decision making Modern education increasingly relies on data insights. Schools need accurate information to evaluate teaching strategies, identify learning gaps, and improve outcomes. Manual systems rarely support comprehensive data analysis. Information is fragmented and difficult to compile into meaningful reports. Digital systems enable schools to analyze patterns in attendance, assessments, and engagement. Administrators can quickly identify trends such as: - Subjects where students struggle most - Attendance patterns affecting academic performance - Effectiveness of teaching strategies These insights support evidence-based decision making and continuous improvement. ## Supporting personalized learning Every student learns differently. Understanding individual strengths and challenges helps educators provide more personalized instruction. Manual systems make it difficult to track detailed learning data over time. Teachers often rely on separate records or personal observations. Digital platforms consolidate academic data, making it easier to monitor progress and adjust teaching approaches. Teachers can quickly identify students who need additional support or advanced challenges, enabling a more personalized learning experience. ## Strengthening collaboration across school departments School operations involve multiple departments, including administration, academics, counseling, and support services. When each department uses separate systems or manual records, collaboration becomes difficult. Important information may not reach the right people at the right time. Digital management systems create a shared environment where authorized staff can access relevant data. For example: - Counselors can view attendance trends alongside academic performance - Administrators can monitor class schedules and teacher workloads - Teachers can share insights about student progress This coordinated approach improves communication and decision making across the institution. ## Long-term school management software benefits Adopting digital platforms offers long-term advantages beyond immediate efficiency gains. Schools that invest in digital systems build stronger operational foundations for future growth. Some of the most important [school management software benefits](https://www.edsby.com/best-k12-school-management-software/commentary/) include improved transparency, streamlined workflows, and better data accessibility. Over time, these benefits translate into: - Reduced administrative workload - Improved academic monitoring - Faster communication with stakeholders - More effective resource management Digital systems also prepare schools for evolving education models, including blended and online learning. ## Overcoming barriers to digital adoption Despite the clear advantages, some schools hesitate to adopt digital systems. Common concerns include cost, staff training, and change management. However, the transition does not have to happen all at once. Schools can gradually implement [digital solutions](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666412722000137), starting with key areas such as attendance tracking or communication. Successful adoption often involves: - Providing training and support for staff - Communicating the benefits of digital systems - Integrating technology with existing workflows When educators understand how technology reduces workload rather than adding complexity, adoption becomes much easier. ## The future of school administration Education systems are becoming more data-driven, collaborative, and technology-enabled. Schools that rely solely on manual processes may struggle to keep up with these changes. Digital school management platforms are becoming central to modern school operations. They enable institutions to manage information efficiently, support teachers, and create better learning environments for students. In the coming years, digital platforms will likely expand their capabilities with advanced analytics, automation, and integrated learning tools. Schools that begin this transition early position themselves for long-term success. ## A final takeaway Manual school processes once formed the backbone of educational administration. However, the demands of modern education have made these systems increasingly inefficient and difficult to maintain. The shift toward digital school management is not simply about replacing paper with software. It is about creating a connected environment where information flows easily, decisions are data-driven, and educators can focus more on teaching and student development. Schools that continue relying on manual systems risk losing valuable time, insights, and opportunities for improvement. In contrast, institutions that adopt digital platforms gain operational efficiency, stronger communication, and better academic outcomes. As education continues to evolve, digital management will play a crucial role in shaping how schools operate and support learning. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is digital school management? Digital school management refers to technology platforms that centralize administrative, academic, and communication processes within a school. ### 2. Why are manual school processes inefficient? Manual systems rely on paperwork and repeated data entry, which increases administrative workload and creates data inconsistencies. ### 3. What are the main school management software benefits? Key benefits include automation of administrative tasks, real-time data access, improved communication, and better academic performance tracking. ### 4. How does digital management help teachers? Digital systems reduce administrative work by automating attendance, grading, and reporting tasks, allowing teachers to focus more on instruction. ### 5. Can small schools benefit from digital school management? Yes. Even small schools benefit from improved efficiency, better data organization, and stronger communication with parents and staff. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** digital school management, school management software benefits --- ### [From Compliance to Competency](https://www.edsby.com/compliance-to-competency-standards-based-assessment/commentary/) **Published:** March 2, 2026 **Author:** Eric Sheninger **Excerpt:** K-12 digital leadership expert and author Eric Sheninger makes the case for moving beyond traditional grading toward a mastery-based future. He identifies Edsby Destinations as essential infrastructure to successfully scale competency-based assessment and reporting across entire school systems. **Content:** ## Why Standards-Based Assessment Is the Future Our Students Deserve For more than a decade, I have worked alongside educators, school leaders, and district administrators who share a common conviction: the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching, learning, and assessment is not serving our students well. In my books, including [Digital Leadership](https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Leadership-Changing-Paradigms-Times/dp/154435083X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2137VZ97RVGNL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ld5sdEncnhJ9O4_Po-qkxb8_shv1ivFgghCKX_E6VTdr5uThAtArrvSnSJrnUYn7SD0PT3M5hYxM1QT6XItkX3TawqhMDDOv5bECF--uORlDN5CKN12zjBlIUnx8xoDI.ynTfRqXN0faelgaT8btb3ICpm4K30vmoC1ee7a3C5wo&dib_tag=se&keywords=digital+leadership+sheninger&qid=1771630504&sprefix=digital+leadership+sheninge%2Caps%2C238&sr=8-1), [UnCommon Learning](https://www.amazon.com/UnCommon-Learning-Creating-Schools-That-ebook/dp/B07C6MNRKG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IHG0C1PF5FPM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TvZ85qFbW7ABkRCHJc9YnA.GF-xouTKWQiMV6JN9DxbOET4Nt3aiARJvyq1W3FAwX4&dib_tag=se&keywords=UnCommon+Learning+sheninger&qid=1771630535&sprefix=uncommon+learning+sheninger%2Caps%2C206&sr=8-1), and [Learning Transformed](https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Transformed-Designing-Tomorrows-Schools/dp/1416623892/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9FHBQG4TU5YO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J7WBmDFf2CQT_9DBY9zv_g.cTEmYStK2CC-GwlEVGjEkVprskCrybj8Qmo_3jLT3SI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Learning+Transformed+sheninger&qid=1771630551&sprefix=learning+transformed+sheninger%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-1), I’ve argued that maintaining industrial-age models of schooling is tantamount to instructional malpractice. We owe our learners something fundamentally better. And nowhere is the urgency for change more apparent than in how we assess, report, and communicate student learning. The shift from traditional grading to standards-based assessment and competency-based education is not a passing trend. It is an overdue reckoning with a system that has long prioritized compliance over competency, seat time over mastery, and averages over authentic evidence of learning. For school systems ready to make this shift at scale, a platform purpose-built for the complexity of K-12 outcomes-based assessment is essential. That is why I’m excited about what Edsby has built with [Edsby Destinations](https://www.edsby.com/destinations/). ### The Case Against Traditional Grading Let me be direct: traditional grading is broken. A single letter grade or percentage stuffed into a report card tells parents and students almost nothing about what a learner actually knows or can do. It blends academic achievement with behavioral compliance, homework completion, and participation into a number that obscures more than it reveals. Worse, it creates a system where students have learned to game points rather than pursue genuine understanding. In my work with schools around the world, I have seen firsthand how this approach undermines the very outcomes we claim to care about. When students are chasing a grade rather than chasing mastery, we lose the intrinsic motivation, curiosity, and agency that drive real learning. The research is clear: standards-based grading and outcomes-based assessment produce more equitable, transparent, and meaningful feedback for students and families alike. [Empirical evidence suggests that standards-based reporting provides a more accurate and reliable measure of student mastery by isolating academic achievement from non-academic factors like behavior and attendance (Swan et al., 2014)1](#1). > Standards-based assessment connects student performance to clearly defined learning expectations. Rather than asking how many points a student accumulated, it asks a far more important question: has this student demonstrated proficiency against the standards that matter? Consider the parent who receives a report card showing their child earned a B-minus in science. What does that actually communicate? Does the child understand the scientific method but struggle with data analysis? Has she mastered earth science concepts but not yet grasped chemistry fundamentals? The letter grade tells us nothing useful. Now consider a standards-aligned report that shows proficiency levels across specific outcomes: that parent can finally have a meaningful conversation with their child and their child’s teacher about where to focus next. That is the power of outcomes-based reporting. ### Competency-Based Education: Putting Learners at the Center Competency-based education takes this principle further. In a competency-based model, learners advance when they demonstrate mastery of defined competencies, not when the calendar tells them to move on. This approach honors what we know about how learning actually works: it is nonlinear, deeply personal, and happens at different rates for different students. When Nicki Slaugh and I wrote [Personalize: Meeting the Needs of All Learners](https://www.amazon.com/Personalize-Meeting-Needs-All-Learners/dp/B0D6BHDFF8/ref=monarch_sidesheet_title), we emphasized that personalization starts with knowing your students and creating flexible pathways that respect their individual journeys. Competency-based assessment and reporting requires educators to define clear competencies and success criteria, provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery, use evidence of learning rather than single-point assessments, and report progress against standards in ways that students and families can actually understand. This is not about lowering expectations. It is about raising them—and then giving every student a fair shot at meeting them. [Recent reviews of competency-based models indicate that students in these environments report higher levels of self-efficacy and a stronger sense of academic identity compared to those in traditional time-bound systems (Haynes et al., 2022)2](#2). Think about it from the learner’s perspective. In a traditional classroom, a student who fails an early test on fractions but later demonstrates complete mastery still carries that initial failure in their averaged grade. The message is clear: your early struggles define you. In a competency-based model, that same student’s most recent, most consistent demonstration of understanding is what counts. The message shifts to something far more powerful: growth matters, and mastery is always within reach. That is the kind of assessment culture that builds resilient, motivated learners. ### The Student Agency Imperative One of the themes I return to again and again in my work is student agency. Advocacy, choice, and voice should not be luxuries reserved for a few classrooms—they should be the norm across every school. When students have genuine agency in their learning, they develop the self-regulation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills they need to thrive beyond the schoolhouse walls. > Standards-based assessment is a natural enabler of student agency. When learners can see exactly where they stand against clearly defined outcomes, they can set goals, self-assess, and take ownership of their learning trajectory. When they can demonstrate mastery through multiple pathways—portfolios, projects, performance tasks, and authentic artifacts—they are not just proving what they know. They are making meaningful choices about how they learn and how they show what they have learned. [Meta-analytic research confirms that when students engage in self-assessment against clear criteria, their ability to self-regulate and adapt their learning strategies increases significantly (Panadero et al., 2017)3](#3). This is the kind of learning environment I described in UnCommon Learning: one where relevant, authentic opportunities become the common experience rather than the exception. Outcomes-based assessment and reporting gives students a clear destination and the freedom to chart their own course toward it. That is agency in action. I have seen schools where students as young as eight can articulate exactly which competencies they are working toward and what evidence they need to produce to demonstrate mastery. These are not gifted-program outliers. These are everyday students in schools that have made the structural commitment to transparency and learner ownership. When the system is designed to make learning visible, students rise to meet it. ### Why Scale Matters: The District and Systems Challenge Many educators I work with are already bought in on the philosophy of competency-based education and standards-based grading. They understand the why. What keeps them up at night is the how—specifically, how to implement outcomes-based assessment and reporting at the scale of a district, a region, or even a state. And this is a legitimate concern. Competency-based assessment generates an enormous volume of data. When every student is being tracked against multiple competencies across multiple subjects, and when evidence of learning includes visual artifacts, self-assessments, and teacher observations, the data management challenge is real. Most tools in the market were designed for individual teacher use or small-school settings. They buckle under the weight of district-scale implementation. [Implementing these frameworks at a systemic level requires robust digital infrastructure to mitigate the high cognitive and technical load placed on educators when managing diverse, longitudinal data points (Gervais, 2016)4](#4). This is precisely the problem that Edsby Destinations was designed to solve. Unlike generic LMS gradebooks retrofitted with a standards-based feature or niche competency-based tools that work for a single classroom, Edsby Destinations was purpose-built for the needs of large K-12 organizations. It is engineered to handle the data complexity that outcomes-based assessment and reporting demands when you are operating at the scale of an entire school system. ### Edsby Destinations: A Platform That Matches the Vision What impresses me about Edsby Destinations is that it was clearly designed by people who understand the realities of K-12 education. This is not a corporate tool awkwardly adapted for schools. It reflects the workflows, relationships, and communication patterns that define the K-12 experience. Students get a clear, graphical overview that shows them where they are and where they are going in real time. That kind of transparency is foundational to student agency—it is hard to own your learning journey when you cannot see the road ahead. Teachers can co-create success criteria with learners, making expectations clearer while promoting the kind of ownership and self-assessment that deeper learning requires. Students can assert when and how they have met success criteria, and teachers verify with professional judgment. This balance between student voice and educator expertise is exactly right. Evidence of learning is captured through visual documentation—pictures, videos, and authentic work products—tagged directly to outcomes. For younger students, mobile apps with QR codes remove the barriers that typing creates. For districts and states, dashboards provide a clear view of where every student stands, with the ability to drill down into individual progress. And all of this operates at a scale that Edsby has already proven at the country level. ### Engaging the Whole Community In Learning Transformed, Tom Murray and I identified community engagement as one of the eight keys to designing tomorrow’s schools. Assessment and reporting are among the most visible touchpoints between schools and families. When we move to standards-based grading and competency-based assessment, we have an obligation to bring parents along on that journey. Edsby Destinations was specifically designed to engage not just teachers, but students and their parents in understanding student progress. The platform communicates learning in terms that families can understand and act upon, moving beyond cryptic percentage scores to meaningful insights about what their child knows and can do. That kind of transparent, standards-aligned reporting strengthens the home-school partnership that is essential to student success. > Too many assessment tools treat parent communication as an afterthought—a PDF report card generated at the end of a term. In a competency-based system, families need ongoing visibility into their child’s progress, not just a snapshot every few months. When parents can see real-time evidence of what their child is learning, tagged to specific outcomes and accompanied by authentic work products, the conversation at the dinner table changes. It moves from “What grade did you get?” to “What did you learn?” That shift alone is worth the transformation. ### Leading the Change The transition to competency-based education and standards-based assessment is a leadership challenge as much as a pedagogical one. In my Pillars of Digital Leadership framework, I emphasize that sustainable change requires a strategic mindset, a willingness to rethink established practice, and tools that support rather than constrain innovation. School and district leaders considering this shift need a platform that aligns teachers with their organization’s approach to assessment and reporting, supports customization with local terminology, grading schemes, and assessment methodologies, pre-loads standards and expectations so teachers can focus on teaching rather than data entry. Edsby Destinations delivers on all of these fronts. It is the kind of infrastructure that turns a philosophical commitment to outcomes-based assessment into an operational reality. I have long argued that technology should serve pedagogy, not the other way around. The best digital tools disappear into the background of good teaching. They reduce friction, surface insight, and free educators to do what they do best: connect with learners. A standards-based assessment platform should make a teacher’s professional judgment more visible and more valued, not bury it under data entry. That is the standard I hold every edtech solution to, and it is a standard Edsby Destinations meets. ### The Time Is Now I have spent my career arguing that we must prepare students for their future, not our past. Maintaining outdated assessment practices in a world that demands critical thinking, adaptability, and self-direction is a disservice to every learner in our care. The shift to standards-based assessment and competency-based education is not optional—it is imperative. > But vision without infrastructure is just aspiration. School systems need a platform that can translate the promise of outcomes-based assessment and reporting into daily classroom practice, at scale, with the data transparency that students, teachers, parents, and administrators all need. Edsby Destinations represents exactly that kind of platform: purpose-built for K-12, designed for competency-based assessment, and proven at the scale that real school systems require. The destination is clear. Our students deserve assessment systems that see them as whole learners, that honor their individual paths to mastery, and that communicate their progress with clarity and purpose. The question is no longer whether we should make this shift. It is whether we have the leadership, the commitment, and the tools to make it happen. With platforms like Edsby Destinations, I believe we do. **References** 1\. Gervais, J. (2016). The operational definition of competency-based education. *The Journal of Competency-Based Education*, 1(2), 98-106. 2\. Haynes, E., McCulley, L. V., & Stamper, G. (2022). Competency-based education: A review of the literature on student outcomes. *The Journal of Competency-Based Education*, 7(1), e1255. 3\. Panadero, E., Jonsson, A., & Botella, J. (2017). Effects of self-assessment on self-regulated learning and self-efficacy: Four meta-analyses. *Educational Research Review*, 22, 74-98. 4\. Swan, G. M., Guskey, T. R., & Jung, L. A. (2014). Parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of standards-based and traditional report cards. *Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability*, 26(3), 289-299. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Competency-based education, standards-based assessment --- ### [Best Schoology alternatives for K-12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/best-schoology-alternatives-for-k12-schools/commentary/) **Published:** February 17, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Compare top Schoology alternatives for K-12 districts in 2026. **Content:** As districts modernize digital learning ecosystems, many begin evaluating Schoology alternatives that better align with long-term instructional and administrative goals. While Schoology remains a recognized platform in K-12 education, evolving expectations around district oversight, unified communication, scalability, and analytics are prompting leaders to assess stronger Schoology competitors. Replacing an LMS is not a classroom-level decision. It affects grading workflows, reporting cycles, parent engagement, compliance, and system-wide governance. This in-depth guide examines leading platforms districts consider when they want to replace Schoology, including: - Edsby - Canvas - Google Classroom - Brightspace - Moodle - Microsoft Teams Each competitor is discussed individually across core evaluation parameters so districts can make a structured, strategic comparison. ## Understanding Schoology’s position in K-12 Before examining alternatives, it is important to understand what Schoology does well and where districts begin to look elsewhere. Schoology blends course management with interactive classroom discussions. Teachers can create assignments, quizzes, gradebooks, and discussions within a structured course shell. Its interface supports collaboration and teacher-student engagement effectively. However, districts evaluating [Schoology alternatives ](https://www.edsby.com/top-k-12-lms-platforms-compared/commentary/)often cite three broader concerns: - Limited centralized district dashboards - Dependence on integrations for expanded functionality - Fragmented communication outside course-level workflows With that context, let us examine each major competitor in depth. ## Edsby: A unified K-12 ecosystem Edsby approaches instruction differently from many traditional LMS platforms. Rather than operating solely as a digital classroom layer, it integrates learning activities directly with attendance, grading, and reporting structures. Teachers can create assessments, assignments, and learning materials, but these are inherently connected to official reporting frameworks and district grading policies. This integration reduces duplication. In a typical LMS deployment, grades may need synchronization between systems. Edsby minimizes this friction by embedding academic workflows within the broader student information environment. In a practical [Schoology vs Edsby ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-schoology/)comparison, Edsby stands out for unifying classroom instruction with administrative processes. [![school management software guide](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### Key features 1. Communication and engagement Communication is one of Edsby’s defining strengths. It enables structured interaction between teachers, students, parents, and administrators within a single environment. Messages are not isolated from academic context; they connect directly to student performance, attendance, and school updates. Unlike systems that rely heavily on third-party messaging tools, [Edsby’s communication features ](https://www.edsby.com/)are built into its architecture. This reduces fragmentation and ensures consistent visibility across stakeholders. 2. District oversight Edsby provides centralized dashboards that give administrators real-time insights into attendance trends, grade distributions, engagement levels, and communication patterns. District leaders gain system-wide visibility rather than course-level snapshots. This makes Edsby particularly attractive to districts prioritizing governance, data transparency, and accountability. 3. Scalability and district readiness Edsby is designed specifically for large K-12 deployments. Workflows remain consistent across schools and grade levels, reducing variability during expansion. Training requirements are streamlined because instructional and administrative processes operate within the same system. For districts seeking to replace Schoology with a unified platform, scalability and structural alignment become major decision factors. 4. Data, reporting, and compliance Academic data, attendance records, and engagement indicators are centralized. Administrators can analyze trends across schools without requiring multiple reporting tools. Compliance with regional privacy regulations is embedded into system design. 5. Cost and total ownership Because Edsby consolidates learning management, communication, and reporting into one platform, districts may reduce reliance on supplementary tools. Over time, this can lower integration and maintenance costs. ## Canvas: structured digital coursework at scale Canvas is widely recognized for structured course design. Its modular layout supports detailed sequencing, content embedding, and flexible assessment creation. Teachers can design rich digital learning paths suited to secondary education. However, Canvas often mirrors higher education models. While powerful for course organization, it may require additional configuration for district-wide alignment. ### Key features 1. Communication and engagement Canvas supports announcements and discussions within courses. Engagement can be enhanced through integrations with third-party tools. While functional, broader stakeholder communication often depends on external systems. 2. District oversight Canvas provides strong course-level analytics. For district-level insights, integrations with SIS platforms and analytics tools are commonly required. 3. Scalability and district readiness Canvas scales effectively across large user bases. However, maintaining consistency between schools may require centralized governance policies and additional oversight tools. 4. Data and compliance Course analytics are robust, but comprehensive district dashboards often depend on external reporting frameworks. 5. Cost considerations Canvas pricing can increase with add-ons, analytics modules, and integrations. Total cost of ownership should include these factors. ## Google Classroom: Simplicity and speed Google Classroom prioritizes ease of use. Teachers can distribute assignments, collect submissions, and provide feedback quickly. Its simplicity lowers the barrier to adoption. However, it does not provide advanced course structuring, outcomes tracking, or district-level academic governance. ### Key features 1. Communication and engagement Communication is primarily assignment-based, with comments and announcements. Broader stakeholder messaging is limited. 2. District oversight Google Classroom offers minimal administrative dashboards. Aggregated district insights are limited compared to more comprehensive LMS platforms. 3. Scalability While Google Classroom scales numerically with ease, administrative functionality does not scale proportionally. 4. Cost It appears affordable, but districts may require additional tools for reporting, communication, and analytics. ## Brightspace: Data-driven instruction Brightspace supports competency tracking and structured instructional design. It aligns coursework with learning outcomes and standards. ### Key features: 1. Communication Communication tools are integrated with course progress but remain academically centered. 2. District oversight Brightspace includes advanced analytics dashboards designed for system-level monitoring. 3. Scalability Built for enterprise deployments, Brightspace supports standardized instructional models across schools. 4. Cost Enterprise-level pricing reflects analytics depth and scalability. ## Moodle: Customization and flexibility Moodle’s open-source structure enables extensive customization. Districts can design learning environments tailored to specific needs. ### Key features 1. Communication Forums and messaging support collaboration, though engagement consistency depends on implementation quality. 2. District oversight Reporting capabilities are strong but require technical configuration. 3. Scalability Moodle scales effectively when supported by experienced IT teams. 4.Cost Licensing costs are low, but operational overhead may increase. ## Microsoft Teams: Collaboration-centered learning Teams supports assignments and [collaborative document sharing](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378996799_Collaborative_Teaching-Learning_in_Classroom_Research_Based_Setting_and_Its_Impact). However, it is primarily a communication platform rather than a comprehensive LMS. ### Key features 1. Communication Real-time chat and video conferencing are strong features. Academic reporting remains separate. 2. District oversight Administrative controls focus on security and usage rather than academic performance. 3.Scalability Teams scale efficiently but often complements another LMS. 4. Cost Often bundled within productivity suites, but not a standalone replacement for Schoology. ## Final takeaway When evaluating Schoology alternatives, districts should consider: - Does the platform unify instruction and administration? - Can it provide centralized oversight? - Does it reduce integration dependency? - Is it built specifically for K-12 ecosystems? Replacing an LMS is a strategic decision that shapes instructional delivery, governance, compliance, and long-term digital strategy. Among leading Schoology competitors, platforms vary widely in philosophy. Some prioritize structured coursework. Others emphasize analytics or collaboration. For districts seeking unified management, centralized data visibility, and scalable workflows, purpose-built K-12 ecosystems often deliver stronger long-term value. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. Why are districts looking for Schoology alternatives? Many districts explore Schoology alternatives when they need stronger district-wide oversight, unified communication, and streamlined reporting. While Schoology works well at the classroom level, some districts require deeper administrative dashboards, integrated attendance tracking, and consolidated systems that reduce reliance on external tools. ### 2. What should schools evaluate before replacing Schoology? Before deciding to replace Schoology, districts should assess instructional alignment, scalability, reporting capabilities, integration requirements, and total cost of ownership. It is also important to evaluate whether the platform supports centralized governance across schools and aligns with regional compliance standards. ### 3. How does Schoology compare to Edsby for K-12 districts? In a practical schoology vs Edsby comparison, Schoology emphasizes classroom-level interaction and course collaboration. Edsby, on the other hand, integrates instruction, attendance, grading, and communication within a unified district framework. Districts prioritizing centralized oversight and system consolidation often examine this distinction closely. ### 4. Are free platforms viable replacements for Schoology? Free platforms such as Google Classroom can support basic assignment management and communication. However, they may lack advanced reporting, district-level dashboards, and administrative governance tools. Districts should carefully evaluate whether additional systems would be required to meet full operational needs. ### 5. What is the most scalable Schoology competitor for large districts? Scalability depends on district priorities. Platforms designed specifically for K-12 ecosystems and centralized workflows typically offer stronger scalability for large deployments. Districts should evaluate user management, consistency across schools, implementation support, and long-term governance capabilities before selecting among leading Schoology competitors. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Schoology competitors, Schoology alternatives, replace Schoology, Schoology vs Edsby --- ### [Google Classroom alternatives for district-wide management](https://www.edsby.com/google-classroom-alternatives-for-district-wide-management/commentary/) **Published:** February 19, 2026 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Find out the top Google Classroom alternatives in 2026 for district-wide school management. **Content:** District leaders evaluating Google Classroom alternatives platforms are often responding to a common realization: a tool that works well for individual classrooms may not fully support district-wide management. While Google Classroom offers simplicity and rapid deployment, large K–12 districts frequently require centralized oversight, integrated communication, scalable governance, and advanced reporting capabilities that extend beyond assignment distribution. For small implementations, Google Classroom can be efficient and easy to adopt. However, when districts begin scaling across multiple schools, grade levels, and reporting cycles, administrative visibility and workflow consistency become critical. This is where districts begin researching platforms better than Google Classroom for schools, particularly those designed for structured classroom management and district governance. This comprehensive guide evaluates leading alternatives in depth, examining each competitor across key parameters: instruction and course management, communication and engagement, district oversight, scalability, reporting and compliance, and total cost of ownership. The major platforms discussed include: - Edsby - Canvas - Schoology - Brightspace - Moodle - Microsoft Teams Each platform is analyzed individually to support strategic district-level decision-making. ## Understanding Google Classroom’s strengths and limitations Google Classroom is widely adopted because of its simplicity. Teachers can distribute assignments, collect submissions, and provide feedback with minimal setup. Integration with Google Docs, Drive, and Meet streamlines content sharing. The interface is intuitive, reducing professional development time and technical friction. However, districts seeking [Google Classroom alternatives](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-google-classroom/) platforms often identify operational gaps as scale increases. These typically include: - Limited centralized administrative dashboards - Minimal district-wide analytics - Separate systems required for attendance and reporting - Restricted parent engagement beyond summary emails - Dependence on external tools for advanced classroom management In short, Google Classroom works efficiently at the classroom level but may require additional infrastructure for district-wide governance. ## Edsby: Unified district ecosystem Edsby approaches classroom management differently from Google Classroom. Rather than focusing solely on assignment workflows, it integrates instruction directly into district academic structures. Lessons, assessments, gradebooks, and attendance operate within a unified framework aligned with official reporting periods. Teachers can manage coursework while administrators maintain consistency across schools. This alignment reduces duplication between systems and supports standardized instructional models. For districts prioritizing structured classroom management, Edsby offers more embedded administrative context than Google Classroom. [![K-12 school management platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### Key features 1. Communication and Engagement Communication is integrated across teachers, students, and parents within the same environment. Unlike Google Classroom, where communication primarily revolves around assignments, Edsby connects messaging with academic performance and attendance data. Parents gain contextual visibility rather than isolated updates. This unified communication layer reduces reliance on separate messaging platforms and strengthens transparency across stakeholders. 2. District oversight Edsby provides centralized dashboards that allow administrators to monitor attendance trends, grade distributions, engagement patterns, and school-level performance. This district-wide oversight is built into the system rather than dependent on add-ons. For leaders searching for [platforms better than Google Classroom for schools](https://www.edsby.com/), oversight capabilities are often a decisive factor. 3. Scalability and governance Designed specifically for large K–12 deployments, Edsby maintains workflow consistency across grade levels and schools. Training and implementation follow standardized structures, reducing fragmentation during district expansion. 4. Data and compliance Academic data, attendance, and communication records are centralized. This simplifies reporting and supports compliance with regional privacy regulations. 5. Cost and ownership Because Edsby consolidates multiple systems into one ecosystem, districts may reduce integration costs and administrative overhead over time. ## Canvas: Structured coursework with advanced design Canvas is known for robust course structuring. Teachers can create modules, embed multimedia, and design assessments with flexible sequencing. Compared to Google Classroom, Canvas offers deeper instructional architecture and customization. This makes Canvas attractive for secondary schools and districts emphasizing digital curriculum frameworks. ### Key features 1. Communication and Engagement Canvas supports announcements, discussions, and messaging within course environments. However, district-wide communication often requires integration with external systems. 2. District oversight Canvas provides strong course-level analytics. For aggregated district reporting, integrations with SIS or analytics tools are common. 3. Scalability Canvas scales effectively across large user bases, though maintaining consistency may require centralized governance policies. 4. Data and cost Advanced analytics and integrations can increase operational costs. Districts should evaluate long-term ownership rather than licensing fees alone. ## Schoology: Interactive classroom collaboration Schoology blends course structure with social-style interaction. Teachers can design assessments and encourage discussions within course groups. Compared to Google Classroom, Schoology provides richer collaboration tools. ### Key features 1. Communication Communication remains course-centered, with limited district-wide administrative context. 2. District oversight Reporting capabilities exist but may depend on additional modules or integrations for comprehensive district dashboards. 3. Scalability Schoology can scale across districts, though consistency may require structured implementation planning. ## Brightspace: outcomes and analytics focus Brightspace emphasizes standards alignment and competency tracking. Coursework connects directly to learning objectives, making it attractive for districts prioritizing mastery-based education. ### Key features 1. Communication Communication tools support instructional progress but are academically focused rather than parent-centered. 2. District oversight Brightspace includes advanced analytics dashboards for administrators, offering predictive insights and system-wide monitoring. 3. Scalability Built for enterprise environments, Brightspace supports district-level governance structures. 4. Cost Enterprise-level features are reflected in pricing models. ## Moodle: Customizable open-source platform Moodle provides extensive flexibility in course design. Districts can tailor the environment to specific[ instructional models](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED595141.pdf). Compared to Google Classroom, Moodle supports deeper customization. ### Key features 1. Communication Forums and messaging tools enable collaboration, though effectiveness depends on configuration and training. 2. District oversight Reporting is customizable but requires technical setup. 3. Scalability Moodle scales effectively when supported by experienced IT teams. 4. Cost Licensing costs are minimal, but operational maintenance may increase total ownership expenses. ## Microsoft Teams: Collaboration-driven learning environment Microsoft Teams supports assignment workflows and integrates with Microsoft 365 tools. However, it is primarily a collaboration platform rather than a full LMS replacement. ### Key features 1. Communication Real-time chat, video conferencing, and shared workspaces are strong features. Academic oversight remains separate from collaboration tools. 2. District oversight Administrative controls focus on security and usage rather than academic dashboards. 3. Scalability Teams scales efficiently across districts but often complement another LMS. ## Comparing Google Classroom alternatives for district management When evaluating Google Classroom alternatives, platforms, districts should focus on structural alignment rather than surface features. Key considerations include: - Centralized administrative dashboards - Integrated attendance and grading - Parent engagement depth - Scalability across schools - Compliance and data governance - Total cost of ownership Google Classroom remains efficient for quick deployment and classroom-level management. However, as districts grow and accountability requirements increase, platforms with unified ecosystems often deliver stronger long-term value. ## Final thoughts Selecting among platforms better than Google Classroom for schools requires clarity around district goals. If simplicity is the priority, Google Classroom may suffice. If centralized oversight, structured classroom management, and integrated governance are essential, districts should examine platforms purpose-built for K–12 ecosystems. The right decision balances instructional flexibility with administrative control. For district leaders, scalability, data transparency, and long-term sustainability should guide evaluation criteria. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. Why do districts look for Google Classroom alternatives? Districts often need stronger administrative dashboards, integrated attendance systems, and centralized reporting that extend beyond basic assignment management. ### 2. Are there platforms better than Google Classroom for schools? Yes. Several LMS platforms offer deeper classroom management tools, district oversight, analytics, and communication features designed for K–12 ecosystems. ### 3. Can Google Classroom scale for large districts? It scales easily in user numbers, but administrative oversight and reporting capabilities may not expand proportionally. ### 4. What should districts evaluate before switching platforms? Key factors include scalability, compliance, reporting depth, communication integration, implementation support, and total cost of ownership. ### 5. Is replacing Google Classroom expensive? Costs vary depending on the platform selected. While some alternatives require licensing investment, they may reduce long-term expenses by consolidating multiple systems. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Google classroom alternatives, Platforms better than Google classroom for schools, classroom management software --- ### [Innovative ways to use school management software for better learning](https://www.edsby.com/innovations-in-school-management-software/commentary/) **Published:** December 18, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Explore smart and practical ways schools improve learning with modern school management software tools. **Content:** Schools today operate in a fast-changing learning environment. Classrooms are more digital. Parents expect timely updates. Teachers manage more data than ever before. Because of this shift, schools need tools that do more than basic administration. Moreover, [innovative ways to use school management software can directly improve learning outcomes](https://www.edsby.com/), communication, and daily efficiency. When used strategically, these platforms become learning enablers rather than just record-keeping tools. Many schools already use some form of school software. However, the real value comes from how the system is used. When aligned with teaching goals, student needs, and school operations, school management software becomes a foundation for better learning. ## What are innovative ways to use school management software Innovative ways to use school management software refer to using digital school systems beyond basic tasks. It means applying technology to support learning, engagement, and collaboration. The focus shifts from administration alone to meaningful educational impact. This approach integrates [reactive work](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X24001598), academic data, communication tools, and classroom workflows into one system. Teachers save time. Students get clarity. Administrators gain visibility. As a result, schools move toward smarter and more connected operations. Modern school software supports this shift by bringing learning and management together. It creates a single source of truth for the entire school community. ## Why schools need innovative approaches today K to 12 schools face growing challenges. Class sizes are increasing. Learning needs are more diverse. Parents want transparency. Teachers need time to focus on teaching. However, many schools still rely on disconnected systems. Because of this, information gets siloed. Communication becomes slow. Teachers feel overburdened. At the same time, students miss out on personalized support. Innovative ways to use school management software help solve these problems. They connect people, data, and processes. In addition, they support modern learning models that mix classroom and digital experiences. Modern solutions for K 12 schools must be flexible. They should adapt to changing learning needs while keeping operations simple and efficient. ## Key features that enable smarter usage When used effectively, [school management software offers features that go beyond administration](https://www.edsby.com/how-district-school-management-software-unifies-communication/commentary/). Below are key capabilities that support better learning when applied innovatively. - Centralized academic data: A unified system stores grades, attendance, and assessments in one place. Teachers can track progress easily. Administrators gain real-time insights. Because of this, early intervention becomes possible. Data-driven decisions improve student outcomes. - Integrated communication tools: Built-in messaging connects teachers, parents, and students. Updates reach everyone instantly. This reduces confusion and delays. As a result, trust and engagement improve across the school community. - Learning and assessment alignment: Assignments, feedback, and reports stay connected. Teachers see the full learning picture. Students understand expectations better. At the same time, parents stay informed without constant follow-ups. - Flexible access and dashboards: Role-based dashboards present relevant information. Teachers focus on classes. Parents view progress. Students track tasks. This clarity reduces overload and improves daily workflows. ## Benefits for administrators, teachers, and parents Using school management software in innovative ways creates value for every stakeholder. Each group benefits differently, but the impact is shared. ### Benefits for administrators Administrators need visibility and control. Online school administration software provides centralized oversight of academics and operations. Reports become easier to generate. Compliance improves. In addition, leadership teams can identify trends early. They can allocate resources better. Because of this, planning becomes more proactive instead of reactive. ### Benefits for teachers Teachers save time when systems work together. Lesson planning, grading, and communication happen in one place. This reduces manual work. As a result, teachers focus more on instruction. They respond faster to student needs. Over time, teaching quality improves without added stress. ### Benefits for parents Parents want clarity and involvement. School software offers regular updates on attendance, assignments, and performance. This builds trust. At the same time, parents feel connected without overwhelming communication. They support learning at home more effectively. ## Innovative ways to use school management software in classrooms Schools that see the best results apply their systems creatively. Below are practical and proven approaches. - Personalized learning support: Academic data helps teachers identify strengths and gaps. They adjust instruction accordingly. This supports diverse learning needs. Over time, students feel more supported and confident. - Early intervention programs: Attendance and performance alerts highlight risks early. Teachers and counselors act quickly. Because of this, learning gaps are reduced. Student retention improves. - Student ownership of learning: Students track their assignments and progress themselves. This builds accountability. They understand goals clearly. As a result, motivation increases. - Collaborative teaching models: Teachers share insights and resources within the platform. This encourages collaboration. Best practices spread faster. Teaching quality improves school-wide. ## How Edsby helps schools Edsby is designed to support modern solutions for K 12 schools in a practical way. It combines learning management, communication, and administration in one platform. Edsby helps schools connect classrooms with operations. Teachers manage instruction. Administrators oversee performance. Parents stay informed. All within a single ecosystem. Rather than adding complexity, Edsby simplifies daily work. It supports consistency and clarity across the school. Because of this, schools can focus on learning rather than logistics. [![Edsby - best k-12 platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-3.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## Final thoughts Schools that rethink how they use technology see stronger results. Innovative ways to use school management software transform daily operations into learning advantages. They support teachers, engage parents, and empower students. When chosen and applied thoughtfully, school software becomes a strategic asset. It helps schools meet today’s challenges while preparing for the future of education. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What new operational outcomes are schools achieving through innovations in school management software? Beyond basic automation, modern school management software innovations are enabling real-time data access for administrators, predictive insights for student success, faster parent communication, and streamlined hybrid learning support. Innovations like AI-driven analytics and mobile-first design help schools respond rapidly to attendance trends, performance issues, and family engagement needs, transforming administrative systems into strategic educational tools. ### 2. How can schools evaluate whether a school management system’s innovation roadmap aligns with future educational priorities? When comparing vendors, schools should ask about upcoming feature releases focused on AI automation, cloud scalability, advanced reporting dashboards, and integrated communication tools. A strong roadmap demonstrates commitment to evolving technologies that improve teacher productivity, enhance parent-school collaboration, and deliver actionable insights from data analytics, making the system a long-term asset rather than a one-off purchase. ### 3. What factors beyond features should districts consider before selecting a next-generation school management platform? In addition to functionality, decision makers should assess integration capabilities with existing systems (LMS, finance, HR), security and compliance standards (e.g., encryption, role-based access), user-friendly interfaces for staff and parents, and mobile accessibility for all stakeholders. These practical considerations ensure that innovations translate into everyday usability and stronger adoption across the school community.[ ](https://witanworld.com/article/2025/09/05/top-trends-in-school-management-software-for-2025/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 4. After implementation, how can schools measure the impact of innovations in their school management software? Schools should track key performance indicators such as reductions in manual administrative tasks, improvements in communication response times, user engagement with mobile apps, and quality of data insights used for academic planning. Regular review of these metrics — particularly those tied to student outcomes and workflow efficiency — helps ensure the system continues to deliver value and can guide future upgrades or training needs. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Innovative ways to use school management software, school software, modern solutions for k-12 schools, online school administration software, School management software --- ### [10+ Must have top features for every online teaching platform in 2026](https://www.edsby.com/online-teaching-platform-top-must-have-features/commentary/) **Published:** December 9, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** See how we are helping educators shape a better digital to ensure ease of use, strong engagement, and smooth digital learning. **Content:** Online teaching has changed fast in the last few years. And as we move into 2026, schools, tutors, and training teams now expect more from any online teaching platform. Teaching is no longer about just sharing a screen or uploading a file. Today, it is about smooth learning, strong engagement, easy management, and measurable outcomes. So, if you want to choose the right platform for online teaching, you must know which features matter the most. And since new tools keep coming out, it is important to stay updated. What is an online teaching platform? An [online teaching platform is a digital environment that facilitates education](https://www.edsby.com/) by connecting instructors and students over the internet. It serves as a virtual classroom where lessons, assignments, and interactions can take place remotely, allowing learning to happen anytime and anywhere. These platforms support various forms of content delivery, from live video lectures to recorded sessions and interactive materials, making education accessible beyond traditional physical classrooms. This guide will help you understand the top features that every modern educator should look for in 2026. ## 10+ Top features for every online teaching platform in 2026 ## 1. Simple and clean user interface Good online teaching platforms must be easy to use. Teachers should not spend hours learning the tool. Students should not feel lost. And administrators should not need constant support. A simple interface saves time. It also reduces stress. And because of this, teachers can focus more on teaching. In 2026, look for platforms that offer: - Clean layouts - Minimal clicks to start a class - Clear buttons and menus - Easy onboarding Moreover, a clear interface supports learners of all ages—from early graders to adults. ## 2. Smooth live classes and stable video quality Live classes are the heart of [online teaching](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351842195_The_use_of_an_online_learning_platform_a_step_towards_e-learning). And a platform for online teaching must offer stable video, clear audio, and smooth streaming even on low internet. Many students still study from remote areas. Therefore, platforms with adaptive streaming will perform better. Adaptive streaming changes video quality according to the network speed. Also, look for: - Noise reduction - Echo cancellation - Low lag video - One-click class start - Screen sharing and whiteboard tools These features make teaching interactive and reduce disruptions. ## 3. AI-powered teaching assistance AI is now a big part of education. And by 2026, every software for online teaching will likely include smart AI tools. These tools help teachers save time and improve results. You should look for AI features such as: - AI lesson plan suggestions - Automated doubt solving - AI quizzes - Smart grading - Classroom analytics Furthermore, AI helps personalize learning. This means each student can learn at their own pace. ## 4. Interactive content tools Students learn better when they engage with the content. So, an online teaching platform must offer creative tools. These tools should help teachers build interactive lessons easily. Look for tools like: - Drag-and-drop quizzes - Polls - Gamified activities - Virtual labs - Clickable slides - Audio-visual elements In addition, platforms should allow teachers to upload videos, PDFs, notes, worksheets, and more. Content creation should feel easy, even for teachers who are not tech-savvy. ## 5. Mobile-friendly learning Most students now attend classes using mobile devices. And in 2026, mobile learning will grow even more. That is why your software for online teaching must offer a strong mobile app. A good mobile app should offer: - Smooth class join - Offline downloads - Notifications - Chat and doubt solving - Assignment submission - Tests and quizzes Moreover, the app must run well on all devices—budget, mid-range, and premium. ## 6. Secure assessment system Assessments are key to measuring progress. But online assessments need more security. Therefore, the platform must have things like: - Safe test browser - Timed tests - Randomized questions - Camera monitoring - Cheating detection These tools help ensure fairness during exams. In addition, platforms should allow teachers to create different test formats—MCQs, short answer, long answer, and practical tasks. ## 7. Easy assignment management Assignments keep learning continuous. But managing them manually is time-consuming. Thus, the right online teaching platform must make this simple. Look for features like: - Easy upload - Due date reminders - Auto-grading - Commenting and feedback - Digital notebooks Furthermore, the platform should store past assignments so students can revise anytime. ## 8. Strong student engagement features In online classes, keeping students active is a challenge. So, your platform for online teaching must include tools that boost attention. Some helpful engagement tools include: - Live polls - Doubt-handling tools - Breakout rooms - Digital hand raise - Emoji reactions - Group activities Additionally, engagement analytics help teachers see how active each student is. ## 9. Reliable analytics and reports Data helps teachers make better decisions. And by 2026, analytics will become an essential part of every online teaching platform. Important analytics include: - Attendance reports - Activity tracking - Test performance - Course completion rates - Learning patterns Moreover, these insights help teachers identify struggling students early. ## 10. Easy course management If you run full courses, this feature becomes very important. A platform should let you create, manage, and sell courses easily. Essential capabilities: - Course builder - Module-wise lessons - Auto reminders - Completion certificates - Pricing and sales tools Furthermore, structured courses help students stay organized and motivated. ## [![online teaching platforms](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ## 11. Built-in communication tools Good communication supports better learning. And a software for online teaching must make communication smooth. Look for: - One-to-one chat - Group chat - Parent communication - Announcements - Email and SMS alerts Also, communication history helps teachers track past conversations. ## 12. Strong security and data privacy With growing cyber risks, security is a must. Therefore, the best platforms use modern security systems to protect student and teacher data. Essential features include: - Encrypted video and chat - Secure login - Role-based access - Safe cloud storage - GDPR compliance Moreover, data privacy builds trust among parents and learners. ## 13. Integration with other tools Schools and institutes use many digital tools. So, the online teaching platform must integrate easily with tools like: - LMS - Payment gateways - Google Classroom - Zoom - CRM - HR and ERP systems Furthermore, APIs and plug-ins make the platform flexible and future-ready. ## 14. Affordable pricing options Budget matters. And since online teaching needs long-term commitment, a platform must offer flexible plans. Look for: - Monthly and yearly packages - Free trials - Affordable student pricing - All-in-one bundles - Hidden cost transparency Additionally, reliable support should be part of the pricing. ## 15. 24×7 customer support Teachers often teach outside regular hours. Students may face technical issues anytime. So, 24×7 support becomes important. Good support includes: - Live chat - Email help - Call support - Training sessions - Knowledge base Furthermore, quick support reduces class interruptions. ## Final thoughts Choosing the right one among all the online teaching platforms in 2026 is not difficult when you know what to look for. Technology is getting better each year. And because of this, teachers now have stronger tools to create powerful learning spaces. However, the real goal is simple: smooth teaching, active learning, and strong results. So, when you check any platform for online teaching, compare it with the features listed above. And when you explore any software for online teaching, make sure it supports your teaching style and your students’ needs. With [right K-12 platforms like Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/), teaching becomes easier, more engaging, and more meaningful. And this is how educators can shape a better digital learning future. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What hidden long-term benefits can an online teaching platform offer beyond the core features listed? A modern online teaching platform can drive outcomes such as increased learner retention, improved instructional consistency, and stronger digital literacy among both educators and students. Beyond core features like user-friendly interface and live class tools, platforms that support adaptive content delivery and analytics can strengthen personalized learning paths and foster a data-driven approach to student success. These benefits help institutions future-proof their digital teaching strategy and support continuous improvement.[ ](https://medium.com/%40emily_87545/14-non-negotiable-features-your-online-teaching-platform-better-have-in-2026-92ae657d894a?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 2. How important is scalability and integration when comparing online teaching platforms? Scalability and integration are essential considerations for institutions planning long-term adoption of an online teaching platform. Scalability ensures the platform can support growing class sizes, expanded course libraries, and new instructional models without performance loss. Integration capabilities with learning management systems (LMS), analytics tools, cloud storage, and communication software streamline workflows and reduce duplication of effort. Strong integration also improves user experience across administrative and instructional tasks, creating a cohesive digital ecosystem.[ ](https://www.zekagraphic.com/top-5-features-to-look-for-in-e-learning-platforms/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. What are key user experience factors that differentiate top online teaching platforms during trials or demos? During product trials or demos, user experience is a critical differentiator. Look for intuitive navigation, minimal clicks to access key functions, responsive mobile interfaces, and accessible help resources. Platforms that offer clear onboarding, customizable dashboards, and consistent performance across devices typically result in higher adoption rates. Ease of use for instructors and students directly impacts engagement and reduces the learning curve, making implementation smoother.[ ](https://medium.com/%40emily_87545/14-non-negotiable-features-your-online-teaching-platform-better-have-in-2026-92ae657d894a?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 4. After adopting an online teaching platform, what practices help maximize its value for both instructors and learners? To maintain high value from your online teaching platform, establish regular evaluation of usage patterns (e.g., engagement metrics, assessments completed, course progression), invest in ongoing training for instructors, and promote adoption of advanced features such as analytics dashboards and interactive content tools. Encouraging feedback from both educators and students helps refine teaching strategies and improve platform utilization, ensuring sustained performance and relevance over time. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** Online teaching platform, platform for online teaching, software for online teaching --- ### [How to choose the right school management system](https://www.edsby.com/guide-to-choosing-school-management-system/commentary/) **Published:** December 5, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Key factors schools miss when selecting... **Content:** Selecting the right school management system is no longer just a technology purchase; it’s a strategic decision that shapes how efficiently a school operates, how effectively teachers teach, and how meaningfully students learn. With the rise of school management software, education management software, and integrated learning platforms, schools have more tools than ever. But the abundance of options also increases the chances of making choices that overlook critical aspects. Most administrators focus heavily on features like attendance tracking, timetable generation, or fee management. While those are essential, the real difference lies in deeper factors—scalability, integrations, long-term sustainability, analytics depth, user experience, and how well the tool supports teaching and learning outcomes. This blog uncovers what school leaders often miss when selecting a school administration solution and how understanding these gaps can help educational institutions choose a future-proof, high-impact school administration management system. ## What is a School Management System? A [school management system is a centralized digital platform that helps schools streamline](https://www.edsby.com/), automate, and manage day-to-day administrative and academic operations. It replaces manual processes—such as paper records, offline communication, and fragmented tools—with unified school administration software that connects administrators, teachers, students, and parents. A modern school management system typically includes modules for: - Student information management - Fee and finance automation - Attendance and timetable management - Communication and notifications - Examination and result processing - Learning management and content delivery - Reports, dashboards, and analytics Many advanced solutions even integrate with learning platforms or act as a complete academic ecosystem resembling the best online learning platforms used globally. In short, it is the backbone of a school’s digital infrastructure—helping institutions become more organized, data-driven, and future-ready. ## Why choosing the right system is harder than it seems Today’s schools face rapidly changing expectations—hybrid learning, data privacy, personalized instruction, and efficient administration. Administrators must pick software that aligns with these demands, but sales demos often highlight front-facing features rather than long-term performance. This is where many decision-makers go wrong. While the immediate goal is automation, the long-term goal should be transformation—improving academic processes, decision-making quality, teacher effectiveness, and stakeholder experience. Below are the commonly overlooked factors that can make or break your investment in a school management system. ## What administrators often overlook when choosing a school management system ### 1. Depth of integration with learning platforms Most schools now use some form of [digital learning](https://www.ejmste.com/download/a-study-of-the-effects-of-digital-learning-on-learning-motivation-and-learning-outcome-4843.pdf)—LMS tools, assignment workflows, e-content, or the best online learning platforms for enrichment. Yet administrators frequently underestimate the importance of integration. It matters a lot because teachers should not juggle multiple platforms for attendance, assessments, and assignments. Also, students need a single login and unified academic experience. Administrators benefit from consolidated data rather than having to manage scattered reports. #### What to look for - Single Sign-On (SSO) - In-built LMS or plug-and-play integration - Consolidated analytics combining administrative and learning indicators - Compatibility with popular content repositories If your school aims to adopt digital learning more deeply, prioritize systems that support seamless learning platform integrations. ### 2. Long-term scalability and performance under load Schools often evaluate systems based only on current needs—overlooking future growth. Common issues most schools face later include: slow server response during exam season; limited user capacity, sudden price hikes when scaling, and weak architecture leading to downtime. #### Key questions to ask - Can the system handle double the existing student population? - How does the vendor manage server optimization? - Is the product cloud-native, hybrid, or locally hosted? - What uptime guarantee do they provide? Scalability ensures your investment remains relevant for years, not just today. ### 3. Data privacy, security, and compliance Many schools assume software vendors take care of data security. In reality, this is one of the most overlooked and riskiest assumptions. Risk factors include: protection of student records; secure fee payments; access controls of teachers and admins; and backup and disaster recovery. #### What administrators must verify - Data encryption (in-transit and at-rest) - Compliance with regional and global data laws - Options for role-based access - Data ownership and portability policies A secure school administration management system protects not only systems but institutional reputation. ### 4. Hidden costs and licensing complexities The upfront pricing of a school management system rarely tells the full story. Potential hidden expenses include : - Setup and onboarding charges - Customization fees - LMS add-ons - Support after the first year - Integration with payment gateways or attendance hardware Administrators should insist on a full cost-of-ownership breakdown, not just subscription numbers. ### 5. Actual user experience for teachers, students, and parents A school management system may be feature-rich, but if teachers struggle to use it, the tool becomes a burden. Signs of poor UX are often overlooked are: - Too many menu layers - High learning curve - Mobile app inconsistencies - Complex workflows for simple actions #### Why this matters Teachers are the most frequent users. Parents use it to stay informed. Students rely on it for learning and progress tracking. Therefore, you need an intuitive interface—not just a powerful backend. ### 6. Reporting and analytics depth Most administrators only check for basic reports—attendance, fees, and results. But modern schools should expect much more. #### Advanced analytics you should look for - Learning progress trends - Teacher performance indicators - Predictive analytics for dropout risks - Real-time dashboards for admin monitoring - Finance forecasting Systems that combine admin and learning insights—like advanced education management software—deliver far better institutional outcomes. ### 7. Customization vs. standardization balance Too much customization makes a system difficult to maintain. Too little makes it unsuitable for unique school workflows. #### What schools often overlook - Some vendors overpromise customization - Custom modules may not receive regular updates - Highly customized systems complicate integrations Choose systems that offer configurable workflows—not hard-coded customizations. ### 8. Quality of support, training, and onboarding Administrators often evaluate the software, not the support ecosystem behind it. #### Important aspects often ignored - Availability of local support teams - Response time for technical issues - Training quality for teachers - Dedicated account managers - Multilingual support Poor onboarding is one of the biggest reasons schools fail to adopt new tools fully. ### 9. Vendor credibility, future roadmap, and stability Many schools purchase low-cost software that disappears or stagnates after a few years. #### Overlooked factors - Vendor’s years in business - Financial stability - Product roadmap - Update frequency - Community or user base size Choosing a stable vendor means your system grows with emerging needs and technologies. ### 10. Offline access and mobile-first design In regions with inconsistent connectivity, offline capabilities matter significantly. Features often missed are: - Offline attendance - Offline assignment access - Mobile-first workflows - Lightweight mobile apps Schools should prioritize software designed for accessibility, not just desktop use. ### 11. Compatibility with existing hardware and systems A school may already have biometric devices, smart ID cards, accounting software, or LMS tools. Administrators often overlook compatibility until late in the selection process. #### Key checks - Support for existing attendance devices - Integration with ERP/accounting tools - Compatibility with government-mandated portals - Migration support for legacy data Avoiding compatibility issues saves months of headaches. ## How to choose the right school management system: a practical checklist Selecting the right school management system can feel overwhelming because every vendor promises comprehensive features, easy onboarding, and cost savings. However, the best decisions come from evaluating the system through a structured, yet practical lens. Instead of relying on sales demos alone, schools should examine how well the software aligns with their administrative workflows, academic delivery, and long-term digital goals. A balanced checklist helps administrators move beyond features and assess the solution’s real-world effectiveness, adaptability, and value. Below is a refined, easy-to-follow framework that blends explanation with concise bullet points—ensuring clarity without overwhelming readers. [![school management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### A. Administrative essentials Before anything else, the foundation of a good system lies in its ability to streamline day-to-day operations. Administrators should look for a platform that simplifies student record management, automates fee collections, and reduces the time spent on routine tasks. A strong administrative backbone frees teachers and staff to focus on teaching and student support rather than paperwork. #### Look for: - A reliable student information system that centralizes all records - Automated fee, finance, and receipt modules - Attendance and timetable workflows that reduce manual work ### B. Academic & learning integrations Modern schools need more than administrative automation—they need systems that support effective teaching and learning. The school management system should connect with learning platforms, allow seamless assignment and assessment workflows, and offer tools that enhance classroom engagement. When academics are incorporated into the system, schools benefit from a unified digital ecosystem. #### Check for: - Built-in LMS or easy integration with existing learning platforms - Tools for digital assignments, exams, and grading - Mobile-friendly apps for students and parents ### C. Data & reporting capabilities Data guides better decisions. A strong system should not only generate basic reports but also provide insights into academic progress, attendance trends, and operational efficiency. Schools that leverage data effectively can identify at-risk students early, plan resources better, and improve overall performance. Ensure the platform offers: - Customizable dashboards for administrators - Detailed academic, operational, and financial reports - Predictive insights or at least configurable analytics tools ### D. Security, compliance & access control Data security is one of the most overlooked aspects. Schools handle sensitive student information, payment data, and internal staff records. Ensuring that this data is protected and accessible only to authorized personnel is crucial for maintaining trust and meeting compliance standards. #### Evaluate: - Data encryption and secure backup protocols - Role-based access permissions - Clear policies for data ownership and storage ### E. User Experience, support & training No system brings value if teachers, parents, or students struggle to use it. An intuitive interface paired with strong vendor support ensures smooth adoption. Schools should consider how quickly teachers can learn the platform and how responsive the vendor is during issues or upgrades. #### Consider: - User-friendliness across web and mobile - Quality of onboarding and training - Availability of timely technical support ### F. Total cost of ownership (TCO) Price should be viewed beyond subscription fees. Schools must assess the overall investment—including customizations, add-ons, LMS integration, hardware compatibility, and renewal costs. A transparent cost structure prevents surprises down the line. Clarify: - What the subscription includes - Whether support, training, and integrations are extra - Any long-term renewal or upgrade charges ## The best school management system doesn’t just manage—it transforms The right school management system is not the one with the most features—it is the one with the greatest impact. Administrators must look beyond shiny dashboards and routine automation to evaluate deeper considerations like integrations, scalability, analytics, real-world usability, and long-term vendor reliability. A [carefully chosen school administration software, like Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/), becomes more than a digital tool. Moreover, it becomes the school’s digital nervous system—linking operations, academics, communication, and decision-making into one seamless ecosystem. By recognizing what is often overlooked, school leaders can ensure they select a system that not only solves today’s problems but also empowers tomorrow’s possibilities. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What operational challenges can a school management system solve beyond basic features like attendance tracking? Modern school management systems help eliminate workflow bottlenecks across administration, academics, communication, and reporting. For example, they can centralize disparate data sources, reduce manual paperwork errors, support multi-stakeholder communication (teachers, students, parents), and enable real-time insights into school operations. These broader operational benefits help schools save time, improve transparency, and strengthen decision-making long before deeper considerations like integrations or analytics are evaluated. ### 2. How can schools assess whether a vendor’s roadmap aligns with future education trends? Schools can ask vendors about planned feature releases, support for emerging standards (e.g., competency-based learning, blended classrooms), and ongoing investment in mobile and data analytics capabilities. A vendor that regularly updates its platform in response to educational trends and user feedback is more likely to deliver lasting value and help institutions adapt to future learning models.[ ](https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/essential-considerations-when-looking-for-a-school-management-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 3. What practical criteria can help differentiate two school management systems that seem similar on paper? Beyond comparing feature lists, schools should evaluate real-world factors such as: the clarity and fairness of service level agreements (SLAs), the ease of migrating historical data, how quickly support tickets are resolved in practice, and feedback from current users about day-to-day usability. These criteria often reveal differences that demos and brochures don’t capture.[ ](https://mysmartschool.co.in/mistakes-to-avoid-when-selecting-a-school-management-system/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 4. After implementation, how can schools ensure they continue to maximize the value of their school management system investment? Ongoing value depends on proactive usage and continuous improvement. Schools should establish performance metrics (e.g., reduction in admin time, improvements in communication response rates), schedule regular training refreshers for staff, engage with vendor user communities for best practices, and periodically review feature usage to ensure the system evolves with institutional goals. This approach prevents the tool from becoming under-utilized and helps justify long-term investment. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school administration management system, School management software, school management system, school administration software, learning platforms, best online learning platforms, education management software --- ### [How classroom management software boosts student engagement in digital classrooms](https://www.edsby.com/boosting-student-engagement-with-classroom-management-software/commentary/) **Published:** December 5, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** See how classroom management software boosts engagement and... **Content:** Digital classrooms have become the core part of modern education. With advances in technology and the rise of remote and [hybrid learning](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371581533_Hybrid_Learning_A_New_Learning_Model_that_Connects_Online_and_Offline), teachers now face a new challenge. How to keep students engaged when learning happens on screens. Distractions are plenty, and managing students remotely can sometimes feel overwhelming. This is where classroom management software steps in to help. These digital tools are designed to make teaching easier and learning more engaging. In this blog, you will learn how software for classroom management simplifies daily teaching tasks and enhances student participation. It makes learning more interactive, personalized, and effective. ## What is classroom management software? Before exploring how it helps student engagement, it’s important to understand what classroom management software is. Classroom control software, also known as [classroom management software, helps teachers run their classes smoothly](https://www.edsby.com/). It allows teachers to organize lessons, track student progress, manage devices, and communicate in real-time. For example, teachers can schedule lessons, upload assignments, and share resources easily on one unified platform. Students can access these materials anytime. This creates a well-structured and interactive online learning environment. The software can also control what students see on their screens during class, keeping them focused on relevant tasks and limiting distractions. With features designed for both teachers and students, digital classroom management software replaces the chaos of remote learning with a clear, organized, and supportive system. ## Why student engagement matters in digital classrooms Student engagement refers to how involved and interested students are in the learning process. Engaged students focus better, participate actively, and retain information longer. But digital classrooms add complexity to this because the usual classroom cues, social pressure, and teacher presence are difficult to replicate online. Distractions like social media apps, gaming, or multitasking pull students’ attention away from lessons. It becomes easy to lose interest or drift off during virtual sessions. Teachers need tools that can help capture and maintain students’ attention online. Classroom management software plays a critical role here. It offers features specifically designed to boost engagement and reduce distractions. These tools help teachers create an environment where students want to learn, stay connected, and participate actively. ### Streamlined organization and real-time communication One major advantage of software for classroom management is that it organizes the entire learning workflow. Teachers upload lesson plans, homework, study materials, and announcements all in one place. This makes it easy for students to find what they need without searching through emails or different apps. It also helps reduce confusion about deadlines and expectations. This classroom control software often includes messaging features. Teachers can send instant announcements or respond to student questions during lessons. This immediate communication prevents misunderstandings and creates a dynamic learning atmosphere. For example, if a student doesn’t understand a concept during a lesson, they can message the teacher, who can reply quickly. This ongoing interaction keeps students engaged and connected with the teacher and their peers. By improving organization and enabling real-time communication, software for classroom management replicates some benefits of in-person teaching within digital environments. ### Making learning interactive with software for the classroom Face-to-face classrooms offer natural interaction. Students ask questions, participate in discussions, or work in groups. But online classes often feel less personal and more passive. Fortunately, digital classroom management software brings many interactive features to virtual classrooms. They include live polls, quizzes, video discussions, and collaborative whiteboards. For example, during a history class, a teacher might launch an interactive quiz using classroom control software. Students receive immediate feedback, keeping them engaged while allowing teachers to adjust lesson speed. Interactive sessions challenge students and break the monotony of just listening to a lecture. These tools support different learning styles. Visual learners benefit from videos and whiteboards, while those who learn by doing enjoy quizzes and polls. Interactive features also give students a sense of participation and presence, even from afar. By turning passive watching into active learning, software for classroom enhances student attention and motivation. ### Personalized learning tailored by digital classroom management software #### Data sharing Everyone learns differently. Some students grasp concepts quickly, while others need extra help. Classroom management software provides teachers with useful data on each student’s progress. This data helps teachers understand which students are struggling and which are excelling. Using these insights, they can offer customized support or enrichment suited to individual needs. For example, if a student finds math difficult, the software may alert the teacher to provide extra practice or resources. Conversely, advanced students can be given challenging assignments to keep them motivated. #### Adaptive learning path Some digital classroom management software even creates adaptive learning paths. This means students receive assignments that match their skill level, making learning relevant and achievable. This personalized approach not only boosts confidence but also increases engagement. When students feel the learning fits their pace and style, they are more likely to stay motivated and involved. ### Keeping students focused with distraction control A big issue in digital classrooms is distractions. Students may easily switch tabs, open games, or scroll through social media during class. Many software for classroom management systems include distraction control features. These allow teachers to restrict students’ device access during lessons, blocking non-educational websites or apps. Teachers can also monitor students’ screens live to ensure they stay on task. This reduces off-task behavior and helps create a focused learning space. Moreover, some classroom control software provides analytics showing how students spend time during lessons. This helps teachers adjust strategies to keep students engaged. By limiting distractions, this software helps students concentrate and improve overall participation. ### Encouraging peer collaboration with software for classroom Online learning can feel isolating without chances to interact with classmates. Many classroom management software options help foster collaboration and peer learning. - They provide tools for group projects, discussion boards, and shared workspaces. Students can work together on assignments, exchange ideas, and solve problems as a team. - These collaborative activities break the digital isolation and enhance learning through social interaction. Students develop critical teamwork and communication skills in the process. - Teachers can manage groups, assign roles, and monitor progress through software for classroom management to ensure productive collaboration. ### Gamification boosts motivation and engagement Gamification adds fun, game-like elements to learning. [Classroom control software platforms, like Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/), include leaderboards, badges, rewards, and challenges. These features tap into students’ natural love of competition and achievement. For example, students can earn badges for completing assignments early or scoring well on quizzes. Gamification keeps learning exciting and encourages students to participate regularly. This is especially important for digital classrooms, where maintaining motivation over time can be challenging. By turning learning into a more playful and rewarding experience, software for classroom management helps sustain long-term student engagement. ## Choosing the right digital classroom management software With many options available, selecting the right classroom management software is crucial. You need to consider a few things, including: - Look for solutions that combine lesson management, communication, interactive tools, and distraction control. - Check if the software integrates easily with your current learning management systems. - User-friendly interfaces matter to ensure both teachers and students can use it without frustration. - Also, consider whether the software scales well for different class sizes and educational settings. [![software for classroom management](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CTA-Banner-3.jpg)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) Popular digital classroom management software includes Google Classroom, ClassDojo, GoGuardian, and LanSchool. These offer diverse features that meet many schools’ needs. ## Final thoughts Digital classrooms bring new challenges in keeping students engaged. Classroom management software is a powerful solution for overcoming these issues. By streamlining teaching tasks, enabling real-time communication, adding interactive and personalized learning, and controlling distractions, this software transforms digital classrooms. It restores the energy, connection, and motivation of traditional classrooms—even from a distance. Adding gamification further supports active participation and makes learning more fun. For schools and educators wanting to thrive in digital education, investing in classroom management software is essential. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What are common barriers to student engagement in digital classrooms that classroom management software can address? In digital learning environments, students often face distractions from social media, multitasking, and screen fatigue, which can reduce focus and participation. Classroom management software with features like distraction control and real-time communication helps teachers maintain students’ attention, streamline workflows, and re-create interactive classroom dynamics online. In addition, adaptive learning tools support diverse learning styles to keep learners actively involved. ### 2. How do engagement analytics in classroom management systems help educators improve teaching strategies? Engagement analytics provide actionable data on how students interact with lessons, assignments, and collaborative activities. Teachers can identify patterns such as low participation in specific modules or frequent off-task behavior, and use these insights to adjust pacing, content delivery, or group activities. This data-driven approach enhances instructional effectiveness and supports personalized learning interventions. ### 3. What should schools evaluate when comparing classroom management tools for long-term engagement success? Beyond basic features, schools should assess whether the software supports scalable interactive tools (quizzes, polls, discussion forums), integrates with existing systems like LMS platforms, offers customizable adaptive learning paths, and includes reliable analytics dashboards. Evaluating vendor support, training resources, and long-term update roadmaps also ensures that the platform evolves alongside student engagement strategies. ### 4. How can educators maintain high student engagement after implementing classroom management software? To sustain engagement, schools should establish regular feedback loops using engagement metrics, encourage creative use of interactive features (e.g., gamification, live Q&A), and provide ongoing professional development for teachers. Regularly revisiting usage patterns and adapting teaching practices keeps the digital classroom dynamic and responsive to student needs. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** classroom management software, Software for classroom management, software for classroom, classroom control software, software for the classroom, digital classroom management software --- ### [Measuring the effectiveness of a digital learning platform](https://www.edsby.com/effectiveness-of-digital-learning-platforms-in-schools/commentary/) **Published:** December 2, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** Choosing the best online education platform is a strategic evaluation. **Content:** As schools continue to shift toward technology-powered instruction, one question dominates academic discussions: How do schools know whether a digital learning platform is actually effective? With the rise of digital platform learning, institutions have more tools than ever—but also more responsibility to ensure these tools deliver measurable improvements in teaching quality, student outcomes, and overall school efficiency. Whether schools are evaluating the best online education platforms, vetting new online e learning platforms, or optimizing their current systems, effective measurement goes far beyond flashy dashboards and login statistics. Real impact is determined by how well a platform enhances learning, enables teachers, engages students, and contributes to school-wide academic goals. This article breaks down the metrics, methods, and best practices schools use to evaluate the effectiveness of digital learning tools—and how educational leaders can make smarter, data-driven decisions. ## What is a digital learning platform? A [digital learning platform, such as Edsby, delivers, manages, and enhances teaching](https://www.edsby.com/) and learning through technology. Unlike basic content repositories or video libraries, a digital learning platform integrates multiple tools—such as interactive lessons, assessments, communication channels, progress dashboards, and collaboration features—into one unified space. It functions as a central hub where students access learning materials, teachers create and manage assignments, and administrators monitor performance trends across classrooms or entire schools. At its core, a digital learning platform supports digital platform learning, allowing students to learn at their own pace, revisit concepts, engage with multimedia-rich content, and track their progress in real time. Teachers benefit from automated grading tools, analytics dashboards, and the ability to personalize instruction based on each learner’s needs. For schools, these platforms bring structure, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making to the learning ecosystem. The best online education platforms also go beyond simple content delivery by offering interactive simulations, gamified activities, adaptive pathways, and built-in assessment tools. They support diverse learning styles, promote accessibility through features like text-to-speech or multilingual content, and integrate smoothly with existing systems such as LMS tools, student information systems, and communication apps. In simple terms, a digital learning platform is not just a place to access resources—it is an ecosystem that brings together learning, teaching, communication, and analytics to create a more effective and engaging educational experience. This is why schools place so much emphasis on evaluating these platforms and selecting the best online learning platforms that can truly support long-term academic growth. ## Measurement of the effectiveness of digital platforms Measuring the effectiveness of digital learning platforms is essential because schools invest in these tools not just for convenience, but to elevate teaching quality, streamline workflows, and enhance student learning. Without a clear evaluation framework, institutions risk paying for features that teachers never use, overlooking platforms that could better support their instructional goals, or relying on anecdotal feedback instead of actionable data. This can also result in missing early indicators of student struggle, losing opportunities for personalized interventions, and choosing systems that fail to scale as the school grows. A structured measurement process helps schools determine whether a platform is being used meaningfully, whether it improves student learning outcomes (not just engagement), and whether it genuinely reduces teacher workload. It also reveals if the content aligns with curriculum standards, supports learning objectives, and helps administrators assess long-term value and ROI. In simple terms, evaluating effectiveness answers five core questions: - Is the platform being used consistently and correctly? - Is student learning improving because of it? - Does it empower teachers rather than complicate their work? - Does it align with curriculum and instructional goals? - And most importantly, is the investment worth the long-term cost? By tracking these factors, schools ensure their chosen platform actually contributes to better teaching, improved learning, and overall school-wide efficiency. ## Key metrics to measure digital platform learning effectiveness Schools rely on a combination of academic, behavioral, technical, and operational metrics to determine whether a digital learning platform is truly working. One of the most important indicators is student learning outcomes, which are measured through pre- and [post-assessment scores](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Post-Assessment-Scores_fig2_385934153), mastery levels, completion rates, and long-term skill retention. When these scores consistently rise, and when students demonstrate stronger understanding over time, schools gain confidence that the platform is reinforcing instruction effectively. Another crucial metric is student engagement, which goes far beyond simple login counts. Schools track how frequently students use the platform, how long they stay engaged in each session, how consistently they complete assigned tasks, and whether they interact meaningfully with quizzes, activities, and discussions. High engagement often signals that the platform is intuitive, well-designed, and aligned with classroom routines, while low engagement may indicate usability issues or a disconnect between the platform and instructional goals. Equally important is teacher adoption and satisfaction, since even the most advanced digital tools will fail if teachers don’t embrace them. Schools observe how often teachers create assignments, use analytics dashboards, or manage classroom activities through the platform. They also gather teacher feedback on ease of use, time savings, training requirements, and alignment with curriculum expectations. Platforms that reduce administrative burden and complement existing teaching methods tend to gain the strongest adoption. Administrators also evaluate curriculum alignment and content quality, ensuring that the platform supports state or national standards, provides grade-appropriate and pedagogically sound content, and adapts to diverse learning needs. Personalization features—such as adaptive learning pathways and tailored difficulty levels—are especially valuable in K-12 environments where students learn at different paces. Accessibility and user experience are equally critical. Schools assess whether the platform includes features like text-to-speech, captions, multilingual support, dyslexia-friendly design, and device compatibility. Smooth navigation, mobile-friendliness, and low-bandwidth performance also contribute significantly to overall effectiveness. Another measure schools rely on is the platform’s data analytics and reporting capabilities. Effective platforms offer real-time dashboards, detailed progress reports, school-wide performance trends, and parent-friendly insights. These analytics allow teachers and administrators to make data-driven decisions, identify learning gaps early, and intervene proactively. From an operational standpoint, schools also monitor technical performance and reliability, including system uptime, loading speed, error frequency, and responsiveness to support requests. Seamless integration with existing systems—such as LMS tools, SIS databases, and assessment solutions—further enhances efficiency and lowers teacher workload. Finally, schools assess cost efficiency and return on investment. This includes comparing subscription and training costs against actual instructional value, teacher time saved, reduction in tool redundancy, and measurable improvement in student performance. When a platform contributes meaningfully to learning and operational efficiency, the investment proves worthwhile. [![education management system, digital learning platform](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales?utm=website-blog) ## How schools collect data to evaluate online e-learning platforms Schools rely on a blend of analytics, observations, and feedback to get a complete picture of how well a digital learning platform is performing. One of the most significant data sources comes from the platform itself. Most modern digital learning tools provide detailed analytics dashboards that track usage patterns, engagement levels, assignment completion, and student performance trends. These insights help teachers and administrators quickly identify areas where students may need additional support or where the platform is being under-utilized. Teacher observations and feedback add an important human perspective to the evaluation process. Teachers can report whether the platform is easy to integrate into lessons, how students respond to the activities, and whether it reduces or adds to their overall workload. Their day-to-day classroom experience helps uncover issues that data alone might not reveal, such as confusion with navigation or improvements in student motivation. Student input is another critical piece. Schools frequently gather feedback through surveys or small focus groups to understand how engaging and user-friendly the platform feels from a learner’s point of view. Students can share insights on: - How easy the interface is to navigate - Whether the activities keep them interested - If they feel the platform actually helps them learn better Academic performance data also plays a major role. Schools compare pre- and post-implementation scores, test results, mastery levels, and concept retention to determine whether the digital platform directly contributes to improved learning outcomes. For younger learners, parent feedback further enriches the evaluation, offering a view into how well the platform supports learning at home and how intuitive it is for families to use. Finally, many schools conduct pilot programs before full-scale implementation. A pilot allows them to test the platform’s technical reliability, classroom fit, teacher adoption, and student engagement on a small scale. When combined—analytics, feedback, performance data, and pilot testing—these methods give schools a thorough, evidence-based understanding of a digital learning platform’s effectiveness. ## What makes the best digital learning platforms stand out? What truly separates the [best digital learning platforms](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) from the rest is their ability to combine strong pedagogy, intuitive design, and meaningful data into an experience that supports both teaching and learning. Schools consistently find that the most effective platforms are those that align closely with curriculum standards, offer high-quality instructional content, and adapt to individual student needs. These platforms do more than digitize lessons—they enhance them with tools that allow every learner to progress at the right pace. Another defining characteristic is their support for teachers. The best platforms don’t overwhelm educators with complexity; instead, they offer clear dashboards, streamlined workflows, and robust analytics that help teachers monitor progress and identify learning gaps quickly. When teachers feel empowered rather than burdened, adoption naturally increases, and the platform becomes embedded in everyday instruction. While great design and strong content form the foundation, certain standout qualities elevate the best online learning platforms above the competition: - Personalized and adaptive learning paths that adjust difficulty and pace in real time - Real-time progress tracking with clear dashboards for teachers, students, and sometimes parents - Accessible, inclusive design features, such as captions, text-to-speech, and multilingual support - Reliable performance across devices and smooth usability on low-bandwidth connections - Interactive and engaging learning experiences that go beyond static content In addition, the strongest platforms prioritize seamless integration with existing school systems—such as SIS and LMS tools—making administrative tasks simpler and improving overall efficiency. Their analytics offer not just data, but actionable insights that help educators make informed decisions. Ultimately, what makes the best digital learning platforms stand out is the combination of ease of use, pedagogical strength, student-centered design, and the ability to deliver measurable learning outcomes. Schools value platforms that support long-term growth, adapt to evolving classroom needs, and create a learning environment where technology genuinely enhances education rather than complicating it. ## Final thoughts Effectiveness isn’t determined in a single semester; it evolves as schools refine their usage, get better insights, and integrate platforms more deeply into the learning process. A strategic evaluation process ensures schools choose the best online education platform that truly support learning outcomes—not just the ones with the most features or the highest marketing budgets. As digital platform learning becomes a permanent part of modern education, ongoing measurement helps schools stay competitive, improve instruction, and equip students with the skills they need for the future. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What makes the best digital learning platforms stand out? The best platforms share several key features: - Alignment with curriculum standards - Adaptive and personalised learning paths - Clear and usable dashboards for teachers, students, and parents - Accessibility features such as multilingual support, text-to-speech, and captions - Reliable performance on different devices and low-bandwidth environments - Seamless integration with existing school systems like SIS and LMS tools - Analytics that provide actionable insights rather than just raw data. ### 2. Why should schools measure the effectiveness of a digital learning platform? Measuring effectiveness ensures that the platform: - Is used meaningfully and regularly - Improves student learning outcomes - Supports teachers rather than adding extra work - Aligns with curriculum goals - Offers value for the financial investment Without a clear evaluation process, schools risk using tools that do not improve teaching or learning. ### 3. What key metrics do schools use to evaluate digital platforms? Schools commonly track: - Student learning outcomes (test scores, mastery levels, retention) - Student engagement (usage patterns, task completion, interaction with activities) - Teacher adoption and satisfaction (frequency of instructional use, feedback on ease of use) - Curriculum alignment and content quality - Accessibility and user experience (support for diverse learners) - Data analytics and reporting capabilities - Technical performance and reliability - Return on investment compared with improvements in learning and efficiency. ### 4. How long does it take to see real impact from a digital learning platform? Effectiveness is not determined overnight. It evolves as the school refines how it uses the platform, trains teachers, interprets analytics, and integrates technology into instruction. Regular evaluation helps drive continuous improvement. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** online e learning platforms, digital learning platform, best online learning platforms, best online education platforms, Digital platform learning --- ### [10 Best K-12 education management solutions](https://www.edsby.com/10-best-k-12-education-management-solutions-in-2026/commentary/) **Published:** November 23, 2025 **Author:** Emily Mabie **Excerpt:** This guide highlights the leading K-12 solutions of 2026, from classroom management to analytics, and more. **Content:** The digital transformation of K-12 schools stopped being “an option” years ago – it’s now core to regular instruction, family engagement, assessment, and district operations. Advanced education management solutions help districts that run blended learning, offering fully in-person classes with digital support, or hybrid/remote models. It ties together learning delivery, student information, communication, assessments, and analytics into one place. This article enables district leaders, principals, IT directors, and coaches to compare proven US-based options. Before diving into the options, let’s try to understand what an education management solution is and its key features. ## What is an K-12 education management solution? An education management solution, or a [K-12 learning](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234650192_A_Summary_of_Research_on_the_Effectiveness_of_K-12_Online_Learning) management solution, is a system that helps schools and districts manage the educational lifecycle: instructional delivery, gradebooks and assessments, attendance and scheduling, family communication, reporting, and (in many cases) integrations with district systems, such as SIS (Student Information System) or rostering tools. Key Purposes - Streamline instruction (assignment, resources, grading) - Support administrators (attendance, rostering, reports, compliance) - Engage families (portals, messaging, translated communications) - Provide insights (dashboards, assessment analytics, progress monitoring) A learning management system solution can be a single monolithic product or a suite of interoperable tools. For K-12, the most convenient solutions are built around teacher workflows: fast grade entry, standards-aligned assessment, parent visibility, and easy, secure rostering. ## Core features to evaluate in a K-12 learning management solution Before we consider vendors, here’s a practical checklist of features and capabilities to [compare](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/). It helps evaluate demos or build an RFP. ### Must-have capabilities - Fast grade entry with standards-based grading and rubrics. - Parents and guardians can message teachers, use translation, and access everything on mobile. - Teachers can upload assignments easily and reuse templates and resources. - Works with period and block schedules and supports substitute management. - Tracks student growth, class performance, and early warning signs. - Connects with SIS, single sign-on, rostering, and learning tools. - Meets FERPA and COPPA requirements and provides strong data protection. - Handles district-wide usage with consistent performance and reliability. - Offers onboarding, training, and helpful ongoing support. - Provides simple mobile access with translation and accessibility features. ### 1. Edsby — K-12 education management solutions Edsby is one of the best education management solutions. It specifically helps districts and schools. It blends learning management features with school management and parent engagement tools — intentionally designed around K-12 workflows (scheduling, gradebooks, parent portals, competency-based assessment, and district analytics). Edsby is a modern K-12 digital learning platform and school management system. #### Why Edsby stands out - K-12-first design: Unlike other education management and staffing solutions, Edsby starts with K-12 needs in mind, focusing on family engagement, age-appropriate interfaces, and district-level administration. Its interface presents class, student, and family views that reduce friction for teachers and parents. - Parent & family focus: This system emphasizes family communication — a single portal where parents can view assignments, attendance, grades, messages, and district announcements. This makes it a strong choice for districts prioritizing family engagement. - Standards and assessment: It supports standards-based grading and both formative and summative assessment workflows. Districts can establish competency frameworks, track mastery, and generate standards-aligned reports for educators and policymakers. - District analytics & compliance: This is one of the education management solutions, which provides analytics that help district leaders monitor attendance trends, assessment results, and engagement metrics — useful for early warning systems and MTSS processes. It also promotes security and certifications relevant to K-12 data handling. Public school districts (small to very large), regional education authorities, and private K-12 schools that need district-grade functionality with an emphasis on parent engagement. Edsby, one of the unified education management solutions, offers implementation support, teacher onboarding resources, and a knowledge base for district IT teams and teachers. Because it’s K-12 oriented, integrations with popular SIS and rostering tools are part of the product planning. #### Best use cases - Districts that want a single platform bridging class-level learning and district-level reporting. - Systems where parent engagement and transparent family access are critical. - Districts implementing standards-based grading or personalized learning pilots. #### Pros: - K–12-specific design — Built with school districts in mind, not higher education, so workflows are very relevant. - Strong parent/family engagement — Parent portals are well integrated, making communication and visibility very good for families. - Standards-based assessment support — Allows tracking of competencies, mastery, and aligns well with K–12 grading standards. - District analytics — Good for attendance, assessment, engagement insights at a district level. - Scalable — Suitable for district-wide adoption, with robust infrastructure and support. - Security — K–12 data protection is a high priority and Edsby supports relevant compliance. - Award-winning platform — Recognized in the edtech community as a [best K-12 learning platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsby). #### Cons: - Learning curve — Because it’s feature-rich and very K–12-oriented, districts may need time to train teachers and staff. If you want to make education management operations unified and simpler, Edsby can be the best bet for you. ### [![education management system](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CTA-Banner-1.png)](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) ### 2. Canvas by Instructure Canvas is one of the most widely adopted education management solutions. It has a clean interface, robust APIs, video tools, and a large partner ecosystem. Canvas was developed by Instructure and is commonly used in district deployments and individual schools. #### Pros: - Highly flexible and extensible — Strong API, many integrations, and plugin support. - Robust assessment and grading tools — Gradebook, quizzes, SpeedGrader, etc. #### Cons: - Steep learning curve — Especially for advanced features and admin-level configurations. - Cost for institutions — Licensing and full feature usage can be expensive. - Limited built-in virtual classroom — Requires integration with third-party tools (Zoom, etc.). - Customization constraints — UI, branding, and deeper customization may require technical help. - Performance / reporting limitations — Some users report that reporting is not real-time or deeply customizable. ### 3. Schoology Schoology, now part of PowerSchool, offers teacher collaboration, learning resources, and family engagement tools. PowerSchool positions Schoology as its primary LMS offering for K-12 districts. #### Pros: - Good for collaboration — Discussion boards, groups, and social-like interaction. - Parent access — Parents can view assignments, grades, and communicate. #### Cons: - Complex interface — Many users say there is a steep learning curve for deeper features. - Performance issues — Some report slowness, lag, or periods of downtime. - Limited UI customization — There are constraints on how much you can brand or style the interface. - Grade sync / reporting limitations — Teachers report difficulty or bugs in syncing grades or pulling reports. - Parent / student account issues — According to some, parental account management can be clunky. ### 4. PowerSchool platform PowerSchool provides broad K-12 administrative solutions, including SIS, assessment, analytics, and an LMS through Schoology and PowerSchool Learning modules. It’s one of the largest vendors in the K-12 SIS/LMS market. #### Pros: - Unified system — When paired with PowerSchool SIS, it offers a seamless experience across administration and the classroom. - Scalable for large districts —Suitable for big implementations. #### Cons: - Costly — Total cost of ownership can be high when using multiple modules (SIS + LMS + analytics). - Complex implementation — Large deployments require significant IT and professional development overhead. - Possible feature overlap — Some schools may prefer a lightweight LMS if they already have other systems; they may not use all features. ### 5. Seesaw Seesaw is one of the used education management solutions that makes student work visible to families via digital portfolios and simple teacher tools. It emphasizes age-appropriate workflows and the “learning loop” between teacher, student, and family. #### Pros: - Easy for younger students — Very intuitive UI, especially for elementary school. - Low friction for teachers — Simple to assign, review work, and give feedback. #### Cons: - Limited assessment sophistication — Not as full-featured for advanced grading, standards-based grading, or district reporting. - Scalability — While great for classrooms, less powerful as a district-wide LMS for administrative tasks. - Data/reporting limitations — Analytics are not as deep as more robust EMS platforms. ### 6. Moodle Moodle has long established its reputation as a reliable open-source LMS. Although it offers extensive features, many K–12 reviewers note that Moodle requires significant technical expertise to set up, customize, and maintain effectively. #### Pros: - Highly customizable and flexible – Schools can tailor nearly every aspect of the platform to match their instructional needs. - Cost-effective – As an open-source solution, Moodle eliminates licensing fees, making it budget-friendly for districts with limited resources. #### Cons: - Requires strong technical expertise – Setup, hosting, and long-term maintenance can be challenging without dedicated IT staff. - User interface can feel outdated – Some K–12 users find the design less intuitive compared to modern cloud-based LMS platforms - Plugins may cause compatibility issues – While extensions add functionality, they can lead to performance or update problems. - Not optimized for younger learners – Navigation and layout may be overwhelming for elementary-level students. ### 7. Illuminate Education Illuminate provides assessment, analytics, and MTSS tools that help districts measure learning and coordinate interventions. This is one of the education management solutions, which is commonly used alongside other classroom systems to provide data dashboards and assessment engines. #### Pros: - Assessment & data analytics strength — Great for formative assessments, progress monitoring, and MTSS / RTI frameworks. - Intervention tools — Helps schools track which students need support and coordinate interventions. - Reporting — Detailed dashboards to analyze student performance and trends. - Flexibility — Can be layered over a classroom LMS; not necessarily a replacement, but a strong supplement. #### Cons: - Not a full LMS — It’s more assessment/data-focused than a course or content delivery system. - User training required — Requires skilled staff to interpret data and make actionable plans. - Cost — Data and assessment platforms can be expensive; they require buy-in for long-term value. ### 8. Skyward Skyward’s learning system is a long-standing vendor for district administrative workflows (attendance, enrollment, HR, finance) with family-access portals that complement classroom tools. It’s used broadly across many U.S. states and districts. #### Pros: - Parent portal — Families can see grades, attendance, and school communications. - Mature product — Long track record in K–12 administrative systems. #### Cons: - Less focused on classroom LMS — It’s primarily an administrative system, not optimized for teaching workflows or assignments. - User experience — Some users feel the UI is dated or not very intuitive for modern digital learning. - Customization and innovation — May lag behind in more modern, agile LMS features compared to dedicated LMS platforms. ### 9. D2L Brightspace D2L Brightspace, developed by D2L Corporation, is a cloud-based learning platform widely used in higher education and corporate training—and increasingly adopted by K–12 schools. Review platforms consistently rate Brightspace highly for its flexibility and user-friendly design. The vendor also emphasizes its strengths in supporting K–12 blended and hybrid learning, personalized learning paths, and robust analytics. #### Pros: - Highly scalable and reliable – Ideal for districts of any size thanks to its cloud-based infrastructure and consistent performance - Strong accessibility compliance – Designed with inclusive learning in mind, offering tools that support diverse learning needs and ADA/ WCAG accessibility standards. #### Cons: - Steeper learning curve for new users – Teachers and students may need extra time to fully adapt to its navigation and advanced features. - Higher cost compared to some K–12-focused LMS options – May be less budget-friendly for smaller schools or districts. - Limited out-of-the-box K–12 templates – Schools may need to build or customize workflows for early grades. ### 10. (Bonus) Other notable education data management solutions to consider There are many purpose-built and regional education management solutions used in U.S. K-12. Depending on district needs, vendor reputation, and local partners, systems such as FACTS/RenWeb (independent/private school markets), Clever (rostering/SSO), and numerous state or regionally oriented platforms can be viable. The K-12 market is diverse; prioritize pilots and reference checks. ## Final thoughts Picking an education data management solution is not an easy task. It’s a people and process decision. The best outcomes happen when districts map instructional goals, including teachers and families in evolution, pilot thoughtfully, and measure adoption over time. First of all, you should consider your requirements and see which features can meet those requirements. Once you have a clear idea of the features you need, you can opt for education management solutions that have all your required features. If your top priority is parent engagement and a K-12 aligned education management solution, Edsby is no doubt a trusted solution. It was built around K-12 needs and emphasizes both teacher efficiency and family-facing features. ## Frequently asked questions (FAQs) ### 1. What is a K-12 education management solution? A K-12 education management solution is a digital platform that helps schools manage teaching, learning, communication, and administration in one place. It connects teachers, students, parents, and administrators. These solutions often include gradebooks, attendance, analytics, messaging tools, and curriculum support for K-12 schools. ### 2. How is an education management solution different from a traditional LMS? An LMS mainly focuses on lessons, assignments, and content delivery. An education management solution goes further. It supports school operations, reporting, parent communication, and administrative workflows. For K-12 schools, this broader approach improves coordination, visibility, and long-term planning across the entire school community. ### 3. What problems do K-12 education management solutions solve for schools? These platforms reduce manual work, data silos, and communication gaps. They help schools track student progress, manage assessments, engage families, and improve decision making. As a result, teachers save time, administrators gain clarity, and students receive better learning support. ### 4. Who typically uses a K-12 education management platform? Multiple users rely on these platforms. Teachers manage instruction and grading. Administrators monitor performance and operations. Students access learning materials and feedback. Parents stay informed about progress and school updates. This shared access creates a connected learning environment. **Categories:** Commentary **Tags:** school management platform, K-12 digital learning, Education Management Solutions --- ### [Canadian Ed-Tech Success Story Edsby Chalks Up Big Win in Backbone Magazine’s Innovation Campaign](https://www.edsby.com/canadian-ed-tech-success-story-edsby-chalks-up-big-win-in-backbone-magazines-innovation-campaign/pressreleases/) **Published:** May 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Toronto, Canada; May 7, 2013: Hot on the heels of a recent massive customer win in Florida, Canadian education technology start-up Edsby has much to celebrate today as winner of Backbone Magazine’s 2013 Start Me Up Innovation Campaign. Backbone’s Campaign, now in its second year, offers innovative Canadian start-up companies a chance to compete for $100,000 in prize money, services, mentoring, and media coverage. Chosen from a field of 10 finalists, Edsby took the top prize after a rousing live pitch competition at Toronto’s TMX Gallery. The event culminated with the ringing in of the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning. Peter Wolchak, the editor of Backbone Magazine, said, “We had 10 fantastic finalists pitching their ideas to our judges, and even with that strong competition Edsby stood out quite clearly. Their presentation was spot-on, the company has a solid and potentially very successful product, and the team behind it has a an impressive track record in the industry and as entrepreneurs. When the judges gathered to choose a winner, Edsby was the early favourite around the table.” It wasn’t just the pitch that convinced Backbone, continued Wolchak. “Edsby was successful in our competition because they make such a strong case for the use of technology in schools and in the larger education system. Technology can play a significant role in not only reducing the cost of delivering education but also in creating tech-forward environments for student learning. Much of that is just about to happen, and Edsby is well positioned in that space.” “We’re here to help provide an innovative learning environment for students and teachers,” said John Myers, CEO of CoreFour, the makers of Edsby. “Participating in Backbone’s challenge was an amazing opportunity to connect with an exciting entrepreneurial community. We are so grateful for the support and the opportunities that this award brings – it’s a great campaign and a great showcase for Canadian start up talent.” #### About Edsby Edsby is focused on one very specific goal – to be the world’s best software solution for enabling school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents together using the kinds of modern technologies that have become so pervasive in so many other aspects of peoples’ lives. The makers of Edsby have been creating and delivering advanced communication and collaboration solutions to education organizations of all sizes around the world for over twenty years. Contact for further information. #### About Backbone Magazine Backbone magazine, launched in January 2001, is one of Canada’s largest and most successful business magazines. *Backbone* magazine is published by Publimedia Communications Inc. *Backbone* is distributed six times a year within *The Globe and Mail* to business and metropolitan subscribers within major city centres. *Backbone* is also distributed through corporate alliances, technology industry associations, universities, select retailers, subscribers, etc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [CoreFour Announces Investment Round to Accelerate Growth of the Edsby Social Learning Platform](https://www.edsby.com/corefour-announces-investment-round-to-accelerate-growth-of-the-edsby-social-learning-platform/pressreleases/) **Published:** January 21, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** *Toronto, Ontario; January 21st, 2014:* CoreFour, Inc., maker of the Edsby® social learning platform, is pleased to announce the completion of a round of external investment into the company. The funds will be used to expand sales, marketing, development and customer support as more and more private schools and school districts use Edsby to modernize and transform how teachers, students, parents and administrators engage at school. The lead investor in the round is MindAngler Capital, headed by Nigel Stokes, co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of DataMirror Corp. (acquired by IBM). Nigel has joined the board of directors of CoreFour. Co-investing in the round is Byye Management, led by Nancy Knowlton and David Martin, co-founders of SMART Technologies. They built SMART Technologies into one of the world’s largest education technology companies and transformed the way technology is used in the classroom. Nancy has also joined the CoreFour board. Also participating in the round is XDL Capital Group, led by Dennis Bennie, former Chairman and CEO of Delrina Corporation (acquired by Symantec). Dennis is a renowned pioneer, entrepreneur and innovator in the Canadian technology industry. The four co-founders of CoreFour (Jon Asbury, Steve Asbury, John Myers and Scott Welch) are delighted to have such a distinguished group of successful technology entrepreneurs invest in the company and share in the vision of how modern technology such as Edsby can enhance student learning and achievement. In addition the company will benefit tremendously from both the general technology sector experience and specific education technology experience that Nigel and Nancy bring to the board of directors. “Hundreds of thousands of teachers, parents, students and administrators at school districts and private schools already use Edsby to communicate and engage more effectively,” said John Myers, CoreFour CEO. “This new funding enables us to accelerate the adoption of Edsby by even more education organizations globally.” **About Edsby** Edsby is a social learning platform that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents together using the modern technologies that have become so pervasive in peoples’ lives today. **About CoreFour** The CoreFour team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for over 20 years. The team’s close relationships with education customers over the years has provided insights into the problems faced every day by teachers, students, parents and administrators. CoreFour builds high performance cloud-based solutions based on latest software technology, techniques and standards. Contact Scott Welch (VP Special Projects, , +1-416-277-8894) for further information. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby integrates with FirstClass](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-integrates-with-firstclass/product-news/) **Published:** March 18, 2014 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The Edsby educational engagement platform now offers tight integration for schools and school districts running the FirstClass email and collaboration system. **Content:** *– Using FirstClass for user authentication “simplifies and improves the use of Edsby,” say FirstClass sites –* **Toronto, Ontario; March 18th, 2014** – The Edsby educational engagement platform now offers tight integration for K-12 schools and school districts running the venerable FirstClass email and collaboration system. Organizations around the world that use FirstClass can now leverage the FirstClass user directory when logging in to the Edsby social learning system. At login time, Edsby can be configured to check FirstClass to see if users exist and whether they are entitled to log in via the open lightweight directory access protocol, or LDAP. “This new external authentication makes it easy to add Edsby to schools and school districts that run FirstClass,” said John Myers, Co-Founder and CoreFour CEO. “Educators can benefit immediately from Edsby’s parental engagement, teacher timesaving features and other benefits.” For more than 20 years, companies and school districts have relied on FirstClass for powerful, secure and highly scalable collaboration. FirstClass bridges the chasm between in-person and digital communication, offering innovative, enterprise-grade email, calendars, contacts, instant messaging, document and file storage and more. “FirstClass has been our core communication tool for 17 years,” said Charles Thacker, Director of Technology at Farmington Municipal Schools in Farmington, New Mexico. “Having FirstClass LDAP integration with Edsby has simplified and improved the use of Edsby for our 11,000 students across all our 18 schools.” The integration works between Edsby today and versions 10 and higher of FirstClass. **About Edsby** Edsby is a social learning platform that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents together using the modern technologies that have become so pervasive in people’s lives today. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years. CoreFour builds high performance cloud-based solutions based on latest software technology, techniques and standards. **Categories:** Product news, Press releases --- ### [Edsby wins Reader’s Choice Award from eSchool News](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-readers-choice-award-from-eschool-news/pressreleases/) **Published:** August 1, 2014 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Readers of eSchool News, a publisher of K-12 edtech news and information, have named Edsby one of the best products in edtech. **Content:** **Toronto, Ontario; August 1st, 2014** — Readers of *eSchool News*, a publisher of K-12 educational technology (“edtech”) news and information, have named Edsby® one of the best products in edtech. More than 1,300 educators and administrators from K-12 schools and districts across North America nominated their favorite edtech products or services this past spring for eSchool News’ 2014-15 Readers’ Choice Awards; nominations from vendors were not accepted. When submitting nominations, educators were asked to describe how they were using each product to improve teaching, learning, or school administration—and to what effect. The result “is a list of edtech products and services that have proven to be effective,” said eSchool News Editorial Director Dennis Pierce. “We hope readers will find this information valuable as they consider what technologies they should use in their own schools.” Fifty products, spanning all of educational technology (e.g. software, hardware, AV equipment, etc.) were named by the publication as Readers’ Choices. The social learning and engagement platform Edsby was one of the only software products of its type to receive the recognition. Edsby customers sent enthusiastic nominations to the magazine. Among them: ***“I have been thrilled with what Edsby can do and how easily it does it. I am an Edsby addict.”*** **-John Leach, Philopateer Christian College** ***“Edsby is a next-generation web portal for students, teachers, parents, and administration. You really have to see it to understand how effective it is and all that it does, but it is definitely best of breed.”* -Jon Butcher, St. Andrew’s College** ***“This online learning management system has allowed our 1-to-1 laptop environment to educate beyond the brick and mortar school, facilitating flipping of classrooms and more collaboration among the stakeholders of the school district.”*** **– Charles Thacker, Farmington Municipal Schools** The winners and honorable mentions are recognized in a special feature published in the August 2014 edition of eSchool News, as well as on eSchoolNews.com. This special feature highlights the winning products and services and includes comments from readers about why each entry deserves the award. To read about this year’s award winners, go to . **About eSchool Media** eSchool Media Inc. is a news and information organization delivering print, online, email, and video communications to more than half a million K-20 decision makers and influencers throughout North America and around the world. Its information networks help educators successfully use technology to transform education and achieve their goals. eSchool News is the flagship publication of eSchool Media Inc., which also includes eCampus News, serving higher education, and eClassroom News, an electronic publication network for teachers. **About Edsby** Edsby is a social learning platform that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents together using the modern technologies that have become so pervasive in people’s lives today. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years. CoreFour builds high performance cloud-based solutions using latest software technology, techniques and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby among 20 most promising education services](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-among-20-most-promising-education-services-says-cio-review/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 10, 2014 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Connections to "existing SIS and authentication systems" "set Edsby at the front of the pack," says CIO Review magazine. **Content:** **Edsby identified by CIO Review as unique modern learning management system (LMS) for K-12 school districts; Annual list showcases 20 promising education technology service providers; Co-Founder Scott Welch (above) interviewed** **Toronto, Ontario; October 10th, 2014** — CIO Review has named Edsby one of 20 Most Promising Education Tech Service Providers, an annual listing profiling 20 technology companies offering leading education technology services. The honor was conferred upon an evaluation of Edsby’s modern cloud-based LMS, a social learning and engagement platform optimized for the smartphone generation. CIO Review writes: > With its modern web and mobile technologies, Edsby, an Ontario, Canada-based company, connects teachers, students and parents in exciting new ways. Its set of web and mobile applications for K-12 school districts include attendance, school news, group collaboration, grade books, timetables and calendars, course planning, report cards and more. Edsby is ideal for whole school districts, because it integrates with existing SIS and authentication systems, leveraging data and security systems that already exist, and allows deep per-district customization. The annual list of companies is selected by a panel of experts and members of CIO Review’s editorial board. CIO Review highlighted Edsby’s leverage of school districts’ existing authentications systems and customizability per district as particularly important: > As with every social platform, there’s a persistent concern regarding security and access. To address this concern, Edsby connects to school districts’ existing back-end authentication systems to ensure security and scalability, fitting the policies of each specific district. Also, an innate understanding that different school boards and CIOs have different requirements sets Edsby at the front of the pack. On-the-go Edsby applications can be downloaded on popular mobile devices, helping contribute to why some schools call Edsby their killer app. The company is working to enhance the features of its offering. “Edsby has been on our radar for some time now for stirring a revolution in education technology and we are happy to showcase them this year due to their continuing excellence in delivering top-notch technology-driven solutions,” said Harvi Sachar, Publisher & Founder, CIO Review. “Edsby continued to break new ground within the past year benefiting its customers around the globe, and we’re excited to have the company featured on our top companies list.” The full review of Edsby is found on page 78 of the October issue of CIO Review. Read it [here](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Edsby-in-CIO-Review.pdf). The magazine’s circulation is 77,000 subscribers. An additional 25,000 educational professionals involved in purchasing IT products/services are also receiving the October education issue of the magazine. **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built LMS for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents together using the technologies that have become so pervasive in people’s lives today. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **About CIO Review** CIO Review constantly endeavors to identify “The Best” in a variety of areas important to tech business. Through nominations and consultations with industry leaders, its editors choose the best in different domains. More about the magazine at [www.cioreview.com](http://www.cioreview.com). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby named a Top K-12 Product by District Administration magazine](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-a-top-k-12-product-by-district-administration-magazine/pressreleases/) **Published:** December 1, 2014 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** In its annual awards, District Administration highlights Edsby for enhancing learning in K-12 school districts. **Content:** Toronto, Canada – December 1, 2014 — Edsby®, a purpose-built LMS for K-12 that connects teachers, parents and students using modern technologies, has been recognized for making a positive difference in education by K-12 leaders who named it to District Administration magazine’s Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products for 2014. The winners, selected by District Administration editors from a record 2,400-plus nominations, were products that received the highest number of nominations and most compelling endorsements from K-12 leaders. The Readers’ Choice Top 100 has been announced online and in the December 2014 issue of District Administration. District Administration’s Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products award informs superintendents and other senior school district leaders about products their colleagues around the country are using to help their districts excel in a variety of areas, such as technology, sustainability and curriculum instruction. “Edsby has achieved the unachievable,” wrote customer Adam Caplan, Technology & Teaching Coach, St. Clement’s School in Toronto, Ontario, in nominating Edsby for the award. “It has at once integrated our student information system and many school workflows into a beautiful online community with an intuitive interface that students and teachers adore. It has sparked collaboration and new ways of interacting in online/offline blended learning. We are grateful for Edsby’s approach to working with schools and helping all members of the school community work with one another.” “With the Top 100 award program steadily growing in size and recognition each year, all of our 2014 honorees should be very proud of their success,” says JD Solomon, District Administration’s editorial director. “We hope that all of our readers continue to be inspired and find innovative ideas from their peers who have had successful product implementations.” The full list of Readers’ Choice Top 100 products can be read [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20141203162526/http://www.districtadministration.com:80/article/k12-leaders-pick-favorite-products). **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built Learning Management System (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using the latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **About District Administration** District Administration provides K12 leaders with critical news and information for school district management, through its monthly magazine, website, e-newsletters and the District Administration Leadership Institute Superintendent Summits. For more information, visit [www.DistrictAdministration.com](http://www.DistrictAdministration.com). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Michael Fullan Joins Edsby Board of Directors](https://www.edsby.com/michael-fullan-joins-edsby-board-of-directors/pressreleases/) **Published:** March 4, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Renowned educational researcher Dr. Michael Fullan has joined the board of directors of Edsby. **Content:** **ONTARIO, Canada** (March 4, 2015) – Renowned educational researcher Dr. Michael Fullan has joined the board of directors of Edsby®, developers of an innovative learning management system built for K-12 school districts that engages teachers, parents and students using modern technologies. Dr. Michael Fullan is the former Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. Recognized as a worldwide authority on educational reform, he advises policymakers and local leaders around the world. Dr. Fullan received the Order of Canada in December 2012 “for his achievements in the field of education reform, as a scholar, teacher, writer and adviser to governments in Canada and abroad.” He was the author of *Great to Excellent: Launching the Next Stage of Ontario’s Education Agenda,* which outlined a new vision for education in the province of Ontario as Special Advisor to the Premier, and holds honorary doctorates from several universities. “Our focus with Edsby is to provide education organizations with a powerful and unique platform that enables them to achieve tremendous gains in teacher, student and parent engagement,” said John Myers, President of Edsby. “As a leading researcher who writes widely about the importance of coordinated leadership in affecting meaningful educational change, and who works with education organizations around the world, Dr. Fullan will bring valued insights to our team and the evolution of Edsby.” Edsby is a cloud-based platform that uses latest web and mobile technologies to connect teachers, students and parents in exciting new ways. Among its features are social learning, school news, group collaboration, assessment management, timetables and calendars, course planning, report cards, attendance and more. It enables deep customization to districts’ unique assessment and reporting standards, allowing them to implement educational policies consistently. Edsby also integrates tightly with districts’ existing data and application infrastructure, speeding deployment and easing ongoing administration. **About Michael Fullan** Dr. Fullan is a prolific, award-winning author whose books have been published in many languages. His book *Leading in a Culture of Change* was awarded the 2002 Book of the Year Award by Learning Forward (formerly the National Staff Development Council), *Breakthrough* (with Peter Hill and Carmel Crévola) won the 2006 Book of the Year Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), and *Turnaround Leadership in Higher Education*(with Geoff Scott) won the Bellwether Book Award in 2009. *Change Wars* (with Andy Hargreaves) was awarded the 2009 Book of the Year Award by Learning Forward and *Professional Capital* (with Andy Hargreaves) won the AACTE 2013 Book of the Year. *Professional Capital* was also awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer prize as the thought book of the year for 2015. His current best seller is *The Principal: Three Keys for Maximizing Impact.* **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built Learning Management System (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using the latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Wins EdTech Digest Award in LMS Category](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/pressreleases/) **Published:** March 24, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby has been awarded best learning management system by an industry publication. **Content:** *Set apart by modern technologies and social learning features, Edsby takes top honors in crowded field* **ONTARIO, Canada** (March 24, 2015) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/), an innovative cloud-based software platform that connects K-12 students, teachers and parents using modern technologies, is the 2015 [EdTech Digest](mailto:https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/) Cool Tool Award winner for best learning management system (LMS). Judges selected Edsby over other finalists, such as Schoology, OpenEd, EduSystem and My Big Campus. EdTech Digest describes winners as being “part of a greater story of 21st-century education transformation.” Winners and nominees are recognized for reshaping the education space by creating new and innovative ways that will affect the future of education for students and teachers. “This recognition highlights the value of district-wide solutions like Edsby that improve the quality of K-12 instruction and engage every student, teacher, administrator and parent,” said John Myers, Edsby President. “School districts are ready for a more modern experience, and Edsby’s innovative synchronization with districts’ existing systems and high degree of customization to each district’s policies and standards are crucial to delivering this.” Edsby provides features for social learning, school news, group collaboration, assessment and class management, course planning, report cards, attendance and more. The platform offers deep customization specific to the individual needs of a school district and enables them to implement educational policies consistently through their own assessment and reporting standards. By integrating tightly with districts’ existing data and application infrastructure, Edsby also quickens implementation and eases administration. EdTech Digest, an online publication serving the education community as a resource for education technology, interviews and trends, sponsors the Cool Tool Awards. The awards program is in its fifth year and honors outstanding contributions to people and companies working to transform education through technology for all learners. All entries undergo thorough evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals who are leaders in their respective fields. For a full list of 2015 winners, click [here](https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/2015-finalists-winners/). For more information on Edsby, visit [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com). **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using the latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. Learn more at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Selected by Kawartha Pine Ridge for District-Wide Deployment](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-selected-by-kawartha-pine-ridge-for-district-wide-deployment/pressreleases/) **Published:** April 14, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Rollout to 38,000 new teachers, students and parents now under way across region. **Content:** *– Rollout to teachers, students and parents now under way across region –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (April 14, 2015) – Edsby®, an innovative cloud-based education engagement platform that connects K-12 students, teachers and parents using smartphones, tablets and the web, has been selected by Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) for district-wide deployment after a rigorous procurement and evaluation process. The district of 34,000 students and 3,450 staff wanted a solution that tied in tightly with the board’s existing IT systems and that supported its approach to assessment and reporting for all teachers and students uniformly in the district. “Edsby integrated very quickly and effectively into our key district infrastructure, including our student information system and our authentication system,” said Ron Plaizier, CIO at KPRDSB. “This has been key in getting teachers on board quickly; all of their classes and class rosters are automatically managed for them by Edsby, and they log in using their standard district credentials.” Edsby has been designed to be easily customizable so that each organization can have Edsby support its unique approach to assessment. “At KPRDSB we are working collectively to implement and align our practice with *Growing Success*, the Ontario Ministry of Education’s policy for assessment, evaluation and reporting,” said Jennifer McIlmoyle-Parsons, Instructional Leadership Consultant at the board. “Edsby supports educators to collect and reflect upon observations about student learning through the categories of the Ministry’s achievement charts while expressing ongoing learning using levels, and progress indicators before evaluation.” “Communication with students and parents has been designed to emphasize learning and provide teachers opportunities to apply professional judgment at critical reporting timeframes. Using the calendars, progress indicators and ongoing learning focus posted by teachers, parents are supported with information about their child’s learning journey,” said McIlmoyle-Parsons. KPRDSB joins the growing list of education organizations in the U.S. and Canada now using Edsby. “We’re delighted to have Kawartha Pine Ridge as a customer and we look forward to expanding the ways Edsby can contribute to engagement and positive student learning experiences in their district,” said John Myers, President of Edsby. **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to have meaningful engagement between teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using the latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. Learn more at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Introduces Support for Trevlac Student Information System](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-introduces-support-for-trevlac-student-information-system/pressreleases/) **Published:** May 20, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Popular Canadian SIS is the latest supported by Edsby for K-12 school and district back-end data synchronization. **Content:** *Popular Canadian SIS is the latest supported by Edsby for K-12 school and district back-end data synchronization* **ONTARIO, Canada** (May 13, 2015) – Edsby®, an innovative cloud-based education engagement platform that connects K-12 students, teachers and parents using smartphones, tablets and the web, now synchronizes with The School Administrator™ from Trevlac Computer Services Ltd., a student information system (SIS) popular in regions of Canada. Edsby gives K-12 schools and districts running Trevlac SISes a contemporary, high performance way to share and interact with data that normally resides only in the SIS, including class schedules, attendance data, grades, discipline information and more. Edsby offers this information to students, parents, teachers and administrators via a modern browser or mobile device, and adds social classroom features, a powerful gradebook, school news, course planning, group collaboration, report card functionality and more. The Edsby platform was carefully designed to leverage K-12 school districts’ existing critical systems. Edsby synchronizes with SISes for student, teacher, class, schedule, attendance and other content, and takes advantage of other existing systems for user authentication and other elements. Edsby synchronizes with a wide variety of SIS systems, from market leaders to even custom SISes. “We were surprised how easy it was to connect our Trevlac SIS to Edsby, and our students and parents are loving Edsby,” said Dave Hecock, Vice Principal of Crestwood Preparatory College, a multi-campus private school in Toronto, Canada. Crestwood’s Trevlac SIS populates Edsby classes and groups with the right students so teachers don’t have to do any data entry. “As students and teachers arrive or leave, or if they change classes, those changes are reflected in Edsby,” said Dave. “I can’t imagine deploying something on such a large scale without it being integrated with our SIS.” “We’re pleased to offer our customers choices in how they expand the capabilities of the SIS that is at the heart of their systems,” said Trevlac CEO Peter Calvert. “As an open platform, we embrace best-in-class solutions like Edsby, especially when they enable schools and districts to continue to leverage their SIS investment.” **About Trevlac Computer Services Ltd.** Trevlac develops and publishes The School Administrator student information system currently used in schools in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Prince Edward Island and Ontario, as well as some private schools outside of Canada. The easy-to-learn system is suitable for small schools up to large districts. More about Trevlac Computer Services at . **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to have meaningful engagement between teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using the latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. Learn more at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Announces Integration with Microsoft Office 365](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-announces-integration-with-microsoft-office-365/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 9, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** New capabilities enable single sign on and more for K-12 schools and districts using the popular Edsby and Microsoft cloud-based solutions. **Content:** *– New capabilities enable single sign on and more for K-12 schools and districts using the popular Edsby and Microsoft cloud-based solutions –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (June 9, 2015) – Edsby®, developers of an innovative learning management system built for K-12 school districts that engages teachers, parents and students using modern technologies, now integrates with Microsoft Office 365. [![Edsby O365 and Google Apps](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/venn3B-300x152.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/with-google-gafe-microsoft-office-o365/)For details on the benefits of integrating Edsby with Google Apps and/or Office 365, [visit this page »](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/with-google-gafe-microsoft-office-o365/)“Using Microsoft Office in the classroom provides students with the tried and tested tools they need to help be successful today and in the future,” said Marc Seaman, VP of Education with Microsoft Canada. “This is just one example of Microsoft’s commitment to helping our youth and educators do more and achieve more.” One aspect of the integration is in the area of single sign-on support. Edsby users can now authenticate via Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory and the OAuth2 protocol. This enables a convenient one-click login for Edsby users already authenticated with Office 365. “Many of our K-12 education customers are moving to the cloud for more and more of their operations and are using Microsoft Azure and Office 365-based platforms as a strategic part of this move,” said John Myers, President of Edsby. “We’re delighted to have Edsby closely integrated with these key Microsoft technologies and the exciting benefits this brings to the educators and students at organizations using Edsby.” In addition, this new integration enables Edsby users to select documents from their Microsoft OneDrive file store as teachers and students collaborate within Edsby classes and groups and as students submit work digitally to teachers for assessment. For more information on Edsby, visit . **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built Learning Management System (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Adds Integration With Google Apps for Education](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-adds-integration-with-google-apps-for-education/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 18, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** K-12 schools using Google Apps can now create even more compelling digital learning environments with Edsby. **Content:** *– K-12 schools using Google Apps for Education can now create even more compelling digital learning environments with the Edsby learning management system –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (June 18, 2015) – Edsby®, an innovative learning management system built for K-12 school districts that engages teachers, parents and students using modern technologies, now integrates with Google Apps for Education. [![Edsby O365 and Google Apps](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/venn3B-300x152.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/with-google-gafe-microsoft-office-o365/)For details on the benefits of integrating Edsby with Google Apps and/or Office 365, [visit this page »](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/with-google-gafe-microsoft-office-o365/)“Google Apps provides us with many useful capabilities, but Google by itself only offers limited learning management features,” said Ally Wenzel, Director of Technology for Stevenson School, a private school in Pebble Beach, California. “Connecting Google Apps for Education with Edsby gives our students, teachers and administrators a robust digital teaching and learning experience.” Google Apps for Education provides students and teachers with a popular way to author, collaborate on and store documents. When combined with Edsby, schools and districts enjoy a comprehensive set of capabilities that include familiar social feed-like features for every class taught by every teacher, group discussions, school news, attendance, course planning, timetables, grade books, report cards, in-depth analytics, parent engagement and more—all with convenient single sign-on and tight integration between the two cloud-based solutions. “We integrated Edsby with Google Apps for Education at the request of many of our K-12 education customers who are strategically moving to the cloud,” said John Myers, president of Edsby. “This integration provides new and innovative benefits to teachers and students through convenient single sign-on and one-click Google Drive access.” Edsby and Google Apps have little overlap. Features of both platforms complement each other. Students can work in Google Drive and share documents in Edsby groups and classes and submit work to teachers privately and securely. Teachers using Google Apps can easily use Edsby to share work, engage with parents and view student schedules, attendance, grades and overall progress against local, state/provincial or federal standards, and more, with no additional login. Edsby also recently [announced integration with Microsoft Office 365](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-announces-integration-with-microsoft-office-365/), enabling Edsby users to authenticate via Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory and access documents from their Microsoft OneDrive file storage. Edsby’s Google Apps integration and Office 365 integration can be used simultaneously by the many education organizations that make both solutions available to their staff. For more information on Edsby, visit **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built Learning Management System (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Shares 5 Signs It’s Time for a District-Wide, Modern LMS](https://www.edsby.com/district-wide-modern-lms/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 7, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby has developed a checklist to support administrators considering implementing a modern LMS district-wide, or in the evaluation of current systems. **Content:** *– Developer releases downloadable resource for district administrators to check capabilities of learning management systems –* **Ontario, Canada** (Oct. 7, 2015) – K-12 administrators are facing important questions about the role of learning management systems (LMS) in their school districts. [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/), a purpose-built K-12 LMS that connects students, teachers and parents using modern technologies, has developed a [checklist](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5Signs-01.jpg) to support administrators weighing the benefits of implementing a modern LMS district-wide, or in the evaluation of current systems. No longer a complementary system that hums along in the background as schools conduct their day-to-day activities, the LMS is now the centerpiece of teaching and learning in schools. As the pace of modernization in education quickens, some districts risk being held back because their LMSs are slow to evolve with today’s technologies – assuming they even have an official district LMS to begin with. Here’s a summary of the five signs administrators need to update their LMS, according to Edsby: - **It’s not social:** Systems that create safe and secure spaces mimicking the look of popular social media channels are attractive to students, teachers and parents. - **It doesn’t play well with other systems:** Seamless integration with other systems, such as a district’s student information system (SIS), makes integration of a modern LMS easy and powerful. - **It’s one-size-fits all:** No two districts are the same, so why adopt a rigid system that may have been built for higher education when administrators can implement a next-generation, customizable LMS that meets their specific needs as a K-12 institution? - **It makes more work for teachers:** If teachers are constantly wrestling with the LMS, or having to manage their own personal LMSs, it becomes more of a distraction than a timesaving tool. - **It’s outdated:** Modern technology has come a long way since the turn of the century when most legacy systems were designed. Today’s systems are more intuitive and offer a friendlier user experience, which is particularly important for young students. Download the full checklist [here](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5Signs-01.jpg). “An LMS is the foundation of teaching and learning,” said Scott Welch, vice president of special projects at Edsby. “An LMS should be as dynamic as the district it serves. As schools continue to modernize, administrators need to ensure their systems can address schools’ needs today and are also capable of adopting to tomorrow’s challenges.” **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using the latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. Learn more at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby named a “Readers' Choice Top Product” by District Administration](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-a-readers-choice-top-product-by-district-administration/pressreleases/) **Published:** December 1, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** For the second year in a row, Edsby makes list of top products from one of the leading K-12 edtech publications in North America. **Content:** *– Nominations from K-12 leaders led to the selection of products –* **Toronto, Ontario** – December 1, 2015 — For the second year in a row, Edsby®, an innovative cloud-based learning management system built for K-12 school districts that connects teachers, parents and students using modern technologies, has been recognized for making a positive difference in education by K-12 leaders who named it to District Administration magazine’s “Readers’ Choice Top Products for 2015.” Winners were compiled from 2,100-plus nominations from the magazine’s readers over the past year. Readers’ Choice Top Product winners [have been announced online](http://www.districtadministration.com/article/k12-products-work) and in the December 2015 issue of District Administration. District Administration’s Readers’ Choice Top Products awards program informs superintendents and other senior school district leaders about products their colleagues around North America are using to help their districts excel in a variety of areas, such as technology, sustainability and curriculum instruction. “It was inspiring to learn about the products being used in today’s schools and classrooms that are helping districts succeed,” says JD Solomon, District Administration’s editorial director. “All of our 2015 honorees should be very proud of this achievement.” Edsby was first named a District Administration magazine [readers’ choice top product in 2014](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-named-a-top-k-12-product-by-district-administration-magazine/). A complete list of awards Edsby has won can be found [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **About District Administration** District Administration provides K-12 leaders with critical news and information for school district management, through its monthly magazine, website, e-newsletters and the District Administration Leadership Institute Superintendent Summits. For more information, visit [www.DistrictAdministration.com](http://www.districtadministration.com/). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby, Leading K-12 Learning Management System, To Be Available Through ORION](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k-12-learning-management-system-orion/pressreleases/) **Published:** November 30, 2015 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Ontario school boards will soon be able to access Edsby over Ontario's regional research and education industry high speed network. **Content:** ###### Darin Graham, President and CEO of ORION (L) and John Myers, Edsby President (R) *– ORION’s ultra-fast, dedicated network to make Edsby even more secure and cost-effective for Ontario school boards –* **Toronto, Canada (November 30, 2015)** — Edsby®, an innovative, cloud-based education engagement learning management system (LMS) built for K-12 school districts, announced a partnership with the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION), which connects educators, school administrators and students over high-speed, fibre-optic connectivity. The partnership makes Edsby available on ORION’s high-speed network, which spans the province of Ontario. This partnership will improve Edsby access and performance for Ontario school boards using ORION, and give boards not yet using Edsby a robust and reliable way to adopt its social learning and engagement system. Edsby offers gradebooks, attendance tracking, parent-teacher communication and social classroom features, to name a few. Edsby availability is scheduled for the start of the 2016-2017 school year. ORION connects Ontario’s universities, colleges, school boards, research hospitals, innovation centres, cultural institutions, and more, to each other and the world through a secure, private broadband network. It is one of the fastest research and education networks on the planet. “Traffic from students and teachers at ORION-connected schools—whether via wireless, BYOD or 1-to-1 devices—will traverse the ORION network, bypassing the public Internet,” said John Myers, Edsby President. “ORION will provide a high performance, cost-effective gateway for school boards on its network to enjoy Edsby’s cloud-based, scalable LMS.” “We pride ourselves on being an innovation partner for Ontario’s research, education and innovation community, constantly striving to ensure they have the best applications available,” said Darin Graham, President and CEO of ORION. “So we’re pleased to support access to Edsby’s 21st century, online social learning system to enhance learning experiences.” Already in 2015, two Ontario school boards have announced Edsby adoption: [Halton District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/halton-district-school-board-chooses-edsby-to-enhance-student-and-parent-communication/) and [Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-selected-by-kawartha-pine-ridge-for-district-wide-deployment/), totaling hundreds of thousands of students, parents and other guardians. Edsby is part of ORION’s collection of [Nebula cloud services](https://www.orion.on.ca/products-services/), a hand-picked set of applications available for users connected to the ORION network. Nebula partners are network-based, cost-effective technology service providers that ORION recommends as high performance solutions. **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. Read more about Edsby at | [@edsby](http://www.twitter.com/edsby) **About ORION** As Ontario’s backbone of innovation, the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION) is one of the largest Research, Education and Innovation (RE&I) networks in the world. We connect all of Ontario’s universities, most colleges, several teaching hospitals, public research facilities, and a growing number of Ontario’s school boards to one another and to a global network of RE&I connections. In addition to providing one of the world’s fastest broadband connections, we are a research and innovation partner for our members. Through our technology and support, ORION constantly strives to keep Ontario on the leading edge of innovation. Read more about ORION at | [@ORIONNetwork](https://twitter.com/ORIONNetwork) **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Making Cloud Service Available On Microsoft Azure](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-microsoft-partnership-azure/pressreleases/) **Published:** January 21, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby LMS for K-12 to soon be available on Microsoft’s cloud platform as part of a new global relationship between the two companies. **Content:** ###### Edsby President & Co-Founder John Myers (L) and Microsoft Vice President of Worldwide Education Anthony Salcito (R) *– Move to benefit educators, students and parents around the world –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (January 21st, 2016) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, an innovative cloud-based learning management system for K-12 school districts that connects teachers, parents and students using modern technologies, will soon be available on Microsoft Azure, Microsoft’s hyperscale, enterprise-grade cloud platform, as part of a global relationship between the two companies. Edsby will be making its Edsby cloud service available in Azure data centers in the U.S. for American customers. In Canada, Microsoft Corp. recently announced plans to establish Azure cloud data centers in Ontario and Quebec and Edsby will be available in these Canadian facilities in time for the 2016-2017 school year. Shortly after, Edsby will be made available in Azure data centers in Australia, Europe and elsewhere. “By utilizing Microsoft’s global network of Azure data centers, we can streamline how we provide Edsby in multiple regions around the world. This also enables us to meet customers’ regional or national data sovereignty requirements,” said John Myers, Edsby President. “In addition, the dynamic scalability and high availability of Azure will enable Edsby to scale to handle the millions of new users required by provincial, state and national level deployments.” This new announcement builds on earlier integration work by Edsby, including Edsby’s support for Microsoft Azure Active Directory, which enables convenient one-click authentication, and Microsoft OneDrive access for Edsby users using Office 365. “We’re excited to see an innovative cloud solution like Edsby take advantage of the power of the Azure cloud platform, and tools like Office 365, to enhance how students, teachers and parents communicate and collaborate around each student’s unique learning journey,” said Anthony Salcito, vice president of Worldwide Education, Microsoft. “We look forward to working with Edsby to bring this solution to schools around the world.” **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Selected by Greater Essex County District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-greater-essex-county-district-school-board-gedsb/pressreleases/) **Published:** February 3, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** A fourth Canadian K-12 school district in recent months chooses the Edsby learning platform for all its students, teachers and parents. **Content:** *– Fourth Canadian district in recent months chooses Edsby learning management system –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (February 3rd, 2016) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, an innovative cloud-based learning management system built for K-12 school districts that connects teachers, parents and students using modern technologies, has been chosen as the new parent portal, news source, and teaching and learning collaboration platform of the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB). The district will also be leveraging Edsby’s modern attendance, assessment and learning management tools. GECDSB spans 71 schools with 35,000 students and 4,500 staff in Windsor and Essex County, Ontario, the southernmost tip of Canada. The district selected Edsby to give students and teachers modern collaborative capabilities in and out of the classroom, as well as real-time communication of academic achievement with students and their parents and guardians. “Edsby is a modern, world-class learning environment for our students, teacher and parents. And because it works with our existing systems, including staff and student Office 365 accounts, we get the best of both worlds,” said John Howitt, GECDSB Superintendent of Education and Information Technology. “Our stakeholders benefit from Edsby’s rich, compelling capabilities, and we leverage our existing investments and experience with our current systems rather than having to go through the cost and challenges of replacing them.” Also important to GECDSB was Edsby’s powerful group collaboration features for professional learning communities, school clubs, teams and parent groups that can be used to engage teachers, students and parents/guardians at the school level and district-wide. And it was critical to the district that the winning solution be scalable. In its selection process, the district asked for evidence of large deployments. “Edsby is one of the only highly customizable learning management systems proven to be able to scale to large implementations,” said John Myers, President of Edsby. Greater Essex is the fourth large Ontario region to adopt Edsby recently. District School Board of Niagara announced in October, 2015 that its 36,000 students were moving to Edsby. In June, the 60,000-student Halton District School Board announced it was implementing Edsby. And in April, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board announced it had selected Edsby for deployment to its 34,000 students. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [New Microsoft Canadian Datacentres Expand Edsby Footprint](https://www.edsby.com/new-microsoft-canadian-datacentres-expand-edsby-footprint/pressreleases/) **Published:** May 10, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby will soon be available on the Azure cloud in Canada, so Canadian customers' data will stay in Canada. **Content:** *– Edsby to soon be available on Microsoft Azure in Canada with data resident in Canada –* **ONTARIO, Canada (May 10, 2016) –** Microsoft Canada announced today that the Microsoft Cloud is now officially open to power even more Canadian organizations. With this announcement, Microsoft Azure is generally available from local datacentre regions located in Toronto and Quebec City, and Office 365 is now offering data residency for Canadian organizations. This announcement marks a significant expansion of Microsoft’s trusted cloud services into Canada. Azure and Office 365 customers gain the benefits of Microsoft’s cloud services combined with data residency in Canada. This includes data redundancy in multiple locations within Canada for business continuity and the option of a fast and private connection to the cloud with Azure ExpressRoute. Edsby is making its popular social learning system for K-12 school districts available in Microsoft’s Canadian Azure facilities in time for the 2016-2017 school year. Edsby will also be available on Azure in the U.S. for American customers. It is also being made available in Azure data centres in Australia, Europe and elsewhere [as part of a global relationship with Microsoft](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-microsoft-partnership-azure/). “From today on, our goal is to create Canada’s best and most complete cloud, enabled by world class technology and world class cloud ecosystem,” said Janet Kennedy, president of Microsoft Canada. “We’re privileged to work with our team of Canadian partners who are perfectly positioned to help our Canadian customers innovate, grow and transform their businesses.” “By utilizing Microsoft’s global network of Azure data centres, we can streamline how we provide Edsby in multiple regions around the world. This also enables us to meet customers’ regional or national data sovereignty requirements,” said John Myers, Edsby President. “In addition, the dynamic scalability and high availability of Azure will enable Edsby to scale to handle the millions of new users required by provincial, state and national level deployments.” **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Wins SIIA Education Technology CODiE Award for Best Classroom Management Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-codie-best-classroom-management-solution/pressreleases/) **Published:** May 18, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** It's the 14th award for Edsby, and the industry's highest honor, the "Academy Award" of software. **Content:** **Washington, D.C.** (May 18, 2016) – Today [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com)® was named the best Classroom Management Solution of 2016 in the 2016 SIIA CODiE™ Awards. The winner announcement was made by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, to an audience of over 300 leaders. 61 awards were given for products and services deployed specifically for B2B software, information and media companies. An SIIA CODiE Award win is a prestigious honor, as each award winner was reviewed by a field of industry experts, whose evaluations determined the finalists. SIIA members then reviewed the finalists and their votes were combined with the scores from the industry experts’ to select this year’s CODiE Awards winners. Edsby is a modern, cloud-based learning management system for K-12 school districts that uses latest web and mobile technologies to connect teachers, students, parents and administrators in exciting new ways. Among its tightly integrated features are social learning, assessment & reporting, approvals, workflows, group collaboration, course planning, parent communication, analytics, permission and access control, and more. “This award reflects years of focusing exclusively on the needs of K-12 organizations,” said John Myers, Edsby President and Co-Founder. “In recent months, more and more K-12 districts have been discovering how Edsby makes teachers’ jobs easier by providing modern, fast tools for classroom tasks like attendance, assessment, class updates, blended learning, parent conferences, report cards and more. Best of all, Edsby provides a better way to engage parents in each child’s learning journey, which is a key strategic goal for most districts.” Unlike other LMSes, Edsby is designed specifically for the special requirements and needs of K-12. To make district-wide rollouts quick and to minimize ongoing administration, it integrates tightly with existing systems, leveraging data and security policies that already exist. And it allows for the deep customization required district-by-district–including local terminology, assessment schemes and reporting–even while being cloud-based. “I asked many questions to try to identify any areas of weakness, but there were none I could find. This is an amazing product,” wrote Freyja Bergthorson, Technology Resource Teacher in Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia, in her assessment of Edsby. She was one of three judges that evaluated Edsby for the award. “SIIA’s 2016 Business Technology CODiE Award winners are some of the most innovative products impacting businesses across the world. Recognized by their peers, the CODiE Winners should be proud of this prestigious accolade honoring excellence in business technology products,” said Rhianna Collier, VP & Managing Director for the Software & Services Division at SIIA. “We congratulate all of this year’s CODiE Award winners, and thank them for the contributions they have made to their industries.” Today’s award is the latest in a series of distinctions for Edsby. In the four years Edsby has been available, it has won 14 honors, ranging from readers’ choice awards to other top product and company distinctions. A complete list is at . Details of all winning CODiE products can be found at . **About the SIIA CODiE Awards** The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit [siia.net/CODiE](http://www.siia.net/codie/). **About SIIA SIIA is the leading association representing the software and digital content industries. SIIA represents approximately 800 member companies worldwide that develop software and digital information content. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to the leading companies that are setting the pace for the digital age. For more information, visit [www.siia.net](http://www.siia.net/). The Software & Services Division of SIIA (SSD) represents companies that develop the applications, services, infrastructure and tools driving the success of today’s high-tech industry. For more information, visit [www.siia.net/SSD](http://www.siia.net/SSD). **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern, purpose-built learning management system (LMS) for K-12 that enables school districts and private schools to connect their teachers, students and parents using the technologies that have become pervasive in people’s lives. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for almost 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [New Edsby Analytics Enable Unique Real-Time Insights for K-12 School Districts](https://www.edsby.com/new-edsby-analytics-enable-unique-real-time-insights-k-12-school-districts/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 27, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Big picture views into K-12 academic data reveal at-risk student and achievement trends to teachers and school and district administrators. **Content:** *– Big picture K-12 academic data reveals at-risk student and achievement trends to teachers and administrators –* **DENVER** (June 27, 2016) – To enable new levels of insight for K-12 teachers and administrators, [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, an innovative cloud-based engagement and data aggregation platform for K-12 school districts, introduces breakthrough learning analytics capabilities at ISTE 2016. The new analytics enable educators to identify at-risk students and find trends in achievement data in real-time across an individual class, school, group of schools or whole school district, depending on the user’s role. “To make good data-driven decisions, you’ve got to be looking at current data. It does no good to be driving down the highway and see a sign that reads ‘Cheap gas 10 miles ago,’” said Scott Welch, Edsby Co-Founder. “By leveraging the existing Edsby permissions system, we’re uniquely able to provide information that has traditionally been available only to a select few individuals in a district that have access to the expensive legacy business intelligence system.” The new analytics engine represents a dramatic shift in how districts and school leaders can measure and act on student achievement and progress, previously only available via conventional data warehouses. Features and capabilities include: - **Insights from LMS and other sources –** Edsby collects vast amounts of information on students’ learning journeys from its own or other LMS systems, offering powerful data analysis that enables districts, regional and national governments to aggregate and see trends in real-time. - **Identification of at-risk students and improvement areas –** Educators can quickly identify competencies/standards where students struggle most, and can choose to make corrections to instruction or enhance professional development for teachers in areas needing specific attention. - **Scalability –** One school district of 206,000 students has been using Edsby district-wide since 2013. Edsby has been capturing analytics data the entire 2015-2016 school year. Some 1.3 million records from the district enter the Edsby analytics system every academic day. The new advanced analytics capabilities will be available to Edsby customers for the 2016-2017 school year. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern platform purpose-built for K-12 education that improves student, teacher and parent engagement and helps school districts and governments improve K-12 educational outcomes. Edsby incorporates learning management, data management and analytics. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. \# # # **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Aeries student information system now supported by Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/aeries-student-information-system-sis-edsby/product-news/) **Published:** August 17, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby now synchronizes bidirectionally with the Aeries student information system (SIS) popular in California K-12 school districts. **Content:** *– SIS among dozens the Edsby learning engagement system synchronizes with, extending the value of key district systems –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (August 17, 2016) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, an innovative cloud-based engagement and data aggregation platform for K-12 education, now synchronizes with the Aeries® student information system (SIS) popular in California K-12 school districts. Edsby’s new Aeries support, now in production, provides synchronization of roster, grades, attendance, schedule, discipline, IEP, parent, community service and other information similar to that already supported by [Edsby’s tight integration with other SISes and related systems](https://www.edsby.com/platform/universal-integration/). The Edsby platform incorporates learning management, data aggregation and insightful analytics. It features advanced two-way connections to existing systems so school districts can deploy Edsby on their terms, consistent with existing policies and educational standards. All information in Edsby comes from systems like the SIS—not from manual input. This enables Edsby to be deployed quickly and remain up to date with no additional system management when student, teacher, parent and class data changes are made. Edsby provides a modern suite of social and mobile-optimized education services to a district or region’s K-12 stakeholders in a way that’s completely aligned with existing policies, procedures and mission critical systems. “Edsby is embracing open standards such as OneRoster and Ed-Fi. At the same time, our built-in connections to SISes and other data stores enable advanced capabilities beyond simple one-way account provisioning,” said John Myers, Edsby President. “Edsby pushes and pulls information to and from student information systems, HR databases, data warehouses, and other district data systems. Edsby gives districts or whole regions a robust, secure, cross platform, device independent way to share information with their students, teachers and parents.” Edsby connects directly to a wide array of SIS platforms ranging from large multi-national vendors to smaller regional systems, and even custom systems often used by very large school districts. **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern platform purpose-built for K-12 education that improves student, teacher and parent engagement and helps school districts and governments improve K-12 educational outcomes. Edsby incorporates learning management, data management and analytics. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. – **About Aeries** Since opening in 1995, Aeries Software has successfully implemented the Aeries Student Information System in over 690 California public school districts and education agencies, making it the state’s most popular SIS software. Our unmatched experience in the development, implementation, and support of California K-12 SIS applications enables us to provide superior and cost-effective products and services. – \# # # **Categories:** Product news, Press releases --- ### [Leading K-12 SaaS platform Edsby moves to Microsoft Azure cloud](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-edsby-microsoft-azure-cloud-analytics/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 27, 2016 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** K-12 learning management, data aggregation & analytics system now running exclusively on Azure around the world. **Content:** *– K-12 learning management, data aggregation & analytics system now running exclusively on Azure in regions around the world –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (October 27, 2016) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, a SaaS platform that gives K-12 school districts, regions and national governments better student, teacher and parent engagement, improved educational outcomes and new insight into educational effectiveness, is now running on Microsoft Azure, Microsoft’s hyperscale, enterprise-grade cloud platform, as part of a [global relationship between the two companies](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-microsoft-partnership-azure/). K-12 education organizations usually have strict data sovereignty requirements that require them to store their academic data in the country/region they operate. Edsby is now leveraging Microsoft’s investment in Azure data centers worldwide to meet these requirements for customers around the globe. This is especially attractive for large school districts along with state, provincial and national educational organizations. In addition, the move to Azure provides Edsby with unprecedented scalability and performance that can be flexibly and cost effectively tuned to meet demand as use of Edsby grows in regions around the world. From a management perspective, Azure makes it possible to manage all Edsby global deployments from a single console. “We’ve benefited from a number of key Azure technologies in moving from our bare metal architecture to Azure, including Azure SQL Database for high availability data management, Azure Storage for durable tiered storage, Azure Portal and more,” said Steven Asbury, Edsby Co-Founder and Vice President of Engineering. “The software porting and customer data migration took just a few months, and we are now recognizing many benefits, such as improved performance, scalability-on-demand, more flexible storage, back-end monitoring/analytics, a better high availability and disaster recovery offering and other efficiencies.” Edsby’s migration to Azure builds on earlier integration work by Edsby with Microsoft technologies, including support for Microsoft Azure Active Directory, which enables convenient one-click authentication, and Microsoft OneDrive access for Edsby users using Office 365. In addition, work is underway to embed Azure Power BI into the Edsby analytics offering. “Edsby is enhancing how students, teachers and parents communicate and collaborate while leveraging the power of the Microsoft Cloud,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Worldwide Education, Microsoft. “We look forward to working with Edsby to bring this solution to schools around the world.” This summer, [Microsoft named Edsby a finalist for global 2016 Education Partner of the Year](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2016-microsoft-education-partner/). **About Edsby** Edsby is a modern platform purpose-built for K-12 education that improves student, teacher and parent engagement and helps school districts and governments improve K-12 educational outcomes. Edsby incorporates learning management, data management and analytics. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. – \# # # **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Harris School Solutions now offering Edsby platform](https://www.edsby.com/harris-school-solutions-edsby/pressreleases/) **Published:** April 18, 2017 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Harris School Solutions has partnered with Edsby to offer the social learning and analytics system to its K-12, charter school and continuing education clients. **Content:** *– Harris School Solutions has partnered with Edsby to offer the social learning and analytics system to K-12, charter school, and continuing education clients –* **Bethel Park, PA and Richmond Hill, Canada** (April 18, 2017) – [Harris School Solutions](http://www.harrisschoolsolutions.com/) (HSS), the premier provider of technology solutions for K-12 districts, charter schools, and continuing education programs across North America, announced today that it has partnered with [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com)® and will offer the innovative learning and analytics platform as an integrated part of the HSS suite of Student Information Solutions (SIS) products. The agreement makes HSS an authorized reseller of the state-of-the-art Edsby system in the United States through a non-exclusive arrangement. According to Jeannie McClure, EVP of HSS’ SIS business unit, “We’re excited to incorporate Edsby’s platform into our SIS suite. This is something we plan not only to offer to all of our prospects, but also to our current clients. We feel that this is a great opportunity for them to get even more from the HSS solutions they already use and to really expand their capabilities in the classroom.” The two companies are investing jointly in integration between Edsby – which connects parents, students, and teachers through a modern user experience – and various HSS student information solutions. Said Edsby President John Myers, “Harris School Solutions has a long and successful history of delivering rock-solid technology solutions and support to its education clients. We’re pleased to now be working with its teams across the U.S. to bring Edsby to even more educational institutions.” **About Harris School Solutions** Founded in 1976, Harris School Solutions is a leading provider of diverse and pioneering software solutions for the K-12, charter school, and continuing education markets, offering sophisticated technology, outstanding client care, and market-driven products. Visit to find out more. **About Edsby Edsby is the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12. Edsby engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful, new ways to measure and improve their educational effectiveness. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby recognized by SIIA as Best Data & Analytics Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-recognized-siia-best-data-analytics-solution/pressreleases/) **Published:** July 27, 2017 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Best Data & Analytics solution CODiE is award #31 for Edsby, the industry's highest honor: the "Academy Award" of software. **Content:** *– Edsby Earns Prestigious Education Industry Recognition –* **WASHINGTON, D.C.** (July 27, 2017) – Edsby®, a SaaS platform built to accelerate school districts, regions and national governments’ K-12 digital transformation and their student, teacher and parent engagement, has been named Best Data Solution of 2017 in the annual SIIA CODiE Awards. CODiE Award recipients are companies producing the most innovative business and education technology products across the U.S. and around the world. The Best Data Solution award recognized the best software or digital service applying data analytics to inform teaching and learning, retention and growth strategies or administrative decision-making. It spanned dynamic, predictive and post hoc uses of data. Judges assessed for: - Customization – Is the solution customizable for different types of data, user needs and education outcomes? - Feature set – Does the feature set incorporated within this product appropriately meet the needs of education users? - Integration – Does it provide straightforward methods for bringing in internal data, curriculum, third-party content or standards information? - Navigation – Can the user easily and efficiently navigate through the solution and interact with the key features? - Platform flexibility – Is the solution optimized to be used on various platforms (e.g. desktop, tablet, mobile, broadcast) and deliver various types of content (text, images, audio, video)? - Reports – Will the system produce useful reports for intended users? - Usability – How easily and efficiently can the user interact with the product features and the content to achieve their desired result? - Innovation – Is this solution innovative in its approach? Edsby’s breakthrough learning analytics capabilities enable educators to find trends in achievement data and identify at-risk students in real time across an individual school, group of schools or a whole school district or region. Powerful drill-down capabilities enable users to find exactly what they seek from Edsby or even historical data from other sources, like warehoused district data. Detail on Edsby’s analytics features can be found [here](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/). “All education stakeholders should have access to data and be able to use it to form insights and take action. Regardless of where data might reside, Edsby puts it in educators’ hands in real time, not in their rear view,” said Dallas Kachan, Edsby VP Marketing, who accepted the award on the company’s behalf. “These new learning analytics features are even available to individual teachers, so educators can benefit from real time insights about students they currently teach.” “SIIA’s 2017 Education Technology CODiE Award winners were an amazing group this year, and demonstrated how these technologies are making an impact for students, faculty and administration,” said Bridget Foster, senior vice president and managing director of the Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN) of SIIA. “Each honoree deserves accolades and we are pleased to add our congratulations to all of this year’s CODiE Award winners.” The winner announcement was made by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, during its annual Education Impact Symposium in San Francisco. 35 awards were given for products and services deployed specifically for education and learning professionals. An SIIA CODiE Award win is a prestigious honor as each award winner was reviewed by educators and administrators, whose evaluations determined the finalists. SIIA members then reviewed the finalists and their votes were combined with the scores from the industry experts to select this year’s CODiE Awards winners. More information about the Awards is available at . Details about winning products can be found at This is the second CODiE award for Edsby. In 2016, the SIIA named Edsby Best Classroom Management Solution. In the five years Edsby has been available, it has been awarded a total of 31 honors, ranging from readers’ choice awards to other top product and company distinctions: **About the CODiE Awards** The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit [siia.net/codie](http://www.siia.net/codie/). **About Edsby** Edsby is the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12. Edsby engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. . \### ADDENDUM CODiE judges’ comments about Edsby included: “This is one of the best digital platforms I have seen that combines real time data from many sources into one location and decides who has access to particular pieces of that data; be it teachers, administrators, students, and parents. I especially like that Edsby provides parents with a view into their child’s classrooms and can help to open up communication between students and their parents.” “Weaknesses: None.” “This is a very innovative approach to a learning management system that brings collected data into a platform that is easily accessible.” “Excellent product. Once data have been made available, all users can manipulate that data in any way necessary for them. Administrators, teachers, students and parents can easily answer questions and get information.” “Strengths: 1. Ease of use 2. Easy to learn 3. Learn at your own pace 4. Can begin using the system immediately. As the user moves along with the system, he/she can begin to incorporate additional aspects of the system. 5. System is cloud-based. As such, it is available on all devices. 6. Built specifically for K-12. 7. Data is “real time”. 8. Integrates seamlessly with the district’s SIS. 7. Secure data 8. All data, even data inputted by staff, is available to everyone with permission. 9. Can create reports, including report cards, or update the SIS.” “I saw no inherent weaknesses in the system.” “This system will give the user as much or as little information as is desired. It appears as though the learning curve is quite small and the user is not presented with an overview of the entire system, which would only cause any user to forget what was told and become frustrated. This system does not allow for that. I was quite impressed.” **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby platform for K-12 adds a half million more school district users](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-platform-k-12-adds-half-million-school-district-users/pressreleases/) **Published:** August 2, 2017 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Six new districts adopt Edsby K-12 LMS for every student, teacher and parent. **Content:** – *445,200 new students, parents and educators are now using the Edsby social learning and analytics system for K-12 school districts –* **Richmond Hill, Canada** (August 2, 2017) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12, has added nearly a half million new paid school district users. The new users come courtesy of new district-wide implementations of Edsby at districts such as: - Algoma District School Board - Nippissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board - Rainy River District School Board - Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools - Superior-Greenstone District School Board - York Region District School Board In total, these district-wide Edsby rollouts represent 161,900 students, 24,300 staff and 259,000 parent accounts, for a total of 445,200 new users. “We had been looking for a platform to do more than simply display a grade at any given reporting period,” said Dr. David F. Khatib, associate superintendent of inclusive learning, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, a district of 9,000 students. “Rather, we were looking for a way to engage all teachers, students, and parents in the learning and assessment process. We believe that Edsby will do this for us.” Unlike other learning management systems, all Edsby implementations are paid for by school districts. Edsby pursues no premium monetization of free accounts, nor is there any mechanism for individual teachers, students or parents to register their own accounts. All Edsby implementations are managed at the district level, driven by tight synchronization to a district’s or region’s existing identity management and other systems. “Many school districts are now recognizing the benefits of district-managed enterprise learning and analytics platforms like Edsby,” said Edsby President John Myers. “Individual point solutions adopted by teachers expose K-12 districts to privacy and security risks and are hard to control centrally. In a single, secure app, Edsby enables a region’s teachers to ‘fly in formation’ and assess and report on student progress the same way, which gives all students in the area the same opportunities for success.” Many other previously announced school districts, including case studies describing selected customers’ usage of Edsby, can be found at . **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning SaaS platform built to improve school districts, regions and national governments’ K-12 digital transformation and their student, teacher and parent engagement. Edsby engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby deploys to more than 120,000 users at York Region District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-deploys-york-region-district-school-board/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 3, 2017 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** K-12 district chooses Edsby as district-wide solution for student and parent engagement. **Content:** *– K-12 district chooses Edsby as district-wide solution for student and parent engagement –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (October 3, 2017) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12, is being introduced district-wide at York Region District School Board (YRDSB), one of the largest school districts in Canada. With over 123,000 students in 177 elementary schools and 33 secondary schools, YRDSB serves one of the fastest growing areas in North America – the Regional Municipality of York located in the Greater Toronto Area. YRDSB selected Edsby via competitive bid for an enterprise K-12 engagement platform. While seeking a system to engage students and their parents in the academic process, the district also sought capabilities that would support teachers with assessment and reporting capabilities aligned with the Canadian province of Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum and “Growing Success” model for assessment and evaluation. Also, important to YRDSB were purpose-built K-12 group collaboration features. These capabilities enable staff professional development, collaborative learning communities, project-based learning, support for extra-curricular groups such as teams and clubs, and parent-staff collaboration for parent school councils and volunteer groups. “Our district saw the need to provide our stakeholders with modern cloud-based tools that allow for collaboration and personalization of learning while supporting the wide range of mobile devices and computers in use by our students, staff and families,” said Paulla Bennett, YRDSB Chief Information Officer. “Edsby provides this in a way that aligns with our focus on privacy, security and equity, and in a way that is very easy to use, as it is modeled after familiar popular social media systems and available via web browser or free mobile apps.” “Edsby has been specifically designed to bring the latest in highly scalable cloud, mobile and ‘big data’ technologies to K-12 learning organizations in a way that supports each organization’s unique practices, and that leverages existing systems already in place,” said John Myers, President of Edsby. “We’re delighted York Region District School Board has selected Edsby to play a key part in the implementation of its strategic vision for technology usage, and we’re excited to have the first wave of York Region schools already up and engaging in Edsby.” Many other districts in the area have adopted Edsby. In 2015, Greater Essex District School Board selected Edsby for its teachers and 35,000 students and their parents. Additionally, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board selected Edsby for deployment to its 34,000 students and their parents. Edsby was also recently adopted by the Superior-Greenstone District School Board, Nippissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, Algoma District School Board and more in the province soon to be announced. **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning SaaS platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby pioneers new system for capturing and sharing learning evidence in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-pioneers-k12-evidence-of-learning/pressreleases/) **Published:** January 22, 2018 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Platform purpose-built for K-12 improves assessment and reporting for early elementary teachers, students and their parents. **Content:** ***–** Platform purpose-built for K-12 improves assessment and reporting for early elementary teachers, students and their parents –* **ONTARIO, Canada** (January 22, 2018) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12, has introduced powerful new ways to capture and report on student learning evidence. The new features are particularly beneficial to early K-12 years that have traditionally been underserved by learning management vendors and targeted with unintegrated standalone apps with limited capabilities. Because kindergarten and early elementary educators don’t assign traditional grades to young learners, they have to take unique approaches to track student progress, including assessing student learning through 1:1 conversations, projects and interactions with others. In partnership with teachers, Edsby designed and implemented a new subsystem in its already robust K-12 learning & analytics platform to facilitate these types of assessment. Edsby’s new learning evidence features enable teachers to easily take pictures or record videos, tag them by standards or learning goals, share them with parents and organize them to document growth and streamline reporting on student progress. Through the system, young students can showcase their work to peers and parents. “Edsby’s new features save me time, because I don’t have to re-enter the same information repeatedly,” said Christine Jeffery, a kindergarten teacher at Greater Essex County District School Board’s Margaret D. Bennie Public School who uses Edsby to capture pictures, conversations, audio clips and written observations in her classroom. “When reviewing evidence in Edsby, I can easily organize it in ways that are most beneficial to me. For example, I can look at it by date or the standard I’m assessing across the classroom.” The new features’ strong performance on mobile devices enable teachers to capture digital artifacts in the classroom from phones and tablets. Mobile support also ensures equity for families seeking to follow their children’s progress at school even if they only have internet access through a tablet or smartphone. ![Edsby Evidence of Learning](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Evidence-Management.png)Graphical management of evidence of learning in Edsby. Teacher web browser view. Fictional student data.Edsby’s new learning evidence features are helping early year teachers collaborate at York Region District School Board (YRDSB), one of Canada’s largest school districts. As teachers often work in teams in early years, a team of educators at YRDSB under the leadership of the district’s Assessment Services team worked closely with Edsby on the new features to ensure co-teachers could review each other’s evidence in Edsby, organize it as needed and stay in sync with parents and each other. Early year teachers at YRDSB now have a set of tools specifically designed for their unique needs built right into the district’s digital platform. “The new evidence features are now a base part of Edsby for no additional charge and available to all teachers at all Edsby sites, not just early years teachers,” said John Myers, president of Edsby. “As K-12 schools continue to focus on 21st century teaching and learning, qualitative analysis of student learning is becoming crucial in assessments. Edsby is now the best system for capturing and reporting on quantitative and qualitative datapoints in K-12 districts or across whole regions.” In contrast with standalone systems intended to capture and manage learning evidence, Edsby’s evidence capabilities are part of a larger integrated learning and analytics platform. Edsby already connects tightly with other systems, such as the authentication system, student information system and more. The evidence system leverages that information, while ensuring that parents and teachers still only need a single app regardless of students’ grade levels. To learn more about Edsby’s evidence of learning features, please visit . **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning SaaS platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby finalist for three 2018 CODiE awards](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-for-three-2018-codie-awards/pressreleases/) **Published:** May 7, 2018 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Company is up for 2018 Best Classroom Management Solution, Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution and Best Data Solution. **Content:** ### Edsby has been named a 2018 SIIA CODiE Award finalist in three categories: Best Classroom Management Solution, Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution and Best Data Solution. Finalists represent applications, products and services from developers of educational software, digital content, online learning services and related technologies across the PreK-20 sector. Edsby is the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12. Edsby engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful, new ways to measure and improve their educational effectiveness. The [SIIA CODiE Awards](http://siia.net/codie) are the premier awards for the software and information industries, and have been recognizing product excellence for over 30 years. The awards offer 91 categories that are organized by industry focus of education technology and business technology. Edsby was honored as one of 152 finalists across the 39 education technology categories. “I am impressed by the level of innovation and creativity demonstrated by the 2017 CODiE award finalists. These products are opening doors for learners of all ages by combining new technologies with research about how people learn in order to respond to student and educator needs,” said Ken Wasch, President of SIIA. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry’s only peer-reviewed awards program. Educators and administrators serve as judges and conduct the first-round review of all education nominees. Their scores determine the SIIA CODiE Award finalists, and SIIA members then vote on the finalist products. The scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners. Winners are to be announced during a [CODiE Award Celebration](https://www.siia.net/annual/SIIA-CODiE-Awards)at the [SIIA Annual Conference & CODiE Awards](https://www.siia.net/annual/SIIA-CODiE-Awards) in San Francisco June 13. Details about each finalist are listed at Edsby [won the 2017 CODiE award for Best Data solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-recognized-siia-best-data-analytics-solution/), [won the 2016 CODiE award for Best Classroom Management Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-codie-best-classroom-management-solution/) and was a finalist in other categories in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-a-2015-codie-award-finalist/). **About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards** The **SIIA CODiE Awards** are the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit [siia.net/CODiE](http://www.siia.net/codie). **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Near North District School Board introduces Edsby for district-wide learning and analytics](https://www.edsby.com/nndsb-adopts-edsby-lms-for-k12/customers/) **Published:** September 19, 2018 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby is now in wide use at the Near North District School Board, a school district of 10,000 students in the picturesque Great Lakes region. **Content:** ### Single Edsby application is modernizing district assessment, parent communication and data-driven decision making **ONTARIO, Canada** (September 19, 2018) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12, is now in wide deployment at the Near North District School Board (NNDSB), a school district of 10,000 students in mid-Northern Ontario. In choosing Edsby, NNDSB initially sought more powerful assessment tools and better parent communication capabilities in a modern, flexible platform tightly aligned with Ontario Ministry of Education expectations and guidelines. The district has also deployed several advanced Edsby capabilities, such as extensive data analytics services that enable educators and administrators to find students at risk, track and improve pass rates, measure how students are performing to learning standards over time, inform teacher practice and more. NNDSB will also be offering parents the ability to register their children for school through Edsby, whether entering kindergarten or high school. “Near North is committed to providing students, parents, and educators with accessible solutions that foster responsive and collaborative approaches. Edsby offers robust online tools that help educators confidently and securely engage with students and families,” said Amanda Meighan, NNDSB Superintendent of Support Services (A). “In the classroom, at home, and while on-the-go, Edsby’s intuitive and comprehensive platform will help us to modernize the way we communicate everything from special events to student achievement.” “We’re delighted to be providing more modern teaching and learning tools, as well as real-time insight to Near North teachers and administrators as they view student achievement and manage student progress,” said John Myers, President of Edsby. NNDSB’s selection follows many other districts in the province of Ontario that have adopted Edsby recently. Hundreds of thousands of Ontario students, parents and teachers are using Edsby at York District School Board, Greater Essex District School Board, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Superior-Greenstone District School Board, Nippissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, Algoma District School Board, dozens of private schools and other local districts soon to be announced. **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning SaaS platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . \### **Categories:** Press releases, Customers --- ### [Edsby platform update unlocks regional K-12 data](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-data-aggregation-analytics/pressreleases/) **Published:** September 26, 2018 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Data aggregation and analysis capabilities in Edsby allow states, provinces and countries to optimize their K-12 education investments and policies. **Content:** ## Data aggregation and analysis capabilities allow states, provinces and countries to optimize their K-12 education investments and policies **ONTARIO, Canada** (September 26, 2018) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12 education, is [now more effective than ever at helping regional, provincial, state and national organizations make data-driven decisions based on latest K-12 data](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-regions/). Powering many school districts as one of the most fully-featured K-12 learning management systems available, Edsby has built sophisticated data capabilities as a way to aggregate data for its analytics services. Edsby has become, in effect, a K-12 “data switch” that uses proprietary and open standards to talk to a wide variety of data sources, such as different brands of student information systems (SISes) and legacy data warehouses. It then merges and normalizes data in a single data store for analysis. These aggregation features give organizations a unified view of educational data—such as achievement, attendance and students at risk—in essentially real time, no matter how complex their legacy systems. Without a system like Edsby, regional decision-makers often have to wait years to measure the effect of changes made in education policy or funding. With Edsby, new data can be queried daily. “Our district has effectively 70 logical SISes. Edsby talks to each individually overnight, so we always have a consolidated, up-to-date view of our data,” said John Howitt, superintendent of education and information technology, Greater Essex County District School Board. “The real-time analysis capability of Edsby, built on Microsoft’s Power BI, is remarkable.” The complexity of most regions’ data environments required a novel approach for K-12 data aggregation and analysis. “Open standards alone can’t solve this challenge of complexity,” said Scott Welch, Edsby co-founder. “Lightweight standards such as OneRoster aren’t comprehensive enough, and heavyweight standards like the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) only work if all vendors in a region implement them, which is unreasonable to expect. Only a blended approach like Edsby, which can communicate with a variety of systems with a range of protocols at the same time, can give county or state boards of education, or even whole countries, a unified view of K-12 successes.” **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning SaaS platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. Edsby is developed by CoreFour, a team that has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby unveils integrations with popular edtech software](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-integrations-apps-connections/pressreleases/) **Published:** February 28, 2019 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Turnitin, Unicheck, netTrekker and more now easily accessible from the Edsby learning platform for K-12 **Content:** ### Turnitin, Unicheck, netTrekker and more now easily accessible from the Edsby learning platform for K-12 **ONTARIO, Canada** (February 28th, 2019) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12 education, now connects to a variety of popular educational technology systems. Regions, districts and individual private schools that have adopted the Edsby digital learning environment can now verify online submissions for originality using the popular Turnitin and Unicheck plagiarism checking systems. Edsby educators can find open educational resources using Knovation’s netTrekker. Additional Edsby integrations include connections between Edsby’s calendars, Google Calendar and other popular calendaring programs such as Microsoft Outlook. Many of the latest integrations come courtesy of Edsby’s support for open standards including the IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) protocol, version 2.0. “Open standards are now becoming robust enough to enable meaningful connections between individual learning applications and platforms like Edsby,” said John Myers, Edsby co-founder and President. “With gradebook write-back now supported by LTI, applications configured by system administrators in Edsby can share student assessment results into Edsby gradebooks without requiring setup by individual teachers. Edsby gives districts, or whole regions, a centralized way to easily deploy edtech apps to the benefit of every educator and student.” A list of supported applications and instructions on how to connect Edsby to even more edtech applications using LTI can be found at **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning SaaS platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby releases app to capture evidence of student learning](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-releases-capture-app-learning-evidence/pressreleases/) **Published:** April 16, 2019 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** ‘Edsby Capture’ gives K-12 teachers new, image-based ways to gather, organize, assess and share evidence of student progress. **Content:** ### ‘Edsby Capture’ gives teachers new, image-based ways to gather, organize, assess and share evidence of student progress **ONTARIO, Canada** (April 16, 2019) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12 education, now offers a mobile device application to help educators document student progress and achievement. The Edsby Capture app, available via the [App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/edsby-capture/id1395476423?mt=8) and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.edsby.capture&hl=en), gives educators a simple way to record, tag, share and report on evidence of learning. Edsby Capture gives students and teachers the ability to easily capture photographs and video of their work, and create evidence items within the Edsby platform. After a record is uploaded, it’s automatically added to the Edsby evidence stream and associated with relevant students. Teachers and students using the app will find Edsby Capture convenient, as students are identified with a unique QR code that can be scanned to associate evidence with their Learning Story stream. Evidence can be tagged with relevant expectations, standards or outcomes, or ad hoc local or regional distinctions (e.g. global competencies of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada). It can also be shared with parents at the teacher’s discretion. “Once learning evidence is associated with a region’s curriculum standards, expectations or outcomes, Edsby enables teachers to chart student progress against the curriculum over extended periods,” said John Myers, Edsby co-founder and president. “This is in contrast to many free education apps available today that are simply shared photo albums between a teacher and the student and/or parent.” “Edsby Capture allows me to record learning without disrupting the flow of student work,” said Mr. Christopher Robertson, teacher at Near North District School Board, a district with 10,000 students, their parents and staff on Edsby. “I can capture a wealth of pedagogical documentation in the moment without having to frame an unauthentic shot after the learning has occurred.” To learn more about Edsby Capture, visit [https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture/](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture/?highlight=%22capture%22). **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning SaaS platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. To learn more about Edsby, please visit . \### #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EdsbyCaptureIcon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture/) Edsby Capture [![GECDSB logo grey](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/greateressex-grey-square.png)](https://vimeo.com/251636235) [Edsby evidence system in use (video) »](https://vimeo.com/251636235) **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby deploying country wide in New Zealand](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 24, 2019 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby platform for K-12 providing next generation digital learning, data consolidation and records management system for New Zealand’s 2,500 public schools. **Content:** ### Edsby platform for K-12 providing next generation digital learning, data consolidation and records management system for New Zealand’s 2,500 public schools **ONTARIO, Canada** (June 24th, 2019) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive digital learning and data platform available for K-12 education, is being deployed across New Zealand. After two years of competitive evaluations, the New Zealand Ministry of Education awarded Edsby a contract to build and run the country’s [Te Rito](http://terito.govt.nz) National Learner Repository and Data Exchange, formerly the Student Information Sharing Initiative (SISI). This multi-year key Ministry project is aimed at strengthening the continuity of learning for New Zealand’s 800,000 students by consolidating critical information to ensure it is available to teachers when a student arrives in a new school. Te Rito is also focused on reducing the administrative burden on teachers and schools associated with current duplicated systems while also improving the quality and timeliness of data provided to the Ministry of Education and other agencies. It’s also intended to aid educators in tailoring support for learners to ensure all communities receive equal chances for success, including transient children, Māori, Pacific peoples and children with special needs. Te Rito will continue to be co-designed with local stakeholders through its development and delivery. Edsby is being configured to the Ministry’s requirements and is to be deployed in two early stage roll-outs with the first stage already underway. The system is then to be rolled out to all 2,500 public schools in the country, so that regardless of the individual school’s Student Management System (SMS), information will be available to support the learner at school, when it’s needed. All data will be hosted in Ministry-approved cloud data centers operated by Microsoft. The Ministry is working with legal, ethics and privacy experts to ensure data privacy and access is managed appropriately. New Zealand’s student data privacy regulations are among the strictest in the world. “The single student record, national-level analytics and data privacy sought by the Ministry are inherent strengths of our product,” said Edsby Co-Founder Scott Welch, project lead. “We are excited to be working in partnership with both Māori and English language schools, as well as the outstanding team in the Ministry.” “The Te Rito project is intended to save schools and teachers time in trying to obtain critical learner information from a student’s previous school,” said New Zealand Ministry of Education Deputy Secretary Evidence Data and Knowledge, Dr. Craig Jones. “We’re very much looking forward to working with the Edsby team. Their platform will enable the Te Rito project to deliver significant benefits to New Zealand learners, their families, schools, school leaders and educators, across the country.” **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning and data platform for K-12 that gives school districts and regional or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. To learn more about Edsby, visit . \### ### **Edsby deploying country wide in New Zealand – Q&A** ***What are the unique challenges New Zealand aims to solve with its Te Rito project?*** Each of New Zealand’s 2,500 schools chooses its own technology systems, including Student Management System (SMS). When a student transfers from one school to another, there has been no mechanism for a student’s records—including achievement data, teacher observations or individualized learning plans—to follow, since there is currently no common data interchange standard implemented by all SMS providers. This also means national Ministry-level analytics have not been easily feasible. New Zealand selected Edsby for its ability to integrate with SMS systems already in place in the country and its ability to support existing or future standards. ***What is the Edsby platform?*** Edsby is a comprehensive digital learning and data platform that combines a rich, modern user interface with a powerful data engine. Edsby is a single learning and analytics platform currently used by over a million students, teachers and parents in Canada, the U.S., Japan and elsewhere. Edsby was designed specifically for the challenges of K-12 education and can connect to many different systems of record in a school or region. It integrates with the SMSes in use in schools throughout New Zealand. It also has comprehensive and flexible permission and access controls for learners, teachers, parents and administrators. ***Who is Edsby?*** The founders of Edsby have worked together developing education focused solutions for over 30 years and are based in Toronto, Canada. Company founders include the architects of FirstClass®, a messaging and collaboration product used by millions of students and teachers around the world and [credited as one of the earliest learning management systems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system#History). ***Why was Edsby chosen for the Te Rito National Learner Repository and Data Exchange?*** The New Zealand Ministry of Education undertook a comprehensive two-phase procurement process to find the best solution for the Te Rito project. Key stakeholders conducted due diligence, including a visit to Edsby headquarters to ensure Edsby was the best option. ***How does New Zealand know Edsby will work for the country?*** The Edsby platform is tailored to whatever country and education system it is implemented in. Edsby supports the New Zealand indigenous people’s language Māori as a default system language. Edsby is committed to a co-design process with both Māori and English Ministry Working Groups to ensure Te Rito is ideal for New Zealand (increasingly referenced locally by its Māori name Aotearoa). ***What stage is the project at?*** The New Zealand Ministry of Education and Edsby are undertaking two early stage rollouts of the National Learner Repository and Data Exchange, and the project is in the first stage. It includes close collaboration with all New Zealand-based vendors of SMSes as a validation of the Te Rito platform. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby named 2019 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2019-microsoft-education-partner-of-the-year/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 25, 2019 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby honored for demonstrating excellence in innovation based on Microsoft technology and for providing outstanding global solutions and services in education. **Content:** **ONTARIO, Canada** (June 25th, 2019) — Edsby, the most comprehensive digital learning and data platform available for K-12 education, has won the 2019 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,900 entrants from 115 countries worldwide. Edsby was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in education. The Education Partner of the Year Award recognizes the company that excels most at providing innovative and unique services or solutions based on Microsoft technologies to education customers, and demonstrating thought leadership in their industry. The award winner “will demonstrate industry knowledge and expertise, as well as consistent, high-quality, predictable service or solutions to education customers. Successful entrants will also demonstrate business leadership and success through strong growth in new customer additions and revenue by leveraging latest Microsoft technology as their solution platform,” wrote Microsoft in its program documents. “It’s an honor to recognize finalists and winners of the Microsoft 2019 Partner of the Year Awards,” said Gavriella Schuster, Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. “These companies are successfully leading their industries, building intelligent solutions, addressing complex business challenges and making morepossible for customers around the world. I’m honored to congratulate each winner and finalist.” “Edsby has worked closely with Microsoft on significant opportunities, including our selection as the [national electronic student records system for the country of New Zealand](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/),” noted John Myers, Edsby Co-Founder & CEO. “The Edsby digital learning platform is making a large impact in Microsoft Azure consumption, O365 activations and Power BI visibility while helping transform K-12 education in areas around the world.” The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. All 2019 winners and finalists are listed [here](https://news.microsoft.com/2019/06/06/microsoft-announces-2019-partner-of-the-year-award-winners-and-finalists/). **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning digital learning and data platform for K-12 that gives school districts and regional or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. To learn more about Edsby, visit . **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby now supports deep integration with Follett’s Aspen SIS](https://www.edsby.com/integration-support-follett-aspen-sis/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 8, 2019 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Aspen joins dozens of other SISes the Edsby platform synchronizes with in order to extend the value of key district systems. **Content:** ## Aspen among dozens of SISes the Edsby platform synchronizes with, extending the value of key district systems **ONTARIO, Canada** (October 8th, 2019) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)®, the most comprehensive digital learning and data platform available for K-12 education, now provides built-in integration with Aspen™ from Follett School Solutions, a Student Information System (SIS) popular in the U.S. and Canada. Edsby’s new Aspen support, now available, provides synchronization of roster, grades, attendance, schedule, parent, community service and other information similar to that already supported by [Edsby’s custom integration with dozens of other SISes and related systems](https://www.edsby.com/platform/universal-integration/). Edsby provides a modern suite of social digital learning and assessment and reporting services to a district or region’s K-12 stakeholders with content and access policies driven by existing mission critical systems of record such as SISes. “Edsby gives students, teachers and parents a single, mobile-friendly user experience for a wide range of functions in K-12 that are highly adapted to the needs of each specific region,” said John Myers, Edsby Co-Founder and CEO. “We’re delighted that the deep integration we’ve been able to build with Follett has enabled customers to transition from legacy SISes to Aspen so smoothly.” “We migrated over this summer to Aspen and went live on August 21st, and two weeks later, Edsby was ready for the start of school with all classes in place and attendance ready to be taken in Edsby and pushed to Aspen,” said Lynne St. Dennis, IT Supervisor at Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, an Edsby K-12 district in Northern Canada. “The migration was relatively easy for teachers, students and parents. They continued to use their same Edsby accounts, and everything looked and worked the same.” “We’re pleased Aspen’s two-way integration with Edsby is so full-fledged, given our companies’ existing and growing market share in states and provinces in North America,” said Frank Coster, Follett Vice President of Canadian Operations. Follett’s Aspen powers the ‘MyEducation BC’ service, run by [Fujitsu Consulting (Canada](https://student-centric-future.com/)), with over 630,000 students in 60 districts in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and ‘MySchoolSask,’ which is being rolled out by Fujitsu across Saskatchewan. Aspen and Fujitsu were [recently selected as the preferred SIS by the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM)](https://k12.follett.com/aspenontario), a province where Edsby is already used by many school districts. **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning SaaS-based digital learning and data platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. More information at . **About Follett School Solutions** Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, ebooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement. More information at . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby now available from SIS Global](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-sis-global-distributor/pressreleases/) **Published:** December 2, 2019 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** South Africa-based systems integrator expands its education portfolio and announces strategic partnership with Edsby. **Content:** ### **Systems integrator expands its education portfolio and announces strategic partnership with Edsby** ONTARIO, Canada (December 2nd, 2019) – Edsby®, the most comprehensive digital learning and data platform available for K-12 education, is now available from South Africa-based system integrator SIS Global. “This appointment marks a significant step in the evolution of SIS Global Education’s plan to continue developing and investing in growing its portfolio of Microsoft aligned products to deliver value to the global education sector. This partnership will enable SIS Global to build on successes achieved in higher education for K-12 institutions, school districts and regional governments,” said Ian Bayley, Executive Head Education, SIS Global. SIS Global demonstrates industry knowledge and expertise, as well as consistent, high-quality, service and solutions to its education customers. With Microsoft’s announcement of SIS Global Education as a finalist in the ‘South African Partner of the Year Awards’ and Edsby as the awarded winner of ‘Global Education Partner of the Year, 2019’ this evolving partnership will drive further success through strong growth in the recruitment of new customer additions and increased revenues, and leverage latest Microsoft technology. Edsby is an award-winning digital learning and data platform for K-12 that gives school districts and regional or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organisations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. “We welcome SIS Global to our growing list of partners around the world,” said Edsby CEO John Myers. “The company’s reach across Africa, the Middle East and Europe and deep experience in education make this a good fit as Edsby continues to expand outside of North America.” “It excites us to continue strengthening our education portfolio and we look forward to demonstrating the power of our new partnership. Combined with our Microsoft Gold partnership, technology excellence and education expertise our customers can look forward to finding new ways to facilitate their digital transformations,” said Robert Hawley, CEO, SIS Global. **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning SaaS-based digital learning and data platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. Edsby is a registered trademark of CoreFour Inc. More information at . **About SIS Global** SIS Global specializes in empowering organizations to unleash their full potential. The company helps customers break down data silos to connect customers, products, people and operations. It specializes in the education sector, helping schools and institutions attract more students, improve results and accelerate business growth, enabling next-generation student experiences and optimizing the entire student lifecycle. SIS Global has the technological expertise to realize customers’ digital transformations. More information at . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby K-12 digital learning platform completes $5.3 million Series A investment](https://www.edsby.com/series-a-investment-chris-besse/pressreleases/) **Published:** September 16, 2020 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Lead investor Chris Besse joins Edsby leadership team as Chief Commercial Officer. **Content:** ### Lead investor Chris Besse joins company in an executive role ONTARIO, Canada (September 16th, 2020) – Edsby®, the most comprehensive unified digital learning and data platform for K-12 education, has completed a Series A financing round to propel its continued growth worldwide. The investment was led by education technology executive Chris Besse with participation from existing investors. In conjunction with the investment, investor Chris Besse, former CEO of FreshGrade and EdgeMakers and Managing Director, K-12, Nelson Education, has joined Edsby as a member of the Board and Chief Commercial Officer. All seed investors also participated in the round. They include MindAngler Capital, headed by Nigel Stokes, co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of DataMirror Corp.; and XDL Capital Group, led by Dennis Bennie, co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of Delrina Corporation. Edsby is used by millions of students, parents, teachers and school districts worldwide. It combines learning management system (LMS) features with advanced assessment, reporting and parent communication—all tailored specifically to the needs of districts, regions and countries. Edsby has seen wide adoption by school districts across North America and elsewhere in the world, including a [country-wide rollout in New Zealand](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/). “The more I looked at Edsby, the more I realized the company’s vast market potential,” said Chris Besse. “The Edsby platform’s unique and comprehensive breadth of features provides K-12 education with the best cloud-based, enterprise solution for managing learning.” “The four co-founders of Edsby are delighted to welcome such a successful industry veteran who shares our vision of how modern technology can enhance student learning and achievement,” said CEO John Myers. “Edsby stands to benefit tremendously from Chris’ deep experience in the K-12 education sector.” Edsby announced [a seed round in 2014](https://www.edsby.com/corefour-announces-investment-round-to-accelerate-growth-of-the-edsby-social-learning-platform/). **About Edsby** Edsby is an award-winning SaaS-based digital learning and data platform that engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful new ways to facilitate their digital transformations. The Edsby team has been building scalable, reliable software systems for education organizations around the world for 30 years using latest technology and standards. More information at . \### #### **Q&A With New Edsby CCO Chris Besse** *Why Edsby? And why now?* Having worked in and led edtech companies for over 30 years, I’m close to the needs of K-12 school districts. And I was astounded to discover just how superior a service Edsby was when I got under the hood. Edsby does more, and does it better, with a set of services unmatched by other solutions. I started down the path with Edsby as an investor, but the more I learned, the more value I realized I could bring. And the more compelled I felt to help be part of the company’s success, beyond just investing. *How does Edsby distinguish itself from other companies in this space?* Edsby was specifically designed for the unique needs of K-12 education and casts a wider net of functionality for students, teachers, administrators and parents. It’s truly intended to be the single application a district or region would need for everything from hybrid blended/distance learning to parent communication to official district report cards. Edsby also has remarkable propositions for district, regional or country-wide learning analytics… a way to help educators and policymakers make data-driven decisions to improve learning outcomes. *Competition for digital learning systems in education is heated. What makes you confident in Edsby’s prospects?* I’ve spoken to large school district customers that have adopted Edsby as their official platform for every teacher, student and parent. And customers rave about it. Because Edsby has been focused on the singular needs of K-12, it’s been able to “go deep” in the 10 years the company has been developing the product. Edsby has done a masterful job developing features critical to K-12 educator, student and parent stakeholders. Yes, there has been wide adoption of free solutions like Google Classroom and other edtech point solutions. But districts and regions, particularly in these challenging times of online learning, have been hitting the limits of what lightweight systems can do. *What areas will you focus on at Edsby?* Edsby has a remarkable product. The core system is a modern, born-in-the-cloud architecture also built for the advent of big data, mobile and social media. It’s proven itself to be the right technology for the market. The company has had good traction in its native Canada and select regions worldwide. It’s also been architected from day one to be customizable for the wide range of local terminologies, assessment and reporting schemes in K-12 and languages worldwide. It’s now time to scale sales and marketing and welcome even more customers around the planet into the fold. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby K-12 LMS incorporates Microsoft Teams and Zoom real-time video, chat and whiteboarding](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms-microsoft-teams-zoom-edsbylive/pressreleases/) **Published:** May 6, 2021 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** New built-in support for popular platforms enables simpler and more secure real time synchronous learning in the Edsby next generation K-12 LMS. **Content:** ### New EdsbyLive capability makes synchronous learning easier and safer for K-12 students and educators ONTARIO, Canada (May 6th, 2021) – Edsby®, a multi award-winning, next generation K-12 learning management system (LMS), has introduced new built-in support for popular platforms to enable simpler and more secure real time synchronous learning in hybrid or online-only environments. A new EdsbyLive feature now programmatically connects Edsby classes to popular real-time online meeting services. EdsbyLive initially supports Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and all of the rich, real-time video, chat, whiteboarding and other capabilities they offer. EdsbyLive has been built to be platform-agnostic, and support for other systems is planned in the future. Once configured to use a school district or region’s official platform, teachers receive new “Go Live Now” buttons in their Edsby classes. These buttons launch online meetings and make them available only at the time a teacher has requested it, and only to students in the class. If configured by the district, only authenticated users may participate in meetings, and only with their real names, minimizing the chance of unauthorized intrusions. “Educators no longer need to create and share links to video calls themselves, saving time and making synchronous sessions easy, even for non-technical teachers and students,” said John Myers, Edsby CEO. “And when video links aren’t exposed, abuse opportunities are minimized, which helps improve online learning for teachers and students.” “Edsby took the time to build a strong integration that enables the many advantages of Microsoft Teams for Education,” said Tamer Erzurumlu, Microsoft Director of Partner Strategy, Education. “This is an easy and secure way for the many school districts and regions around the world that have standardized on Edsby to experience the power of Teams.” **About Edsby** Edsby is a next generation K-12 learning management system (LMS) with the broadest set of capabilities available in a single application made just for the specific needs of K-12. It goes beyond other LMSes, enabling improved teaching effectiveness and student success in and out of the classroom. Edsby features modern assessment and reporting, timesaving tools for teachers, analytics and more for the full spectrum of K-6 and 7-12 within a familiar, social-style user experience. Edsby has received more than 60 industry awards and distinctions. More information at . \### ## **Questions & Answers about EdsbyLive** **Can EdsbyLive be enabled school-by-school at a district?** Yes. EdsbyLive can be enabled for all schools in a district or region or for selected schools only. **Which classes can use EdsbyLive?** EdsbyLive is available in all classes if the feature is enabled in a school. It can be used in homeroom classes and subject classes. Elementary teachers with split classes can use the homeroom class if they wish to include all students in their combined class, or use a grade specific subject class if they only want that subset of students in an EdsbyLive session. **Which teachers can use EdsbyLive?** Any teacher or co-teacher in an Edsby class can launch EdsbyLive session from their classes once district administrators have configured Edsby to work with their district’s official meeting system. Teachers do not need to do any setup or config work themselves. Details about how EdsbyLive works for teachers [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/edsbylive-for-microsoft-teams/). **Does the teacher have access to setup options for calls?** Yes. The teacher has full access to the setup options of the call via the usual setup options in the meeting platform. Note that students are initially put in the lobby until the teacher opens the call, so options can be adjusted by the teacher before students join. **Do our Microsoft or Zoom environments need to be configured to know about class rosters for EdsbyLive to work?** No, they do not, and that is a major benefit of the EdsbyLive approach. It enables districts to have the benefit of managing class-based Teams or Zoom calls without worrying about synchronizing class rosters into the Microsoft or Zoom infrastructure. **How do notifications work for EdsbyLive?** Currently students are notified about a live session via Edsby notifications. This shows up within Edsby under the “bell” icon. In the future we will likely extend this to include email and mobile push notification options. The link to the session is available in the notification via the “Go Live” button. **Can parents participate in these sessions from their Edsby accounts?** Parents are not permitted to join EdsbyLive sessions. EdsbyLive sessions are only available to students. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby introduces ‘Perspective Analyze’ to help teachers make evidence-based instructional decisions](https://www.edsby.com/edsby_introduces_perspective_analyze/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 1, 2022 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby’s new Analyze view enables teachers to visualize student performance through a new lens to spot trends, patterns, and areas of concern. **Content:** #### Now available within the Edsby platform, the new view helps teachers pinpoint performance trends and patterns when evaluating both formative and summative assessment data **ANDOVER, MASS** (June 1, 2022) – [Edsby®](https://www.edsby.com/), the award-winning social learning environment designed for K–12 education, today introduced [Perspective Analyze](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective-analyze/), helping teachers make informed decisions based on multi-dimensional assessment data. The new tool offers teachers visibility into several types of student assessments, integrating both learning evidence and gradebook scores within one place in the Edsby platform. Edsby’s new Analyze view enables teachers to visualize student performance through a new lens to spot trends, patterns and areas of concern—helping teachers act on instructional decisions for individual students or groups of students. This new extension within Edsby classes gives teachers broader access to classroom-level analytics at no additional cost. “I’m excited about this new feature as it will help teachers visualize data in new and powerful ways,” said Joe McRae, Math and Computer Science Program Area Leader at Lakefield College School. “It will help me assess students against course learning goals throughout the year and identify opportunities where students can improve. I look forward to building my assessments with this in mind next year.” Teachers can analyze their students’ data by standards, evidence tags, assessment types, units, weeks, months and more. The results can be summarized by a variety of methods and the teacher can choose what to include in the data. “A good teacher learns their students well and responds to their needs in a timely manner. The new Edsby Analyze feature helps me do just that. It helps me see the evidence I have collected for a kindergarten student in each of four frames,” said Angela O’Neill, Teacher at Durham Catholic District School Board. “I can determine which frames need my attention and see each student’s strengths and needs. This helps me to be responsive, and I know I can effectively communicate with parents using Edsby during reporting times.” “As schools and districts continue to address unfinished learning in reading, math and other core subjects, data play a critical role,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “With this new Analyze view that harmonizes summative and formative learning assessments, no other similar platform provides a more complete view to teachers of students’ academic progress and growth.” Edsby teachers can access Analyze now for free within the Perspective view of their Edsby classes. Learn more about Perspective Analyze and view examples of its classroom applications [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective-analyze/). **About Edsby** The Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K–12 education around the world for more than 10 years. Edsby enables in-class, hybrid and online learning, and rich communication between students, teachers and families—all aimed at driving K–12 student success. School districts, states, provinces and countries adopt Edsby for community engagement, learning management, assessment & reporting, analytics and student well-being. Edsby has received more than 70 industry awards and distinctions. More information at . \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby Unison™ addresses the biggest challenges of education data: interoperability, privacy and security](https://www.edsby.com/unison-education-data-interoperability-privacy-security/pressreleases/) **Published:** June 27, 2022 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** New education data platform and managed service standardizes current and past education data, making it available anywhere and in whatever form it’s needed, safely and securely. **Content:** #### New education data platform and managed service standardizes current and past education data, making it available anywhere and in whatever form it’s needed, safely and securely **ANDOVER, MASS.** (June 27, 2022) – [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/)[®](https://www.edsby.com/), an innovative vendor of K-12 education software, today introduced a system for helping learning organizations and governments eliminate silos between education data to ensure the right data about learners is always available to optimize their learning journeys. Edsby’s [Unison](https://www.edsby.com/unison)™ education data platform and managed service is designed to ensure better education data quality and actionability across states, provinces, and countries securely. Unison aggregates and standardizes current and past educational data and makes it interoperable while carefully managing the security critical with education data. Customers use Unison for electronic student records that follow students through their education journeys. They also use it to transform education data from one type to another for application interoperability, or for region-wide learner analytics—all with strong roles-based access control to ensure only those authorized to access extremely sensitive data can do so. **National electronic student records in New Zealand** Unison forms the core of the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s national learner repository and data exchange, termed Te Rito locally. Educators and government agencies in New Zealand found it hard to access valuable information about learners when they moved between the country’s 2,536 schools. Information stayed locked in each school’s systems or took a long time to obtain. Sometimes children didn’t get the right support when they needed it. In 2018, the Ministry of Education selected what has become the Unison education data platform and began to work with Edsby to incorporate it. “We heard needless stories of kids missing out on learning support like reading recovery, because by the time it was identified that they’d already been assessed for it, they were too old,” said Lisa Cheney, Business Design Lead in a New Zealand Ministry of Education Te Rito [video](https://vimeo.com/537117104/21c86f2497). “Unison revolutionizes educator access to what used to be far-flung learner data,” said Michael Middlemiss, former New Zealand Parliament CIO and Edsby Vice President, Unison. “The Ministry is now also deploying other secure applications based on Unison, including a national standardized Learner Support Registry (sLSR) to ensure children with learning needs get the support they’re entitled to.” Unison interfaces with outdated and modern systems and uses a mix of secure open and proprietary standards to connect to data as needed. Unlike bespoke approaches to converging a region’s data, Unison cost-effectively enables a way to enforce security and data governance policies while also solving the problem of education software interoperability with bi-directional connections to data sources. Unison’s core technology has safely managed the data of millions of students for more than 10 years. It has been certified to highest standards of data management and has been aligned to leading privacy and data protection standards such as ISO 27001 and GDPR. “Unison provides educators and policymakers a more accurate picture of student learning. It accelerates innovation in teaching and learning, lets regions ready their education data systems for the future and protects student data with industry-leading safeguards,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “Data always remains owned by the customer; it is only ever transformed and transported. It is never mined or otherwise monetized.” Unison is now generally available. Learn more about Unison [here](https://www.edsby.com/unison). **About Edsby** Edsby has been building award-winning software for education for over thirty years. Company founders include the original architects of FirstClass, a messaging and collaboration system used by millions of students and teachers around the world and credited as the original learning management system, or LMS. The company’s close relationships with education customers over three decades have given it insights into problems faced by teachers, students, parents, and administrators. This gave the team inspiration in 2010 to create a completely new digital learning and data foundation for K-12 districts, regional and national governments using latest software technology. The unique needs of K-12 are hard to meet with conventional technologies and standards. Since 2010, Edsby has been on a mission to support K-12 teaching and learning with the next generation social technologies of its Edsby social learning platform and iron-clad student data stewardship in the company’s underlying Unison education data system. Learn more at https://www.edsby.com. \### **Questions & Answers** *Who would adopt Unison and why?* Unison is an enterprise-grade middleware software system and service intended for: - Local and state education agencies - State and provincial ministries/departments of education - Federal governments - System integrators and other solution providers Business drivers include: - Region wide analytics aimed at identifying students at risk, underperforming curriculum, gaps in instruction, facilities or staff benefiting from professional development - Faster and more accurate state, provincial or federal education data collection and reporting - National and regional electronic student records of life-long learning - Enforcing data governance policies around who can access what type of education data, including individuals, facilities, agencies or roles in the region with proper rights to them - Transformation from one type of data to another for exchange between edtech applications *What differentiates Unison?* Other education data management systems are primarily aimed at aggregating data for analysis. Region-wide analytics are one driver of Unison adoption, but Unison’s unique two-way communication with education data sources enables applications such as those above requiring real time data transformation. An off-the-shelf software product with connections to 58+ systems and standards, and a proven ability to add new ones quickly, Unison is also faster and much less expensive to implement than custom solutions developed from the ground up. *How can Unison improve a region’s edtech data security?* Unison’s role-based architecture ensures stakeholders can access data they’re entitled to, but only the data they’re entitled to. Row-level database security and encryption protects stored data, and data in transit is always encrypted. Edsby has a 10-year legacy of safely managing millions of student records. Company founders have built systems that have managed enterprise data for hundreds of millions of people without mishap over 30 years. Edsby’s data handling practices are certified to international ISO 27001 standards, providing assurance that customer data is securely managed, with annual re-certification. Unison is subjected to regular penetration testing by third parties. *How expensive is Unison?* Integration, customization, training, and other costs are unique to every customer implementation. Contact Edsby for a Unison quote. **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby and Mayet Information Systems forge partnership](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-mayet-partnership/pressreleases/) **Published:** February 26, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The two companies deepen their relationship as they improve their technical integration and pursue new joint opportunities in Manitoba, Canada. **Content:** #### – Companies to target public sector education organizations in Manitoba, Canada – Richmond Hill, ON – February 26th, 2024 – Edsby®, an innovative K-12 education software company, and Mayet Information Systems, developers of a leading student information system in the Canadian province of Manitoba, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the education software experience for public education organizations including school divisions and First Nations schools. The partnership is aimed at enabling the contemporary assessment & reporting, learning management, classroom management, parent communication and other features of Edsby at Mayet sites in Manitoba that have not had access to such features in the past. “We are excited to be deepening our relationship with Mayet,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “Together we provide a modern web/mobile/cloud user experience that is tightly aligned with the specific needs of Manitoba learning organizations.” “Mayet, together with Edsby, form a comprehensive digital data and learning platform that builds on Mayet’s years of experience in Manitoba. The Mayet-Edsby integration provides client stakeholders the ability to take responsibility for their learning and provides a framework for shared accountability and success,” said Chris Adamopoulos, CEO of Mayet Information Systems. The new partnership will also strengthen the technical integration between the two companies’ products, which have already integrated for years at the 18,000-student Pembina Trails School Division in the provincial capital, Winnipeg “Edsby has been providing our schools, parents and students with essential tools ranging from attendance to report cards, along with important and need-to-know communication. Partnering with Mayet will help solidify the integration between student information and the classroom, allowing our teachers an even more effective tool to help our learners grow and ‘Accomplish Anything’,” said Jean St. Godard, Director of Learning and Information Technology at Pembina Trails. **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 worldwide since 2010. Edsby fosters rich communication and data exchanges between students, teachers, families and other education stakeholders to drive K-12 student success. Edsby has received more than 70 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at [www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). **About Mayet Information Systems** Mayet Information Systems was founded in 1998 by principal partners Shane Petroff and Chris Adamopoulos. Mayet was designed, developed and has evolved as a direct response to the diverse set of challenges managing public education data in Manitoba. Mayet as a system is the product of responsive engagement to its client needs as well as a commitment to providing comprehensive support to its user community. Learn more at [www.mayet.ca](https://www.mayet.ca/). \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby selected by Georgian Ministry of Education for national learning platform initiative](https://www.edsby.com/georgian-ministry-of-education-national-lms/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 15, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Country at intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia is introducing a country-wide learning management system for its 600,000 K-12 students. **Content:** #### Country at intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia is introducing a national learning management system for its 600,000 K-12 learners **RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO** (October 15, 2024) – [Edsby](https://edsby.com/)[®](https://edsby.com/), an innovative vendor of K-12 education software, has been selected by the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the country of Georgia as the winning vendor for a national learning management system (LMS) initiative. The project seeks to transform education across the country through the implementation of advanced digital learning. The contract for *Learning Systems Solutions and Support* is part of Georgia’s I2Q initiative, a six-year, multifaceted education reform supported in part by the World Bank. Edsby’s selection follows a rigorous international Quality-Based Selection (QBS) process. Edsby was awarded the contract with local Georgia technology integrator partner [Orient Logic](https://www.ol.ge/en/). Edsby, a leading K-12 social learning platform, is to be piloted beginning next year across Georgian public schools to support localized, flexible curriculum, interactive teaching methodologies, and active learning pedagogies. The platform is ultimately to provide a national system for teachers, students, and parents to engage in blended learning, with support for synchronous, asynchronous, and activity-based learning paths. “We are pleased to collaborate with the Georgian Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth and Orient Logic on this high impact project,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “The I2Q initiative aligns perfectly with Edsby’s mission to empower educators, students and parents with cutting-edge learning technologies. Our platform will enhance Georgia’s educational landscape by providing a flexible, scalable, and engaging system that fosters a culture of lifelong learning.” “This project represents an exciting step forward in transforming education in our country. In partnering with Edsby, we are equipping our students, parents and teachers with world class tools to thrive in the 21st century,” said Alexander Bagratia, CEO of Orient Logic. “This new national LMS is to enable personalized learning pathways and provide robust support for educators and families. We look forward to the positive impact on our students’ education.” Georgia’s I2Q project focuses on improving educational outcomes, promoting inclusion, and fostering innovation. I2Q aims to foster quality teaching and learning in Georgian schools and includes a focus on localized, student-centered curricula. The implementation of the Edsby LMS will support Georgia’s strategic objectives of raising educational standards, creating equitable access to quality education, and preparing students for future success. When fully deployed, the national Georgian learning management system will be comparable in size to [Edsby’s contract with the New Zealand Ministry of Education](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/pressreleases/), another national deployment of Edsby to 800,000 K-12 learners and their parents, and the country’s educators. **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 worldwide since 2010. Edsby fosters rich communication and data exchanges between students, teachers, families and other education stakeholders to drive K-12 student success. Edsby has received more than 80 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at [www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). **About Orient Logic** Orient Logic is a leading IT company operating in the Georgian market since 1995. Its mission is to create better IT ecosystems by providing technical and business consulting services. Core markets include banking and government. It has successfully implemented 10,000 projects for 1,600 customers, and with world-class vendors, introduces innovations and high-tech products nationwide in Georgia every year. Learn more at [www.ol.ge](http://www.ol.ge/). \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby and Kids Help Phone partner to enhance mental health support for K-12 students across Canada](https://www.edsby.com/kids-help-phone-partnership-mental-health/pressreleases/) **Published:** October 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Initiative to present 24/7 access to critical mental health resources directly inside the Edsby platform used by many K-12 students and parents in Canada. **Content:** #### Initiative to present 24/7 access to critical mental health resources directly inside platform used by many K-12 students in Canada **RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO** (October 17, 2024) – [Kids Help Phone](https://www.kidshelpphone.ca/) (KHP), Canada’s only 24/7 e-mental health service for youth, and [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/), an innovative K-12 education software company, have formed a strategic partnership aimed at integrating KHP’s extensive mental health resources into Edsby’s platform when used by Canadian education organizations. The collaboration will provide vital support to school-age students, educators, and parents, enhancing mental health awareness and assistance within educational communities. Kids Help Phone is the only free, 24/7 national, multi-lingual, e-mental health service for all youth in Canada. Since 1989 KHP has been a cornerstone of youth mental health, giving millions of youth a safe, trusted space to Feel Out Loud over the phone, through text, or in self-directed supports for any moment of crisis or need. Edsby’s innovative social-style communication and collaboration system is used by hundreds of thousands of students, parents and educators daily across Canada. By making KHP’s resources available inside Edsby, these users will be able to easily access and implement crucial mental health support tools. “At KHP we innovate and evolve at the pace of youth.” said Katherine Hay, President & CEO of Kids Help Phone. “We offer a space that’s judgment free, and for any young person – however they identify – anywhere in Canada to let their feelings out. This partnership with Edsby will make it easier for schools to integrate mental health support into their everyday environments, ensuring that young people have the help they need readily available in the spaces where they may need it most.” “At Edsby, we are committed to enhancing the educational experience by providing tools that support both learning and well-being,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “Partnering with Kids Help Phone enables us to extend our platform’s value even further, making vital mental health resources easily available that can make a significant difference in the lives of students and educators in the platform they use every day.” The partnership will provide Canadian territories, provinces, school districts and individual schools using Edsby with access to a variety of KHP resources and 24/7 services. The partnership will deliver KHP resources through Edsby news posts, launchpad links, internal staff support groups with KHP Counsellors as optional moderators, and live learning sessions for organizations’ staff. Organizations interested in these offerings can contact their Edsby representative to enroll in the program at no charge. **About Kids Help Phone** Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only 24/7 national, e-mental health service offering free, confidential, multi-lingual support to young people. As the country’s virtual care expert for 35 years, we give millions of youth a safe, trusted space to Feel Out Loud over the phone, through text, or in self-directed supports for any moment of crisis or need. The Feel Out Loud campaign is the largest movement for youth mental health in Canada’s history – it will raise $300 million to unlock hope for young people to thrive in their worlds. Kids Help Phone gratefully relies on the generosity of donors, volunteers, stakeholder partners, corporate partners and governments to fuel and fund our programs. Learn more at KidsHelpPhone.ca. **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 worldwide since 2010. Edsby fosters rich communication and data exchanges between students, teachers, families and other education stakeholders to drive K-12 student success. Edsby has received more than 80 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at [www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/) \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [New research report unveils educational app overload in K-12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/new-research-report-unveils-educational-app-overload-in-k-12-schools/pressreleases/) **Published:** March 11, 2025 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Parents and teachers have had it with being forced to use sometimes as many as 15 edtech apps by their schools or districts. **Content:** #### *Cornerstone Communications surveys teachers, parents and curriculum leaders to uncover necessary changes for app management* **ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND** (March 11, 2025) – A new research report, [*App Overload: How A Fragmented Digital Landscape Is Failing K-12 Education*](https://cornerstonepr.net/app-overload-how-a-fragmented-digital-landscape-is-failing-k-12-education/), sheds light on the growing complexities of digital integration in education. With a universe of educational applications available, the study highlights how the proliferation of individual, poorly integrated digital tools in many districts is impacting students, parents, teachers, and district leaders. [Cornerstone Communications, LTD](https://www.cornerstonepr.net/)., in partnership with K-12 learning platform vendor [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/), conducted a survey of over 100 teachers, 125 parents, and 50 district and private school curriculum leaders, and uncovered a stark contrast between administrative optimism and the realities faced by educators and families when using multiple ad hoc or even officially-sanctioned edtech applications. While district leaders express confidence in the benefits of their selected suite of digital tools, teachers report moderate dissatisfaction due to increased administrative tasks, while parents describe significant frustration with managing multiple applications. “In many K-12 organizations, a patchwork of apps have become an integral part of our educational system,” said Brooke Greenwald, President, Cornerstone Communications, LTD. “The challenges with this approach depend on which type of user you are. We’ve learned from our lengthy discussions and research that for schools to truly partner with parents, something has to change in many organizations’ approaches to K-12 apps.” **Key Findings:** - **Excessive App Usage**: In districts that have not selected a single, integrated system, most schools utilize between 10 and 15 educational apps with some student and parent component, creating a fragmented digital experience for their students and families. - **Parental Frustration**: 42% of parents rated their satisfaction when forced to use multiple apps at 5 out of 10 or lower, citing difficulties in navigating multiple platforms. - **Teacher Burden**: Educators spend an average of 2–4 hours per week using multiple educational apps, with additional administrative time detracting from instructional duties. - **Administrative Optimism vs. Classroom Reality**: While district leaders largely believe the current system of apps they’ve officially selected, or grown organically, is effective, teachers and parents crave more streamlined and integrated access. The report recommends consolidating digital platforms, providing enhanced training for teachers and parents, and implementing policy adjustments based on direct feedback from stakeholders. The findings emphasize the need for unified portals and simplified user experiences to enhance efficiency and engagement in K–12 education. “While digital tools offer incredible opportunities for improving student outcomes, being asked to navigate 15 official apps is overwhelming educators and families,” said Greenwald. “This report underscores the urgent need for streamlined, integrated solutions that prioritize usability and effectiveness.” “Districts and private schools that assembled their own edtech suites from piece parts, particularly during the pandemic, are now realizing the downsides of the approach,” said John Myers, CEO of the Edsby learning platform for K-12. “Organizations should evaluate unified, purpose-built platforms like Edsby that were explicitly designed to simplify K-12 teaching and learning, break down silos and enable app consolidation to improve users’ experiences.” The full report *App Overload: How A Fragmented Digital Landscape Is Failing K-12 Education* can be read [here](https://cornerstonepr.net/app-overload-how-a-fragmented-digital-landscape-is-failing-k-12-education/). To schedule an interview with the research leader, please contact Brooke Greenwald at . **About Cornerstone Communications** Cornerstone Communications, LTD is a public relations and marketing communications firm based just outside Washington, D.C. For over three decades, Cornerstone has worked with companies, individuals, and institutions on public relations, market research, and content development. More information can be found about Cornerstone at [https://cornerstonepr.net](https://cornerstonepr.net/). **About Edsby** The unique needs of K-12 education are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby’s innovative software systems have been fostering student success and leveraging data responsibly in K-12 worldwide since 2010. Districts, regional governments and independent schools use Edsby for modern K-12 assessment & reporting, family engagement, learning management and analytics. Edsby and its products have received more than 80 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at [https://www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/). \### **Categories:** Press releases --- ### [Edsby renewed by ST4S program](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-st4s-renewal/product-news/) **Published:** January 8, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Australia’s Safer Technologies 4 Schools program has performed an annual readiness check and authorized Edsby to display its ST4S product badge for another year. **Content:** ## Security and privacy assessment renewed after annual check Edsby’s learning management system for schools has passed an annual readiness check review by the Australian government’s Safer Technologies 4 Schools (ST4S) program, and has been authorized to display the organization’s official ST4S product badge for another year. This recognition affirms Edsby’s commitment to privacy, security, and safe technology use in K-12 education. Edsby was originally assessed in 2024 by the ST4S program, which provides a consistent framework for evaluating education software for schools, helping regional leaders identify trusted school management systems and digital learning platforms that meet baseline standards for data protection and responsible use. Edsby’s assessment reflects the same principles that guide our work globally: protecting student information while supporting effective teaching and learning. As a comprehensive school management software and online platform for teaching, Edsby supports formative and summative assessment, competency-based assessment, and clear communication through its student and parent portals. Schools rely on Edsby to support personalized learning, transparent progress reporting, and strong parent engagement — and the ST4S badge provides added confidence that these capabilities are delivered securely. We’re honoured to be recognized through the Safer Technologies 4 Schools program and to display the ST4S badge as a clear signal of trust for educators, administrators, students, and families. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby as a student intervention system](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-as-a-student-intervention-system/customers/) **Published:** November 18, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Lakehead Public Schools is boosting graduation rates by using Edsby Monitor Groups and other features in innovative ways. **Content:** ### Lakehead Public Schools is boosting graduation rates among students at risk. And it’s using core Edsby features in innovative ways to do it. [Lakehead Public Schools](http://www.lakeheadschools.ca/) oversees secular English-language public schools in and around the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Of its 8,750 students, 30 percent of them are indigenous First Nations, Métis (mixed indigenous and Euro-American ancestry) and Inuit, or FNMI. And it’s this FNMI population that’s particularly at academic risk. Consistent with a new national focus on reconciliation and learning equity, district appointed “graduation coaches” at Lakehead focus on its FNMI students. And it’s these coaches and guidance counsellors, using Edsby in creative ways, that have improved graduation rates among this key population. The district found Edsby could play a unique role in helping information flow between school offices, attendance secretaries, coaches, counsellors and teachers. And it’s far more efficient than the old ways of doing things, staff acknowledge. > #### “This is likely what all schools need. They just don’t know it yet.” > > – Gino Russo, Information Technology Resource Teacher, Lakehead Public Schools **Edsby panorama and monitor groups** “Before Edsby, guidance counsellors and graduation coaches would have to go to teachers and say, ’I hear this student is failing your class. I don’t know if you knew he had trauma as a child,’” said Gino Russo, Lakehead Public Schools Information Technology Resource Teacher and Edsby lead. With Edsby, Russo says, ad hoc insights like these now get entered in students’ Edsby [panoramas](https://www.edsby.com/help/panorama/) as observations. These observations are then visible to school or district staff having permission to see them, including the student’s current teachers right on their Edsby desktops. ![Gino Russo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/edsbypose-1140x855.jpg)Lakehead Public Schools’ Gino Russo.“If a secretary calls home, she puts the details in the student’s panorama. If a principal has something they want staff to know about a particular student, they put it in his or her panorama. In our most at-risk cohort, we’re seeing about 20 of these observations made every day,” said Russo, noting that the real power of Edsby is having these sorts of observations seen—and acted upon by staff—within the same, single platform a student’s teachers are already using for classroom management, assessment and parent communication. **Monitor groups** Another key Edsby component in Lakehead’s student success workflow are private Edsby [monitor groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/monitor-groups/). They allow graduation coaches and guidance counsellors to confidentially and securely discuss intervention strategies, ideas and concerns regarding these cohorts of students right within Edsby. Students are often entered into these groups by school secretaries investigating and recording more than two unexcused absences as a leading risk indicator. Or by teachers flagging students at risk from within their Edsby gradebooks. ![Edsby Monitor Group](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Edsby-Monitor-Group.png)A private Edsby monitor group. Fictional student data.The district says Edsby monitor groups are superior to other approaches it has tried and it looks forward to continued enhancements. “Before Edsby, we didn’t have a tool to do this at all. Our coaches and counsellors had to seek out teachers where they could. With this, we’ve at least got a system, and it’s making a difference,” said Russo. Again, Russo emphasizes, the success of the district’s monitor groups are their integration into everything else Edsby does in the way of communication and assessment. “LMSes don’t do intervention management. I can’t add a note about a student at all. But if you’re going to try to help a student, you need the full picture, everything in one place. An educator can get a student’s panorama with one click and get everything the district knows about them, including their parents’ contact information,” said Russo. > #### “Before Edsby, we didn’t have a tool to do this at all. Our coaches and counsellors had to seek out teachers where they could. With this, we’ve at least got a system, and it’s making a difference.” > > – Gino Russo, Information Technology Resource Teacher, Lakehead Public Schools Has Edsby had a measurable effect on Lakehead’s graduation rates? “Oh, yes,” said Russo. “We’re keeping more kids in school and they’re graduating. Without question.” “We actually bought Edsby specifically as a student intervention tool when we saw it could do all this. This is likely what all schools need. They just don’t know it yet,” he said. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Why Lloydminster Public augmented Google with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/why-lloydminster-public-augmented-google-with-edsby/customers/) **Published:** December 18, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Learn how this 4,300-student district bridged the gap between Google Classroom and institutional requirements by leveraging Edsby to unify assessment, reporting, and parent engagement. **Content:** ## For this school district of 4,300 students, Google Classroom wasn’t sufficient In K-12 education, many districts find themselves caught in a “digital tug-of-war.” On one side is the simplicity and ubiquity of [Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-google-classroom/); on the other is the institutional need for rigorous assessment, official reporting, and meaningful parent engagement. For [Lloydminster Public School Division](http://www.lpsd.ca) (LPSD), a Canadian school district serving students in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, this tug-of-war was creating a fragmented experience. By implementing Edsby as its primary learning management system (LMS), LPSD didn’t just add another tool—it bridged critical gaps in Google Classroom, bringing teachers, students, and parents into a single, unified conversation. ### The Challenge: Hitting the Google Ceiling Like thousands of other districts, LPSD saw grassroots Google Classroom usage, particularly during the pandemic. Teachers appreciated its simplicity for assignment distribution, but as the district’s digital maturity grew, the limitations of a lightweight tool became more apparent. > “Google Classroom is great for what it is—a workflow tool. But it wasn’t built to be an enterprise-grade LMS for a K-12 district,” noted Cornelius Krahn, Educational Technology Consultant at LPSD. The district faced three primary “gaps” with Google Classroom: 1. **Fragmented Assessment:** Grades lived in Google, but official records lived in the Student Information System (SIS). Teachers were stuck in a cycle of manual data entry. 2. **The Parent Paradox:** While Google Classroom is student-centric, parents were often left on the outside looking in, receiving only weekly automated email summaries rather than a real-time window into the classroom. 3. **Instructional Oversight:** For administrators, Google Classroom was a “black box.” It was nearly impossible to track curriculum coverage or student progress across multiple schools in a standardized way. ### Bridging the Gaps: Why Edsby? LPSD sought a solution that could act as the connective tissue for the district. It needed a platform that played well with Google but provided the professional gradebook and reporting features required by a modern school board. #### 1. A Gradebook Built for Teachers [In an interview](https://youtu.be/lQPY51Eji1U), LPSD Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Trisha Rawlake highlighted how Edsby’s assessment engine transformed teachers’ daily workflow. Unlike Google’s basic point-based system, Edsby was built for K-12 pedagogy. > “Teachers were impressed by the tools available. Edsby doesn’t just store a number; it streamlines the [entire assessment process](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/)—from observations and evidence to the final report card,” said Rawlake. #### 2. Bringing Parents into the Fold Perhaps the most significant shift for LPSD was the move from “notifying” parents to [engaging them](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/). > “Edsby allowed us to bring parents into the conversation in a way Google Classroom simply couldn’t,” said Rawlake. “It’s a game-changer when a parent can see not just a grade, but the actual evidence of learning—the ‘Learning Stories’—that their child is creating.” #### 3. One Source of Truth From an IT perspective, LPSD’s Cornelius Krahn emphasized the power of deep SIS integration. By connecting Edsby to official student records, LPSD ensured that every student, teacher, and parent was automatically rostered. > “We were looking for that ‘one-stop shop.’ Edsby became the core of our strategy because it integrated all our services. It reduced the pressure on teachers to manage multiple classroom platforms,” said Krahn. ### The “Better Together” Strategy: Edsby + Google LPSD didn’t force teachers to abandon Google Classroom. Instead, they used Edsby to enhance it. LPSD teachers can still use Google Docs and Drive for content creation, but they use Edsby for the professional-grade assessment, attendance, and official communication that Google lacks. > “Edsby fills in the gaps. It provides the reporting, the analytics, and the parent portal that rounds out the Google experience,” said Krahn. ### The Results: A New Standard for Collaboration Since implementing Edsby, Lloydminster Public School Division has seen a shift in how its community interacts. - **For Teachers:** Reduced administrative “paperwork” and more time for creative teaching. - **For Parents:** Real-time visibility into their child’s academic achievements and daily school life. - **For Students:** A consistent, organized digital home that follows them from grade to grade. ### Conclusion: Advice for Other Districts For districts currently hitting the limits of Google Classroom, the LPSD story serves as a roadmap. Said Trisha Rawlake, “If you want to move beyond just ‘handing out assignments’ and start focusing on authentic assessment and true family engagement, you need a platform built for that specific purpose. For us, that platform was Edsby.” ### Take Your District to the Next Level Ready to fill the gaps in your digital classroom? Discover how Edsby can transform your district’s assessment and reporting. [Contact us today](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Public social media is a huge risk in K‑12](https://www.edsby.com/public-social-media-k-12/commentary/) **Published:** November 2, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Sharing school and student accomplishments on social media is inviting trouble. Systems like the Edsby platform exist to protect against the risks of having K-12 student pictures and names available publicly. **Content:** #### Why an online “walled garden” for K-12 district news and community collaboration is important in K-12 Educators are well-meaning, but sharing school and student accomplishments on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is inviting trouble, warn researchers quoted in an [article published today](https://www.edweek.org/technology/school-facebook-pages-and-privacy-concerns-what-educators-need-to-know/2022/11) by Education Week. Schools and districts that post pictures and names of students on public sites like Facebook and Twitter likely aren’t breaking the law, according to the article. But their information is easily scraped by “a lot of actors who collect open data on the web for a range of purposes, and some of them are really, really not good,” according to one of the authors of a [report published today](https://www.aera.net/Newsroom/Posts-About-Students-on-Facebook-A-Data-Ethics-Perspective) that inspired EdWeek’s article. > \[On public social media sites,\] student photos are ‘available to anybody in the world forever.’ The report estimates 4.9 million school Facebook posts created between 2005 and 2020 include identifiable images of students and that approximately 726,000 of those posts also include students’ first and last names and their approximate location. **Nefarious uses** These posts are available to “organizations that track criminals, foreign governments, and some very ‘nefarious’ users—including those who traffic in child pornography,” warns the report. > Students may become easier to identify from their school Facebook pictures years down the road, as facial-recognition software becomes more powerful. Researchers didn’t even need to be logged onto Facebook in order to see student photos, enlarge them, and save them. That means “potentially anyone in the world” can take a closer look at a post that, for instance, congratulates a particular student on being elected class president, using their full name and picture, said Joshua Rosenberg, one of the authors of the report. **The report and the article demonstrate the importance for K-12 communities to be able to connect in safe ways. Systems like the [Edsby digital learning platform for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) allow districts to share online with their educators, parents and students inside a managed, authenticated environment, with all of their exchanges safe from prying eyes on the internet. [Learn all about Edsby here](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/).** **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [How does Edsby compare?](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-compares/commentary/) **Published:** November 10, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Want the best, non-biased comparisons of Edsby with other learning platforms in K-12? Ask the LLMs. Synthesizing the knowledge of the world, AI calls Edsby a surprisingly strong platform versus others. **Content:** ## Ask AI how Edsby stacks up If you’re not familiar with how Edsby compares with other popular online platforms for teaching in K-12, don’t trust just us. Ask leading large language model (LLM) AIs like Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity. Edsby recently asked ChatGPT how Edsby compares to LMS software and other digital learning platform products below. ChatGPT researched and synthesized what customers say publicly about each system. We then copied and pasted and published ChatGPT’s analyses: - [Edsby vs. Instructure Canvas](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/) - [Edsby vs. D2L Brightspace](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-brightspace/) - [Edsby vs. Schoology](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-schoology/) - [Edsby vs. Moodle](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-moodle/) - [Edsby vs. Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-google-classroom/) - [Edsby vs. Teams](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-microsoft-teams/) - [Edsby vs. Seesaw](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-seesaw/) Visit the pages above to review the prompt that generated the analysis, and how ChatGPT says Edsby compares. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby K-12 digital learning platform a 2025 CODiE finalist](https://www.edsby.com/2025-codie-digital-learning-platform/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 26, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby K-12 digital learning platform has been named a finalist in the 2025 CODiE Awards category of Best Evidence Management Solution in education. **Content:** ## The Edsby K-12 digital learning platform has been named a finalist in the 2025 [CODiE Awards](http://codieawards.com/) category of Best Evidence Management Solution in education. The CODiE Awards are the premier peer-recognized program celebrating innovation and excellence across all of technology. Each year, industry expert judges evaluate products for their innovation, impact, and overall value. Edsby is honoured to be recognized as a CODiE awards finalist. It validates our team’s commitment to improving K-12 teaching and learning around the world with next generation social technologies and industry-leading student data stewardship. Edsby was previously a CODiE winner: - [In 2016, CODiE award for Best Classroom Management Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-codie-best-classroom-management-solution/pressreleases/) - [In 2017, CODiE award for Best Data & Analytics Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-recognized-siia-best-data-analytics-solution/pressreleases/) Finalists now advance to a second-round review from September 29–October 10. Selected comments on Edsby by this year’ CODiE judges: > Edsby delivers strong overall performance as a comprehensive learning and school management platform tailored for K–12 education. The platform’s robust assessment features—including standards-based grading, progress tracking, and a flexible gradebook—support meaningful evaluation of student learning. Edsby also stands out for its parent engagement capabilities, offering clear visibility into student performance and streamlined messaging between home and school. As an all-in-one solution, it effectively integrates attendance, communication, assessment, and reporting. > > Very nice program and does so many things. The navigation and ease of use are excellent. I like the “social media” type style which definitely makes it user friendly. > > Works to improve family engagement – this is a KEY strength! Enhances online learning in K-12 (focused only in this area). Modern assessment practices. Group collaboration capability to build capacity within a school and across a school district. Opportunities for PLCs automatic and easy. ONE STOP SHOP – LOVE it!! LOVE the use of QR codes!!! > > Layout is excellent – ease of use – love the groups and ways to communicate – learning story – portfolios – students can contribute and pull from learning stories > > Your platform’s strengths in unifying communication, assessment, and reporting stood out—especially the robust gradebook, personalized learning support, and parent engagement tools. The seamless integration with existing SIS systems and the attention to district-wide scalability reflect a thoughtful design that truly supports educators, students, and families. This year’s winners are to be announced October 22, 2025. For more information about the CODiE Awards and to view all finalists, visit the [CODiE Awards website](https://codieawards.com/finalists). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby at the American School in Japan](https://www.edsby.com/american-school-in-japan-asij/customers/) **Published:** February 2, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** In 2016, the independent school ASIJ began migrating from legacy systems to the Veracross SIS and the Edsby learning platform, saving $60k+ USD per year. **Content:** ## A modern backbone for an international school’s teaching and learning The American School in Japan (ASIJ) is a private, non-profit international school located in Tokyo. Founded in 1902, it offers an American-style education to students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. ASIJ has a diverse student body, representing over 60 nationalities. Its mission is to provide a challenging and supportive learning environment that nurtures the development of 1,700 students across four schools: early learning, elementary, middle and high school. ### Constrained by previous systems In 2016, ASIJ determined it needed to modernize and migrate from its legacy systems. Its previous student information system (SIS) was so old administrators needed to install a terminal emulator to use it. Teachers weren’t able to look up parent contact info, and even had to ask the office for parent email addresses. The bigger problem, according to ASIJ, was its learning management system (LMS). Its previous system didn’t have a gradebook and was simply used as a repository for documents, with folders full of PDFs. Teachers had to use a separate standalone electronic gradebook, which led to one of students’ biggest concerns in satisfaction surveys: not having visibility into how their grades were calculated. Teachers didn’t have access to photos of the children they were teaching. In the absence of a calendar in its LMS, students had to cross-reference a schedule document or build their own calendar to know what classes they had on a particular day. “We had a hodgepodge of solutions. Everyone was on their own. Every student had a completely unique experience in every class. Most students had 8 different electronic destinations to go to,” said ASIJ Director of Technology Warren Apel. ### Review process The organization’s leadership team determined it wanted the following in its new systems: - A grade book that would help support the move away from calculated percentages and towards standards-based grading. It wanted to provide effective feedback to students while moving the focus away from calculated average numerical grades. - The ability to share student academic progress across teams, so teachers, counselors, and administration could know how students are doing in all of their classes - A way for teachers to privately document and share observations about students’ social-emotional needs and challenges - Quick access by teachers to important emergency information, such as medical notes (allergies, etc.) and home contact details - Analytic reports for counselors and administrators to use data to inform programmatic decisions, instruction and student progress ASIJ selected a new LMS first. It reviewed over a dozen platforms and narrowed its selection to two contenders. Teacher focus groups and surveys strongly preferred Edsby to the other front-runner. “When we demonstrated both systems to teachers and school leaders, they were far more impressed with the Edsby interface and with the additional features and options Edsby provided,” wrote Apel in a memo to school leadership in 2017 announcing Edsby’s selection. ## Edsby: More than an LMS “Edsby is much more than a simple LMS replacement and solves other problems we have, such as making information more accessible, making office tasks more efficient, and helping to overcome connectedness issues behind our low student belonging survey results,” the memo read. “We knew we wanted to move away from averaging and point-based grades. Most LMSes only offered the choice of either IB-style grades or traditional American letter grades, percentage scores and averages. Edsby checked all the boxes as far as giving teachers access to info and a gradebook that can do qualitative standards-based feedback. The fact it also had calendaring and messaging was even better,” said Apel. Today, the school uses Edsby for assignments. Teachers use a journal feature in their Edsby classes to share information. Edsby’s standards-based gradebook shares feedback instantly with students and parents. Students’ photos can be seen by teachers in Edsby, helping them learn new faces in their classes and manage seating plans. Teams and clubs have their own Edsby groups for social interaction, schedule and files management. And everyone, including students, parents and teachers, can see the day’s schedule in Edsby, showing them where they should be and when. ## Veracross In 2018, a year after Edsby was established, the school changed its SIS to Veracross. Students and parents already using Edsby hardly noticed the change. Edsby’s automatic rosters were configured to pull data from the new SIS. “In 2018, we were the first school to use both Veracross and Edsby, so there was some work to do in creating the data synchronization, but now it’s working very well,” said Apel. “We’re super excited about what the future holds.” ASIJ uses Veracross to manage the school’s 8-day rotating schedule, record health center visits and document details like a student’s learning support status. The Veracross email list feature allows teachers to send standard email messages to all parents in a class simply by emailing a class “alias” using their standard email client. Teachers also enjoy a Veracross Memorize Name Game that helps them associate students’ faces with names. ## Two systems in harmony Today, Edsby and Veracross are backbones of ASIJ’s teaching and learning infrastructure in its middle and high schools. They can be relied on to work together to manage and understand the school’s most important data, including the school’s big picture, according to school officials. “We absolutely love Edsby’s analytics,” noted Apel. “Edsby’s analytics is one of the best interfaces for understanding student achievement in a standards-based environment that I’ve ever seen. Its heat map is beautiful.” ## Cost savings The two systems have represented significant cost savings for the school. In its adoption of Edsby alone, the school has been saving $60k USD every year since 2018 over the cost of its previous system. [Download as PDF >](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ASIJ-case-study-020923.pdf) **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Beyond traditional grades: How competency-based assessment is transforming K-12](https://www.edsby.com/comptency-based-assessment-for-future/commentary/) **Published:** October 15, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Traditional grades don’t tell the full story of what students actually know and can do. Across K-12 education, schools are embracing competency-based assessment and standards-based grading to reveal true mastery and support every learner. **Content:** ## K-12 schools are rethinking how they measure success. Competency-based assessment and standards-based grading give teachers, students, and parents a clearer view of learning and growth. Imagine this: Two eighth graders, Maya and Liam, sit next to each other as their math teacher returns their unit tests. Both received a score of 85%. On the surface, they appear to be equal. However, a closer look reveals a different reality. Maya mastered every problem involving algebraic equations but found geometry concepts challenging. In contrast, Liam excelled at geometry but frequently struggled with algebra. The 85% score conceals their true understanding and, crucially, their gaps in knowledge. This illustrates the dilemma of traditional grading, where a single number tries to encapsulate weeks of learning. For generations, grades have served as the cornerstone of K-12 education: parents inquire about them, students pursue them, and colleges demand them. Yet, beneath the straightforward A–F or percentage system lies a truth understood by every educator: grades fail to provide a complete picture. A single grade obscures both mastery and effort. Did a student receive a “B” because they truly understand the material, or because they exerted effort but still missed significant concepts? It also masks growth; a student who improves from 50% to 70% is making considerable progress, but both scores are seen as “failing.” Additionally, it fosters compliance over curiosity, as students seek to “game the system,” completing assignments for points rather than genuinely striving to understand the material. For decades, educators, parents, and policymakers have grappled with the question: Is there a better way to assess learning? The emerging consensus globally is yes. Schools are now shifting toward competency-based assessment, standards-based grading, and rubric-driven evaluations, which aim to address the limitations of traditional grades. These methods seek to answer essential questions that conventional grades cannot: What skills can this student demonstrate? Where do they excel, and where do they need additional support? How does their learning relate to key competencies for life beyond just test-taking? The movement to move “beyond grades” doesn’t remove accountability; rather, it aims to develop assessment systems that mirror reality — providing teachers with more precise tools, offering students clearer feedback, and giving parents a more transparent view of progress. This shift is also driven by a rapidly changing world. Today’s students are not gearing up for 20th-century factory jobs; they are entering a future influenced by AI, relentless technological advancement, and complex problems without straightforward solutions. In this landscape, knowing how to learn is more important than memorizing facts for an exam. Traditional grades can be likened to snapshots—brief captures that seldom reflect the entire journey. Conversely, competency-based approaches serve as maps, detailing where a student has been, their current position, and the direction they need to take. Let’s delve into each of these contemporary assessment strategies, examining how they function in real settings and why schools that embrace them are experiencing deeper learning, increased engagement, and stronger partnerships with parents. First, however, it’s essential to rewind and understand how grades became the universal language of education and why this system is now showing signs of strain under modern needs. ### Limits of Traditional Grading For a long time, grades have served as shorthand for academic achievement, but beneath the surface, significant issues arise: 1. **Inconsistency:** An “A” in one classroom may signify something entirely different in another, since various teachers prioritize different factors such as participation or test performance. 2. **Learning Gaps:** A student might pull off a “B” by excelling in certain areas while faltering in others, but their report card won’t reveal those weaknesses. 3. **Lack of Growth Indicators:** A student who starts the semester struggling but then improves significantly can end up with the same grade as a peer who did well consistently but never progressed. 4. **Ineffective Feedback:** A letter grade tells students whether they’re “good” or “bad” at a subject but doesn’t provide guidance on how to improve. This grading system functions like a blunt instrument: it captures performance in one fell swoop, neglecting the finer details of progress and mastery that are crucial for lifelong learning. ### Competency-Based Assessment: Real Measurement of Learning Competency-based assessment (CBA) shifts the focus from how quickly students complete a curriculum to whether they can actually demonstrate the necessary skills and knowledge. **Key Features of Competency-Based Assessment:** - **Mastery Over Time**: Students advance when they have mastered a concept, regardless of the calendar. - **Defined Competencies**: Learning is divided into clear and measurable skills or outcomes that students must prove. - **Multiple Demonstrations of Learning**: Evidence of mastery can include portfolios, projects, and performance tasks. - **Personalized** **Pacing:** Students can take the time they need in some areas while accelerating through others without facing penalties. *Why It Matters:* This approach prevents students from being moved forward with gaps in understanding and allows those who master content early to progress without hindrance. It’s particularly effective in equipping learners with real-world skills, where application is more crucial than test performance. ### Standards-Based Grading: Aligning Learning to Benchmarks While competency-based assessment emphasizes mastery, grading to standards, or competencies, ensures that mastery is tied to the school or region’s specific learning standards. **Core Principles of Standards-Based Grading:** - **Explicit Learning Objectives:** Instead of vague categories like “participation,” students are assessed against specific curriculum standards. - **Proficiency Levels:** Rather than a single percentage, students receive ratings on a scale (e.g., “Beginning,” “Approaching,” “Meets,” “Exceeding”). - **Detailed Feedback:** Parents and students receive insight into which standards have been met and which require more focus. - **Uniform Expectations:** Standards provide a consistent framework across different classrooms, subjects, and even schools. *Why It Matters:* SBG promotes fairness and transparency in assessment, establishing a level playing field where grades are determined by agreed-upon standards rather than individual teacher preferences. ### Implementation of Formative and Summative Assessment Assessment extends beyond the final outcome; it encompasses the entire learning process. Thus, balancing formative ongoing assessments and summative final assessments is essential. **Formative Assessment Tools:** Activities such as quick quizzes, exit tickets, and classroom polls inform daily instructional decisions. **Summative Assessment Tools:** Tools like unit exams, essays, and capstone projects evaluate cumulative understanding. **Rubric-Based Assessment:** Rubrics improve clarity for both educators and students, ensuring fairness and consistency. In action, platforms like Edsby allow educators to [integrate formative assessments and link them to standards](https://www.edsby.com/evidence-of-learning/), making them available for final reporting seamlessly. Summative assessments can be administered anytime, enriching feedback and transparency. Parents can track both daily progress and major achievements all in one place. ### The Role of Technology in Competency-Based Learning Regardless of the strength of an assessment philosophy, its success hinges on not overwhelming teachers. This is where technology plays a vital role. **AI for Teachers:** [AI can take care of repetitive tasks](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/) like auto-grading quizzes and generating formative questions, allowing educators to spend more time engaging with students. **Analytics for Schools & Districts:** School leaders require more than just raw scores; they need [dashboards that reveal patterns, such as attendance trends and early warning signs](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/) regarding competencies that are often challenging. **Parent Engagement:** Effective communication about assessment is critical. Parents shouldn’t have to wait for quarterly report cards to get updates. Systems like Edsby provide [real-time insights into grades, attendance, teacher notes, and progress toward standards](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/), fostering trust and collaboration without burdening teachers with additional paperwork. ### Why Edsby Stands Out While many platforms claim to support assessment, most were originally designed for higher education or corporate training and have been retrofitted for classroom use. Edsby, on the other hand, was specifically crafted for K-12 education from the ground up. With [gradebooks, attendance tracking, parent communication, and K-12 analytics all in one system](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/), there’s no need for users to juggle multiple tools. Teachers, administrators, and parents receive necessary information effortlessly. Edsby’s forthcoming [Destinations](https://www.edsby.com/destinations/) system is built for managing the massive amounts of data that competency-based assessment and reporting generates for a district or region. ### Conclusion: Beyond Grades — Fostering Future-Ready Learners When parents ask, “What do these grades indicate?” schools should be able to provide more than just a letter on a report card. Competency-based assessments guarantee that students master what they need to know, while standards-based grading connects that mastery to clear benchmarks. Continuous formative and summative assessments ensure learning is an ongoing journey. With the right technology — like Edsby — schools can make this approach practical, scalable, and transparent. Ultimately, education should focus not on chasing grades, but on preparing students for the future, equipping them with the skills, resilience, and confidence they need to thrive. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [A sea of apps getting in the way in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/sea-of-apps/commentary/) **Published:** March 13, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Schools and districts requiring users to navigate a dozen or more apps are impeding student learning, according to a study just released. **Content:** #### If your users have to navigate a dozen or more apps, you’re impeding student learning Ahoy there! If your district or independent school has, like many, been commissioning new edtech apps for your various needs in K-12, your users might be adrift. Because if users haven’t been given a single, official platform to use, they’re awash in a sea of educational apps. And K-12 leaders may not be aware of just how unhappy their users are about it. These are some of the findings of a new report called [*App Overload: How A Fragmented Digital Landscape Is Failing K-12 Education*](https://cornerstonepr.net/app-overload-how-a-fragmented-digital-landscape-is-failing-k-12-education/). The study surveyed hundreds of parents, teachers and administrators at K-12 school districts and private schools in North America that didn’t have a unified edtech platform. Where a single, integrated system wasn’t in place, most respondents said they used between 10 and 15 educational apps with some student or parent-facing component, creating a fragmented digital experience for their students and families. Some organizations reported more than 16 official apps. **Parents especially unhappy** While school and district administrators surveyed were satisfied with their chosen approaches to edtech, 42% of parents rated their satisfaction at 5 out of 10 or lower, citing difficulties in navigating multiple platforms. “Responses clustered toward the lower end of the scale … suggesting a pervasive level of discontent,” according to the report. > “The amount of apps and the amount of time required to look at each one makes it impossible for parents with jobs. There has got to be an easier way to work with our children and their schools.” > > -Jason C., Parent, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland **Teachers crave streamlined access** Educators reported spending an average of 2-to-4 hours per week of busywork managing multiple educational apps, detracting them from teaching. > “We need a way to maintain our apps and communicate with students and parents without feeling like it is a second job.” > > -Stephanie S., Teacher, Virginia Public Schools > > “Our school uses an average of 19 apps in our high school and each one deploys differently. Talk about confusing!” > > -Mary W., Private School Teacher > > “There has to be a better way to achieve all of our goals with less stress.” > > -Teresa M., Private School Teacher **Edsby’s single, integrated system** The [Edsby learning platform](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) is built specifically for K‑12 and does more, in one application, than anything else. Independent schools, districts and regional governments love Edsby for its modern, pedagogically sound [K-12 assessment & reporting](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/), [family engagement](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/), [learning management](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/learning-management-lms/) and [analytics](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/). It’s a true, seamless system, built by a single team. Not assembled from piece parts. Edsby transforms organizations that adopts it. Teachers and administrators live in it all day. Students and parents make extensive use of it for all aspects of school life, all within a single, familiar, social-style user experience. It integrates closely with existing systems and extends the breadth of what a school district, regional government or independent school can achieve in K-12. Edsby is used by K-12 learning organizations small and large across the world. It has been licensed for national use by the New Zealand Ministry of Education and the country of Georgia, and has received more than [80 industry awards and distinctions](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/) for an unusually wide set of capabilities in a single platform tailored for K-12. [Contact us](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) to learn how Edsby can help consolidate apps for you! **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [How cloud-based school management systems are reshaping K‑12](https://www.edsby.com/how-school-management-systems-are-reshaping-k12/commentary/) **Published:** September 17, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Cloud-based school management systems are bringing better communication, analytics, and efficiency to K-12 schools and families. **Content:** Classrooms now reach into homes via student devices, parents expect instant updates on progress, and school leaders want timely data to inform decisions. At the center of this change is the **cloud-based school management system** — a platform that doesn’t just digitize old processes but reimagines how schools organize learning, communication, and operations. ## The move to the cloud For decades, schools relied on disconnected, locally hosted systems, spreadsheets, and paper processes. Those approaches created friction: teachers spent hours reconciling grades across tools, parents had to log into multiple portals, and administrators lacked a single source of truth. Moving these functions into the cloud eliminates much of that overhead. A modern **cloud-based school management software** consolidates student records, gradebooks, messaging, attendance, and billing into one secure, centrally maintained service. That shift [reduces the burden on K-12 IT teams](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/itpro/), guarantees that every user has the same up-to-date experience, and enables access from anywhere — be it a classroom laptop, a parent’s phone, or a district leader’s tablet. ## Advantages of cloud-based school management software Adopting a cloud-first **K-12 school management system** delivers several concrete benefits: - **Always up to date.** Schools receive continuous improvements without costly, disruptive upgrades. - **Lower overhead.** No local servers, fewer manual patches, and simpler disaster recovery. - **Scalability.** Cloud services adapt to a single elementary school or an entire multi-district deployment. - **Secure data handling.** Built-in compliance and centralized security controls reduce risk around student privacy. - **Anytime access.** Teachers, parents, and students can interact with the system from wherever learning happens. These advantages aren’t theoretical; they translate to time saved, faster response to student needs, and fewer support tickets for IT. ## Key features of modern school management systems Today’s platforms combine administrative and instructional features in ways legacy systems rarely did. Common capabilities include: - **Unified communication:** district-to-family announcements, classroom messages, and push notifications that reach the right people at the right time. - **Academic management:** integrated gradebooks, assignment submission workflows, rubrics, and attendance that feed into student records. - **Reporting and analytics:** dashboards for tracking achievement gaps, attendance trends, and early warning indicators for at-risk students. - **Parent and student portals:** single sign-on access to grades, homework, calendars, and resources that increase transparency and engagement. Bringing these features together on a single platform reduces the number of systems teachers must learn and makes it easier to act on data. ## Why private and charter schools are turning to the cloud **School management software for private schools** and **charter school management software** often delivers outsized value. These schools tend to operate with tighter budgets and higher expectations for parent service. The cloud enables them to: - Reduce administrative overhead [so teachers can focus on students](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/teacher/). - Offer [parents a modern, mobile-friendly experience](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/parent/) that matches expectations set by consumer apps. - Meet accountability and reporting requirements without bulky IT investments. In short, private and charter schools see cloud systems as a way to compete on service and outcomes while controlling costs. ## Hidden value Beyond the visible efficiencies, cloud school systems deliver several less obvious but powerful benefits: - **Continuity during disruption.** Whether it’s weather, a health emergency, or unplanned closures, a cloud platform keeps learning and communications running smoothly. - **Faster insights.** When attendance, assignment completion, and grades are unified, educators can spot trends earlier and personalize interventions. - **Equity gains.** Centralized tools reduce variability between schools and classrooms, helping ensure students get consistent access to resources. - **Easier innovation.** Cloud APIs and integrations make it simpler to plug in new edtech tools and pilot features without major infrastructure work. These hidden values often produce the biggest long-term returns, because they change how quickly schools can respond and adapt. ## Edsby’s role in the transformation At Edsby, we design a [**K-12 school management system**](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) with the whole community in mind. Our approach combines classroom-level tools — gradebooks, assignments, and messaging — with district-scale capabilities such as rostering, reporting, and finance. We also invest heavily in security, continuity, and scale so districts can focus on teaching rather than servers. For districts, private schools, and charters, Edsby aims to be more than software: it’s a single hub where families, educators, and leaders can collaborate around student success. Our platform supports common integrations with SIS vendors, and offers flexible parent-facing portals so administrators regain time for strategic work. ## Looking ahead Cloud adoption in K-12 is no longer optional — it’s central to how modern schools operate. As districts prioritize resiliency, family engagement, and data-driven instruction, **cloud-based school management systems** will continue to be a foundation for progress. Whether you’re evaluating [**school management software for private schools**](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-private-schools/), shopping for **charter school management software**, or upgrading a district deployment, the cloud provides flexibility, transparency, and capacity for growth. By embracing a secure, well-integrated platform like Edsby, school communities can reduce administrative friction, improve communication, and create better conditions for teaching and learning — now and into the future. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby to be implemented by two new Saskatchewan school districts](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-implemented-by-two-new-saskatchewan-school-districts/customers/) **Published:** June 17, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Prince Albert Catholic School Division and Light of Christ Catholic Schools in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan have announced plans to adopt the Edsby K-12 LMS for all students, parents and teachers in the new school year. **Content:** ### **Two school districts in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan have announced plans to adopt the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 as their district-wide learning management system for all students, parents and teachers in the new school year.** Prince Albert Catholic School Division and Light of Christ Catholic Schools are both to begin using Edsby in the upcoming school year. Following an orientation session for teachers at Light of Christ Catholic, staff were pleased with the simplicity and security of the application, writes the [Battlefords Now news outlet](https://battlefordsnow.com/2020/06/09/edsby-better-connections-improved-communications-more-learning/). [The Daily Herald](https://paherald.sk.ca/2020/06/16/new-platform-for-online-learning-coming-to-prince-albert-catholic-school-division/) reported similar reactions from the board of education and teachers at Prince Albert Catholic Schools. Director of Education Lorel Trumier praised Edsby for keeping teachers, parents, and students informed and engaged through simple and powerful features. “\[Edsby\] is described as a Facebook of education and mobile-friendly,” states Trumier. Parents play a critical role in learning. Light of Christ Catholic Schools parents found it challenging and overwhelming at times to use multiple platforms to manage their child’s education in an efficient way. With Edsby, that is no longer expected to be the case. “Edsby really does support what teachers do in the classroom, and I think it is really important to know that this is a whole learning management system,” school coordinator Michelle Thomas states. “We are just used to having a grade-book as a teacher, and this learning system management portal and portal for all students… using one system. It’s a way for all of the learners and all of the people that are involved with that child as a learner to become involved.” Read the whole Battlefords Now article [here](https://battlefordsnow.com/2020/06/09/edsby-better-connections-improved-communications-more-learning/), and the Daily Harold article [here](https://paherald.sk.ca/2020/06/16/new-platform-for-online-learning-coming-to-prince-albert-catholic-school-division/). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [New district looks forward to using Edsby in 2020-2021 year](https://www.edsby.com/new-district-looks-forward-to-using-edsby-in-2020-2021-year/customers/) **Published:** June 24, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Prince Albert Catholic School Division predicts Edsby to be “key” for student and family communication per guidelines from the local Ministry of Education. **Content:** ### Prince Albert Catholic School Division predicts Edsby will be “key” for student and family communication this upcoming school year, consistent with guidelines from the local Ministry of Education. In preparation for the return of school in the 2020-2021 school year, the Prince Albert Catholic School Division in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan is adopting Edsby as its main digital learning platform. While prioritizing the health and well-being of students, the district anticipates Edsby will greatly aide teachers in communicating with possibly sick or isolating students and families. In [The Daily Herald](https://paherald.sk.ca/provincial-plan-for-september-in-line-with-catholic-division-planning/), Director of Education Lorel Trumier describes Edsby being able to communicate what is happening at the school level, so absent students and quarantined parents will not be left behind, a priority of the province’s Ministry of Education. “We need to be able to bridge what is happening in our classrooms to their homes and that is where our Edsby platform is going to support the communication to families and to children what is happening… that communication system will be key,” Trumier states. The article further describes the added benefits it is anticipating using Edsby, which include giving all students access to Microsoft 365 Office applications and free access on personal devices. “I think Edsby provides us a great window of communication to families and students because we know that some families and students are not coming because they don’t want to be there, but they don’t want to be left out,” Trumier states. Read the full article [here](https://paherald.sk.ca/provincial-plan-for-september-in-line-with-catholic-division-planning/). **Categories:** Customers, In the news --- ### [The Edsby platform at the heart of a major high school](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-platform-case-study-tanenbaumchat/customers/) **Published:** March 14, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The largest school of its kind in North America makes wider use of the variety of features in the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 than many districts do. **Content:** ### TanenbaumCHAT in Toronto, Canada, makes wide use of Edsby’s many features Toronto’s [TanenbaumCHAT](https://tanenbaumchat.org/) is the largest community Jewish high school in North America. Delivering a dual General and Jewish studies curriculum and incredible depth and breadth of programming to more than 1,000 students can be challenging at the best of times. Doing all of that in the midst of a global pandemic only added to the complexity in recent years. The Edsby social learning environment has become intrinsic to the day-to-day functioning of the school and an important component of school life. **No surprises** “If, tomorrow, Edsby were to suddenly become unavailable, it would be devastating,” says Avital Aharon, TanenbaumCHAT’s Director of Educational Technology. The school employs Edsby more extensively than many school districts, using it for a wide array of uses, such as daily [attendance](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/social-classroom/), [learning management](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/learning-management-lms/), [report cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/report-card-video-playlist/), and [team and club activities](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/group-collaboration/). “Edsby is used by every stakeholder and every type of professional in our building, including the admin assistants, guidance department and Deans’ office. With its sync to our various databases, we’ve got everything, even educational alerts and IEPs, all in one place,” says Aharon. The [academic assessment and reporting](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/) core of Edsby is key at TanenbaumCHAT. “Edsby is central. Parents have real-time views into student achievement and activities, and always know what’s going on. There are rarely any surprises,” she says. Before Edsby report cards became available, the school, students and parents had to access another system to find grades. It was not as seamless, digital or robust. ![Avital Aharon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CHAT-K-199-1140x760.jpg)Avital Aharon, Director of Educational Technology, TanenbaumCHAT **Facilitating community** TanenbaumCHAT’s extended population includes more than 8,000 alumni. Edsby’s unique, moderated school newsfeed can be tapped into by Alumni Relations staff to help share school news to the wider community. The school boasts around 100 student-run clubs and committees that are all established at a huge fair at the beginning of every year. Any student may suggest a club as long as there is a teacher-supervisor in place. Edsby’s [Groups](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/group-collaboration/) capability is a natural hub for these activities. “Students use groups in every possible way you can imagine. From file libraries to resources to polls,” says Aharon. “Name the topic, there’s a club about it on Edsby,” she says. One group is particularly popular. “Today our Politics Club reached a whopping 100,000 posts! We might need professional help for our Edsby addiction. Summer withdrawal is going to be an issue,” wrote Politics Club moderator Eliyahu F. at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Edsby’s [Report Inappropriate](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/the-office/) feature allows users, including students, to flag items for office review. Every item that is flagged is looked at by a staff member, leading to teachable moments, according to Aharon. “There’s no way everyone can monitor every single post, so the feature is crucial,” she says. “It provides a mechanism for teaching K to 12 digital citizenship.” **Staff love Edsby** The breadth and ease of use of Edsby is always a surprise to new staff if they’ve never used it before, notes Aharon. “We welcomed and trained 17 new teachers this year. There are always a lot of ‘oohs and ahs! We can do this?!’” Teaching Edsby and explaining how to make it work for their virtual classroom is exciting.” There’s no question that Edsby has impressed students, staff and parents alike and is an indispensable part of life at TanenbaumCHAT. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [District bringing parents into the 'digital classroom' with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/district-bringing-parents-digital-classroom-edsby/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 2, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A radio station profiles an Edsby customer for its adoption of Edsby for its 35,000 students and 4,500 staff... and now, all parents in the district. **Content:** A radio station visited Edsby customer [Greater Essex County District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-greater-essex-county-district-school-board-gedsb/) and broadcasted a story about how the district’s adoption of Edsby for its 35,000 students and 4,500 staff is now extending to parents in the district. The district selected Edsby to give students and teachers modern collaborative capabilities in and out of the classroom, as well as real-time communication of academic achievement with students and their parents and guardians. Superintendent of Education, John Howitt, described Edsby as an extension of the classroom. > Edsby is an online learning management system that really stretches the classroom beyond the walls. It allows for us to expand using a digital classroom, helps with the flipped classroom and also allows students to interact and share with their own learning based on the resources that are there. Because parents and guardians are the district’s partners in learning, Howitt said it was important to be able to connect with them in an online world. At Greater Essex, Edsby collates all of the events from all of the activities, groups, extra curriculars, classroom activities and homework on one calendar, making it easy for parents and guardians to follow a child’s activities as well as grades. Read the full story [here](http://www.iheartradio.ca/am800/news/public-board-bringing-parents-into-the-digital-classroom-1.2430720). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Trust in community](https://www.edsby.com/trust-in-community/in-conversation/) **Published:** October 19, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Superintendents Dr. Susan Enfield of Highline Public Schools, Dr. Steve Joel of Lincoln Public Schools, and Dr. Michael Duncan of Pike County Schools talk about trust and its importance as a precursor to effective communication. **Content:** [Dr. Rod Berger](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodbergerpsyd/) speaks with: - [Dr. Susan Enfield](https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-enfield-733728132/), superintendent of [Highline Public Schools](https://www.highlineschools.org/) in Washington State - [Dr. Steve Joel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-joel-a0b72970/), superintendent of [Lincoln Public Schools](https://lps.org/) in Nebraska, and - [Dr. Michael Duncan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-duncan-edd/), superintendent at [Pike County Schools](https://pike.k12.ga.us/), Georgia This conversation discusses the necessity for holding meaningful conversations with all stakeholders in a child’s education, which starts with building trust. COVID-19 changed how we communicate, at the same time as throwing many questions, opinions, and emotions into the mix. One is how are the leaders of today ensuring the best outcome for our children? Covering everything from the need for clarity of institutional values and beliefs, to the tools that have provided the opportunity to remain effective under challenging times, each offers a unique experience and perspective. Opening the way for deeper discussion, the panel broaches the importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and how each is tackling the issues associated. Want to learn more about how education is changing from those with perspective and insight? Watch more conversations around the future of education with Edsby [In Conversation](https://www.edsby.com/category/in-conversation/). *Sponsored by Edsby. The award-winning Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education around the world for more than 10 years. School districts, states, provinces and countries adopt Edsby for student well-being, learning management, assessment & reporting and analytics. Learn more about how Edsby at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com).* **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Private school credits Edsby's proactive learning environment as key to virus response](https://www.edsby.com/private-school-credits-edsbys-proactive-learning-environment-as-key-to-virus-response/customers/) **Published:** June 24, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (MBCI) says the Edsby digital learning and data system brought consistency and creativity to students and teachers alike. **Content:** ### Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (MBCI) says the Edsby digital learning and data system brought consistency and creativity to students and teachers alike. In examining its agility regarding COVID-19, the [Winnipeg Free Press](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/Mennonite-Brethren-adapted-quickly-to-digital-world-571443961.html) describes local private school Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute’s adoption of Edsby as a “key decision,” creating “consistency for both staff and families, as both groups only had to learn just one system.” Principal Andrea Neufeld told the newspaper many positives came from the switch. In addition to overall student participation, Edsby has also contributed to innovating more creative learning environments and lesson curriculum. “The different environment and creative approaches to lessons allowed some students who were often quiet in the classroom to be more active contributors. The school’s project-based learning approach was also a good fit for the new reality,” Neufeld states. MCBI also notes that though they were some bumps in transitioning to online learning, Edsby and the MCBI shared leadership model made the sudden format switch easier for some teachers and staff. “It’s about how quickly you can mobilize,” Neufeld continues. “When kids can feel connected and cared for, learning can happen.” In addition to connecting teachers with their students, Edsby has also allowed for increased communication between school administrators and parents. This is credited to not only Edsby’s [easy facilitation of parental participation](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/parent/), but also Mennonite Brethren’s dedication to providing Chromebooks to families who needed them. As a result, “instruction continued in all courses, including the drama program, which took a creative approach to the pandemic… we’ve kept the rigor and kept the innovation,” Neufeld concludes. To read the full article, click the link [here](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/Mennonite-Brethren-adapted-quickly-to-digital-world-571443961.html). **Categories:** Customers, In the news --- ### [Superior-Greenstone District School Board adopts Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/superior-greenstone-edsby/customers/) **Published:** July 3, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** School district spanning the north shore of Lake Superior in Canada rolls out Edsby to all its students, teachers and parents. **Content:** ### Northern Ontario school district rolls out Edsby to all its students, teachers and parents Superior-Greenstone District School Board (SGDSB), a school district spanning the rugged north shore of Lake Superior in the Canadian province of Ontario, is one of the latest to adopt the Edsby learning and analytics platform for each one of its students, teachers and parents. In recent announcements SGDSB says it chose Edsby “to allow for easier communication of important school information such as attendance, school news and important dates with parents, guardians and students.” Parents and guardians will be able to access their childrens’ academic information and school news starting the new school year this September via web browser or using Edsby apps for mobile devices, available free from their device’s app store 24/7. “Edsby is a safe, and secure online environment and only those individuals granted access will be allowed to see school and student information,” says the district. > David Tamblyn, Director of Education at Superior-Greenstone District School Board states, “our schools recognize the important role that strong family partnerships have in supporting our learners throughout their educational journey with Superior-Greenstone District School Board … In choosing Edsby as our parent engagement platform, we hope that communication and collaboration for student success becomes even easier for our families and mutually beneficial to all.” Read details of SGDSB’s Edsby plans [here](http://www.karinahunter.com/2018/06/superior-greenstone-dsb-acquires-edsby-to-support-parent-engagement/) and [here](http://www.sgdsb.on.ca/edsby). SGDSB is the latest in a long list of districts in the region that have adopted Edsby. **Categories:** Customers, In the news --- ### [Edsby and Unison receive highest interoperability certification](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-and-unison-receive-highest-interoperability-certification-2/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** January 19, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby's social learning platform for K-12 and its Unison education data middleware system have both earned the highest level of interoperability certification from InnovateEDU’s Project Unicorn. **Content:** InnovateEDU’s Project Unicorn today announced [Edsby’s social learning platform for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) and its [Unison education data middleware](https://www.edsby.com/unison) system have both have earned Project Unicorn Interoperability Certification. Both products were certified to the organization’s highest level of interoperability, level 4. [Project Unicorn](http://projectunicorn.org) aims to promote the responsible use of student data. The certification process is designed to ensure that companies meet standards for data privacy, security, and ethical use of student data. To be certified, a product must complete a self-assessment and undergo a third-party audit to verify it meets certification criteria, including: - Being transparent about data collection and use - Securing student data - Being accountable for data breaches - Giving parents and students control over their data Project Unicorn certification enables edtech companies to ensure they are providing safe and responsible services to students and their families. It is also an important way for schools, districts and other organizations to ensure the edtech services they use are protecting student data. “We’re asked by customers to aggregate and standardize their most critical current and past educational data while managing its security. This data never lives in just a single place, so interoperability is core to everything we do,” said Dallas Kachan, Edsby VP Marketing. Read Project Unicorn’s announcement [here](https://www.prweb.com/releases/2023/1/prweb19119087.htm). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Avoiding pitfalls in student data privacy](https://www.edsby.com/student-data-privacy/commentary/) **Published:** September 26, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Student data privacy is an important consideration for schools and districts adopting new ed tech. What should buyers expect from ed tech companies when it comes to student data privacy? **Content:** ## What schools should expect from ed tech companies Concern over student data privacy is reaching the boiling point. And for good reason. More technology use by schools and districts has increased the collection and storage of student information, and breaches are more common than anyone wants. While data can and should be stored centrally to increase access across school staff, accessibility raises questions about who can see and use the data – and what their intentions are. As a leading digital learning and data platform, Edsby recognizes the responsibilities that come with handling sensitive information and the importance of data privacy in ed tech. We believe district leaders should have a complete understanding of how vendors use and protect student data. We know school leaders are busy. To support the process of evaluating ed tech companies, here’s a practical guide to ensure that bases are covered. ### **What should I look for when it comes to student data privacy?** When seeking out new technologies, there are a few best practices to keep in mind. A good place to start is the [Common Sense Privacy Program](https://privacy.commonsense.org/resource/ed-tech). Common Sense uses an evaluation process to rate technologies and aid administrators in purchasing decisions. Though every district’s needs will differ, this is a good place to find general information on a solution being considered. It’s also important for administrators to consider what their needs are, and if there’s a trusted platform or application that can meet most or all of them. Fewer is typically best when it comes to the number of data solutions at school districts, and finding a single platform that provides multiple benefits often means better data protection for students. When researching vendors, it’s also important to consider if their technology adheres to education-specific privacy laws. In the U.S., there’s a myriad of state-level laws in addition to three existing federal laws, which include: - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Protects the privacy of student education records in the United States, and gives families rights in regard to their children’s education records. - Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA): Affords certain rights to parents of minor students in the U.S. with regard to surveys that ask questions of a personal nature. - Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): Imposes requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children in the U.S. under 13 years of age. Though not education-specific, other notable regulations from around the globe have a direct impact on the handling of their countries’ student data privacy, including: - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Aims to protect EU citizens from privacy and data breaches in today’s data-driven world. - Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA): Applies to private-sector organizations across Canada that collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of a commercial activity. - New Zealand Privacy Act (Privacy Act 1993): Governs how agencies collect, use, disclose, store, retain and give access to personal information in the country. For a list of data regulations worldwide, [click here](https://www.dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html). Meeting relevant privacy policies in all the jurisdictions an education technology vendor may do business are table stakes when it comes to privacy. ![student data privacy - teacher with students in classroom](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/24489814_m.jpg)Districts and regions are investing in safe, centrally-managed digital learning platforms to safeguard students’ private information. Many public Internet applications have questionable data practices.### **Student data privacy requires constant vigilance** Another recommendation is continuous due diligence when working with ed tech vendors. For example, an evaluation of contracted ed tech solutions should be conducted annually by a district CIO, CTO or other appropriate administrator. This annual review should aim to ensure compliance and privacy regulations are being met while confirming the district’s return-on-investment with its solutions. To stay on top of trends in data security and privacy, monitor trusted resources, such as the vendor’s [Common Sense Privacy Program](https://privacy.commonsense.org/resource/ed-tech) rating over time, and the Department of Education’s best practices. Another resource is the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), which hosts a variety of materials that cover cybersecurity, infrastructure and working with ed tech vendors. Acting preemptively makes a large difference in keeping information secure and maximizing the value of technologies. ### **What should I ask a vendor about student data privacy?** When seeking out a new solution, the first step should always be research. Technology leaders should take time to vet through their options, consult the advice of other districts and ask questions. Though every district’s needs will differ, there are a handful of key questions to keep in mind when researching different solutions. - Which jurisdiction’s privacy regulations does the vendor adhere to? If it’s an American vendor, does it only adhere to FERPA, PPRA and COPPA? Is that adequate for your needs? - Who owns the data managed by the vendor? Who controls management of the software? - Will our data be deleted if we stop using the service? - Who has access to the data? - Where will information be stored? How will it be secured, both in transit and at rest? How long is it kept? - Are backups performed regularly? Where are they stored? How long are they kept? - Are the physical servers in a secure environment? How secure? What ratings or certifications does it have? - Has the system undergone independent penetration testing? If so, by whom? And how recently? - Does the vendor have a procedure to follow in the event of a data breach? Who will be notified? Under what circumstances, i.e. how does the vendor define a breach? - Is there a recovery plan in the case of a disaster? For inspiration on other questions to ask, read through vendor websites, and be sure to check for stories on specific vendors and their handling of student data in education trade outlets, such as [Education Week](https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/technology/2019/06/12/money-data-security-the-biggest-challenges-facing.html), [Education Dive](https://www.educationdive.com/news/122-k-12-cybersecurity-threats-reported-last-year/548053/) and [T.H.E. Journal](https://thejournal.com/articles/2019/08/16/senators-go-after-ed-tech-on-student-data-usage.aspx) – there’s a plethora of information available. ### **What are some student data privacy red flags?** When you know what to look for, it’s much easier to know what *not* to look for. There are some warning signs that should be considered prior to implementing a product, including: **\#1 “Free” products**: The old adage: When the product is free, you’re the product. In this case, student data is often the product. Vendors offering free education software solutions often bypass the approval of education organizations, and may put data at risk – or monetize it. More on this [here](https://www.edsby.com/five-ways-free-education-software-can-come-at-an-unexpected-cost/). **\#2 Vague privacy policies**: Is the vendor being misleading in their user agreement or privacy policy? Without details, it’s tricky to know exactly what data is being collected, and how it’s being used. **\#3** **Applications that have ads:** A vendor may offer a solution at a discounted price with one caveat – the inclusion of ads within the software. Even if the vendor’s tech is secure, external advertisements can open up vulnerabilities. Or even be illegal in some areas if targeted at kids. **\#4 Minimal detail on cooperating with regulations**: If a vendor isn’t able to provide information about what laws their technology adheres to, a school or district administrator can’t guarantee that compliance is being met. **\#5 Bad press:** Though every situation will vary, if a vendor is commonly featured in negative data privacy or monetization stories, is it wise to continue using its products? Whether it’s healthcare, retail or education, every industry has an obligation to keep people’s information safe and secure. Student data is especially precious. As privacy regulations continue to become more stringent, it’s up to vendors to provide as much accurate information as possible – and for district administrators to know what hard questions to ask. ![student data privacy - teacher with students in library](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/59497852_m.jpg)Vendors of free education software solutions often bypass the approval of education organizations. Sometimes student data is put at risk or monetized. Well-meaning teachers choosing these apps for their classrooms aren’t always aware of the dangers.### **Edsby student data privacy credentials** Edsby is a cloud-based digital learning and data platform that modernizes how teachers, students and parents engage with each other. It is used by national, state and provincial governments, public school districts and private school organizations. - Edsby has the highest [Common Sense Privacy Evaluation score](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/edsby) of K-12 learning platform solutions. - To meet the specific data sovereignty, retention and other regulations of different countries and regions, Edsby leverages [Microsoft’s Azure](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/) network. - Districts utilizing Edsby decide what information Edsby manages, and retain ownership of all data. - Edsby uses customers’ existing identity management systems for user logins and does not need to manage any password data itself. - Edsby undergoes regular penetration testing by third parties. - Edsby does not provide any form of advertising to users, and does not provide or sell service usage information to third parties. Want more detail on the steps that Edsby takes to safeguard student data privacy? [Contact a member of our team today](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales). **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2025](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-september-2025/product-news/) **Published:** September 8, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Here's a roundup of what's been introduced in the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 in recent months leading up to September 2025. **Content:** ## Edsby September 2025 update **Edsby has added many new features in recent months. Our September 2025 focus brings important updates across key product areas: Activities, Artboards, Edsby Capture and Teacher AI Assistant.** **Not all new features are available to users immediately. It’s often up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities.** **To help you explore these changes in more detail, we’ve created new documents and videos with step-by-step explanations. You can find them in the [help section of our public website](https://www.edsby.com/support/)—choose your role to see the resources tailored for you.** **Please keep sharing your feedback and suggestions; they help us continue to make Edsby the best school management system for K-12 teachers, students, parents, and administrators worldwide. Teachers and admins can share their ideas by clicking the question mark on the navigation bar when logged into Edsby on a browser.** **Edsby support and other designated roles at customer sites can access the full list of September 2025 enhancements in a document available in the Release Notes section of the Edsby support portal.** ## New Features and Enhancements for Teachers, Students & Parents ### Introducing Activities: A powerful new way to guide student learning Activities combine structure and creativity, giving teachers a smarter way to engage students and capture learning. - Streamlined submissions. Activities guide students as they submit evidence of their learning, making expectations clear and easy to follow. - Personalized learning. Assign Activities to the whole class or tailor them for individual students to support differentiated instruction. - Curriculum-ready. Every Activity can be linked to the curriculum and pre-tagged. Student submissions automatically retain these connections—saving time and keeping everything organized. - Flexible formats. An Activity can be as simple as a written or recorded instruction, or as dynamic as an interactive worksheet using the new Artboard (see below). With Artboards, students can draw, label, and create—unlocking new ways to demonstrate their understanding. Activities bring structure and creativity together, giving teachers a smarter way to engage students and capture learning. Teachers create Activities within Evidence through the New Activity button. For the students, the Activities appear in the Learning Story, in the new Activities panel. ![Edsby Activities](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Activities-1.png.webp) To create an activity, teachers can: - In a class, navigate to All Evidence, click New Activity. - Enter the Title of the activity. - Add media files or create an Artboard by clicking the brush and pen icon. Students will receive a personal copy of the Artboard and will be able to edit their copy. - Provide instructions for students. - Add a tag for your own personal organization. - Add Expectations. The teacher will see the expectation/outcome on all student submissions. - If updates are required, click Save as Draft. To post to the students’ Learning Story, click Save and Share. Note: Tags are never visible to students or families. Expectations are only visible to students and families once the teacher shares the completed activity and confirms the evidence meets them. **![New Edsby activity form](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/new-activities-form.png.webp)** To complete an activity, a student: - Navigates to the Learning Story. - Selects an activity from the Activities panel and follows the teacher’s instructions. - The student can complete and submit the activity or save it as a draft for later submission. **![Edsby student activity](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/student-activity-1.png.webp)** #### Activity Examples In this illustration, the teacher has created an activity for every student in the class. The teacher has provided the students with instructions on how to complete the activity. The teacher has also added a tag and linked relevant expectations/outcomes. All submitted Activities will retain the tag and linked expectations. ![Example Edsby activity](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/example-activity-1.png.webp) When a student opens the activity, the student sees the title and instructions but not the tags. The student can submit photos, PDFs, or use an Artboard. The work can be saved as a draft until it is ready for submission. **![Student activity example in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/student-example-1.png.webp)** In this example, the activity is shared with selected students, and the teacher has elected to create an Artboard for the students. ![Edsby student activity example](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/activity-example-2.png.webp) When a student selects the Artboard, the student can edit their copy of the Artboard. The student selects the Draw tool to complete the worksheet. **![Edsby student activity example 2a](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/student-example-2a.png.webp)** The submitted Activities appear in the All Evidence feed. When the submission is opened by the teacher, the teacher can add observations and select a performance level. The evidence has a thumbnail of the Artboard. Clicking on the Artboard opens it in full size. Note that the tag and expectations/outcomes are automatically included. **![Edsby student activity edit evidence form](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/example-2-submitted.png.webp)** In the All Evidence feed, the teacher can Return for Resubmission with feedback. The student can resubmit the work. **![Edsby student activity return for resubmission](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/return-for-submission.png.webp)** Organize can be used to select multiple items and return them all by clicking Return for Resubmission. All submissions can be viewed by selecting All Students and the name of the Activity. **![Edsby student activity all submissions](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/all-submissions.png.webp)** ### Edsby Capture and Activities A new version of Edsby Capture will be released soon. This update will support both Activities and Artboard submissions. After scanning the QR code, students will be able to: - Submit media (photos and videos), as they did before, or - Create and submit an Artboard. Students can only submit media or Artboards in classes where the teacher has enabled the Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence option. At least one class must have this option enabled for students to use Capture. Activities can be created in any class, and teachers do not need to enable Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence option in all the classes. For example, if a teacher enables the Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence option in Art Class, students can submit media or an Artboard to the Art class. However, students can complete an Activity from any class. **![New Edsby Capture enabled for artboards](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Capture-screen-shots.png.webp)** Note: Teachers enable the Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence by navigating to Evidence and clicking QR Code. ### About the Artboard media type Artboards are ideal for younger students, providing a new file type of a virtual 2D space and a simple set of tools on that work seamlessly on desktops, phones, and tablets. Click or tap the new Artboard icon anywhere media can be attached in Edsby. **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Artboard-tool-icon-in-Edsby-toolbar.png.webp)** #### Artboard Tools ![Edsby artboard media tools](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/art-board-tools.png.webp) The **Media** tool supports photos, videos, audio and files. Video and audio media can be used to provide instructions for pre-readers. If you upload image files of worksheets, students can then use the Draw tool to complete worksheets. **![Edsby artboard: non standard measurement](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/artboard-media-example.png.webp)** The **Draw** tool creates free-hand marks, just like a pencil. The line color and line weight can be changed. **![Edsby artboard draw tool options](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/draw-tool-options.png.webp)** The **Shape** tool has options for creating circles, polygons, and rectangles. The line and fill color and line weight can be changed. For the polygons, the Sides selector enables the creation of triangles, pentagons, hexagons, and more, up to 16-sided shapes. **![Edsby artboard shape tool options](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/shape-tool-options.png.webp)** The **Text** tool creates a text box. Large, medium, and small text can be created with a choice of colors. The **Select** tool focuses on a single element. Each element includes a drag handle (six dots), Send to Back, Bring to Front, and Copy options. After an element is copied, the toolbar displays a Paste tool. Keyboard shortcuts are supported, and hovering over a tool shows its shortcut. In addition to Activities, the Artboard media type is available to teachers in the Class feed. Within groups, anyone with permission to post can use the Artboard media type. ### Teacher AI Assistant The Edsby Teacher AI Assistant is a set of tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of educators in their daily tasks. These tools are available exclusively to staff; students and parents do not have access. The development of this set of tools has been guided by a strong commitment to security and privacy, prioritizing the protection of user data. This feature is an add-on service at an additional cost. The feature has been enabled in Edsby customer Sandbox systems for you to explore. **Make Question Sheet** helps teachers create question sheets based on content they have created in units, lessons, pages. Question sheets can also be generated by selecting standards. ![Edsby Teacher AI Assistant question feature](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Teacher-Assistant-Question-Sheet-2.png.webp) **Critique Writing** is available within the Grader for PDFs. It provides a general critique including feedback on writing level and advice for improvement. Critique also has a prompt to provide a summary of grammar and spelling errors. ![Edsby Teacher Assistant Critique](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Teacher-Assistant-Critique.png.webp) The **Text Composer** helps teachers author or rewrite Class and Group content. It provides tools to: - Identify and fix grammatical errors - Expand, shorten, or rewrite text by choosing from the prompts - Translate text into another language ![Edsby artboard media tools](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/art-board-tools.png.webp)![Edsby Teacher AI Assistant text composer](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Teacher-Assistant-Text-Composer.png.webp) **Summarize Thread** helps teachers save time by distilling essential information without having to read entire conversations, reducing cognitive overload from long discussions. It is available in classes and groups. ![Edsby teacher AI assistant summarize thread](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Teacher-Assistant-Summarize.png.webp) The **Comment Assistant** is available in comment fields within a report card sheet. The comment assistant can be used in a variety of ways: - Writing a paragraph based on point-form - Creating a more detailed comment based on the existing comment - Creating asset-based comments - Shortening a comment to meet character limits - Changing tone - Fixing grammar and spelling errors In this illustration, the teacher has added three statements about the student. One of the statements has a typo (builing) and an incorrect word (texting). In the Comment Assistant, the teacher has selected the Professional prompt. The suggested comment is in paragraph form and both the typo and incorrect word have been fixed. ![Edsby Teacher AI Assistant comment assistant](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/comment-assistant-1.png.webp) In this example, the teacher has added points that lists ways in which a student is struggling. Selecting the *Asset based* prompt translates the points into a comment that emphasizes learning and growth. ![Edsby Teacher AI Assistant comment assistant 2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/comment-assistant-3.png.webp) ## New Features and Enhancements for School Administrators (Senior Admin and Office Head) ### School Page Staff The Staff Panel’s Roster uses enhanced roster options. Print a staff list to use as a ready-made sign-in sheet for workshops, meeting attendees, inclement weather lists, or a quick reference for new staff members. ![Edsby school page staff](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Staff-Roster.png.webp) ### Information Panel While most names and addresses in Edsby are managed in the Student Information System, occasionally the information needs to be augmented. For example, some SISes don’t handle hyphenated names (Cameron-Chen) or compound names (Cameron Chen) well. When the Senior Admin or Office Head changes anything on the Information Panel, it overrides the information from the SIS. The Information panel will display an exclamation point to indicate a deviation from the SIS. ![Edsby info panel](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/info-panel.png.webp) **This public document is an abstract of September 2025 Edsby platform enhancements. More complete details are available for Edsby site administrators in the Edsby customer support portal.** **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2024](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-september-2024/product-news/) **Published:** September 4, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for September 2024, here's what's now available, and soon to be available, in the Edsby social learning and data platform for K-12. **Content:** ## Edsby September 2024 update **Edsby has added many new features in recent months. Our focus for September 2024 includes significant updates in key product areas: Class Groups, Gradebooks, Evidence and Report Cards.** **Not all new features will be available to users immediately. It’s up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators plan, and to give end-users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon, if not already.** **To provide you with a deeper understanding of these changes, new documents and videos have been created to describe these new capabilities in more detail. These are all available in the [help section of our website](https://www.edsby.com/support/); click your role to see the resources available to you. Edsby support and other designated roles at customer sites can access the full list of September 2024 enhancements in a document available in the Release Notes section of the Edsby support portal.** ### New Features and Enhancements for Teachers #### Class Groups Classes have a new feature to support student collaboration with special groups created within a Class. The teacher can create groups that allow student participation, or to provide targeted resources to a group of students. A teacher can also create Class Groups only visible to the teachers of the class. These hidden groups can be used to create individualized assessments. Class Groups are accessed from a Class’ Students panel and are created through a new form. Permissions are also managed through the form, giving educators full control over group access and visibility. In this example, the teacher has created Class Groups to enable students to collaborate on a group presentation. The teacher can access the groups by clicking on the group name. Additionally, the teacher has created Class Groups based on the courses the students are enrolled in. These groups will be used to speed up the creation of assessments. The teacher can choose to keep these hidden from students. ![Edsby class groups](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-07-55-1468-PM.png-300x250.webp) The teacher can select which group or groups the student is a member of by clicking radio buttons as below. The teacher can also randomly put students into groups. Once the form is saved, the groups are created and the visibility and participation options are set. Teachers can make changes by clicking the gear icon and making adjustments to the form. #### ![Edsby class group setup](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-09-57-0056-PM.png-e1725476168432.webp) **Using Class Groups in assessments** The assessment form now gives the teacher the option of selecting a subset of students. If the teacher has created Class Groups, they will have the option to select one or more of the groups. If the assignment enables the students to submit a file, the teacher can choose to have one submission per group. #### Edsby Evidence and single QR codes Students can submit learning evidence to any class their teachers choose. Items submitted are immediately visible in the student’s own Learning Story and the teacher’s Evidence page. Parents only see the items once they are shared to their child’s Learning Story by the teacher. Students now only need one QR code to submit to any class with evidence capture enabled. Students no longer need to scan different QR codes for different classes. For example, a homeroom teacher can enable evidence submission in English, French, and Visual Arts and then provide each student with a single QR code. The code can be printed from either the English, French, or Visual Arts classes. The student scans the QR code, takes a photo or video, and then is presented with a list of valid classes. If only one class is enabled, no list is presented, the item is simply uploaded to the class. Students submitting evidence through Edsby Capture can scan the QR code found in their Learning Story. Students can also choose to submit evidence through Edsby by selecting from a list of classes. ### ![Edsby single QR code](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SingleQRcode-png.png.webp) ### Idea Management System (coming soon) An Idea Management System (IMS) is being incorporated into Edsby to enable teacher and district staff users to submit, vote for, and discuss feature requests with other teacher and district staff users and the Edsby team. The goal is a private, collaborative environment where the needs and preferences of educators and administrators can be effectively communicated and considered. Students and parents do not have access. The system is not intended for bug reporting, so any technical issues should continue to be addressed through existing channels. Notification preferences can be set to stay updated on relevant discussions and developments. Staff access the IMS from their personal menu in an Edsby browser login. Selecting “Suggest a new feature” will display a form to submit a new feature idea. ![Edsby IMS](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-18-15-0127-PM.png.webp) #### Edsby professional development modules Edsby professional development curriculum has been created to support school staff, including teachers, school administrators, and attendance office personnel, in their understanding and use of the Edsby platform. These courses are presented using Edsby, within Edsby, and are self-paced, allowing participants to engage with the material at a time and pace that suits their schedules. More courses are to be developed over time. Available modules are presented through the Group Recommender panel, ensuring that they are visible and readily accessible to those who may benefit from them. Once initiated or completed, modules appear in a user’s Group list for future reference. ![Edsby PD modules](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-22-22-1406-PM.png.webp) #### Art Boards (coming soon) Art Boards will soon be introduced as a richer way to capture evidence of student learning, as a dynamic new tool for educators. This feature will support templated activities, enabling a structured approach to documenting and sharing student work. Designed for versatility, Art Boards will be usable beyond the primary levels, making them suitable for various educational settings. Whether incorporated into lessons, shared through feed posts, or used in personal messages, Art Boards will provide a flexible and engaging way to enhance teaching and learning experiences. ![Edsby art boards](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Artboard-Editing-png.png.webp) #### AI assistant for teachers (coming soon) Edsby has developed a new Teacher AI Assistant, a set of tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of educators in their daily tasks. These tools are available exclusively to staff. The development of this set of features has been guided by a commitment to security and privacy, prioritizing the protection of user data. The AI tools offer a range of capabilities designed to assist educators in various aspects of their work. These include writing assistance that provides grammar and spell check, tone adjustments, content generation, and writing critique. Additionally, the assistant can generate progress narratives, summarize conversations, and translate languages, making it a versatile resource for educators. In this illustration, the teacher has copied curriculum codes into a Note and used the AI assistant to create a student friendly version to post as the course outline. ![Edsby teacher AI assistant](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-31-10-7208-PM.png.webp) Within the Grader, the teacher has asked for a list of spelling and grammar issues present in the student’s submitted PDF file. ![Within the Grader, the teacher has asked for a list of spelling and grammar issues present in the student’s submitted PDF file.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-31-57-7858-PM.png.webp) These AI features are integrated into key areas such as class and group feed posts, replies, the gradebook, grading processes, report card comments, content building and quiz sheet generation. The Teacher AI Assistant is currently in a limited beta phase and will be offered as an add-on service when available. More information about Edsby’s Teacher AI Assistant [here](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/). This feature is the first deliverable in Edsby’s larger vision of AI described [here](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-ai/product-news/). ### New Features and Enhancements for School Administrators #### Correcting archived Report Cards Sheets Corrections can now be made to archived Report Card Sheets. If the sheet is published, it can be corrected and republished. Republishing the sheet does not generate a notification. If the sheet was either submitted or approved, it can be returned to these states, but not published. The Senior Admin or Office Head must first access the archives and then navigate to the Report Cards Zoom. Reporting periods from previous years are visible in the picker. ![Edsby report card sheet](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-35-24-6213-PM.png.webp) ![Edsby report card sheet](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-35-47-2170-PM.png.webp) #### Attendance enhancements **Planned absences** Ongoing and upcoming planned absences are now included in a student’s Attendance List View. ![](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-36-28-4870-PM.png?width=688&height=208&name=image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-36-28-4870-PM.png) **Sign out** When the student is signed out, the current period’s attendance sheet will be updated to show an absence starting at the sign out time. ![](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-36-41-6523-PM.png?width=688&height=64&name=image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-36-41-6523-PM.png) #### Changes to the Assistant Teacher role The Assistant Teacher has been adjusted to better suit school-based employees who work in the classroom but should not have access to personal or academic information about students at the school. - The Assistant Teacher can be added to a Class and when assigned the class-based role of Assistant has a read-only view of the class. The names of Assistants do not appear in the Teachers panel of the class. - The role can be added to groups and will see any groups open to All Staff. This role cannot create groups. - The role does not have access to any Zooms. - The role can view the School page but cannot submit an article. - The role can view the Profile page of any staff, student, or parent either through a search or by clicking on a name. The Profile page contains the user’s name and photo. #### New class-based role added A new class-based role called Assistant provides read-only access to a class. If a Teacher is assigned the class-based Assistant role, they can take attendance but will otherwise have read-only access. This can be useful for mentoring purposes. Assigning the Assistant class-based role is the recommended choice for School admins or teachers when granting class access. **View of a class for the user role of Assistant Teacher and the class-based role of Assistant** When assigned to a class as an Assistant, the Assistant Teacher can view a read-only version of the class feed, Planner, Content, and Seating Plan. The Assistant Teacher has a reduced mini-profile. The availability of the Send Message option is controlled by the District. ![](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-40-55-6564-PM.png?width=688&height=356&name=image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-40-55-6564-PM.png) **View of a class for the user role of Teacher and the class-based role of Assistant** When assigned to a class, the Teacher can take attendance and view a read-only version of the class feed, Planner, Content, and Seating Plan. Those assigned the class-based role of Assistant are not listed in the Teachers panel. The mini profile is based on the Teacher role and remains unaffected by the class-based role. ![](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-41-40-2404-PM.png?width=688&height=356&name=image-png-Sep-04-2024-12-41-40-2404-PM.png) **This public document is an abstract of September 2024 Edsby platform enhancements. More complete details are available for Edsby site administrators in the Edsby customer support portal.** **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby named best education LMS four years in row](https://www.edsby.com/best-lms-four-years/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** August 29, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby named best online platform for teaching as top education LMS of 2025 by U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group The Tech Edvocate. **Content:** ### The Tech Edvocate awards Edsby Best Learning Management System of 2025 and Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining App or Tool of 2025 The Tech Edvocate, a U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group, has announced winners of its annual education technology awards. For the fourth year running, the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 was named the best online platform for teaching, as best LMS for 2025. Edsby won previously in [2024](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-2024-tech-edvocate-best-lms/edsby-in-the-news/), [2023,](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2023-tech-edvocate-award/edsby-in-the-news/) and [2022](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-2022-tech-edvocate-award/edsby-in-the-news/). Finalists this year included Google Classroom, Moodle and MaxBrain LMS. Edsby was also awarded Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining App or Tool of 2025. **Voting and judging** The four month program solicited nominees from readers in June/July of 2024. Online voting from May 1, 2025 – August 1, 2025 gauged nominees’ popularity, but did not determine they would become a finalist or win an award, according to the publication. Finalists and winners were ultimately selected by a panel comprised of two edtech thought leaders, two PreK-12 teachers, one college professor, two K-12 administrators, one college administrator and two PreK-12 parents, the publication wrote. The Richmond, VA-based Edvocate was created in 2014 to argue for shifts in education policy and organization in order to enhance the quality of education and the opportunities for learning afforded to P-20 students in America. The full list of this year’s winners and finalists is [here](https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2025-tech-edvocate-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Social Media... Problem or solution?](https://www.edsby.com/social-media-problem-or-solution/commentary/) **Published:** November 28, 2011 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** The Getting Smart blog has a great post entitled "Mentoring Your Students in Social Media or Vice Versa". While students live in social media, teachers can't just use public social media products in the educational environment. **Content:** The Getting Smart blog has a great post entitled “Mentoring Your Students in Social Media or Vice Versa”. He’s talking about the fact that while students live in social media, teachers can’t just use public social media products in an educational environment. > Most of us educators are wrapped up in social media, as well, but we’ve managed to keep education itself in a sterile environment, safe from the outside world. By the way, the outside world prefers to be called by its actual name: The Real World. > > Naturally, many educators want to include their students in social media too, but they are not sure how to safely orchestrate an educational integration with networks like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and so on. > > So let’s get serious about making a social-networking strategy for our classroom. This needs to be a well thought-out strategy. Don’t just start friending students on Facebook and firing off tweets with tomorrow’s homework assignment on it. Let’s work on the plan first. See the full article here: [http://gettingsmart.com](http://gettingsmart.com/blog/2011/11/mentoring-your-students-in-social-media-or-vice-versa/ "Mentoring your students in social media or vice versa") **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby Best Learning Analytics Solution in 2025 Edtech Awards](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2025-edtech-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 8, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby wins a 2025 "Cool Tool" award and is named a finalist in two others. **Content:** ### Edsby was a winner in this year’s EdTech Awards The innovative cloud-based K-12 social learning platform Edsby is the 2025 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for Best Learning Analytics / Data Mining Solution. Edsby’s optional learning analytics provide [data-driven insights](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/) to schools, districts and governments. [Edsby analytics](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/) give educators and policymakers insight previously thought impossible, along with ways to take action on trends or outliers they discover. The EdTech Awards are an initiative of [EdTech Digest](https://edtechdigest.com/), an online publication serving the education community. The awards program is in its 15th year and “is the world’s largest recognition program for education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech – and those who soon will be,” according to the organization. All entries undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. > Congratulations to The EdTech Awards 2025 finalists and winners! The future of learning is being shaped right now, and those we honor here are leading the way. If there’s one field ready to embrace and lead through change, it’s this one! > > -Victor Rivero, Editor-in-Chief, EdTech Digest The EdTech Awards recognize people—and the products they produce and lives they shape—with three main honors: - The EdTech Cool Tool Awards - The EdTech Leadership Awards, and - The EdTech Trendsetter Awards The Edsby platform was also a finalist in this year’s Best Learning Management Solution (LMS) category and Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solution. [The full list of 2025 EdTech Award winners](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2024-finalists-winners/). [The list of 80+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby certified to ISO 27001:2022](https://www.edsby.com/iso-27001-2022-certified/product-news/) **Published:** July 28, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has now been certified to the latest international standard for information security, part of its investment in responsible management of student data. **Content:** #### Edsby has now been certified to the latest, most modern international standard for information security. Edsby’s ISO 27001 certification, which it’s maintained [annually since 2021](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/product-news/), is now to the newest 2022 version of the international standard. ISO 27001:2022 includes new controls and a revised structure to address evolving information security threats and technologies. Edsby just concluded its annual certification process. ISO 27001 certification provides a framework for organizations to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve an Information Security Management System (ISMS). This certification demonstrates commitment to international information security best practices, helping organizations protect sensitive data, comply with regulations, and gain a competitive advantage. The annual certification is part of the investment Edsby makes in its [responsible management of student data](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/). **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** 1 --- ### [Edsby at Unionville College](https://www.edsby.com/unionville-college/customers/) **Published:** July 25, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby provides assessment, learning management, parent communication for Canadian independent school in conjunction with partner Veracross. **Content:** #### Edsby partners with Veracross at independent K-10 school Since 2015, Edsby has powered [assessment](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/), [learning management](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/learning-management-lms/), [family communication](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/) and more for Canada’s Unionville College. Across four campuses just north of Toronto, Canada, the organization applies its unique blend of Montessori, elementary, secondary, and advanced-level classes for its community of 1,200 K-10 students. In 2024, Unionville College transitioned its student information system to the Veracross system popular among independent schools. Edsby remained the primary interface for teachers, students, admins and parents. Even though the organization performed a “heart transplant” when moving to Veracross, it didn’t miss a beat, thanks to Edsby. Read more about [how Edsby and Veracross are helping Unionville College](https://www.veracross.com/resources/unionville-college/) and its mission to provide enriching, stimulating and inspirational educational experiences for all students. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [ISO 27001 Certification](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/product-news/) **Published:** August 11, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** ISO 27001 is a global standard that helps Edsby take a risk-based approach to reduce data threats and address vulnerabilities. It entails a cultural shift for the company as it looks to the future and ensures the highest security and data protection standards. **Content:** Securing confidential student information has been the number one priority for Edsby from our inception more than 10 years ago. Consequently, we’re pleased to announce our company is now [ISO/IEC 27001](https://www.iso.org/isoiec-27001-information-security.html) certified. ISO 27001 is a global standard that helps organizations take a risk-based approach to reduce data threats and address vulnerabilities systematically based on global best practices. Adhering to this standard means having a formal and comprehensive Information Security Management System (ISMS). **What is an ISMS?** An information security management system includes a comprehensive suite of policies and procedures that a company establishes to identify risks, define controls, and set clear expectations for their information security. The main objective of an ISMS is to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the confidential information the organization manages. **What does it mean to be ISO 27001 certified?** An ISO 27001 certificate indicates we have requested and passed an audit conducted by an accredited certification body. This audit verifies our investment in the people, processes, and technologies responsible for protecting sensitive data. This milestone entails a cultural shift for the company, and it comes as the culmination of a years-long and intensive process. To achieve this certification, CoreFour, our company’s legal name, established security baselines and implemented detailed processes to protect sensitive data. Furthermore, the company continuously provides thorough awareness programs for the staff and assesses the effectiveness of risk management controls. ISO 27001 certification is crucial for building cybersecurity and enables CoreFour to: - Anticipate, respond to, and recover from threats - Commit to continuously improving our core data management framework - Secure cloud and digital data in accordance with global best practices Cyber risk exposure is a primary concern for all SaaS-based platforms. As CoreFour looks to the future, the fundamental matter is to keep challenging ourselves to improve our service and ensure the highest standards of security and data protection to exceed the needs and expectations of our customers. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What is a K-12 Digital Learning Platform—and why does it matter more than ever?](https://www.edsby.com/what-is-a-k12-digital-learning-platform/commentary/) **Published:** July 17, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Discover what a K-12 Digital Learning Platform is and learn how unified systems like Edsby support teaching, student engagement, parent communication and more all in one place. **Content:** In today’s classrooms, technology isn’t just a tool—it’s the backbone of modern education. As schools and districts seek to unify how they [deliver instruction](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/learning-management-lms/), [assess student progress](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/), [engage families](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/), and [drive data-informed decisions](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/), the need for a purpose-built **K-12 Digital Learning Platform** has never been greater. But what exactly is a K-12 Digital Learning Platform? And what makes it different from a basic learning management system or a collection of standalone edtech tools? Let’s break down what defines a K-12 Digital Learning Platform, how it supports schools, and why platforms like Edsby are changing the way students, teachers, parents, and administrators connect and succeed. ### What is a K-12 Digital Learning Platform? A K-12 Digital Learning Platform is an integrated, cloud-based system designed to support **all aspects of teaching and learning in primary and secondary (K-12) education.** Unlike basic learning management systems (LMSs) that focus mainly on classroom content delivery, a digital learning platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools that connect everyone in the school community—students, teachers, parents, administrators, and IT—on a single platform. At its core, a K-12 digital learning platform centralizes: - Lesson and assignment delivery - Assessment and grading - Student and family engagement - Attendance and behavior tracking - Communication and collaboration - Data dashboards and analytics - Integration with Student Information Systems (SIS) ### Why K-12 Needs Its Own Digital Learning Platform K-12 education is uniquely complex. Teachers manage dozens or even hundreds of students across subjects and class periods. Students vary widely in age, ability, and needs. Parents are active participants. And school and district administrators require oversight, compliance, and reporting capabilities. A platform designed specifically for K-12 must support: - **Age-appropriate student interfaces** from kindergarten to Grade 12 - **Daily workflows for teachers** (not just course creation) - **Family visibility and communication** in real time - **Local grading standards** like percentage-based, level-based, or standards/mastery models - **Scalable administration** across multiple schools or entire districts Generic LMSs or higher-ed-focused systems often fall short in meeting these realities. ### What Should a K-12 Digital Learning Platform Include? To serve the entire K-12 ecosystem, a strong digital learning platform should provide: #### 1. **Instructional Tools for Teachers** - Create and organize lessons, assignments, quizzes, and resources - Share with students in a digital classroom space - Provide feedback, mark work, and track engagement #### 2. **Assessment and Report Cards** - Traditional and standards-based grading - Rubric-based evaluations and report card generation - Tracking of curriculum expectations, outcomes, and competencies #### 3. **Parent and Guardian Communication** - Real-time access to grades, attendance, class updates, and school news - Messaging tools that bridge home and school seamlessly - Mobile-friendly portals for on-the-go access #### 4. **Student Engagement Tools** - Personalized learning paths and feedback loops - Safe spaces for reflection, goal setting, and collaboration - Visibility into progress and upcoming work #### 5. **School-Wide Administration Features** - Attendance tracking and interventions - School calendars, event management, and announcements #### 6. **Data Dashboards and Analytics** - Visual indicators of academic risk, well-being, or disengagement - Data aggregation by class, grade, school, or district - Exportable insights for leadership and reporting #### 7. **Seamless Integration with Existing Systems** - Bi-directional syncing with Student Information Systems (SIS) - Single sign-on (SSO) compatibility - Open APIs for customization and future growth - Connectivity to or launching other edtech applications in the school, district or state ### Meet Edsby: A K-12 Digital Learning Platform Built for Today’s Classrooms Edsby is a [multi-award-winning](https://www.edsby.com/awards/) K-12 Digital Learning Platform that brings all of these capabilities—and more—into one secure, scalable solution. Purpose-built for K-12, Edsby connects students, educators, families, and districts in a way no other platform does. With Edsby, school districts and private schools gain: - **An all-in-one platform** that replaces disconnected tools - **Deep SIS integration** for accurate, real-time information - **Flexible assessment models**, including standards/competency-based learning - **Best-in-class parent engagement** - **Advanced analytics** to spot trends and intervene early And because Edsby is designed from the ground up for K-12, it adapts to **local grading scales, jurisdictional reporting rules, and policy frameworks** across regions and countries. And it pays uncommonly high attention to the [security of student data](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/), with the [highest rating of any comparable product](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/edsby) for its responsible data handling practices, and certified to ISO 27001 each year. ### The Future of Learning is Unified—and Digital As the education landscape evolves, districts are realizing the value of unified platforms that do more than just deliver content. A true K-12 Digital Learning Platform improves student outcomes, saves time for teachers, empowers parents, and supports leadership with meaningful data. If your school or district is seeking a trusted, comprehensive solution tailored to the real needs of K-12 education, it’s time to explore what Edsby can offer. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Tip: Suggest a new feature](https://www.edsby.com/tip-suggest-a-new-feature/edsby-tips/) **Published:** May 2, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Teachers and admins can submit new features for consideration by Edsby and see what's on Edsby's product roadmap. **Content:** #### Educators can suggest new Edsby features from right inside Edsby Teachers and admins can submit ideas for new features in Edsby. When logged into an Edsby system with a web browser, click the question mark icon at the top right corner of any page, and select “Suggest a new feature.” ![Edsby suggest a new feature](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/TransparentIMS-III.png) Teachers can: - Submit their own ideas and see what other educators think of them - Vote on ideas submitted by others - See which favorite customer features have made it to Edsby’s product roadmap - Read special product announcements Tell other teachers! Pass it on. This capability is only available on desktop browsers at this time, not mobile. And it is available only to educators using Edsby, and not students or parents. **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Edsby and Unison win 2024 Edtech Awards](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-unison-2024-edtech-award-winner/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 27, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby and its Unison data platform win two 2024 "Cool Tool" awards and were named a finalist in one other. **Content:** ### Edsby and Unison were winners in this year’s EdTech Awards The innovative cloud-based K-12 social learning platform [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) is the 2024 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for Best Parent/Student Solution. Edsby’s [Unison](https://www.edsby.com/unison/) was named the 2024 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for Best District Data Solution. The Unison education data clean room platform standardizes current and past education data and makes it interoperable and available to stakeholders. The EdTech Awards are an initiative of [EdTech Digest](https://edtechdigest.com/), an online publication serving the education community. The awards program is in its 14th year and “is the world’s largest recognition program for education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech – and those who soon will be,” according to the organization. All entries undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. > Warm and hearty congratulations to all The EdTech Awards 2024 finalists and winners—very, very well done! The barriers education technology leaders have overcome in the last few years to make it to where they are today — well, that’s a cause for celebration! > > -Victor Rivero, Editor-in-Chief, EdTech Digest The Edsby platform was also a finalist in this year’s best learning management solution (LMS) category. It won best LMS three times in the past: [in 2022,](https://www.edsby.com/2022-lms-edtech-award-winner-edsby-platform/) the [2021](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2021-lms-cool-tool-winner/), and in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/). For a full list of 2024 EdTech Award winners, click [here](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2024-finalists-winners/). For a list of the 80+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby a "leader" with "momentum," acc'd to G2](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-leader-momentum-g2-spring2025/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 4, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby learning platform for K-12 gets kudos in Spring 2025 reports across 8 categories in which it appears on the G2 software review site. **Content:** The Edsby learning platform for K-12 gets notable distinctions across the 8 categories in which it appears in the enterprise software reviews site G2’s Spring 2025 reports. Categories include: Assessment, Classroom Management, Classroom Messaging, Digital Learning Platforms, Learning Management System (LMS), Online Learning Platform, School Management and Virtual Classroom. Thanks, Edsby customers, for writing such flattering things about Edsby on G2. Click any of the below for more information. [![Edsby is a leader in Virtual Classroom on G2](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/report_medal_translation/image/24593/medal.svg)](https://www.g2.com/products/edsby/reviews?utm_source=rewards-badge "Edsby is a leader in Virtual Classroom on G2") [![Edsby is a leader in Digital Learning Platforms on G2](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/report_medal_translation/image/24343/medal.svg)](https://www.g2.com/products/edsby/reviews?utm_source=rewards-badge "Edsby is a leader in Digital Learning Platforms on G2") [![Edsby is a leader in Learning Management System (LMS) on G2](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/report_medal_translation/image/24338/medal.svg)](https://www.g2.com/products/edsby/reviews?utm_source=rewards-badge "Edsby is a leader in Learning Management System (LMS) on G2") [![Edsby is a leader in Digital Learning Platforms on G2](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/report_medal_translation/image/24322/medal.svg)](https://www.g2.com/products/edsby/reviews?utm_source=rewards-badge "Edsby is a leader in Digital Learning Platforms on G2") [![Edsby is a leader in Classroom Management on G2](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/report_medal_translation/image/24313/medal.svg)](https://www.g2.com/products/edsby/reviews?utm_source=rewards-badge "Edsby is a leader in Classroom Management on G2") **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Secrets of a Happy Marriage… to Your SIS](https://www.edsby.com/marriage-to-your-sis-student-information-system/commentary/) **Published:** January 19, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Divorces are messy. Here’s why school districts are finding it increasingly preferable to stay partnered with their solid, proven Student Information Systems. **Content:** ### Divorces are messy. Here’s why school districts are finding it increasingly preferable to stay partnered with their solid, proven Student Information Systems. Dissatisfaction with old user interfaces, lack of support for the latest in mobile technology, and a thin product roadmap sometimes cause K-12 school districts to consider moving to a new Student Information System (SIS) in the hope of modernizing the tools they provide to teachers and expanding their facilities for communicating with students and parents, After all, in this modern era of the cloud, mobile apps, and big data, we’re surrounded by examples of how technology can revolutionize so many aspects of daily life. It makes sense that teachers, students and parents would expect the same in how they communicate, collaborate and share things at school. **Why some districts have been considering migrating to new SISes** Because most SIS platforms are 20 to 30 years old (several lifetimes ago in the rapid-paced world of software development), and were designed with the available technologies of the time, it isn’t easy for them to support state of the art modern cloud, social, mobile and data-hungry applications. Issues many districts encounter with an older SIS include: - Little or no web access; possibly stuck in old Windows/VPN paradigm - Little or no support for parent access to homework, grades, schedules, timetables, parent teacher interview schedules, and so on - No mobile apps for smartphones and tablets - Outdated facilities for tracking student progress - Primitive reporting facilities - No data analytics or data visualizations - No student engagement support To further exacerbate challenges, well intentioned teachers often introduce privacy and security issues by trying to plug gaps themselves with free software found on the Internet. This creates silos of unsupported and potentially insecure applications that may create a legal or regulatory exposure for the district. **Perils of trying to change SISes** Despite the challenges above, educators have increasingly been reluctant to change student information systems. Here’s why: - **It’s hard to swap SISes** – The SIS is the heart of a school district’s IT systems. And heart transplants are expensive, risky and stressful. Like human hearts, SISes are particular; there’s a large amount of customization for every district, even when using off-the-shelf software. SISes are regional for a reason; state/provincial reports have already been configured. It’s often underestimated how hard it is to recreate government reports in an SIS that has not been custom-built for a region; given regions don’t have many serious choices for SIS vendors because of their unique regional assessment schemes, standards and report requirements. - **Data loss is likely:** It’s also hard to migrate from an SIS because it has reliable, historical records with data going back years. Portions of this historical data are usually lost when migrating to a different SIS. - **Switching is expensive** – The cost of changing can be massive when factoring in all the expenses. For the Canadian province of British Columbia (600,000 students), which recently changed its province-wide SIS to a commercially available SIS platform, the actual 5-year startup, conversion, and training costs there [have recently risen to $95M, or approximately $160/student](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/new-b-c-school-enrolment-software-causing-major-headaches-1.3231434). Los Angeles Unified has [spent $189M to date, or $288/student](http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-lausd-software-20141012-story.html) in its journey to move to a modern SIS system. - **Switching is highly disruptive** – The above cost examples don’t include “soft costs” associated with staff retraining required as district officials, school administrators and even teachers need to learn whole new ways to do a wide range of tasks – even ones that were working well. **Embracing and extending existing SISes** School districts are increasingly finding they’ve got options, especially now that software vendors have produced advanced, user-facing systems designed to work hand-in-glove with existing SIS databases. Systems such as Edsby give school districts the flexibility to stay with their existing, known SIS system while giving users a modern, world-class set of capabilities ranging from social classrooms to modern attendance, parent workflow, curriculum management, standards-based online testing, a world class parent portal, student portfolios, even learning analytics and more. Districts can preserve their investments in existing systems and benefit from a whole new path for adding modern capabilities. Districts don’t need to leave their existing SIS to achieve modern objectives. An SIS-agnostic student and parent engagement & analytics system like Edsby has been built to extend the investment a district has made in its existing SIS, even if it’s an on-premises system. Edsby gives student, teacher, parent and administrator users a modern, compelling, cloud-based, feature-rich user experience that works great on web browsers and mobile devices. At the same time, it’s designed to keep the legacy SIS as the district’s system of record for rostering, classes, attendance, grades, discipline data and all other data currently captured and reported against in the SIS. Another benefit of a system like Edsby, built to work with any and all SIS platforms, is protection against future SIS lifecycle issues, acquisitions or other changes. Districts can adopt Edsby today and change SISes at any time in the future—if they have to—on a timetable they control, with lower training costs and fewer disruptions. The district future-proofs its systems, while securing a feature-rich, easy to use system immediately for all its teachers, students and parents. In summary, Edsby provides districts with: - A state-of-the art user experience for teachers, students and parents - Modern capabilities now rather than having to wait (and wait…) - A way to avoid the large budget challenge that comes with switching SIS platforms - A way to avoid the disruption and headache to staff of switching SISes - A way to reduce or eliminate privacy and security issues that come with teachers trying to fill the gaps themselves with point solutions *Without Edsby**With Edsby***Modern user functionality**New SIS neededKeep existing SIS**Student privacy risk management**New SIS and integrated LMS & parent portal neededKeep existing SIS**Integrated student, teacher & parent experience**New SIS and integrated LMS & parent portal neededKeep existing SIS**Mitigate against future SIS lifecycle risk**New SIS neededKeep existing SIS and only change if necessary – no retraining students, teachers or parents needed at that time**Keeping the district in the driver’s seat, not the passenger seat** Adopting an SIS-agnostic front end like Edsby today gives districts immediate access to modern capabilities regardless of the vintage of their SIS, and puts districts in control regarding any future migration to another SIS at a future time and date. School districts get the best of all worlds: continued return on the existing SIS they’ve come to know and trust, modern engagement and analytics for users today, and future protection against changes. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Amidst the “learning loss” debate, Edsby prioritizes support for educators, students and families](https://www.edsby.com/learning-loss-edsby-prioritizes-educators-students-families/commentary/) **Published:** April 26, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Regardless whether learning loss is real, or even a fair term to begin with, here's how the Edsby platform for K-12 helps educators prioritize learning recovery and support. **Content:** ## How Edsby is prioritizing learning recovery and support The pandemic has ignited a spirited [debate](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/us/school-testing-education-covid.html?referringSource=articleShare) about the existence and severity of student learning loss, instructional loss and learning recovery. The matter is complicated further by the fact that the most recent [relief package](https://www.the74million.org/article/house-vote-sets-stage-for-approval-of-sweeping-pandemic-relief-package-with-126-billion-for-reopening-schools-learning-loss/) passed by the U.S. federal government – the American Rescue Plan – includes a stipend specifically for learning loss. While the pandemic has disrupted traditional, in-person instruction, it has also energized a shift towards innovative, flexible learning. We’ve seen students gain crucial skills, like resilience and time management, and educators apply fresh strategies to gauge student growth and maintain family engagement. We also know students’ experiences were uneven, and many learners experienced setbacks as a result of the pandemic. At Edsby, we believe we must approach learning recovery with care for and understanding of educators, students and families. Edsby is focused on the role we can play to improve teaching and learning today, tomorrow and well into the future with the purpose-built technology infrastructure to do so. Let’s set the semantics aside and rededicate ourselves to what matters most: supporting educators, students and their families. **How has the pandemic *really* impacted student learning?** According to the [Center for Assessment,](https://www.nciea.org/blog/school-disruption/contextualizing-covid-19-learning-loss-and-learning-recovery) we haven’t experienced so much a reduction in existing knowledge or skills, but a difference between a current reality and some ideal or at least normal condition. Several organizations and companies in education have sought to understand the severity of the mismatch. Some estimate that students are [three](https://www.edutopia.org/article/covid-19s-impact-students-academic-and-mental-well-being) to [five](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-learning-loss-disparities-grow-and-students-need-help) months behind where they typically might be by the start of next year. Current studies cite that in general, COVID-19 closures and disruptions have mainly impacted [reading](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-reading-lag-pandemic-1.5814752) and [math](https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/learning-during-covid-19-initial-findings-on-students-reading-and-math-achievement-and-growth/). To accurately identify areas of growth toward learning recovery, education leaders must be equipped with the resources to do so. **A holistic view of student progress** In order to provide extra support to students, educators must first be able to pinpoint learners’ present state, and what they need to be successful. [Education Week](https://www.edweek.org/technology/5-tips-for-measuring-and-responding-to-covid-19-learning-loss/2020/06) suggests the following: Rather than diagnostic exams, districts might consider investing in teacher training on how to develop and make use of their own day-by-day and minute-to-minute gauges of what students know that help them alter teaching in real time. While this idea of “formative assessment” has been around for decades, it is still [not](https://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/understanding-formative-assessment-special-report/index.html) deeply ingrained in American schools. Edsby’s assessment and reporting feature enables teachers to create custom formative and summative assessments that align to district and regional standards. Teachers can make [observations](https://www.edsby.com/?help=private-observations) and capture [learning evidence](https://www.edsby.com/evidence-of-learning/) in notes, pictures and videos to help track student progress in real time. In addition, students and guardians can privately share learning evidence with teachers, enabling educators to better track the child’s progress. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio.png)Learning evidence can be curated within portfolios in Edsby that persist with the student through their learning journey.**Edsby’s collection and sharing of data** Comprehensive learning analytics capabilities in Edsby enable educators to find trends in achievement data and [identify](https://www.edsby.com/?help=zooms/zoom-students) at-risk students in real time across an individual school, group of schools or a whole school [district or region](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-regions/). And, with Edsby’s drill-down capabilities, users can easily find the data they need and then take action within the same system. To ensure students who are learning from home aren’t lost in the shuffle, educators must consistently foster engagement. An easy way to do this is to check the last time the learner logged in to an online platform or used a digital tool. Teachers can use Edsby’s group collaboration feature to identify at risk students based on factors like attendance incidents and grades, and then add in personalized observations to provide deeper insights into the student’s academic journey. Edsby monitor groups can help isolate groups of students at risk, or of other special interest, where educators can manage and take actions with them and their parents. [Lakehead Public Schools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-as-a-student-intervention-system/) is using this strategy with Edsby to boost graduation rates among students at risk. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-a-monitor-group.png)A monitor group in Edsby can be used to manage a group of students that might require special interventions.Edsby can serve as the [primary store of academic information](https://www.edsby.com/platform/data-aggregation/) across a [district, region or country](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-regions/)—a single place where everything having to do with student success can be collected, stored and used. Through [proprietary and open standards](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/integration-not-duplication/), the platform is able to “talk” to a variety of data sources, including other learning management systems (LMSes), student information systems (SISes) and legacy data warehouses. **Encouraging educator, student and family engagement** When educators and parents or guardians are able to act as partners, students are [more likely](https://youth.gov/youth-topics/impact-family-engagement) to experience academic achievement. This is more important than ever for learning recovery. Schools and districts can take advantage of this by prioritizing [family partnerships](https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-family-school-relationships-are-the-missing-link-in-covid-19-era-education/2020/10) in their learning recovery plans. This means consistently sharing students’ progress and engaging with families throughout the school year. Edsby involves [families](https://www.edsby.com/?help=parents-see-log-edsby) in their student’s academic journey by providing information in real-time, including grades, assignments and attendance, as well as [specifics](https://www.edsby.com/?help=parents-can-see-edsby) of what’s being taught in each class each day. Armed with this information, parents and guardians can better support their students – regardless of where the actual learning is taking place. Tools like [polls](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/?locale=en), notes and “likes” support educators in building supportive virtual communities and maintaining relationships with students and their families. Educators are also encouraged to collaborate with one another in Edsby to identify new ways to solve pandemic-related challenges. District leaders can use professional development [groups](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-groups-professional-development-plc-pd/?locale=en) to deliver training and resources to teachers and encourage conversation around best practices and strategies for impacting student learning. **How to invest in learning recovery** Schools and districts can address learning loss by investing in learning recovery. Districts receiving COVID-19 relief funding for education are encouraged to consider if the technology, curriculum and other resources they have is adequate for providing the additional mental, physical and academic support that students will most certainly need. Edsby is an [award-winning](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/?locale=en) digital learning platform that picks up where today’s LMSs leave off when it comes to the unique needs of K-12. Click here to see how Edsby stacks up against the competition. To learn more about how Edsby supports learning recovery, sign up for a [free demo](https://www.edsby.com/demo-redirector/). **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby tip: New issue reporting system](https://www.edsby.com/new-error-reporting-system/edsby-tips/) **Published:** February 18, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Follow these directions to inform us if you encounter unexpected behavior in the Edsby learning platform for K-12. **Content:** #### Report Edsby problems If you run into a problem using Edsby, there’s a new way you can let us know about it. **1. If using a web browser** Navigate to where you’re experiencing the unexpected behavior. Click the question mark icon in the top right corner of the page, and select “Report a problem on this screen.” **![Edsby problem report](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Desktop-Report-Problem.jpg)** **2. If using the Edsby app for iOS or Android** Under the three line “hamburger” menu in the top left corner of your Edsby mobile app home screen, select “Report a problem” and describe the issue you’re having and what you did to produce it. ![Edsby problem report](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_4718.jpeg) Screenshots and diagnostic logs from your session will be captured and submitted to Edsby to aid in finding and fixing issues. Your report and your data will only be seen by Edsby personnel for the purpose of problem investigation and will not be used for follow up, support ticketing or other purposes, or shared with third parties. **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Personalized learning with Microsoft & Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/personalized-learning-microsoft-edsby/product-news/) **Published:** April 28, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** In this webinar recording, see how it’s now easier than ever to understand and tailor education to students’ individual needs. **Content:** ### It’s now easier than ever to understand and tailor education to students’ individual needs with Microsoft and the Edsby platform for K-12. K-12 school districts, regions and national governments worldwide want learning to be more personalized. But definitions and expectations for personalized learning are evolving. In a session called *Personalized learning with Microsoft & Edsby*, education leaders learned how the [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/) learning and analytics platform keeps all stakeholders in a child’s education engaged with the most comprehensive, personalized system available today for K-12. In a recording of this 50 minute hands-on session plus Q&A, see how this well thought-out, integrated system has been designed specifically for the full spectrum of K-12 learners & their unique requirements, and how it respects regional standards, terminology and data sovereignty requirements. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/personalizedlearningthumnail.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/email/recordings/Edsby-personalized-learning-webinar.mp4) Watch and listen to a recording of the event by clicking on the above. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [How far can lightweight learning platforms go?](https://www.edsby.com/how-far-can-lightweight-lmses-go/commentary/) **Published:** October 8, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Teams, Google Classroom and Zoom are not learning management systems, writes IT research and consultancy firm Gartner to education CIOs. **Content:** ### Teams, Google Classroom and Zoom are not learning management systems In a research report, Gartner® writes “workplace collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Office 365, \[Google Workspace\] and Zoom support a different collaboration experience to that available in some learning management systems (LMSs). The report further states that, “these tools enhance the higher education learning experience but do not fully duplicate LMS functionality and are not a direct LMS replacement”.\* LMSes have traditionally been used in education for blended learning courses. However, Gartner states in its report, “the pressure to evolve online and hybrid teaching practices due to COVID-19 has led institutions to adapt readily available technologies. Existing LMS platforms were stretched and additional solutions deployed where needed.”\* The urgency to deploy a quick solution led to the adoption of free, lightweight systems such as Google Classroom, Moodle, and Seesaw that offer basic functionality but lack full learning management features, crucial for school and district adoption. These easily available, and in most cases free-to-education, solutions don’t fulfill the unique requirements of K-12, where workarounds and additional tools and training are needed to make these tools work even in limited ways in the K-12 classroom. “Workplace collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and Office 365, \[Google Workspace\] and Zoom proved invaluable in building social collaboration between learners and with faculty,” states Gartner.\* But even if the systems can be made to work for a few blended learning classes by select tech-savvy teachers at individual high school and middle schools, that doesn’t mean they can meet the instructional and learning demands of grades K-6, let alone of every educator at whole K-12 school districts. Many districts that have opted for lightweight LMSes have found that they can become time-consuming, challenging, and costly over time when considering the array of additional tools necessary to make them work for K-12. ## **The benefit of robust, dedicated education LMS systems** ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/african-american-kid-girl-online-learning-on-compu-LMM6HUH-copy-1024x621.png) The holy grail for K-12 education is a single digital learning platform to enable educators to teach, students to learn, families to communicate, and administrators to assess and report – all in one place. Edsby is a single, feature-rich social learning environment that addresses the diverse requirements of modern K-12 school districts. It can do all that Google Classroom, Teams, and Seesaw can do [and a vast amount more](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/), including: Classroom management and course content - Attendance synced with the SIS - Printable class rosters - Curriculum that can be centrally managed and modeled year-over-year - Audit trail of changes made to course content Group collaboration and parent engagement - Multi-level privileges and permissions - Monitor groups for actioning at-risk students - Planned absences - Parent visibility into classes if allowed by a teacher Assessment & reporting - Formal report card workflow with principals and administrators - Full principal view of all information on a student when a parent calls - Real-time learner analytics The system also goes beyond classing LMS capabilities. A groundbreaking new feature known as “[Edsby Social Emotional Check-Ins](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/student-well-being-sel/)” enables students to choose from color-coded animated icons representing emotions and intensity levels so that educators can get a better sense of how their pupils are feeling on a daily basis. It also provides research-based regulation strategies for teachers curated by SEL professionals based on the types of emotions their students may be experiencing and empowers them to take action to ensure all their students are as ready to learn as possible. The need for world-class electronic tools in K-12 isn’t going away. According to a [RAND Corporation survey](https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-1.html), 10% of K-12 leaders plan to continue to deliver a blended or hybrid learning model once the pandemic is over. An additional 20% stated they would explore offering a remote learning environment. Dedicated K-12 platforms such as Edsby will continue to be an ideal, fuller-fledged choice for remote and hybrid K-12 learning environments into the future. \*Gartner, “[Should Workplace Collaboration Tools Displace the Higher Education LMS](https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3999773/should-workplace-collaboration-tools-displace-the-higher)?”, Tony Sheehan, Glenda Morgan, March 24, 2021. ##### Gartner Disclaimer: *GARTNER is registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.* *Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.* **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Finding the best classroom LMS: not a teacher's job](https://www.edsby.com/best-classroom-lms/commentary/) **Published:** September 23, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Teachers shouldn't have to spend time assessing pros & cons of learning management systems themselves. They should be asking their district for support. **Content:** If you’re a teacher, chances are you were taught how to teach. You likely didn’t get training on how to be an IT guru. Which is why it’s so wonderful that some teachers are doing as much as they are when it comes to figuring out technology in their classrooms. Some technically inclined teachers are finding and configuring their own classroom management systems, for instance, or trying to make multiple apps work together that weren’t designed to. Hooray to teachers who have these skills and tenacity. But should teachers even be shouldering this burden? Learning management systems (LMSes) are possibly the worst time sinks. Should individual teachers have to assess the pros and cons for themselves of systems like [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com), Google Classroom, Edmodo or Moodle to find the best classroom LMS? Should they have to be canvassing colleagues for recommendations? Should they then have to set up their own accounts and manage their students and, in K-12, their parents? Here are a handful of reasons why I think it’s time teachers got more help in choosing and setting up applications like the best classroom LMS: **Teachers have more important things to do.** Teachers live to teach. Yet a good LMS, for instance, is something many individual teachers—if Twitter chatter is any indication—are investing a LOT of time comparing and configuring. Time that could be better spent on lesson planning, grading, parent communication and helping students succeed. Is professional development the answer? Should teachers be getting trained in how to find and configure LMS-like applications? That’s pretty technical stuff, and not everyone has the time and interest. **Too many apps make parents unhappy.** A given teacher might be using a handful of apps, e.g. for learning management (Edmodo? Moodle?), parent communication (Remind?), classroom management (ClassDojo?), Google Classroom for assignment submission, Twitter for homework notification, say. And their kids’ other teachers might be using different things. Parents often now need whole handfuls of apps, often with different logins, to follow their kids’ progress. Can you imagine what that’s like for parents? **All these apps are likely making TEACHERS unhappy**. Do the apps teachers have chosen talk to each other? Do they find themselves duplicating information? How many different apps do they have to update themselves, or “codes” do they have to send home, when students enter or leave their classes? It’s a veritable jungle of apps in schools and classrooms, and it distracts from the primary purpose: teaching and learning. **Parent & student management headaches**. Teachers shouldn’t be managing lists of students and parents and their contact info themselves. Students come and go. Parents get separated and divorced, and their relationships to their kids change over time. Occasionally, parental access needs to be revoked to students’ information. Teachers shouldn’t be expected to have to manage this. **Legal exposure**. If parents or others get sensitive student data when they shouldn’t because of apps teachers have installed and manage themselves, they and their employers could be liable, according to CIPPA, COPPA, FERPA and other regulations. This culpability is unnecessary and easily avoided by district administrators. **A digital divide between teachers hurts students**. If individual teachers are setting up their own apps, a disparity emerges between students whose teachers are clever and/or motivated enough to incorporate tools like these, and students whose teachers are not. If this is the case, some classes will have collaboration, standards-based assessments and modern parent communication, and some won’t. Is that fair? So what’s the answer? I feel strongly that school districts need to lead when it comes to sourcing and rolling out complex systems like these. My business partners and I have spent more than 25 years building enterprise applications for education, and time and again we’ve seen that district-level introduction of complex communication and assessment systems makes sense. Why? Reasons include: **One app, one login, for teachers, students and parents**. One learning management app, for instance, can function as a single point of contact for all communication between teachers, students and parents in a district. Even individual teacher websites can quietly go away when everything that needs to be shared between all stakeholders is being shared using a good education engagement system. With a good, well-used LMS that can be accessed any time from anywhere on anything, students and parents know where to go for latest information. **School & district database connections manage class creation, enrollment and contact information**. Teachers never have to put students in classes or manage parent contact information themselves when software is connected to district systems. It’s a huge time savings! When students and parents come and go, connected systems magically update themselves. Without teachers having to do updates. The management work of free systems like Edmodo are one of the reasons teachers stop using them after a few years. Keeping them up to date is a lot of work. **All teachers—not just clever ones!—benefit, as do all students**. When the district investigates, configures and rolls out software and ties it to its central student information system (SIS) and other district databases, all teachers get to use it. Not just the ones (like you?) willing to invest time on the bleeding technology edge. District-managed approaches put critical tools like learning management systems in the hands of EVERY teacher—and as a result every student and every parent in an area. This is key to really moving the needle. **Uniform assessment and reporting**. When installed at the district level, an official district-wide electronic gradebook saves teachers time and hassle. Especially if it’s been configured to use the district’s official grading scheme and reports grades the way the district wants them at report card time. Bonus if it can share students’ grades, and other important information like attendance and teachers’ qualitative observations, securely with parents throughout the year without teachers having to do anything extra. **Customizable to the way districts do things**. Some systems can be customized to use the terms and assessment schemes a district uses. If they can embrace the educational standards in your area, you can assess your students and report their progress against them. And be in compliance with state, provincial and/or federal guidelines. A generic, free product won’t have customization specific to your state, province or district. **A throat to choke** **if needed**. If a school district rolls something out district wide, it’ll likely be a commercial product from a software vendor. So if the system doesn’t work as planned, the company can be held accountable to make it right. Teachers adopting tools willy-nilly don’t have any clout individually with software companies. Especially if using free products. And if their free tool goes away at some point in the future, tough luck. So, if you’re a teacher, make friends with the instructional technology people at your school district. Introduce yourself. Share your needs. Invite them to investigate systems like the best classroom LMS on behalf of all the teachers in your district. The better they understand your requirements and how they might be similar or different from those of your colleagues, the higher the likelihood they’ll find a district-wide solution to your needs. It lowers the probability that you’ll have to become a tech guru yourself. And by being a force for improved transparency and effectiveness, you’ll help make things better for all the teachers and students and parents in your area. *Scott Welch is Co-Founder of Edsby, a learning management system for K-12 school districts. Learn more about Edsby at* [*edsby.com*](https://www.edsby.com)*. Variations of this article were published by [Scholastic Administr@tor](https://web.archive.org/web/20171029085459/http://blogs.scholastic.com/education_pulse/2015/09/why-its-okay-to-be-a-non-techy-teacher.html) magazine and [TeacherCast](https://web.archive.org/web/20160629055422/http://www.teachercast.net/2016/03/01/why-its-okay-to-be-a-non-techy-teacher-by-edsby/).* **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Five ways free education software can come at an unexpected cost](https://www.edsby.com/five-ways-free-education-software-can-come-at-an-unexpected-cost/commentary/) **Published:** September 8, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** They say you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. But when it comes to software for K-12 schools and districts, maybe it’s time to start. **Content:** If a software company wants to give its product away free to educators, that’s a good thing for schools, teachers and students, right? After all, there’s not a lot of money in education budgets these days. And if software companies—along with their visionary, deep-pocketed investors—now find it fashionable to give their products away so as to show a large user base and good growth numbers, isn’t this a boon that works in educators’ favor? Many companies give away products that educators can use for free. In a so-called “freemium” model, some of these companies offer premium versions with expanded features if you pay a little money. What do these services have in common? They all start out free, and they can be quickly adopted by students and teachers without requiring buy-in from administrators and districts. On the surface, free sounds good. Teachers get easy access to try stuff without any centralized budgetary or IT approval required. In most cases, users just create a user ID and log in. If they want to add student and parent access, they just create additional accounts, also for free. But IT professionals and school administrators we speak with tell us they’re starting to worry about the very real risks and pitfalls associated with free systems in education for five main reasons: **1. Free systems usually aren’t very robust** Free solutions in education are usually [relatively simple technology](https://www.vox.com/2014/2/28/11624044/in-education-technology-startups-with-big-impact-tend-to-be-rather). The feature set is designed to minimize support costs instead of supporting sound pedagogy. So, district and state grading schemes, stranding, streaming, state standards and more are simply non-existent. Support for school or district wide reporting and data analysis is absent. And what region doesn’t have unique assessment and reporting standards? **2. Free systems aren’t integrated with district systems** Free systems are typically not integrated with the school or district main student information system (SIS), the identity management system that controls logins across multiple applications (e.g. Microsoft’s Active Directory), or any attendance database, report card system or resource scheduling system. Sometimes there’s no data sharing of assessment results into your online gradebook. It’s hard to connect to systems like this and do it in an elegant way, so very few free tools do. **3) Free systems often push the administration burden to teachers** Because they’re not connected to district systems, free sites typically have no knowledge of which students are in a given class or school. Teachers are often left with the challenge of inputting students and classes for a gradebook or student rewards system, for instance, and removing and adding students as they come and go. When it comes to parent communication, some teachers take on the burden of running their own email lists, managing updates themselves as parents and their email addresses change. Some technically advanced teachers even attempt websites for individual classes and resource sharing. Teachers shouldn’t be shouldering these additional responsibilities! This opt-in nature also makes for inequity across a school or district. Students with the keen teachers get access to the cool tools, but other students are left out. Often, teachers in the highest-need schools are already overwhelmed. The last thing they need is to become experts in CSV files or email service provider list management. When you add up the number of hours it takes for teachers and administrators to manage “free” systems, how free are they, really? **4) What’s free today might not be in the future – or may even be GONE** How can you budget to maybe have to pay at some point for a tool you count on using today for free? What if there’s no money in your budget the year the vendor decides to start charging? What do you do? Stop using the system? The freemium model is not working for everyone. Many companies that are giving their software away—and their investors—are waking up to the fact that [freemium is great when it works, but it doesn’t actually work all that often](http://www.forbes.com/sites/brianclark/2012/05/09/freemium/). If a vendor doesn’t find some way to make money, no matter how much capital they’ve raised, their funding will dry up and they’re going to end up out of business. In other words, even the most well funded companies need to crack the revenue code, [and not all will](http://gettingsmart.com/2015/02/favorite-tech-tool-calls-quits/). And that’s going to lead to even bigger headaches for schools that will cost even more to fix. Companies need revenue to continue development and to support existing installations, i.e. to survive. **5) You may find yourself paying an unexpected price** Users of social media like Facebook have been learning the old saw, [if you’re not paying for a product or service, you’re the product](https://www.quora.com/Who-originally-suggested-that-if-youre-not-paying-for-the-product-you-are-the-product). While there are guidelines in education and laws in many countries worldwide aimed at protecting student data, even big companies like Google that should know better [have made mistakes](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/19/google-lawsuit-email-scanning-student-data-apps-education). Now, if Google can mess up, how many other companies may cut corners as they try to monetize teacher and student information because that’s their only path to revenue? At some point free solutions can suddenly come at an unexpected cost. That cost may be through licensing fees, fees for upgrades, or service fees. Maybe advertising you may not want. Or perhaps that cost comes in the form of lost data when a company goes away because it couldn’t stay in business and [refused to give you a way to export your data](http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/12/guest-post-education-techn). District IT personnel sometimes get involved, but not always for the reasons you might think. IT staff are increasingly being called on to police teachers’ applications to mitigate school districts’ legal exposure. How many well-meaning teachers understand the potential for litigation for accidentally sharing a student’s academic information with someone they thought was a parent or guardian? Or maybe who **was** a parent at one time, but isn’t any longer after a court ruling? Teachers shouldn’t be expected to shoulder the added burden of knowing about and managing critical information that the school office or district is already managing. It’s only smart for educators to look carefully before tying themselves to free or freemium services. Schools and boards will forego free software for the right software. For instance, 29 New York City schools [opted out of a free Department of Education-developed data management system in favor of a paid one](https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-04-08-when-schools-choose-fee-over). And users of free systems move over to our social learning and education engagement system, Edsby, all the time. The take away here is clear: “Free” solutions can cost your school or district real time, real money and real results. When looking for future systems, place special emphasis on platforms that integrate with your district-wide legacy applications, such as student information systems, so that teachers aren’t shouldering the burden of data entry. And last but not least, plan for properly managed school or district-wide rollouts to ensure that all students and teachers get the benefits of modern tools, not just the early adopting teachers and their students. *Scott Welch is Co-Founder of Edsby, a commercial all-in-one application for K-12 school districts that offers attendance, lesson planning, social learning, gradebooks, parent engagement and more. Details at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com).* *An earlier version of this article was [originally published in SEEN Magazine](http://www.seenmagazine.us/articles/article-detail/articleid/4180/5-ways-free-education-software-comes-at-a-high-cost.aspx).* **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Services Privacy Policy - Deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-sept2021/product-news/) **Published:** September 2, 2021 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Archived version of a previous Edsby services privacy policy that is no longer current. The current Edsby services privacy policy is available at the bottom of any screen in the Edsby platform service. Or the bottom footer of any page of the public Edsby website. **Content:** [ ![Student Privacy Pledge 2020 Signatory](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SPP_Logo_Vertical-112x133.png "SPP_Logo_Vertical")](https://studentprivacypledge.org/signatories/ "SPP_Logo_Vertical") **Date of last revision of this policy: September 2nd, 2021** Edsby is a cloud-based suite of software services that modernizes how educators, students and parents engage with each other electronically. Edsby Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc**. **We believe the foundation of any relationship is based on trust and transparency**. Our clients entrust us with the Personal Information of students, parents and educators. We take that responsibility seriously. The privacy and security of the people we serve is of utmost importance to us. This Services Privacy Policy (“**Policy**”) enables you to better understand how Edsby collects, uses, and discloses information through the use of our Services. ## **1.0 What Does This Policy Apply To?** This Policy applies to the Personal Information we may collect relating to students, parents, and educators (“you” or “your”) through our private browser-based Edsby Services and Edsby applications in the Apple iOS and Google Play stores (“**Services**”). **Please also refer to your Education Organization’s (i.e., your school or school district) privacy policy, which governs the use of your Personal Information.** For privacy practices relating to our public website ([edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/)), as well as those relating to marketing, sales, and support services, please refer to our Edsby [Public Website Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). *Other Links:* Our Services may contain links to other websites and services that we do not own or operate. By clicking on those links, you will leave our Services. Those third-party websites and services are governed by separate and independent privacy policies, which we recommend you read carefully. ## **2.0 Definitions** For the purposes of this Policy, the following definitions apply: **“Personal Information”** is any information provided to us or generated within Edsby that personally identifies an individual, such as name or email address, or other information which could be reasonably linked to such identifying information. **“Education Organization”** refers to various types of organizations that select Edsby as one of their technology solution providers for managing student information. These organizations may include private schools, public school districts, provinces/states, and national ministries of education. Edsby is selected by these Education Organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student user data. Education Organizations pay to use Edsby. Each Education Organization decides what information should be provided to Edsby, and retains ownership of all the information provided to Edsby as well as control over all the information created in Edsby by users within their organization. **“Parents”** refers to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, or grandparents that are identified by the Education Organization as someone with the right to have access to information in Edsby regarding a specific child. ## **3.0 What Personal Information Do We Store?** ***Each Education Organization determines what information they collect and how it is used. We process a portion of that information in accordance with the specific contractual agreement with that Education Organization.*** The Education Organization maintains the master repository of this information and controls how your Personal Information is used. ***Personal Information Education Organizations provide to us****:* Education Organizations integrate information about you into our Services. The information that is integrated depends on the Services set out in their specific contract with us. This information may include but is not limited to: - **Personal Information about students**, including but not limited to name, date of birth, gender, grade level, school, student number, Ministry ID, address information, email address, photos for student profiles, certain health information kept in student records, course information, individual education program (IEP), indigenous status, and community service hours. - **Personal Information about educators and staff**, including but not limited to name, salutation, email address, school, staff number, title, and role. - **Personal Information about parents**, including but not limited to name, address, email, relationship to students, and flags about their access rights to information. Please refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to inform yourself how the Education Organization collects your Personal Information. ## **4.0 What Personal Information Do We Collect?** ***Personal Information collected by us on behalf of Education Organizations:*** Edsby may collect Personal Information directly through your interaction on our Services depending on the Services set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. That Personal Information may include but is not limited to: - **Information about student progress**, such as a student’s attendance status for each school date, a student’s score on an assessment along with comments by the educator, pictures of a student’s work along with observations by the educator, and report card information for each subject a student is taking. - **User-generated digital content**, such as text, images, audio, video, files and web links. This digital content can be placed in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, grade books, and postings in the Service. It also includes uploaded files that may have metadata associated with them, which is preserved by the Service and will be available to anyone that can view or download the file. - **Usage information**, such as information about how many students and/or parents at the Education Organization use the Services and how the Services are being used. This information is also collected for security purposes, such as to identify suspicious activity. The information collected may include information such as unique device identifiers, IP addresses, and browser types. ## **5.0 How Do We Use Your Personal Information?** We process your Personal Information on behalf of and under the instructions of your Education Organization. We use the information in accordance with our agreement with the Education Organization to operate, maintain, and provide various features and functionality of our Services as set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. **The Education Organization determines how the Personal Information is used. Please visit your Education Organization’s privacy policy to see how it uses your Personal Information**. We may also use non-identifying and aggregated usage information to improve, develop and optimize our Services and to monitor the security of our Services. **We do not subject users to any advertising and we do not sell any Personal Information**. Please see Section 6.0, which describes who we may share your Personal Information with. ## **6.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With?** **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. There are certain circumstances in which we may disclose, transfer or share your Personal Information with third parties, such as under the following circumstances: - ***Your Education Organization***: The information we collect and store about you is accessible to authorized employees of your Education Organization. For example, a school principal may use Edsby to quickly find a Parent’s telephone number to call in the case of an emergency. Your Education Organization controls who has access to information. We also make usage information available to your Education Organization. - ***Third parties at the request of the Education Organization***: Education Organizations may request that we share your Personal Information with additional parties that also provide processing services to the Education Organization. We only do this when specifically requested and approved in writing by an authorized senior member of the Education Organization. - ***Microsoft and Google***: Our Services can be integrated with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for Education if directed to do so by the Education Organization to enhance productivity. For example, when a student writes an essay in Microsoft 365 or Google Docs and submits it to their educator via the Edsby platform, Edsby can make a copy of the selected file and make it available to the educator via the Edsby Services. Also, when Edsby integrates with these systems it provides a way for the End-User to log into Edsby by using Microsoft or Google authentication credentials. - ***Cloud service providers****:* A carefully selected small number of companies provide essential elements of our cloud-based Service. We limit the information we share with these service providers through contractual, administrative and technical means. For example, we store Personal Information with Microsoft, the provider of our Azure hosting service, and protect it with encryption. Service providers may not use the information disclosed to them for any other purpose other than to provide us with a service. - ***Legal authorities, as required by law****:* The information we process and store may be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may also disclose, at our discretion, some information we collect and store where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the Education Organization using our Services, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm, or someone who may be violating the Terms of Use of our Services. In such cases, the Education Organization that is managing this instance of our Service will be informed. - ***Business transaction****:* We may transfer our assets and rights to our Services, including information in our Services, in the event of a merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganization, stock sale or other change in control. In such a case, your Education Organization will be provided with notice and will have the option of opting out of our Services. We will limit the disclosure of Personal Information to only what is necessary and limit the use of the information to the purpose for which the personal information was collected before the transaction and in accordance with applicable laws. We limit who we share your Personal Information with. We also limit what information we share and how third parties may use, access, process or store such information in the course of performing their duties for us. When we disclose Personal Information, we minimize the disclosure to only what is necessary, in accordance with instructions from our Education Organization customers, and in compliance with appropriate privacy, confidentiality, and security measures. Should there be a conflict between our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and our contract with an Education Organization, the terms and obligations set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization will prevail. **We do not have control over the Personal Information that Education Organizations may disclose to third parties**. For example, an Education Organization may export certain Personal Information collected in Edsby and make it accessible to others at their discretion. ## **7.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?** We are committed to protecting the information we store about you. Edsby employs a variety of physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. We have taken measures to protect the Personal Information on our Services, which include data encryption, firewalls and access controls for staff and vendors, as well as physical access controls to our facilities. Some other security measures we implement include: - Limiting account creation to only those individuals the Education Organization selects. Persons outside the Education Organization cannot create an account. - You may only access Edsby within an Education Organization with your user ID and password. Typically these credentials are provided and managed by the Education Organization. - The ability for Education Organizations to implement role-based access and usage of an account, which limits what you can do and what information you can see. For example, educators have limited access to students they can view on the Services (e.g. only students in their school) and what they can see on the student profile. Parents can only see the profile of their own children and staff at the school(s) that their children attend. - All data sent between the Edsby server and Edsby client (web browser, smartphone app, tablet app) is encrypted. - Restricting access to Personal Information to those Edsby staff members who need to know that information for the purpose set out in this Policy and ensuring those staff members are trained in the company’s information protection policies. - Adhering to a formal standard for Information Security. CoreFour Inc. is ISO 27001 certified. ## **8.0 How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information?** Edsby retains Personal Information on behalf of Education Organizations pursuant to its specific contractual terms with each Education Organization. Our general practice is to not retain Personal Information for any longer than is necessary for educational purposes and legal obligations. Your Education Organization determines how long they retain Personal Information collected via our Services. ## **9.0 What Are Your Rights?** As a user of our Services, you have rights to access, correct and/or delete your Personal Information in accordance with applicable laws. Some Education Organizations enable you to access and make changes to your Personal Information directly through Edsby’s Services. Where your Education Organization does not enable access and changes to Personal Information, please make your request directly with your Education Organization. We will assist the Education Organization in fulfilling your request in accordance with our obligations. Our Services can send updates and notifications via email and mobile “push” notifications. You can manage your notifications (including turning them off) via the “Account Settings” facility. ## **10.0 Children’s Privacy** We comply with our obligations outlined in the *Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act* (“FERPA”) and the *Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule* (“COPPA”), U.S. federal laws designed to protect the privacy rights of children. We are a service provider to Education Organizations, which disclose Personal Information to us about students and parents either via existing student records or those developed directly on our Services. The information we collect is limited to what we need to fulfill our obligations as outlined in our contracts with Education Organizations. The disclosures are authorized by FERPA. We do not use your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide our Services to Education Organizations and improve our Services to you. In accordance with COPPA, we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 unless and until an Education Organization has provided us with authority for a student under the age of 13 to use our Services. Further, we do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13 in a manner not permitted by COPPA. If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we have inadvertently collected or stored Personal Information about your child without proper consent, please contact your Education Organization and we will work with them to investigate and delete any such information to the extent required by applicable law. ## **11.0 Where is your information stored?** We generally store and process your Personal Information in the country in which your Education Organization is located. From time to time, your Personal Information may be accessed by Edsby-authorized services or staff in another country where Edsby or authorized third parties operate. We implement measures to protect your information and to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Please also refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to identify where they process and/or store Personal Information and how they protect it. ## **12.0 Cookies and Similar Technologies** Our Services use cookies and similar technologies. “Cookies” are small text files installed on your computer hard drive or web browser when you visit or use our website. Most browsers accept cookies by default. ### What information do we collect using cookies? We use first-party cookies, such a session cookie, to help us authenticate you. The session cookie is deleted when the browser session is ended. We may also use third-party cookies to help staff file a customer support ticket with us. Other third-party cookies include firewall cookies for security purposes. Most of the cookies on our Services collect information that is not identifiable to you. To learn more about cookies, visit [www.allaboutcookies.org](http://www.allaboutcookies.org/). ### How can you manage cookies? Although most browsers accept cookies, you can set your browser to reject cookies. You will need to follow the instructions contained in your browser’s help file (usually located within the “Help,” “Tools,” or “Edit” settings). If you have more than one browser, the opt-out or settings you set will only apply to that specific browser and not the others. If you choose to disable cookies, some Edsby Services might not function properly. ## **13.0 Changes To This Privacy Policy** Edsby reserves the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect the changes in our business and practices. When we change the Policy we will reflect the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. ## **14.0 How To Contact Us?** You may contact us at with any questions or concerns you have related to your Personal Information. We may also be reached as follows: 68B Leek Crescent, Suite 200 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1 Canada +1 (877) 337-0070 **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Privacy Policy --- ### [Using Edsby groups for professional development](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-groups-professional-development-plc-pd/product-news/) **Published:** April 10, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How Edsby works as a powerful tool for district-wide collaborative inquiry & electronic professional learning. **Content:** ## Edsby gives school districts powerful tools for collaborative inquiry & professional learning ### **Professional development and collaboration in education is critical. But it’s harder and more expensive than ever to get teachers together at the same time and place.** Use the [group collaboration](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/group-collaboration/) capabilities of Edsby to build collaborative inquiry online and foster professional learning anytime, anywhere—among teachers of a given school, across a whole K-12 district or even a whole region. Effective teacher collaboration is an ongoing process of collective inquiry, sharing and research. Collaborative teams relentlessly question the status quo, seek new methods of teaching and learning, test the methods, and then reflect on the student learning results. Edsby gives like-minded teams of teachers across a district the tools they need to collaborate electronically. #### Communities of focus Quickly create groups for teachers of a specific subject or grade level, or for staff of a specific role. Secure, with flexible permission control. #### Automatic setup Automatically enroll teachers based on what they’re teaching, their schools or other criteria. Teachers are added and removed by SIS sync without manual management. #### Advanced user features Edsby groups have unread tracking and notifications, threaded conversations, URL previews, document libraries and more. #### Full documentation Edsby captures collaboration, illustrating how and why learnings were generated so colleagues can understand what was done. #### Curriculum collaboration Teachers can copy, share and collaborate on course plans and other teaching resources to deploy in their own Edsby classes. #### Insight into student results Student achievement data, shared observations and roll-ups help groups of teachers identify and intervene in real time if necessary. #### Great on mobile & desktop Edsby works on desktop browsers or popular handhelds or tablets for anytime, anywhere professional learning. #### Works region wide Teachers can work with far-flung colleagues to build organizational improvement across the region. ### FAQs #### Do I have to buy the full Edsby system to use Edsby groups for professional development? A specially priced version of Edsby is available for school districts or private schools seeking to use Edsby specifically for professional development and/or collaborative inquiry. Contact us for details. #### Do I have to give anything up in order to use Edsby for PLCs/PLNs? No. Keep using whatever LMS, parent portal, SIS, authentication system or other systems you currently use. Edsby works great with all of them. Plus Edsby’s single sign-on (via LDAP, OAuth, O365, Google Apps for Education) means your teachers won’t have to learn yet another username and password. #### If my school or district already runs Edsby, do I have to buy anything more? No. Simply set up groups in Edsby for professional development and invite your choice of staff to these groups, choosing them through the staff zoom picker and then inviting them to your groups. ### Don’t use Edsby yet at your school or district? [Contact Us](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Filling in the gaps of Google Classroom with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/google-classroom-multiple-apps/in-conversation/) **Published:** December 12, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Lloydminster Public School Division was a longtime Google Classroom site. Learn why it adopted the Edsby K-12 learning platform and what new functions Edsby is able to perform for the division's 4,000 students and their parents. **Content:** Districts or regions using Google Classroom often need to augment it with a dozen other applications to get it to work like an LMS. Hear about one district’s journey from Google Classroom to Edsby. Details in this installment of The Eds Files with Dallas Kachan. Guests: - Trisha Rawlake, Lloydminster Public School Division - Cornelius Krahn, Lloydminster Public School Division **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Digital learning platform savings calculator](https://www.edsby.com/district-wide-lms-savings-calculator/commentary/) **Published:** September 28, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How much could your K-12 organization save with an all-in-one digital learning platform? This simple, free online calculator can show you in 30 seconds. **Content:** #### How much can a centrally-managed learning management system really save? There are a lot of benefits to a single, region-wide digital learning platform for all of your K-12 requirements. Try a free online calculator that lets you enter your district or region’s number of students, number of schools and number of teachers and shows you how much you could be saving in: - Printing - Attendance - Gradebook - Report cards - Parent portal - Lesson planning - Teacher professional development - School/district news distribution - Parent/teacher conference scheduling - Parent approval workflow - Online testing - Analytics [Enter your organization's numbers >](https://www.calconic.com/calculator-widgets/edsby-roi-calculator/5b9c3960071e5f001bb54a65) **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [How Edsby compares to Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/compared-google-classroom/commentary/) **Published:** December 5, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Google Classroom districts can move to a single app for students, teachers and parents with the all-in-one Edsby learning platform for K-12. **Content:** #### Let’s be real: Google Classroom isn’t an LMS. The document suite in [Google Workspace for Education](https://www.edsby.com/google/) is great. But districts that embraced Google’s free, lightweight document management system [Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/google-classroom/), especially in the flurry of the COVID-19 pandemic, are finding it time-consuming, challenging, and costly to make work as a K-12 LMS. One of the biggest reasons: it requires many companion apps for students, parents and teachers, with some forced to use dozens of extra apps with Classroom. And that’s got users fed up. If your district is hitting the limits of Google Classroom, read how Edsby compares. **[Edsby & Google Classroom >](https://www.edsby.com/google-classroom/)** **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby a leading K-12 LMS according to Gartner](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-leading-top-k-12-lms-gartner/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** November 27, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Gartner Peer Insights ranks the Edsby platform a top K-12 LMS worldwide based on customer reviews. **Content:** The Edsby platform appears at the top of a list of [top K-12 LMS solutions](https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/k-12-education-learning-management-systems) curated by IT research and market intelligence company Gartner. Gartner’s list includes only platforms relevant in K-12. It defines its list as “those forming the core teaching and learning technology environment, with a range of internal and external tools and services that support classroom learning … They are designed to support functions such as developing and tracking assignments and assessments, and managing online interactions and collaborations among teachers, students, administrators and parents/guardians.” [See Gartner’s ranking of K-12 LMS products here](https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/k-12-education-learning-management-systems) **Recent Edsby customer reviews on Gartner’s site**: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GPI_ReviewSnippet_121466_27112024.png) Read the above full review [here](https://gtnr.io/NmHdk3P7R). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GPI_ReviewSnippet_77909_27112024.png) Read the above full review [here](https://gtnr.io/gDGU20gTt). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [The critical role of family involvement in K-12](https://www.edsby.com/family-involvement-student-success/commentary/) **Published:** September 25, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Educators need to look outside the classroom at a powerful lever they can pull that significantly impacts student achievement. Research makes it clear. **Content:** #### **Proven by research: students do better when parents are involved** Ensuring student success is the top priority of education leaders. While much of their focus is on curriculum, instruction, and teacher development, one powerful lever that can significantly impact K-12 student achievement lies outside the classroom: parent involvement. A widely respected [meta-analysis of hundreds of related studies by the American Psychological Association (APA)](https://psycnet.apa.org/manuscript/2019-38879-001.pdf) proves the undeniable connection between parent engagement and student outcomes. This body of research provides valuable insights into how K-12 leaders can leverage parent involvement to improve academic achievement, behavior, and overall student well-being. Here’s what education leaders should know about the research findings: ### Parent Involvement: A Key to Academic Success The study consolidates findings from various research efforts. And they all point to a critical fact: **students perform better when their parents are involved in their education**. This improvement isn’t limited to grades. Students with engaged parents are more likely to have better attendance, display positive behaviors, and demonstrate a stronger commitment to learning. For district leaders, this insight is especially important. While academic interventions and teacher support are essential to any improvement strategy, the research indicates increasing parent engagement can amplify the effects of those efforts. By building stronger parent-school relationships, districts can create a more supportive learning environment that benefits every student. ### How K-12 Can Encourage Parent Involvement Parent involvement takes many forms. There’s attending parent-teacher conferences, helping with homework or simply staying informed about school activities. However, not all parents have the time or resources to engage at the same level. K-12 leaders can play a pivotal role by ensuring schools create accessible, inclusive opportunities for families to participate in their child’s education. Here’s how: 1. **Improve Communication Channels** One of the most consistent barriers to parent involvement is a lack of communication between home and school. Parents need regular, real-time updates on their child’s progress to stay engaged. The research highlights that clear and consistent communication between parents and teachers is one of the most effective ways to keep families involved. Edsby’s [family communication features](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/) are designed to bridge this gap. Through [Edsby’s social learning platform](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/), parents can access real-time information about their child’s grades, assignments, and attendance, making it easier for them to stay connected. Edsby also supports direct messaging with teachers and administrators, which enables 1:1 communication when needed. 2. **Foster a Collaborative School Culture** Schools with a strong culture of collaboration between parents and staff tend to have higher levels of parent involvement. The research shows that when parents feel welcomed and included as partners in their child’s education, they are more likely to engage. K-12 leaders, can promote a district-wide, or even region-wide, culture that values parent involvement and encourages schools to establish open lines of communication with families. Encouraging schools to host parent workshops, open houses, and other community events creates opportunities for parents to engage and build trust with educators. 3. **Provide Multiple Points of Access** The study highlights parent involvement can take many forms. K-12 leaders should therefore accommodate different types of engagement. Not all parents will be able to volunteer in classrooms or attend every school event, but they can still be active partners in their child’s learning journey. Edsby’s platform provides multiple points of access for parents, from viewing their child’s [learning progress](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/learning-story-parents/) to participating in [online discussions](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/groups-for-parents/). Districts can empower parents by making it easy to access school updates from anywhere, on [any device](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-the-edsby-app-2/). This inclusivity ensures that all parents, regardless of their circumstances, can stay involved in meaningful ways. ### Addressing Equity in Parent Involvement One of the most important findings from the research is the need to address equity in parent involvement. The data shows that not all parents have the same ability to engage with their child’s school. Factors include work schedules, language barriers, or a lack of computer access. For district leaders, promoting equity in parent engagement means providing support where it’s most needed. Offering multilingual support, ensuring schools provide technology access to underserved families, and training staff on how to engage diverse parent populations can make a significant impact. Edsby’s platform is designed with equity in mind, offering features like [multilingual support](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/) and [mobile access](https://www.edsby.com/users/download-mobile-apps/) to ensure that every parent can be part of their child’s learning experience, regardless of background. ### The Long-Term Benefits of Engaged Families Beyond immediate academic benefits, parent involvement has long-lasting effects on student success. The APA analysis above shows students with engaged parents are more likely to pursue post-secondary education and have higher levels of self-esteem. Moreover, schools with strong parent engagement tend to have improved school climate, reduced behavioral issues, and higher overall student achievement. For districts, the return on investment in parent engagement is clear. Fostering strong relationships between schools and families not only supports student success in the short term but also helps build a foundation for lifelong learning and achievement. ### Drawbacks of Piecemeal Solutions Asking families to use multiple apps to track student progress has drawbacks. Fragmented access to different tools increases frustration, complicates the user experience, and can lead to information overload. The growing number of platforms and apps parents in K-12 must often manage today is a burden. Many parents struggle with managing their time between them. Users express frustration (and even [satirize](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_1H9coSfJS/?igsh=dXc0cGI5Z2Zhd2l5)!) when they need to use separate apps for communication, homework tracking, behavior monitoring, and extracurricular activities, especially when every teacher is allowed to select their own. ### How Edsby Supports District-Level Parent Engagement Edsby understands the challenges districts face in increasing parent involvement, and has built a single platform [to address them](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/parent/). Edsby provides parents with real-time updates on student performance, seamless communication with educators, and access to school events and announcements. All from a single login, with a single user experience. And in a way that protects student data and doesn’t put teachers at risk to have to manage distribution lists or parent contact info themselves. With Edsby, district leaders can ensure all parents have the opportunity to stay informed and engaged, no matter their circumstances. By aligning with research-backed strategies, districts can leverage Edsby to build stronger, more inclusive school communities where parents are active partners in their child’s education. Together, environments can be created that support student success, enhance school culture, and build trust with families—ultimately helping districts, and [whole states, provinces and countries](https://www.edsby.com/document-library/edsby-for-regions/), achieve their academic and equity goals. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Ontario Edsby usage significant and climbing](https://www.edsby.com/ontario-edsby-usage-significant-2018/customers/) **Published:** December 12, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Educators, students and parents in the Canadian province of Ontario are making wide and growing use of the Edsby learning platform for K-12. **Content:** ### Educators, students and parents in the Canadian province of Ontario are making wide and growing use of the Edsby learning platform for K-12 Schools in Ontario continue to adopt the Edsby digital learning platform. And where it’s deployed, educators are finding it has become central to their school and/or districts’ digital transformations. As of December 2018, **326,429 Ontario students** are licensed to use Edsby. Many log in daily as their primary way to follow their schedule, access class material, participate in class discussions, submit homework assignments, review assessment results, build their online portfolio, track latest developments with school clubs and teams and more. Teachers in Ontario have **captured** **140,962 points of learning evidence** using Edsby this academic year to date. Evidence in Edsby can be associated with Ontario curriculum expectations (standards), tagged, shared with parents and students and used to streamline reporting. Teachers and students have **created another 134,031 best exemplars of work** in students’ online portfolios this academic year so far. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/MonthlyUniques-Ont2018.png)A user is counted as a monthly unique if they log into Edsby at least once in that month. Many users log in multiple times a day.Edsby is specifically designed to meet the unique and challenging needs of K-12, unlike other solutions that also try to address higher education and even corporate markets with the same product. Organizations using Edsby pay to use the service, and made their decision to use Edsby as the official learning platform for their students, teachers and parents after careful consideration of other free, freemium and paid alternatives. In districts where Edsby is used, it gets used enthusiastically. Many users log into it many times a day. > “I have been obsessively checking Edsby since grade 9—for three years—and have grown to love the breadth of information it makes available to me.” > – Aidan Britnell, Grade 12 student > “Edsby is absolutely fantastic. The calendar system allows me to see everything in my schedule in a simple, easy-to-understand format. The integrated system helps me develop time management skills, which I’ll definitely use in the future!” > – Tailai Wang, Grade 12 student > “I love how convenient and quick it is.” > – Mary Franks, Parent > “The platform is user friendly, allows parents to be kept up to date on grades, comments and events in an expeditious manner.” > – Beckett Sternberg, Parent Many school boards in Ontario have adopted Edsby. In 2017, [York Region District School Board began deploying Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-deploys-york-region-district-school-board/) to its 123,000 students, their parents and staff. In 2016, [Greater Essex District School Board introduced Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-greater-essex-county-district-school-board-gedsb/) to its teachers and 35,000 students and their parents. [Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board selected Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-selected-by-kawartha-pine-ridge-for-district-wide-deployment/) for its 34,000 students and their parents. Edsby was also recently adopted for district-wide use by the Superior-Greenstone District School Board, Nippissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, Algoma District School Board, St. Clair Catholic District School Board, Durham Catholic District School Board, Rainy River District School Board, Lakehead District School Board and more in the province soon to be announced. Ontario districts adopting Edsby say there is nothing else like it that does such a good job streamlining communication, collaboration and assessment in a secure environment. “Edsby offers robust online tools that help educators confidently and securely engage with students and families,” said Amanda Meighan, Superintendent of Support Services at Near North District School Board, which has 10,000 students, their parents and staff on Edsby. “In the classroom, at home and while on-the-go, Edsby’s intuitive and comprehensive platform helps us modernize the way we communicate everything from special events to student achievement,” she said. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Privacy policies updated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policies-updated/product-news/) **Published:** August 20, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has updated its privacy policies to make it even more clear that users' data is not shared with our hosting providers, and other changes. **Content:** ### Edsby clarifies protection of user data Edsby has updated its [Services](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) and [Website](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/) Privacy Policies. The new versions became effective August 16th, 2024. These revised policies provide more detail to improve alignment with evolving international best practices regarding privacy and transparency. We’ve not made any significant changes in what we do with customer data. The full list of edits include: - **Affirming that our hosting provider is not allowed to access user data**: Edsby’s host, Microsoft Azure, has never had our permission to access student data. Section 4.0 of our services policy has been bolstered to make it even more clear we “limit the information we share with Microsoft through contractual, administrative and technical means. Our cloud service provider may not use the information disclosed to it for any other purpose other than to provide us with specific services.” - **Removing Google and Microsoft as entities that receive personal information**. Previously, Section 7.0 of our services policy stated Google and Microsoft received student data if an Education Organization customer directed its Edsby system to be integrated with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for Education. There is no longer any sharing of any personal information when connecting Edsby to Google and Microsoft’s systems, so this statement has been deleted. - **Adding a list of sub-processors**: Certain sub-processors receive information from Edsby in the provision of our platform service. A sub-processor is a third party engaged by a Data Processor (in this case, Edsby) “[who has or will have access to or process personal data from a Data Controller](https://www.gdprsummary.com/gdpr-definitions/sub-processor/)” (Edsby’s customers.) We’ve add a list of sub-processors on Edsby’s public website [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/) and will maintain this list. - **Revising the list of third party products used on our public website**: For those who visit Edsby’s public marketing website (www.edsby.com), which exists primarily to inform and identify new prospective Edsby customers, a revised set of third parties now process data. We have deprecated use of Bablic for managing translated version of our public website, and have added Microsoft Clarity to help us understand visitors’ user experiences. These third party tools are only used for management and optimization of Edsby’s public website and not in provision of the commercial Edsby service. You can always find Edsby’s latest Services Privacy Policy in its entirety [here,](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) and our Public Website Privacy Policy [here](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). Previous versions are archived at the bottom of each policy. You’re also invited to read our [About Edsby & User Data](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/) document. The [Common Sense Privacy Program](https://privacy.commonsense.org) has independently reviewed Edsby’s privacy policies and rated them a [95% pass](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/edsby), the highest rating of any software in Edsby’s category. Your continued use of Edsby is your acceptance of our revised policies. If you have any questions about these changes, you can reach us at . **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby named best LMS third year in row](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-2024-tech-edvocate-best-lms/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 10, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby named top education LMS of 2024 by U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group The Tech Edvocate. **Content:** ### The Tech Edvocate awards Edsby Best Learning Management System of 2024 The Tech Edvocate, a U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group, has announced winners of its annual education technology awards. For the third year, the Edsby social learning platform was named Best Learning Management System. Edsby won previously in [2023](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2023-tech-edvocate-award/edsby-in-the-news/) and [2022](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-2022-tech-edvocate-award/edsby-in-the-news/). Finalists this year included Google Classroom, Moodle and MaxBrain LMS. **Voting and judging** The four month program solicited nominees from readers in June/July of 2024. Online voting from May 1, 2024 – August 9, 2024 gauged nominees’ popularity, but did not determine they would become a finalist or win an award, according to the publication. Finalists and winners were ultimately selected by a panel comprised of two edtech thought leaders, two PreK-12 teachers, one college professor, two K-12 administrators, one college administrator and two PreK-12 parents, the publication wrote. The Richmond, VA-based Edvocate was created in 2014 to argue for shifts in education policy and organization in order to enhance the quality of education and the opportunities for learning afforded to P-20 students in America. The full list of this year’s winners and finalists is [here](https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2024-tech-edvocate-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2023](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-september-2023/product-news/) **Published:** September 13, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for September 2023, here's what's now available in the Edsby social learning and data platform for K-12. **Content:** ## Edsby September 2023 update **Edsby has added many new features in recent months. Enhancements in the list below were added based on customer input and feedback from teachers, administrators, students, and parents like you.** **Not all new features will be available to users immediately. It’s up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators plan, and to give end-users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon, if not already.** **New documents and videos have been created to describe these new capabilities in more detail. These are all available in the [help section of our website](https://www.edsby.com/support/). Edsby system administrators can access the full list of September 2023 enhancements at the Edsby support portal [here](https://service.edsby.com/knowledge/whats-new-september-2023).** ### New features and enhancements for teachers and students #### Evidence improvements Enhancements to Evidence include features such as the ability to utilize the Organize page for multiple students at once. Filters have also improved to create options based on collected evidence, enabling teachers to see their own tags and outcomes. The new filters also provide the option to filter to shared or unshared items. Teachers can view the learning evidence tagged with problem-solving and view cards for all selected students. Or view all the learning evidence for one or more outcomes across all students or a subset of students. The All Evidence page has also received the same filter enhancements to help teachers manage their evidence feeds. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-png-Aug-17-2023-08-39-34-3747-PM.png.webp) Learn more about Edsby learning evidence [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/). #### Edsby Capture A new version of the Edsby Capture app is now available. New features include: - Submissions with multiple attachments will create only one evidence item for the teacher. - The option to include photos from the device’s Photo library. - The option to collect more learning evidence without having to scan the code again. - The option to scan another code and capture evidence for a different student. - Scanning any valid code enables the student to submit to any class with evidence capture enabled. Students do not need to scan different QR codes for different classes. If the QR code is valid, it can be used for any evidence-enabled class. For example, a homeroom teacher can enable evidence submission in English, French, and Visual Arts and then provide each student with a single unique QR code from either English, French, or Visual Arts. With the single QR code, a student will be able to submit evidence to any class that has evidence submission enabled. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-png-Aug-17-2023-08-41-17-6560-PM.png) Learn more about [Edsby Capture for students](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/). There are also help files on [Edsby Capture for parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/helping-your-child-with-edsby-capture/) and [Edsby Capture for teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-teachers/). #### New Report Card fill options The Report Card Fill form now includes three new options. Firstly, teachers can choose to write comments with field substitutions. Secondly, the comment library is accessible directly within the Fill form. And thirdly, Fill has been enhanced to give teachers the flexibility of filling multiple fields without exiting the form. Selecting Fill will transfer the data to the report card sheet while keeping the form open. Opting for Fill & Close will copy the data to the report card sheet and close the form. For example, a teacher can select the Level 4 students and fill in all the learning skills without needing to close the form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-png-Aug-17-2023-08-45-11-7239-PM.png.webp) An introduction to Edsby report cards is [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/). #### New Gradebook Progress Report In addition to the existing Progress Report, a new enhanced report is available for teachers. This new Progress Report offers the flexibility to exercise professional judgment and incorporate valuable new options into the generated report. Teachers can create multiple Progress Reports according to their needs. The new Progress Report is created as a column within the gradebook, where teachers may access all previously printed Progress Reports. The report can include all students, a selection of students, and dropped students. The report includes grade calculations based on gradebook data, while giving teachers the discretion to input grades aligned with their professional judgement. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-png-Aug-17-2023-08-47-57-1451-PM.png) #### Standards, Expectations, Outcomes and Competencies more visible The full text of Expectations, Standards, Outcomes or Competencies (ESOCs) is now displayed whenever a user using the Edsby web browser login hovers over an ESOC’s code. This enhancement has been applied throughout Edsby, including: - Assessment form - Lesson form - New Evidence form and Evidence card - Perspective and My Work reports - Class Progress Report #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2023-09-13-at-11.53.52-AM.png) Learn more about using Edsby with ESOCs [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/standards-expectations-outcomes/). #### Report card access for students and parents Published report cards from previous school years are now accessible from the Report Cards button on both the desktop browser and Edsby mobile app. Pressing the button opens a list of all published report cards. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/RP-archives-png.png) #### Professional Development Groups Edsby Professional Development Groups can play a pivotal role in facilitating the delivery of knowledge transfer. Professional Development Groups have been expanded with online quizzes for self-assessment and additional fields: **Field name****Purpose**Mark content completeWhen set to Manual, participants mark each item complete. When set to Automatic, items are marked completed when opened.Conditional ReleaseWhen set to Can view all visible items, the participant can see the whole Content panel. When set to Smart Release, the Content panel reveals the next item only when the previous item has been marked complete, either automatically or manually.Award BadgeLists existing Badges. The badge is awarded when all the items in the Content panel have been marked as complete. Badges appear in their own panel on the home screen.![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-png-Aug-17-2023-09-22-15-9371-PM.png) Learn more about Edsby PD groups [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/). #### Launchpad links Edsby system administrators can now set a ‘Show To’ field while creating or editing links in the Launchpad, the rocket icon on the Edsby nav menu. Teachers can have launchpad links configured by the school or district that are different from those seen by administrators, for instance. All users can still add their own links to their individual Edsby launchpads. #### Turnitin teacher enhancement If their District has integrated Turnitin as an LTI tool within Edsby, teachers can create assessments within Edsby that enable students to submit files that are assessed by the Turnitin environment for writing quality and originality. A new Launch button in the Edsby Content panel streamlines the process for teachers to create Turnitin assignments. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Turnitin-combo-png.png)To create a Turnitin assignment, a teacher does the following: 1. Create a LTI link from the Content panel menu. 2. Choose Turnitin from the list of available LTI tools and then click the Launch button. The Launch button enables the teacher to log into the Turnitin environment. 3. In the Turnitin environment, the teacher creates the assignment. Clicking the Submit button returns the teacher to Edsby. 4. A hidden assessment is created. The teacher can toggle the assessment to visible to enable the students to access their Turnitin accounts through Edsby. ### New features and enhancements for School Administrators #### School Page management Edsby school pages have been enhanced to enable certain roles to: - Set or change the school icon. - Supply missing school information that may not be available in all Student Information Systems or override incorrect information. - Add additional moderators to the School Page. Moderators can manage News River articles, the school calendar and add content to the Important panel. - When supported by the school’s customized report card, the form can be used to select which Senior Admin’s name should be used on the printed report card. The School Information page is accessed by school or district administrators by clicking on the School name and then expanding the Information panel. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/School-Information-form-png.png)To learn more about the Edsby School Page, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/the-school-page/) #### Pin on Panorama The Panorama page now includes a Pinned Items panel. The School IT, Senior Admin, Office (Head), and Guidance Staff roles can pin existing Observations to either the Pinned Items panel on the left or the Alerts panel on the right. Hover over the Observation to see the additional actions. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-png-Aug-17-2023-09-32-28-4284-PM.png)To learn more about the Edsby Panorama, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/panorama/). **This public document is an abstract of September 2023 Edsby platform enhancements. If you are an Edsby system administrator, view more complete details at the Edsby support portal [here](https://service.edsby.com/knowledge/whats-new-september-2023).** **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Supporting teachers to solve the global shortage](https://www.edsby.com/supporting-teachers-global-shortage-collaboration/commentary/) **Published:** August 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Improving working conditions by fostering collaboration among teachers through systems like Edsby could be key to addressing the global teacher shortage. **Content:** ## Collaborative teaching approaches, supported by tools like Edsby, can reduce stress and improve both teacher retention and student outcomes The global teacher shortage is one of the most pressing challenges facing education today. As schools grapple with increasing class sizes and dwindling resources, pressure on teachers has reached unprecedented levels. One of the roots of this crisis are the working conditions that drive some teachers out of the profession. To help address this, moving away from traditional staffing models that isolate teachers and embracing team-based approaches can provide crucial support, reduce burnout, and improve student outcomes. Edsby has a role to play, here. ### The Teacher Shortage: A Growing Crisis According to UNESCO, there’s a [global need for nearly 44 million new teachers by 2030](https://www.unesco.org/en/teachers) to meet educational goals. In many countries, teachers are leaving the profession faster than they can be replaced, creating a vicious cycle where remaining teachers are burdened with increased workloads and responsibilities. The reasons for this exodus are multifaceted and were acknowledged [onstage recently](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/american-association-of-school-administrators_a-discussion-about-teacher-workforce-conditions-ugcPost-7226642785204912128-gbgR/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop) by AASA Executive Director David Schuler, whose organization, the American School Superintendents Association, also advocates [team-based teaching](https://www.aasa.org/professional-learning/event/2024/09/18/default-calendar/next-education-workforce) as a model for improved teacher satisfaction and retention. ### The Problem with Traditional Staffing Models Traditional staffing models often isolate teachers, expecting them to manage large classrooms, prepare lessons, and handle administrative tasks on their own. This model leaves little room for collaboration or support from colleagues, which can make teaching feel lonely and overwhelming. Research has shown that [isolation is a significant factor](https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1121-2.html) contributing to teacher burnout and attrition, even before remote teaching and COVID-19. In contrast, team-based approaches, where teachers work together in collaborative groups, offer a more supportive environment. Studies have found that when teachers collaborate, they are more likely to share best practices, provide mutual support, and innovate in their teaching methods. This collaborative approach not only benefits teachers but also leads to better student outcomes. For example, [a study by the Annenberg Institute](https://annenberg.brown.edu/sites/default/files/EdResearch_for_Recovery_Design_Principles_3.pdf) found that schools that implemented collaborative teaching models saw significant improvements in student achievement. ### The Role of Collaboration in Teacher Retention and Student Success Collaboration is key to both teacher retention and student success. When teachers work together, they can pool their expertise, share resources, and provide emotional and professional support to one another. This collaborative environment helps reduce the feelings of isolation and burnout that so many teachers experience. Collaboration also allows for more consistent and effective instruction, as teachers can align their teaching methods and ensure that all students are receiving high-quality education. In addition to improving working conditions, collaborative approaches also help to create a more dynamic educational environment. Teachers who work in teams are more likely to engage in professional development, stay updated on the latest educational trends, and experiment with new teaching techniques. This ongoing professional growth benefits both teachers and students, leading to a more effective and engaging learning experience. ### How Edsby’s Groups Capability Supports Teacher Collaboration At Edsby, we understand the importance of collaboration in education. That’s why we designed our platform to foster inter- and intra-school collaboration through our [Groups](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/group-collaboration/) capability. Edsby Groups ([details](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups/)) enable teachers to create and join groups centered around specific interests, subjects, or professional development goals. These groups provide a safe, protected online space for educators to share curriculum, collaborate on lesson planning, and build their professional communities. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/inside-a-group.png)Shown here in an Edsby group: 1. Moderators, 2. Pinned Items, 3. Knowledge Base (title can be changed), 4. Group Feed, 5. Active Panel, 6 Group Calendar, 7. LibraryEdsby Groups are particularly effective in supporting professional development. Teachers can [establish PD groups](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-groups-professional-development-plc-pd/product-news/) to access resources, participate in discussions, and share their experiences with other colleagues in their school, district or country/region. Edsby Groups help to break down the barriers that often isolate teachers within their own classrooms. By connecting educators across different schools and districts, Edsby fosters a sense of community and collaboration that is essential for both teacher well-being and student success. > “Edsby’s groups allow for collaboration between teachers and students. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are especially useful and allow teachers to share resources.” > > – Jessica Zhou, Teacher / St. Andrew’s College, using Edsby for every student, teacher and parent since 2011 ### Conclusion The global teacher shortage is a complex problem that requires multifaceted solutions. However, it’s clear that improving working conditions for teachers is an essential element to address. Working to change existing models that isolate teachers and embracing team-based approaches will help teachers to thrive. Edsby is proud to play a role in fostering collaboration among educators. Our Groups capability helps thousands of teachers worldwide feel less alone by providing a platform for sharing curriculum, collaborating on lesson plans, and building professional communities. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby insulated from CrowdStrike outage](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-crowdstrike-upgrade-no-impact/product-news/) **Published:** July 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby systems worldwide are unaffected by systems taken down today by a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. **Content:** Edsby systems worldwide are unaffected by systems taken down today by a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The widespread outage has disrupted flights, banks, media companies, emergency services and others around the world. Disruptions occurred when cloud security provider CrowdStrike applied an upgrade overnight which began crashing Microsoft systems. The provider’s fix is still making its way to affected systems. Some are calling today’s problems the [largest IT outage in history](https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/global-outage-intl-hnk#h_c3622dc75519703ce2734d31a98f6a5e). Edsby is [hosted on Microsoft’s Azure network](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-edsby-microsoft-azure-cloud-analytics/pressreleases/) worldwide, but no Edsby services have been affected. Edsby’s services are protected by other means than CrowdStrike. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Teacher Chris Robertson on Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/teacher-chris-robertson-edsby-nndsb/customers/) **Published:** July 12, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** In a one minute video, this grade 5-6 teacher describes why he can't imagine teaching without Edsby. **Content:** Christopher Robertson teaches grade 5-6 as homeroom teacher at M.T. Davidson Public School in Callander, Ontario. The school is one of 33 schools in the Near North District School Board that have been [using Edsby since 2018](https://www.edsby.com/nndsb-adopts-edsby-lms-for-k12/customers/), with all of the district’s 10,000 students, their parents and educators on the system. Robertson has been teaching since the mid 2000s. In one compact minute below, he describes how the board uses “one-ring-to-rule-them-all” Edsby for attendance and planned absence management with parents, gradebook and report cards, virtual classrooms, community engagement and more. > “I can’t imaging teaching without Edsby in the 21st century” **Categories:** Customers --- ### [CASA Tier 2 Certification](https://www.edsby.com/casa-tier-2-certification/product-news/) **Published:** June 21, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby learning platform for K-12 has now achieved CASA (Certified Application Security Attestation) Tier 2 rating from the App Defense Alliance. **Content:** In edtech today, cybersecurity is paramount. In addition to its [other certifications](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/about-edsbys-creators/), the Edsby platform has now achieved CASA (Certified Application Security Attestation) Tier 2 rating from the [App Defense Alliance](https://appdefensealliance.dev). This certification is more than just a badge of honor—it’s a testament to our commitment to protecting our customers and ensuring their data remains secure. ### Understanding CASA Tier 2 Rating The App Defense Alliance, a collaboration between leading tech companies, aims to enhance app security across the industry. Its Certified Application Security Attestation (CASA) program assesses software applications against stringent security standards. Its Tier 2 rating signifies a robust level of security, indicating Edsby has implemented comprehensive measures to safeguard user data against potential threats. ### What the CASA Tier 2 Rating Entails Achieving a CASA Tier 2 rating involves third party evaluation of our app’s security protocols. Key aspects that were assessed: - **Data Encryption**: Ensuring all user data is encrypted during transfer and storage. - **Authentication Mechanisms**: Using strong authentication to prevent unauthorized access. - **Regular Security Audits**: Performing regular security checks to find and fix potential issues. - **Incident Response Plan**: Having a plan to quickly handle and resolve security breaches. - **User Privacy Protection**: Making sure user data is collected, stored, and used following privacy laws and best practices. ### Why This Matters to You #### Enhanced Data Protection As educators and students increasingly rely on digital platforms for learning and collaboration, protecting personal and sensitive information becomes crucial. With the CASA Tier 2 rating, you can be confident Edsby employs advanced security measures to safeguard your data. #### Increased Trust and Reliability Security breaches can undermine trust and disrupt learning. The CASA Tier 2 rating demonstrates Edsby’s commitment to maintaining a secure and reliable platform. #### Compliance with Industry Standards Educational institutions must often comply with various data protection regulations, such as FERPA in the United States or GDPR in Europe. The CASA Tier 2 certification aligns with these regulations, ensuring Edsby meets or exceeds necessary compliance standards. This makes it easier for organizations to adopt Edsby without worrying about regulatory pitfalls. #### Continuous Improvement Like Edsby’s other certifications, including [ISO 27001](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/product-news/), CASA Tier 2 rating is not a one-time achievement but a commitment to continuous improvement. Edsby will undergo regular reviews and updates to its security protocols, ensuring that it stays ahead of emerging threats. Users will benefit from ongoing enhancements to our security measures. Thank you for trusting Edsby with your educational needs. We will continue to work to maintain the security of our platform, ensuring that you can focus on what matters most—student learning. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [On Edsby's new learning analytics](https://www.edsby.com/edsbys-new-learning-analytics/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** July 8, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby introduced new breakthrough learning analytics capabilities at ISTE 2016. Here's what the edtech press have been writing about it. **Content:** ### Edsby’s new analytics capabilities are getting industry attention. Edsby [introduced new breakthrough learning analytics capabilities at ISTE 2016](https://www.edsby.com/new-edsby-analytics-enable-unique-real-time-insights-k-12-school-districts/). The new features [enable school districts, regions and even whole countries to identify at-risk students and find trends in achievement data in real-time](https://www.edsby.com/platform/analytics/). The edtech press wrote nice things about Edsby’s new [analytics system](https://www.edsby.com/platform/analytics/). #### EdTech Digest In [High on EdTech in the Mile High City](https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/high-on-edtech-in-the-mile-high-city/), former New York City Department of Education Instructional Technology Director Mark Gura, called Edsby “sophisticated and capable.” > For the experienced school, one that has already successfully begun its digital journey and is now ready to take advantage of technology’s potential for next-level teaching and learning, it’s good to know that smart people like those behind Edsby have developed a truly sophisticated and wonderfully capable LMS … My half hour sit down with this company showed me that they know what they are doing, thoroughly understanding the needs of schools… #### THE Journal In [Edsby Intros New Learning Analytics](https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/06/28/edsby-intros-learning-analytics.aspx), Leila Meyer of THE Journal noted how more than a million records are entering the Edsby learning record store every academic day… from one school district alone. #### Tech & Learning A Tech & Learning [blog](http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/10929) hit some brief highlights: > Features and capabilities include: - > Insights from the Edsby learning management system and other sources - > Identification of at-risk students and improvement areas - > Scalability for large school districts And the publication ran Edsby’s [full announcement](http://www.techlearning.com/thewire/new-edsby-analytics-enable-unique-realtime-insights-for-k12-school-districts/1971/view). #### Education Dive Roger Riddell of Education Dive wrote about Edsby’s new capabilities in two roundups from ISTE: In [Tuesday at ISTE 2016: 21st Century administrators and 1:1 best practices](http://www.educationdive.com/news/tuesday-at-iste-2016-21st-century-administrators-and-11-best-practices/421715/), he cited Edsby’s ability to incorporate other LMS or other data and its massive scalability. > The new analytics engine can offer data insights from Edsby’s own LMS or others, can identify where students are struggling most and suggest instruction corrections or additional PD for educators, and can be scaled for even the largest districts. In Riddell’s best-of-ISTE roundup, [7 ed tech tools to note from ISTE 2016](http://www.educationdive.com/news/7-ed-tech-tools-to-note-from-iste-2016/422140/), he called Edsby’s new analytics one of this year’s biggest ISTE takeaways, describing its value in helping districts, regions or whole countries zero in on students at risk. > The upgrade is set to simplify the identification of achievement trends in real-time across populations ranging from a single class to the whole district. Educators will also be able to more easily pinpoint students at risk of failing. The beefed-up analytics engine will also be able to provide educators with suggestions on how to alter instruction for struggling students or additional PD they can participate in. #### District Administration In New analytics enable real-time insights for K12 school districts, Ariana Fine of District Administration noted the sort of instant insight that Edsby offers is critical. > “To make good data-driven decisions, you’ve got to be looking at current data. It does no good to be driving down the highway and see a sign that reads ‘Cheap gas 10 miles ago,'” said Scott Welch, Edsby Co-Founder. #### EdNet Insight EdNet Insight picked up [Edsby’s announcement](http://www.ednetinsight.com/news-alerts/technology-headlines/new-edsby-analytics.html). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [District Administration & THE Journal on the rise of Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/district-administration-the-journal-on-the-rise-of-edsby/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 10, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Two of the top educational publications in the U.S., District Administration and THE Journal, profile Edsby as a leading K-12 LMS. **Content:** ### Two of the top educational journals in the U.S. have published articles illustrating the rise of Edsby as a leading learning management system (LMS) in K-12. In an article titled [LMS enhances K12 instruction](https://web.archive.org/web/20150913021513/https://districtadministration.com/article/lms-enhances-instruction), District Administration writes that widespread use of digital learning materials, an intensifying focus on achievement and the influx of digital devices into classrooms are increasing districts’ need to have some form of LMS. The article cites Edsby as an example of an LMS that can foster communications on a broader scale. > Evergreen School Division in Canada uses Edsby in K12 to share lesson plans, assignments, classroom announcements and other information with parents. Parents can access their child’s attendance, grades and report cards. Online groups can be created for parents and other members of a school committee or advisory council. In [4 Features to Look for in a 21st Century LMS](http://thejournal.com/Articles/2015/06/10/4-Features-to-Look-for-in-a-21st-Century-LMS.aspx?Page=1), THE Journal writes many of the 13,600 public school districts in the United States have not yet adopted an LMS, and are looking for features not offered in traditional systems. K-12 districts want features like the following, writes the magazine: > An intuitive interface that mimics consumer social networks; collaboration that goes far beyond standard teacher-student communication; assessments with analytics responsive enough to drive instruction for that day, week or month; and the capacity to provide a structure for organizing digital learning resources and sharing them locally and broadly. The publication profiles how Evergreen School Division in Manitoba, Canada, sought an LMS as a way to consolidate the functionality being provided by different software its schools had adopted through the years. Superintendent and CEO Paul Cuthbert said a two-year assessment process whittled the choices down to only one: Edsby. One of several aspects of Edsby that is getting a lot of use at Evergreen is the ability for the educators to collaborate by forming “groups” across the school system, Cuthbert said. > “Essentially, these have become like professional learning communities for us,” explained Cuthbert. Not only have teachers begun using the LMS to share resources for instructional purposes, he added, but committees within the school system have adopted it as well. “It gives us that common repository where we can archive important files. It’s really been a very powerful tool for us in that way.” In addition to system customizations Edsby performed for Evergreen, Cuthbert said Edsby’s proven ability to pull information from and push information back to the district’s student information system (SIS) was a key factor that worked in Edsby’s favor. > “Vendors will often say, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ll integrate with that product,’ but when it comes down to the actual integration, it’s a nightmare,” noted Cuthbert. In this case, the company could back up the promise with a “track record” of integrating with the specific student information system that Evergreen was using. The article identifies SIS integration as one of four key elements a district should look for when evaluating LMS systems, along with a system’s ability to be customized to a district’s unique requirements, strong references from other customers and competitive pricing. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby named a “Readers’ Choice Top 100 Product” by District Administration readers](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-readers-choice-top-100-products-2016/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 1, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby was chosen as a top 100 product of 2016 from 1,500 school district administrator nominations over the past year. **Content:** ### Nominations from top K-12 leaders led to selection The Edsby® platform for K-12 has been recognized for making a positive difference in education by school district leaders who named it to District Administration magazine’s “Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products for 2016.” The winners were compiled from 1,500-plus nominations from the magazine’s readers over the past year. The Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products have been announced in the printed December 2016 issue of District Administration. > “Learning about all the products being used to help districts succeed is inspiring,” said J.D. Solomon, District Administration’s editorial director. “Our winners cover a wide spectrum. All of our 2016 honorees should be very proud of this achievement.” The District Administration Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products awards program informs superintendents and other senior school district leaders about products their colleagues around the country are using to help their districts excel in a variety of areas, such as technology, sustainability and curriculum instruction. Edsby has now won [more than 20 recent awards and distinctions](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). Edsby is an innovative, cloud-based platform purpose-built for K-12 that incorporates learning management, data consolidation and insightful analytics. Edsby gives school districts, regions or national governments better student, teacher and parent engagement, improved educational outcomes and new insight into educational effectiveness. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [TeacherCast on Edsby demo](https://www.edsby.com/teachercast-edsby-demo/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 17, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** "Fantastic" and "amazing," says education industry podcast TeacherCast after a demo of the Edsby K-12 learning management system. **Content:** TeacherCast founder Jeff Bradbury (L) sat down for a chat and product introduction with Edsby co-founder Scott Welch (R). And he was impressed by what he saw. Some of Jeff’s comments after the Edsby demo: > An amazing system. > School districts are flocking to this. > This is deep and complete! > Edsby seems like a perfect solution for every school district. An easy way to communicate between parents, students and administrators. The data is fantastic. > If you haven’t checked out Edsby yet, certainly do. > I’m thinking about this for my own school district. If we sign up for Edsby ourselves, we can get rid of “this program” and “this program” and “this program.” \[2024 edit: the full interview and Edsby demo are no longer available on the TeacherCast website.\] For your own demonstration of Edsby, click [here](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby featured as business success](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-business-success/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 2, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Local dignitaries visited to celebrate an overseas education initiative recently won by Edsby and to highlight the company as a local business success story. **Content:** ### Local dignitaries celebrate Edsby adding jobs Todd Smith, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade for the Canadian province of Ontario and Daisy Wai, Member of Provincial Parliament were among politicians who visited education technology company Edsby today to celebrate an overseas initiative recently won by the company and to highlight it as a local business success. > “We’re educating our young people so that they’re ready to fill the jobs that you’re going to be creating here at Edsby,” said Minister Smith in remarks at Edsby’s headquarters. “We’re getting coding into the classrooms to make sure our young people are able to fulfill the jobs you’re creating here at Edsby. We’re confident in the work you’re doing. Congratulations on your initiatives so far. I look forward to seeing announcements on the world stage in the next few months and to continue to watch the success of this company.” ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/fullsizeoutput_647b-850x638.jpeg)Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Todd Smith chats with Edsby CEO and Co-Founder John Myers.Used by millions of students, teacher and parents around the world and powering the online transformations of some of the largest school districts in North America, Edsby just signed a significant new international contract. The New Zealand Ministry of Education needed a modern, secure, cloud-based solution that would provide the country with a way to centrally aggregate and store a range of student information. After two years of evaluating options, it selected Ontario-based Edsby. The deal is to create new jobs in both Ontario and New Zealand. It is to also fuel the creation of additional exciting technologies in the Edsby platform that can be applied in other education jurisdictions around the world. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/fullsizeoutput_640f-850x637.jpeg)Aurora Oak Ridges Richmond Hill MPP Michael Parsa, Richmond Hill MPP Daisy Wai, Edsby CEO John Myers and Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Todd Smith> “On behalf of Premier Ford and the Government of Ontario I would like to congratulate you,” said MPP Wai. “Edsby expects to grow rapidly over the coming years. I am proud of this successful local business.” Edsby is the most comprehensive single learning & analytics application available for K-12 school districts and regional governments. It has won over 30 awards and distinctions internationally. Founded in the Toronto-area city of Richmond Hill in 2010, Edsby provides a growing number of high-skilled jobs. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [A district's Edsby journey in its own words](https://www.edsby.com/districts-edsby-journey-npscdsb/customers/) **Published:** November 1, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Nippissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board (NPSCDSB) first adopted Edsby in 2016. The district has come a long way. **Content:** ### NPSCDSB is finding more and more uses for its Edsby system. Nippissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board (NPSCDSB), a school district in Ontario, Canada, first adopted Edsby in the 2016 school year. And the district has come a long way in a year! In a [blog post](https://web.archive.org/web/20240223004354/https://www.anello.ca/2017/10/understanding-the-needs-in-k-12-edsby/), Peter Anello, Technology Enabled Learning Facilitator and NPSCDSB Edsby prime, recounts the district initially sought Edsby as an online gradebook. > It took many, many, many years to adopt our previous gradebook at the high school in a manageable, effective manner. It took a couple of months with Edsby. But Edsby is becoming more than just the gradebook solution. In a hurry. Calling Edsby “an online platform that is made exactly for what K-12 needs,” Anello recounts how his educators are discovering and falling in love with more things Edsby does. > Kind of a funny story; I was sitting with an elementary school during a PA day last month with the plan of showing them an overview of Edsby later in the day. That plan quickly changed. > > During the first fifteen minutes as I arrived, the staff were all sharing important dates verbally and – yes – they were each writing them down in their own notebooks! > > The first thing I showed them that day was the staff room group, highlighting the shared calendar built into it. > > ![Edsby calendar](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Screen-Shot-2017-10-27-at-10.50.54-AM-420x255-1-300x182.png) > > You have no idea how many times they have thanked me for showing them that! ???? After a successful test-run of reporting using Edsby in the spring of 2017, kindergarten teachers are now planning on using Edsby for progress reports. Edsby is to be used for report cards in grades 1-8 at selected schools as the district continues to use more and more of the system. NPSCDSB’s Anello is optimistic about Edsby. > Edsby has huge potential. As with any system-wide change to any process or organizational structure, there is a fear of leaving what’s comfortable and working. We’re bound to run into a hiccup or two as well along the way. > > With goals in place and a vision for what can be possible – a ‘*most-in-one*‘ shop for many administrative processes, overcoming these fears and hiccups are inevitable for – what appears to be – the adoption of an amazing K-12 platform. Read Anello’s [full blog post here](https://web.archive.org/web/20240223004354/https://www.anello.ca/2017/10/understanding-the-needs-in-k-12-edsby/). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Backbone Magazine on Edsby moving into new digs](https://www.edsby.com/backbone-magazine-on-edsby-moving-into-new-digs/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** January 20, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** With Edsby outgrowing its offices, Canadian tech magazine Backbone takes another look at the company behind the Edsby LMS for K-12. **Content:** We’ve outgrown our office. Again. Backbone Magazine, which [awarded Edsby the winners of its recent Innovation Campaign](https://web.archive.org/web/20150710235922/http://www.backbonemag.com/Magazine/2013-06/edsby-takes-home-the-prize.aspx) in the summer of 2013, note that we’re soon to move into a new HQ. > This will be the third head office for the Richmond Hill, Ont.-based company, launched in July 2010. Its new loft space will give CoreFour an opportunity to do some of the “really funky things” with the space you might expect from a start-up while remaining lean. “It’s the best of both worlds,” Myers said. “The dream of start-ups is to have a funky space, and we’ve found a location that’s going to give us a giant space.” Read the whole article [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20150920172548/http://www.backbonemag.com/Backblog/edsby-outgrows-its-old-offices.aspx). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby takes home the top prize](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-takes-home-the-top-prize/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 6, 2013 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Edsby has won first place in Canadian business magazine Backbone's second-annual Start Me Up Innovation Campaign for Canadian tech businesses. **Content:** **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/JohnMyers.jpg)** **Edsby Co-founder and President John Myers.** Edsby has won first place in Backbone Magazine’s second-annual Backbone Start Me Up Innovation Campaign. As the magazine noted, Edsby won on the strength of its product proposition, and perhaps a dose of personality. > John Myers, president of Edsby, was widely considered by the judges to have “outpitched” his competitors … He painted a strong picture of the challenge school boards face with outdated communications between parents and teachers, and said cloud-based solutions could solve this problem. “We did some fundamental research and in talking to school boards and teachers, we found things work the same way they did when I was in school in the ’60s: paper in the backpack is still the primary form of communication,” Myers said during his pitch. “We came to the conclusion that teachers keep the three-ring binder companies in business these days, and even teachers who are tech savvy and try to do interesting collaborative things…are still pretty low tech.” Read the full article [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20150710235922/http://www.backbonemag.com/Magazine/2013-06/edsby-takes-home-the-prize.aspx). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [New Zealand introduces new Edsby-powered system](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand-introduces-new-edsby-powered-system/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** July 22, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The New Zealand Ministry of Education has unveiled a new national register powered by the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12. **Content:** #### The New Zealand Ministry of Education has unveiled a new national register powered by the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 A new country wide registry of student learning support need and resourcing is being previewed by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. “The standardised Learning Support Register fills a really important hole in our knowledge base,” New Zealand Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin said [at an event at a high school in Kawerau, New Zealand](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/minister-tracey-martin-unveils-new-learning-support-platform-in-kawerau/JQDOOT47LVDZAY46DK76K654FU/). The sLSR system is the first application introduced on Edsby, [licensed by the New Zealand Ministry of Education](https://www.edsby.com/new-zealand/) in 2019 as the basis for the country’s Te Rito National Learner Repository and Data Exchange. Edsby is intended as a next generation digital learning, data consolidation and records management platform for New Zealand’s 800,000 students and their families. > “When this programme is fully up and running local schools and communities will know what they need for their children, the Ministry of Education will know how this looks at a national level and the Government will have a far better picture of how programmes are working and how students are being supported,” said Martin. Read a New Zealand Herald article on the topic [here](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/minister-tracey-martin-unveils-new-learning-support-platform-in-kawerau/JQDOOT47LVDZAY46DK76K654FU/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby video review by MindShare Learning](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-mindshare-learning-video-review/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 25, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** “I give Edsby two thumbs up. I’m astounded by it. It’s a great platform,” said Tim Gard of MindShare Learning in a video walkthrough of the Edsby K-12 LMS in MindShare's Unboxing Edtech feature. **Content:** ##### “Edsby’s pretty much thought of everything,” said Tim Gard of MindShare Learning in a video walkthrough of Edsby The edtech events and media company MindShare Learning took a look at the Edsby K-12 LMS in a recent broadcast. Timothy Gard, Edtech Pedagogy lead, and Robert Martellacci, President and Publisher, reviewed Edsby in an edition of the company’s *Unboxing Edtech* video feature. Gard and Martellacci were impressed with the scope of the Edsby K-12 LMS, which was designed to be a single application educators could live in all day to perform virtually all required tasks, from attendance to assessments to parent communication and official reporting. “Edsby alleviates congestion in the office area at report card time. You can produce your own report cards right within Edsby. Everything comes through Edsby’s built-in assessment and comprehensive gradebook, which I love,” said Gard. “It’s quite comprehensive, quite powerful,” he said. > “To be quite frank with you, I’d be hard pressed to come up with something that’s not in here. I’ve looked at a lot of LMSes. And I give this one two thumbs up. I’m astounded by it. It’s a great platform.” Gard and Martellacci were also impressed by Edsby’s clean interface compared to other systems educators are required to use. “It’s a very modern learning management system. It’s very easy to use, easy on the eyes, and very coherent and cogent as a platform,” said Gard. “It doesn’t create that cognitive overload that some systems do … it has that social media-like feel that makes it easy and seamless and powerful for students, teachers and parents.” “With Edsby you get a sense of where the student started, where the student is at, and where the student is going,” said Martellacci. Watch the full [video review of the Edsby K-12 LMS here](https://mindsharelearning.ca/a-mindshare-learning-moment-with-tim-gard-unboxing-edtech-edsby-platform/). Read about [Edsby K-12 LMS features here](https://www.edsby.com/features/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Terms of Use May 1st, 2012 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-use-may-1st-2012-deprecated/product-news/) **Published:** May 1, 2012 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** #### CoreFour Inc.’s Terms of Use for Edsby **Date of last revision of this policy: May 1st, 2012** PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. This document contains the Terms of Use governing your access to and use of **Edsby** (the “Website” or “Site”). If you do not accept these Terms of Use or you do not meet or comply with their provisions, you may not use the Site. Also, please consult our Privacy Policy at [https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy](< https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy>). If you do not agree to be bound by the terms in our Privacy Policy then do not use this Site. **1. Overview** YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE IS EXPRESSLY CONDITIONED UPON YOUR ACCEPTING AND AGREEING TO THESE TERMS OF USE. IF THESE TERMS OF USE ARE NOT COMPLETELY ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE. **Edsby** has been created by and is managed by **CoreFour Inc.** This Site provides a set of distinct online communities. Each community on Edsby is intended for use by the direct stakeholders of a specific education organization such as a school or school district. Direct stakeholders of an education organization include the teachers, administrative staff, students and their parents/guardians. User accounts for a specific education organization on Edsby are created by or under the direction/invitation of the administrative staff and/or teachers of that education organization. Parents/guardians and students are not allowed to create their own accounts on Edsby; they are only allowed to use authorized accounts set up specifically for them at the direction of the education organization they are participating in. You are permitted to access a specific Edsby education organization community ONLY if you have been specifically and directly invited and authorized to do so by the administrative staff and/or a teacher within that education organization. 2\. **Changes to these Terms of Use** CoreFour Inc. may, at any time, for any reason and without notice, make changes to this Website, including its look, feel, format, features, content and/or Terms of Use. Any modifications will take effect when posted to the Website. Therefore, each time you access the Website, you need to review the Terms of Use upon which access and use of this Website is conditioned. By your continuing use of the Website after changes are posted, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes. **3. Scope of Use** You are only authorised to view, use, copy for your records and download small portions of the Content (including without limitation text, graphics, software, audio and video files and photos) of this Website for your informational, non-commercial use, provided that you leave all the copyright notices, including copyright management information, or other proprietary notices intact. You may not store, modify, reproduce, transmit, reverse engineer or distribute a significant portion of the Content on this Website, or the design or layout of the Website in any form or media. The systematic retrieval of data from the Website is also prohibited. You agree not to submit or transmit any content, files, videos, photos, web links or other materials to the Website that: (i) are defamatory, threatening, obscene or harassing, (ii) contain a virus, worm, Trojan horse or any other harmful component, (iii) incorporate copyrighted or other proprietary material of any third party without that party’s permission or (iv) otherwise violate any applicable laws. CoreFour Inc. shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any information or materials that you submit online except as specified in these Terms of Use, or as set forth in any additional terms and conditions relating to specific products or services, or as otherwise specifically agreed or required by law. **4. Copyrights and Trademarks** The materials at this Site, as well as the organisation and layout of this site, are copyrighted and are protected by Canadian and international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may access, download and print materials on this Website solely for your personal and non-commercial use. No right, title or interest in any of the materials contained on this Site is transferred to you as a result of accessing, downloading or printing such materials. You may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, publish, license any part of this Site; create derivative works from use on any other website, transfer or sell any information obtained from this Site without the prior written permission of CoreFour Inc. CoreFour Inc. respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of Edsby to do the same. You are not allowed to publish content on this Site that infringes on someone else’s Copyright. The policy of CoreFour Inc. is to terminate the accounts of repeat copyright offenders and other users who infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us at intellectual\_property@corefour.com **5. Links** For your convenience, we may provide links to various other websites that may be of interest to you and for your convenience only. However, CoreFour Inc. does not control or endorse such websites and is not responsible for their content nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements contained within such websites. Please read the terms and conditions or terms of use policies of any other company or website you may link to from our Site. These Terms of Use policy applies only to CoreFour Inc.’s Site. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, you do so at your own risk. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to terminate any link or linking program at any time. CoreFour Inc. disclaims all warranties, express and implied, as to the accuracy, validity, and legality or otherwise of any materials or information contained on such websites. **6. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use** As a condition of your use of this Site, you warrant to CoreFour Inc. that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Site. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site. **7. Spamming** Gathering email addresses from the Site through harvesting or automated means is prohibited. Posting or transmitting advertising or other such promotional materials or forms of solicitations to other users of this Site is prohibited unless authorized by CoreFour Inc. or an administrator at your education organization. **8. No Warranties** THE WEBSITE, AND ANY CONTENT, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, ALL OF WHICH CoreFour Inc**.** EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS. CoreFour Inc. DOES NOT ENDORSE AND MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE CONTENT, AND CoreFour Inc. WILL NOT BE LIABLE OR OTHERWISE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN UPDATING THE WEBSITE OR ANY CONTENT. WE HAVE NO DUTY TO UPDATE THE CONTENT OF THE WEBSITE. CoreFour Inc. MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT USE OF THE CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTS OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF ACCESSING THE WEBSITE AND USING THE CONTENT, AND FOR TAKING ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY ACCESS, DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR ANY OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. **9. Governing Law, Location and Miscellaneous** These Terms of Use shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, without reference to its choice of law rules. If an applicable law is in conflict with any part of the Terms of Use, the Terms of Use will be deemed modified to conform to the law. The other provisions will not be affected by any such modification. **10. Separate Agreements** You may have other agreements with CoreFour Inc. Those agreements are separate and in addition to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use do not modify, revise or amend the terms of any other agreements you may have with CoreFour Inc. **11. User Disputes** You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users on the Site. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other users. **12. User Submissions and Communications** Users will be held directly and solely responsible for the content they post on the Site. You acknowledge that you own, are solely responsible or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post on the Site; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify CoreFour Inc. or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. For any content that you post on the Site you grant CoreFour Inc. a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, publish, translate, distribute, and display the communication or content in any media or medium, or any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed subject to the restrictions of our privacy policy. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following: Examine an allegation that a communication(s) do(es) not conform to the terms of this section and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the communication(s). Remove communications that are abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fail to conform with these Terms of Use. Terminate a user’s access to any or all portions of the Site upon any breach of these Terms of Use. Monitor and share with your education organization any communication in any shared area of the Site Delete any communication(s) posted on the Site, regardless of whether such communication(s) violate these standards. CoreFour Inc. has full discretion to delete communications on the Site. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our customers, users, employees or the public. CoreFour Inc. has no liability or responsibility to users of the Site or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities. **13. Arbitration** Except as regarding any action seeking equitable relief, including without limitation for the purpose of protecting any CoreFour Inc. confidential information and/or intellectual property rights, any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or this Website shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the provisions, in effect at the time the proceedings begin, of the Commercial Arbitration Act. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be held in the province of Ontario. All information relating to or disclosed by any party in connection with the arbitration of any disputes hereunder shall be treated by the parties, their representatives, and the arbitrator as proprietary business information. Such information shall not be disclosed by any party or their respective representatives without the prior written authorisation of the party furnishing such information. Such information shall not be disclosed by the arbitrator without the prior written authorisation of all parties. Each party shall bear the burden of its own counsel fees incurred in connection with any arbitration proceedings. Judgment upon the award returned by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the parties or their assets or application of enforcement, as the case may be. Any award by the arbitrator shall be the sole and exclusive remedy of the parties. The parties hereby waive all rights to judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision and any award contained therein. **14. Limitation of Liability** YOUR USE OF THE CONTENT OF THIS SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CoreFour Inc. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ACCESS TO, USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE CONTENT (EVEN IF CoreFour Inc. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) OR THAT ARISE IN CONNECTION WITH MISTAKES OR OMISSIONS IN, OR DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION OF, INFORMATION TO OR FROM THE USER, ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR FILES, INTERRUPTIONS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS TO THE WEBSITE OR VIRUSES, WHETHER CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY NEGLIGENCE, ACTS OF GOD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OF, OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY BE DIFFERENT IN CONNECTION WITH SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CoreFour Inc. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. **15. Indemnity** You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold CoreFour Inc., its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers, harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use. **16. User Accounts And Security** CoreFour Inc. does not warrant that the functions contained in the service provided by the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected or that this service or the server that makes it available will be free of viruses or other harmful components. You may not: select or use a Login Name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; use a name subject to the rights of any other person without authorisation; use a Login Name that CoreFour Inc., in its sole discretion, deems inappropriate or offensive. You shall notify CoreFour Inc. of any known or suspected unauthorised use(s) of your Account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorised disclosure of your password. You shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for termination of your Account, at CoreFour Inc.’s sole discretion, and you may be reported to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. **Contact us:** If you would like to request additional information regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us at [terms\_of\_use@corefour.com](mailto:terms_of_use@corefour.com) **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Terms of Use --- ### [Edsby & Microsoft on learning analytics at ISTE](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-microsoft-learning-analytics-iste/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 26, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** John Myers of Edsby and Sivakumar Harinath of Microsoft showed real time insights from educational data to ISTE attendees. **Content:** ### John Myers of Edsby (L) and Siva Harinath (R) of Microsoft show real time insights from educational data to ISTE 2018 attendees It’s every teacher’s dream: a realtime window into everything the school district knows about a specific student they’re teaching, available the moment they need it. As part of the main lecture series at ISTE 2018 in Chicago, Microsoft showed how its [Power BI data visualization system](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/) is now enabling this vision inside the popular [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) LMS for K-12 school districts. John Myers of Edsby and Sivakumar Harinath of Microsoft demonstrated breakthrough new school district-level capabilities to an audience of 70 educators from across North America. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_7053.jpg) #### Why analytics are needed The primary goal of every K-12 district is to see students learn, grow and succeed. Districts have countless data points for students, but vital records are often housed in various formats and across diverse systems, with no way to consolidate them. And in K-12, the ones that would benefit most from student data—teachers—often can’t access it for student privacy reasons. It’s historically been hard to give teachers data on the kids they’re teaching at a given time, and ONLY data on those kids. Microsoft’s Power BI is an innovative cloud-based analytics service that enables easy visualization and analysis of data with greater speed, efficiency, and understanding. For K-12 school districts, it is available embedded inside the cloud-based digital learning platform Edsby, [winner of the 2017 SIIA CODiE award for Best Educational Data Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-recognized-siia-best-data-analytics-solution/). Edsby interfaces with the school district’s systems, aggregates and consolidates data across the district and manages which schools and teachers get data on which students… relationships that have high stakes privacy implications as students and teachers come and go. More information on Edsby’s analytics capabilities is available [here](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_7050.jpg) **Categories:** In the news --- ### [North East School Division reflects on Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/north-east-school-division/customers/) **Published:** May 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** District worked with teachers to assess Edsby's impact in and out of the classroom and published a series of videos sharing what it learned. **Content:** #### District explored how its teachers are using Edsby to promote student learning The North East School Division (NESD) is a public school district north of Regina, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The district manages 21 school communities in Treaty 4, 5 and 6 lands, areas covered by historical treaties between the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples. It is one of the newest districts in Saskatchewan to begin using the Edsby digital learning and data platform for K-12, which has organically [grown to be the province’s de facto assessment and parent system](https://www.edsby.com/holy-family-saskatchewan-adoption/customers/), courtesy of its direct connection to the provincial student information system MySchoolSask (MSS), built on Aspen by Follett. NESD has been using Edsby since 2020 for its 4,740 students, their parents and staff. It uses it to enhance learning, collect feedback from students and parents, connect with the community, monitor progress, gather statistics and ensure students success. #### NESD Edsby “Innovation Sprint” In the 2022-23 school year, five NESD teachers volunteered to be part of an exercise to focus on exploring ways Edsby could support and enhance student learning. They worked together for two cycles (November to April) as an “innovation sprint” and met weekly to discuss progress towards their goals and reflect on the impact Edsby had on their selected strategies. Core to their efforts were using Edsby as their primary way to collect, share and reflect on evidence of student learning. > “My goal was to increase student reflection and as well as parent engagement using Edsby as a tool. And it worked.” > – Kristin Lee, PAA teacher and career councillor, North East School Division Stephanie Pipke-Painchaud, Coordinator of Learning at North East School Division, [documented the team’s results](https://nesd.ca/learning) in her “Curriculum Corner Live” video series. Video 1: [Grade 1 Documentation of Learning](https://nesd.ca/learning/edsbyinaction3) First grade teacher Connie Parenteau reflected on how the Edsby Learning Story can help assess ELA learning goals and help students become more reflective in their work. Connie shared examples of students working with the Edsby learning story in Grade 1. Video 2: [Communicating Student Progress (Diversity Lens)](https://nesd.ca/learning/edsbyinaction5) Carnie Carr, a diversity education teacher in NESD, spoke about how progress of students with IIPs could be authentically communicated with Edsby. Carnie shared how this process has engaged parents and helped clarify student progress. Video 3: [Reflective Digital Documentation in Arts Ed & Band](https://nesd.ca/learning/edsbyinaction1) Rebecca Will, arts education and band teacher, discussed what documentation and active reflection looks like using Edsby to support student engagement. Video 4: [Documentation of Learning in PAA](https://nesd.ca/learning/edsbyinaction2) Kristin Lee, PAA teacher and career councillor, spoke about how she is using the Edsby Learning Story & digital documentation to help students assess where they are at in their learning. She also dug into how to engage parents in this process. Lee made it her primary goal to increase both her students’ reflection and their parents’ engagement using Edsby. By integrating Edsby’s Learning Story and Grade Book features, she crafted a comprehensive approach to digital documentation that not only involved students in their learning process but also actively engaged parents. ![Stephanie Pipke-Painchaud and Kristin Lee](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Picture2.png)Stephanie Pipke-Painchaud and Kristin Lee of North East School DivisionVideo 5: [Connecting with students and parents](https://nesd.ca/learning/edsbyinaction4) Scott Sorestad, a previous NESD Google Classroom teacher, reflected on the ways he learned to use Edsby tools to engage and connect more with both students and parents beyond what he was able to with Classroom. NESD explored Edsby’s integration with Google Classroom and Google Drive. It allowed students to seamlessly upload their work from Google Drive into Edsby, much like they could with Classroom, creating a smooth and intuitive workflow. #### Features for teachers, documented NESD has helped its educators on their journey to make use of Edsby’s features to better connect with both students and parents. Its videos are standing resources to help educators, present and future, best understand how to leverage the Edsby learning platform. > “In the Learning Story, we found parents can comment back and forth along with the students. In the Edsby Grade Book, the student can comment back, and the parent can see it. This can create a child-to-parent relationship even in the teaching environment.” > > – Stephanie Pipke-Painchaud, Coordinator of Learning, North East School Division **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Algoma District's adoption of Edsby makes news](https://www.edsby.com/algoma-district-school-board-adsb-edsby/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** May 9, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Parents and students love Edsby at the 10,000-student Algoma District School Board, trustees were told. **Content:** #### Martin Stilin, technology and data management co-ordinator of Algoma District School Board, speaks to trustees Tuesday, May 7, 2019 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. (BRIAN KELLY/THE SAULT STAR/POSTMEDIA NETWORK) > “Parents think it’s fantastic.” So said Greg Bowman, trustee of Algoma District School Board (ADSB), at a meeting of district trustees and administrators this week in which an update of the 10,000-student district’s adoption of Edsby was given. In [Edsby helps teachers, parents, students communicate](https://www.saultstar.com/news/local-news/edsby-helps-teachers-parents-students-communicate) in the local newspaper The Sault Star, ADSB superintendent of business Joe Santa Maria said the system has had “quite a bit of growth from the initial time that we had Edsby operational.” The system was introduced to teachers in a professional development day in May 2018 after three years of evaluating options. Edsby started to be implemented across the board in September, 2018. > Edsby lets student trustee Molly Taylor contact her math teacher when she doesn’t understand a homework question. She also checks her marks. “It’s very helpful,” Taylor told trustees. “I really like it.” In [Hi-tech system allows better tracking of day-to-day student life for parents,](https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/hi-tech-system-allows-better-tracking-of-day-to-day-student-life-for-parents-1434457) SooToday.com reported the board was told by ADSB officials that Edsby is a faster, better and easier way for parents to be kept up to date on their children’s classroom activities and academic progress. > “As a parent it’s been powerful for myself,” said Tyler Hankinson, one of three ADSB officials who provided an Edsby update. ADSB is among many school districts in the Canadian province of Ontario that have adopted Edsby. The district says it selected Edsby because it integrated with the board’s student information system Trillium, has secure access and is user friendly. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Holy Family extends Canadian Edsby momentum](https://www.edsby.com/holy-family-saskatchewan-adoption/customers/) **Published:** March 26, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** More than 80% of K-12 students in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan are now on the Edsby learning platform for K-12, a latest bright spot in Edsby's adoption across Canada. **Content:** ### Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division is the latest to adopt the Edsby learning platform for K-12 in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where more than 80% of students are now on Edsby Saskatchewan continues to move to the Edsby digital learning platform, with the vast majority of the province’s school divisions having now chosen the system. In a recent board meeting, the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division revealed its plans for teachers to begin using Edsby for attendance, report cards, sharing learning evidence captured in classrooms with parents and letting families know about district, school and class news. According to a [news article from Sasktoday.ca](https://www.sasktoday.ca/south/weyburn-review/holy-family-school-division-to-move-to-edsby-platform-in-fall-8498441), “other school divisions already use the system … and users note that it’s easy to use for communications between school and home.” #### Outcomes-based assessment and reporting key Most school divisions in Saskatchewan have independently chosen Edsby as their primary system for teaching and learning. The primary reason: its unique ability to connect with the province’s student information system (MySchoolSask, or MSS, based on Aspen by Follett) to enable the province’s outcomes-based assessment and reporting methodology for tracking and reporting K-12 student progress towards learning mastery. Local educators can comply with Ministry assessment directives while teaching and assessing using locally adopted strategies. > Teachers will be using it for everything from attendance and report cards, to showing portfolio items from their students to their parents, or letting parents know about events at school or in the class. > > -Sasktoday.ca, [Holy Family school division to move to Edsby platform in fall](https://www.sasktoday.ca/south/weyburn-review/holy-family-school-division-to-move-to-edsby-platform-in-fall-8498441) #### Wide adoption of Edsby across Canada Edsby has proven popular elsewhere in Canada. It’s been licensed by one of the country’s three territories. And it’s seen [remarkable adoption in the country’s most populous province, Ontario](https://www.edsby.com/ontario-edsby-usage-significant-2018/customers/), where 1 in 5 school districts independently choose to use Edsby, even though Ontario makes a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) available to them for free. In Ontario alone, 62 private schools, including some of the country’s most prestigious, have also independently elected to use Edsby. In Ontario, as in Saskatchewan, Edsby’s success continues to be driven by its [attention to local pedagogy](https://www.edsby.com/ontario-k12/), tight synchronization with local student information systems and unique [community engagement](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/) capabilities. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Three keys to student success with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/keys-to-student-success-with-edsby-lms/commentary/) **Published:** May 25, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Educators at a recent event shared how certain features in the Edsby social learning platform are helping them improve student outcomes. **Content:** ### At a recent Edsby customer conference in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, educators shared tips on how three aspects of Edsby are making a positive impact on student achievement School districts in Saskatchewan, where 80% of the province’s students are managed on Edsby, have found value using Edsby to find and safely share information across various internal roles for student success. Here’s what they told each other at a recent Edsby customer conference about three areas of the product that help them do this. **1. Panorama and observations** The Edsby [Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/help/panorama/) view is a single page view of everything having to do with a specific child’s education. It also gives educators a way to record and share private observations on a student. All of a student’s current teachers are presented with these observations automatically. “We use the Edsby Panorama and observations to track which administrators are working with which students and which counselors, and everyone stays updated,” said Hiedi Bodnarchuk, Vice Principal at Bishop James Mahoney in the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division in Saskatchewan. “For example, if I support a student in a class, or with a social issue, I would record ‘met with student,’ and add details and message pertinent teachers if necessary, right within this confidential area of Edsby. Teachers who support those students will also record if they called home or such. I can go review these observations and see who’s been working with that student and doing what. It’s all in one spot.” **2. Monitor groups** Edsby [monitor groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/supporting-the-guidance-office/) can allow the confidential management of students to achieve specific results. “We’re using monitor groups to track different groups of students to support our [Following Their Voices](https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/partnerships-for-success/profiles/following-their-voices-initiative) work here in Saskatchewan, and manage FNMI (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) students for whom special funding is available,” said Patricia Bibby, High School Learning Consultant on the Inclusive Learning Team at Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division. “Whether it’s a mentor accessing that group, guidance personnel, a teacher assigned to that group, or an administrator, monitor groups are great. Students don’t even know that they’re there; they can’t see the group. The conversations had within that group are private, and all stakeholders have access to important metrics, such as academic achievement (incl. formative learning evidence as well as summative records), attendance data, current expected location based on schedule and more.” Graydon King, Educational Technology Consultant at Lloydminster Public School Division, also saw benefit in using monitor groups to identify and manage students with at risk attendance or academic scores. But his district found even more value in another aspect of Edsby. “We added Edsby Analytics to put me out of the job I was doing helping at-risk kids,” he said. **3. Edsby Analytics** Edsby’s optional [Analytics](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/) system gives educators ways to find patterns and outliers in data captured within Edsby or elsewhere. “The analytics piece really caught my eye. I was part of a pilot of another system that we just couldn’t get to work. With Edsby, we like that we can filter and determine say, how grade nine female First Nations students that are left handed are doing compared to others, for instance. You’ve got the demographic information there. You can drill in. And it’s expandable,” said King. King found the analytics information even more meaningful than the risk factors such as attendance and grades available in Edsby’s standard [Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/my-students-zoom-3/) reports. The educators made their comments in a session at Edsbyfest Saskatoon in May, 2023 titled “Student Success Framework,” a group exploration of how Edsby is making a positive impact on system wide improvement in each district and how information is shared across various roles for student success. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Teachers and education leaders out of sync on PD](https://www.edsby.com/k-12-professional-development-software/commentary/) **Published:** March 11, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** EducationWeek finds big disconnects between what professional development K-12 teachers say they want and what their school or district leaders think. **Content:** ##### Source: EducationWeek, March 06, 2024 New findings from EducationWeek illustrate big disconnects between K-12 school district leaders and their teachers with respect to how much professional development they want or need, and whether it’s effective. Which has big implications for vendors of K-12 professional development software, like Edsby. ### Many teachers see PD as irrelevant Of an October, 2023 survey of more than 2,000 U.S.-based educators, principals and other education leaders, nearly half of teachers, 48 percent, said the professional development provided by their district or a paid vendor that they are required to take is irrelevant or not connected to their current teaching job, *EdWeek* found. The same percentage of teachers also said they received too much PD in the past year. Principals seem to disagree. When asked the same question about PD’s relevance to their teachers’ jobs, the vast majority — 84 percent — said it is on target. And nearly half, 48 percent, felt teachers receive too little training. ### Among teachers who want PD, training on digital tools ranks high When it comes to what areas of focus teachers need most from PD right now, technology training ranks high. According to the report, 13 percent of teachers say they need training on using technology or digital tools effectively. This answer came second only to teachers saying they don’t need any PD right now (19 percent). EdWeek’s findings with respect to teacher PD are part of a focus on teacher morale [here](https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-district-leaders-need-to-know-about-teacher-morale-downloadable/2024/03), from a larger set of research the publication calls [The State of Teaching](https://www.edweek.org/the-state-of-teaching). **These findings reinforce that professional development systems that can be tailored to individual K-12 teachers’ or districts’ needs are critical. Learn how the [Edsby social learning platform as K-12 professional development software](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-groups-professional-development-plc-pd/product-news/) can facilitate learning at individual schools, or even district-wide.** **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby in New Zealand](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-in-new-zealand/in-conversation/) **Published:** December 7, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The country of New Zealand is making the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 available for each of its 2,500 K-12 schools. How did New Zealand's Ministry come to select Edsby and what are its plans for the system? **Content:** The country of New Zealand is making the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 available for each of its 2,500 K-12 schools. How did New Zealand’s Ministry of Education come to select Edsby for its own use, and that of every educator, student and parent in the land? What is the country using Edsby for today? And what are its plans for the system? Edsby’s Dallas Kachan speaks with Edsby Managing Director of Asia Pacific Michael Middlemiss. **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Edsby tip: When not to use Edsby messages](https://www.edsby.com/email-vs-groups-classes/edsby-tips/) **Published:** November 13, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Email has its place. But Edsby has better ways for teachers to share routine communications with students and parents. **Content:** #### Email has its place. But the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 has better ways for teachers to share routine communications with students and parents. Email lists, in Edsby or anywhere, aren’t the best way for educators to share general info: - **Email lists are outdated as soon as they’re created** – Students and parents come and go, so recipient lists quickly become out of date. - **Recipients can’t benefit from others’ replies** – Broadcast emails don’t enable recipients to see what others are saying. Teachers find themselves writing the same answers to the same questions again and again. - **Email is horrible for finding old info** – How can any recipient or sender easily find specifics of what was shared in what message? Edsby was designed to streamline the different communications regularly sent to students and parents in K-12. And rarely does that mean needing to write individual business-style 1:1 emails. **Routine updates to students & parents using Edsby Classes** In a physical classroom, when a teacher wants to tell the class something, they speak to the class or write it on the board. The teacher doesn’t write each student an individual note and hand them out. Updates and reminders to students related to a specific class can be similarly posted as notes in the feed in each Edsby Class. Anything posted to an Edsby Class is automatically flagged to all students in the class; there’s not even a need to send a message to every student letting them know something has been posted. Posting routine updates in a single place also enables students who might join a class late to scroll back in the class feed and see old posts and catch up. In a message thread, this isn’t possible. Posting in class feeds also encourages collaboration and inclusivity. Teachers can enable students to reply to posts and ask questions. Other students may also reply, helping students to learn to work in groups, an important skill. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_1927-850x1839.png)Feed posts in an Edsby Class.Teachers may also allow parents into their Edsby classes, giving parents a level of transparency into what happens in class. Parents may read teachers’ notes if the teacher enables it in the Class settings, but cannot see anything any student posts to the class. When parents learn to check students’ classes for latest info, teachers don’t have to message them separately. **Build engagement with parents in Edsby Groups** Many schools and districts use Edsby Groups to promote organized communication with parents. Groups can be created as dedicated spaces for specific topics or projects, such as Parent Volunteer Opportunities, PTA or related conversations. This can keep discussions focused, out of the private message inbox, and always available to everyone in a known place. Important files or announcements can always be found and referenced. Edsby Groups encourage parents to engage in conversations with teachers and other parents, improving participation and community engagement. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/25-Edsby-Group-Feed-snap-edit-477x1024.png)An Edsby group for students and parents.**Exceptions** Messages still have an important role for private communications between teachers, students and parents. Some things are not appropriate to post to an Edsby Class or Group. But most routine communications to students and parents can be done much more efficiently by posting in Edsby Classes and Groups. **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Who uses Edsby Groups and why?](https://www.edsby.com/who-uses-edsby-groups-and-why/in-conversation/) **Published:** January 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Groups in Edsby are unlike anything in any other K-12 system, and often one of users' favourite parts of Edsby. How do schools and districts use Edsby Groups and how do they work? **Content:** Edsby’s Groups capability provides powerful ways for K-12 students, teachers and parents to collaborate. Groups in Edsby are unlike anything in any other K-12 system, and are often one of users’ favourite aspects of Edsby. How do schools and districts use Edsby Groups, and why, and how do they work? Learn more in this installment of The Eds Files with Dallas Kachan. Guests: - Tyson Banks, Edge School - Stephanie Painchaud, North East School Division - John Myers, Edsby **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Edsby tip: Managing notifications](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-tip-managing-notifications/edsby-tips/) **Published:** August 5, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** To update or change Notifications, access your Edsby Settings. You have the option to opt in or out of notifications for many types of updates in Edsby. **Content:** Edsby users are invited to enable notifications when they log in to their accounts for the first time. But those notifications might need to be updated periodically, for instance when classes change through the year. Some users might also seek more notifications. Some might want less. Some might want them via their mobile apps. Some might want them via email. To update, change, add or delete Edsby notifications, access your Edsby Settings. You have the option to opt in or out of notifications for messages, classes, and groups. You can also enable a daily digest of activities, which provides a summary of any new items in Groups or Classes that happened on a specific day, assessments that were due the current and following days, as well as any events happening the next day – all indicated by red bubble counters. For more tips and shortcuts on navigating notifications, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Picture1-1.png) **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Edsby at Crestwood Preparatory College](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-crestwood-preparatory-college/customers/) **Published:** June 17, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A private school in Toronto is the latest to adopt Edsby. **Content:** Edsby welcomes the students and faculty of Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Canada as a latest private school to adopt Edsby. Crestwood is moving off FirstClass and rolling out Edsby in September for calendar, daily classwork, school announcements and club information all in one location. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [An insider’s view into Canadian edtech fundraising](https://www.edsby.com/an-insiders-view-into-canadian-edtech-fundraising/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 10, 2013 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Edsby co-founder John Myers was interviewed about the tech startup fundraising process. **Content:** Edsby co-founder John Myers was interviewed today about the tech startup fundraising process by Aron Solomon for the regular newsletter at MaRS, a Toronto tech incubator. > For us, it was a very enjoyable experience, especially since we had such a great outcome. It’s nice when the hard work pays off … it’s like a form of dating. We pitched to about 20 or so groups before we found our “mates.” The full article is [here](http://www.marsdd.com/2013/12/10/insiders-view-canadian-edtech-fundraising/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Terms of Use January 5th, 2018 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use-january-5th-2018-deprecated/product-news/) **Published:** September 28, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** ### **CoreFour Inc.’s Terms of Use for Edsby** **Date of last revision of this policy: January 5th, 2018** Welcome to Edsby! Edsby includes a public website at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com) (the “Site”) and a set of private web domains that each provides a suite of software services (the “Services”) to the teachers, students, parents and administrators of a specific education organization. The Site and the Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc.** (the “Company”)**.** This document contains the Terms of Use governing your access to and use of the Edsby Site and Edsby Services. We suggest you read these terms carefully before using the Site or Services. If you do not accept these Terms of Use, you may not use the Site or the Services. If you use our Site or Services you agree to these Terms of Use. Respecting and protecting the privacy of information stored within Edsby is very important to us. Please consult our Privacy Policy at **[edsby.com/privacy-policy/](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/)** for details on how we do that. 1. **Overview** Edsby is a cloud-based software service that modernizes how teachers, students and parents engage with each other. The types of education organizations which use Edsby include public school districts and private schools. Edsby is selected by these organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student data, and is managed by the education organization as one part of the suite of technology solutions that every education organization requires. Education organizations pay to use Edsby and own and manage the information stored and collected by Edsby on their behalf. User accounts for a specific education organization using Edsby are created by or under the direction/invitation of the administrative staff and/or teachers of that education organization. Parents/guardians and students are not allowed to create their own accounts on Edsby; they are only allowed to use authorized accounts set up specifically for them at the direction of the education organization they are participating in. You are permitted to access a specific education organization’s Edsby Services ONLY if you have been specifically and directly invited and authorized to do so by the administrative staff and/or a teacher within that education organization. 2. **Changes to these Terms of Use** CoreFour Inc. may make changes to these Terms of Use from time to time. We suggest you check these Terms of Use periodically for changes. Any modifications will take effect one month after being posted on the Site and in the Services. By your continuing use of the Site and/or Services after changes are posted, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes. Previous versions of our Terms of Use will be available on our website for your review. 3. **Scope of Use** You are only authorised to view, use, copy for your records and download small portions of the Content (including without limitation text, graphics, software, audio and video files and photos) from the Site or Services for your informational, non-commercial use, provided that you leave all the copyright notices, including copyright management information, or other proprietary notices intact. You may not store, modify, reproduce, transmit, reverse engineer or distribute a significant portion of the Content on the Site or Services, or the design or layout of the Site or Services in any form or media. The systematic retrieval of data from the Site or Services is also prohibited. You agree not to submit or transmit any content, files, videos, photos, web links or other materials to the Site or Services that: (i) are defamatory, threatening, obscene or harassing, (ii) contain a virus, worm, Trojan horse or any other harmful component, (iii) incorporate copyrighted or other proprietary material of any third party without that party’s permission or (iv) otherwise violate any applicable laws. CoreFour Inc. shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any information or materials that you submit online except as specified in these Terms of Use, or as set forth in any additional terms and conditions relating to specific products or services, or as otherwise specifically agreed or required by law. 4. **Copyrights and Trademarks** The materials at this Site and Services, as well as their organisation and layout, are copyrighted and are protected by Canadian and international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may access, download and print materials on this Site or Services solely for your personal and non-commercial use. No right, title or interest in any of the materials contained on this Site or Services is transferred to you as a result of accessing, downloading or printing such materials. You may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, publish, license any part of this Site or Services; create derivative works from use on any other website, transfer or sell any information obtained from this Site or Services without the prior written permission of CoreFour Inc. 5. **Links** For your convenience, we may provide links to various other websites that may be of interest to you and for your convenience only. However, CoreFour Inc. does not control or endorse such websites and is not responsible for their content nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements contained within such websites. Please read the terms and conditions or terms of use policies of any other company or website you may link to from our Site or Services. This Terms of Use policy applies only to CoreFour Inc.’s Site and Services. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site or to the Services, you do so at your own risk. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to remove any link at any time. CoreFour Inc. disclaims all warranties, express and implied, as to the accuracy, validity, and legality or otherwise of any materials or information contained on such websites. 6. **No Unlawful or Prohibited Use** As a condition of your use of this Site, you warrant to CoreFour Inc. that you will not use the Site or Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use the Site or Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or Services or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Site or Services. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site or Services. 7. **Spamming** Gathering email addresses from the Site or Services through harvesting or automated means is prohibited. Posting or transmitting advertising or other such promotional materials or forms of solicitations to other users of this Site or Services is prohibited unless authorized by CoreFour Inc. or an administrator at your education organization. 8. **Warranties and Disclaimers** The Edsby Site and Services have been professionally designed and are professionally managed. However CoreFour Inc. does not warrant that the functions provided by the Site and the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, that content is accurate or that the Site or Services will be free of viruses or other harmful components. THE SITE AND THE SERVICES, AND ANY CONTENT, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, ALL OF WHICH CoreFour Inc**.** EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS. CoreFour Inc. DOES NOT ENDORSE AND MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE CONTENT, AND CoreFour Inc. WILL NOT BE LIABLE OR OTHERWISE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN UPDATING THE SITE OR SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT. WE HAVE NO DUTY TO UPDATE THE CONTENT OF THE WEBSITE. CoreFour Inc. MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT USE OF THE CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTS OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF ACCESSING THE SITE AND SERVICES AND USING THE CONTENT, AND FOR TAKING ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY ACCESS, DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR ANY OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. 9. **Governing Law, Location and Miscellaneous** These Terms of Use shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, without reference to its choice of law rules. If an applicable law is in conflict with any part of the Terms of Use, the Terms of Use will be deemed modified to conform to the law. The other provisions will not be affected by any such modification. 10. **Separate Agreements** You may have other agreements with CoreFour Inc. Those agreements are separate and in addition to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use do not modify, revise or amend the terms of any other agreements you may have with CoreFour Inc. 11. **User Disputes** You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users on the Site and Services. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other users. 12. **User Provided Content** Users will be held directly and solely responsible for the content they post on the Site and through the Services. You acknowledge that you own, are solely responsible or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post on the Site; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify CoreFour Inc. or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. For any content that you post on the Site or through the Services you retain ownership of that content and whatever intellectual property rights you hold for that content. By posting that content on the Site or through the Services you grant CoreFour Inc. a limited royalty-free, perpetual, world-wide non-exclusive license to store, use, reproduce, publish, translate, distribute, and display the content in any media or medium, or any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed subject to the restrictions of our privacy policy. This license is required for Edsby to be able to provide its rich set of Services. For example a teacher may post content about tonight’s homework through a laptop computer in Toronto. A student may read this content via a smartphone in Mexico, and a parent may listen to a translated version of this content via text-to-speech technology while in China. The license you grant is still in effect even if you stop using the Site or the Services. This is required so that for example, content shared by a teacher to other teachers can continue to be provided by Edsby even after that teacher has retired. The education organization through which you are obtaining the Edsby Services has overall control over the disposition of the content you have provided via the Services we operate for it. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following: - Remove content that is abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fails to conform with these Terms of Use. - Terminate a user’s access to any or all portions of the Site or Services upon any breach of these Terms of Use. - Monitor and share with your education organization any content in any shared area of the Site or Services. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our customers, users, employees or the public. CoreFour Inc. **has no liability or responsibility to users of the Site or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities.** 13. **Arbitration** Except as regarding any action seeking equitable relief, including without limitation for the purpose of protecting any CoreFour Inc. confidential information and/or intellectual property rights, any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or this Site or Services shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the provisions, in effect at the time the proceedings begin, of the Commercial Arbitration Act. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be held in the province of Ontario. All information relating to or disclosed by any party in connection with the arbitration of any disputes hereunder shall be treated by the parties, their representatives, and the arbitrator as proprietary business information. Such information shall not be disclosed by any party or their respective representatives without the prior written authorisation of the party furnishing such information. Such information shall not be disclosed by the arbitrator without the prior written authorisation of all parties. Each party shall bear the burden of its own counsel fees incurred in connection with any arbitration proceedings. Judgment upon the award returned by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the parties or their assets or application of enforcement, as the case may be. Any award by the arbitrator shall be the sole and exclusive remedy of the parties. The parties hereby waive all rights to judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision and any award contained therein. 14. **Limitation of Liability** YOUR USE OF THE CONTENT OF THIS SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CoreFour Inc. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ACCESS TO, USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE CONTENT (EVEN IF CoreFour Inc. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) OR THAT ARISE IN CONNECTION WITH MISTAKES OR OMISSIONS IN, OR DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION OF, INFORMATION TO OR FROM THE USER, ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR FILES, INTERRUPTIONS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS TO THE WEBSITE OR VIRUSES, WHETHER CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY NEGLIGENCE, ACTS OF GOD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OF, OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY BE DIFFERENT IN CONNECTION WITH SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CoreFour Inc. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. 15. **Indemnity** You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold CoreFour Inc., its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers, harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use. 16. **User Accounts And Security** Access to your account with the Services is controlled by password. You should choose a password that is difficult for others to learn by simply watching you log in. You should not write your password down. You can and should notify your education organization or CoreFour Inc. of any known or suspected unauthorised use(s) of your account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorised disclosure of your password. You agree you will not access or attempt to access any accounts provided by the Site or the Services other than the account(s) assigned to you. If we suspect or detect such inappropriate account access we will inform authorities within your education organization. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for the suspension or termination of your account, at CoreFour Inc.’s discretion or by direction of your education organization, and you may be reported to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. **Contact us:** If you would like to request additional information regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us at: [**terms\_of\_use@edsby.com**](mailto:terms_of_use@edsby.com) **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Terms of Use --- ### [Privacy Policy Sept 1st, 2017 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-sept-1st-2017-deprecated/product-news/) **Published:** September 1, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** #### **[![Student Privacy Pledge Sig_logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Student-Privacy-Pledge-Sig_logo-150x150.gif)](http://www.studentprivacypledge.org)** **CoreFour Inc.’s Privacy** **Policy for Edsby** **Date of last revision of this policy: September 1st, 2017** **Edsby** (the “Site”) is a website that is owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc** (the “Company”)**.** The company is committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors while they interact with the content, products and services on Edsby. This Privacy Policy applies to the Site only. It does not apply to other websites to which we link. Because we gather and store certain types of information about our users, we want you to understand what information we collect about you, how we collect it, how that information is used, and how you can control our disclosure of it. You agree that your use of Edsby signifies your assent to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not use Edsby. For the purposes of this document the term “**Parents**” will be used to refer to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, grandparents that are specifically approved by someone legally responsible for a child to have access to information in Edsby regarding that child. Edsby provides a suite of services to the stakeholders of education organizations including teachers, students, administrators and Parents. Edsby is delivered as a “cloud service”, which means the data that Edsby stores and the servers that provide the Edsby service reside in a commercially run cloud hosting data centre that is designed to provide very high levels of security and reliability. **1) Information We Collect and Store** We collect and store three kinds of information on your behalf: i) your personal information, ii) content you provide, and iii) information related to your usage of the Site 1. Your Personal Information.Our Site has the ability to store personal information such as your name, userid, password, address, telephone numbers, and email addresses. Most or all of this information is provided by your education organization when your account is created. It is updated from time to time by your education organization as it changes. Parents, Teachers and Administrators may have the ability to enter/modify/update some of the above information directly; that is at the discretion of your education organization. Students are never allowed enter/modify/update their own personal information directly. 2. Content You Provide.Edsby enables you to provide a wide range of digital content including text, images, audio, video, files and web links. This digital content can be placed in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, gradebooks, and postings in shared places. Edsby stores this information on your behalf and tracks the fact that you provided that information. Note that files that you upload into the Site may have metadata associated with them. This metadata is preserved by the Site and will be available to anyone that has the ability to view or download the file you have uploaded.Edsby has the ability to integrate with other computer systems that are used by the education organization you are part of. Examples of such computer systems include Microsoft Office 365 and Google G Suite. When Edsby integrates with these systems it provides a way for you to log in to Edsby by using your Microsoft or Google authentication credentials. In addition Edsby provides a convenient way for you to select files you have stored in the Microsoft and Google offerings and share either a link to that file or a copy of that file in Edsby. If you choose to share a copy of the file within Edsby then the Edsby software will make a copy of the file and store it on the Edsby server where it is subject to the permissions and access control settings of Edsby. An example of a typical example where this would happen is when a student writes an essay in Office 365 or Google Docs and selects that file through Edsby and submits it to their teacher. Edsby will make a copy of the selected file and make it available to the teacher via the Edsby gradebook software. 3. Information Related to Your Usage of the Site*Site Access details:* Each time you log in to Edsby we store information about that session including the time of login, the duration of the session, information about the type of computing device being used, the IP address of the computing device, and the type of browser or application software being used to access Edsby.*Content Usage details:* Edsby stores information about your usage of the Site including which areas of the Site you have visited and which items you have viewed.*Cookies:* A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. Edsby uses cookies to store a secure encrypted token that is used to optimize performance and reduce the number of times a user needs to re-authenticate from the same computer. Personal information is not collected or stored in this cookie. **2) How We Use the Information We Collect and Store** Edsby uses the information we collect and store on your behalf to provide a useful and effective online community for the education community that you are a stakeholder in. We will not sell your personal information or the content you provide. We will not disclose or provide any of the personal information or content you provide to third parties for any purposes except as described in this Privacy Policy. The information we collect and store on your behalf may be provided to other third parties that extend the suite of services supported by or through Edsby on behalf of your education organization. This will be done only at the request and approval of officials at your education organization. The information we collect and store on your behalf is accessible to authorized employees of your education organization and authorized employees, consultants and contractors of CoreFour Inc. and whatever subsidiaries and/or parent companies we may have. The information we collect and store on your behalf will be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may disclose at our discretion a portion of the information we collect and store in special cases where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating the terms and conditions of use of this Site, someone who may be causing injury or interference with our rights or property, someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the education organization using Edsby, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm. Edsby has the ability to provide you with updates and notifications via email and/or text messaging. You can manage this ability (including turning it off) via the “account settings” facility on the Site. We may permit certain trusted third parties to track usage, analyse data such as the source address that a page request is coming from, your IP address or domain name, the date and time of the page request, the referring Web site (if any) and other parameters in the URL. This is collected in order to better understand usage of the Site, and enhance the performance of services to maintain and operate the Site and certain features on the Site. We may use third parties to host the Site; operate various features available on the Site; send emails; and analyse data. We may share the information we collect and store with parent companies, subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates. We may transfer the information we collect and store and all associated rights as an asset in connection with a proposed or actual merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganisation, stock sale or other change in control. We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design the Site and for business and administrative purposes. We may also use or share with third parties for any purpose aggregated data that contains no personally identifiable information. WE ARE NOT LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE OR OTHER INFORMATION YOU CHOOSE TO SUBMIT IN FORUMS SUCH AS A SHARED COMMUNICATIONS PLACE, MESSAGES, CHAT ROOM OR ANY OTHER AREA OF THE SITE THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO OTHER USERS. **3) How We Protect Your Information** We are committed to protecting the information and content we store on your behalf. We take appropriate security measures to protect your information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. To prevent unauthorised access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we maintain appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information and data stored on the Site. While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures we have implemented reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved. **4) Advertising** Edsby does not now nor never has provided any form of advertising to any user on Edsby. In addition the company does not sell any data or information about users to any outside company for the purposes of advertising. **5) Accessing and Updating Your Personal Information and Preferences** The “edit profile” and “account settings” facilities on Edsby enable you to view and in some cases change your personal information and preferences. Note that in many cases some or all of the personal information displayed comes from your education organization, and changes or updates to your information must be done by them. **6) Children’s Privacy and Parental Controls** Students are not allowed to create accounts on the Site. Student accounts are created under the direction of administrators and/or teachers at the education organization. Students are also not allowed to add to, modify or delete the personal contact information and userid that is provided for them on this site by the education organization. The Site is designed so that only teachers at the child’s school, designated administrative staff and the child’s Parents have access to the child’s personal information. Other students and other Parents do not have access to the personal information stored for the child. **7) Disclaimer to Security** No security measures are perfect. We cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you provide to us or that we store on your behalf. You transmit such information to us at your own risk. We cannot guarantee that only authorized people will have access to the information and content we store and display on your behalf. We are not responsible for breaches in our security caused by third parties violating our terms of service and/or bypassing our security mechanisms. **8) Notification of Changes** **CoreFour Inc.** reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time at its sole discretion. Our most current Privacy Policy applies to all the information we have about you unless we specifically state exceptions to this. Your continued use of the Site indicates your assent to the Privacy Policy as posted on this site. We reserve the right to contact you regarding matters relevant to the underlying service provided by Edsby and the applicable privacy policy. **9) CONTACT INFORMATION:** If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy please email us at: **privacy@corefour.com** **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Privacy Policy --- ### [Privacy Policy December 6th, 2015 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-december-6-2015-deprecated/product-news/) **Published:** December 6, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** #### **CoreFour Inc.’s Privacy** **Policy for Edsby** **Date of last revision of this policy: December 6th, 2015** **Edsby** (the “Site”) is a website that is owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc.** We are committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors while they interact with the content, products and services on Edsby. This Privacy Policy applies to the Site only. It does not apply to other websites to which we link. Because we gather and store certain types of information about our users, we want you to understand what information we collect about you, how we collect it, how that information is used, and how you can control our disclosure of it. You agree that your use of Edsby signifies your assent to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not use Edsby. For the purposes of this document the term “**Parents**” will be used to refer to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, grandparents that are specifically approved by someone legally responsible for a child to have access to information in Edsby regarding that child. Edsby provides a suite of services to the stakeholders of education organizations including teachers, students, administrators and Parents. Edsby is delivered as a “cloud service”, which means the data that Edsby stores and the servers that provide the Edsby service reside in a commercially run cloud hosting data centre that is designed to provide very high levels of security and reliability. **1) Information We Collect and Store** We collect and store three kinds of information on your behalf: i) your personal information, ii) content you provide, and iii) information related to your usage of the Site 1. Your Personal Information. Our Site has the ability to store your name, userid, password, address, telephone numbers, and email addresses. Most or all of this information is provided by your education organization when your account is created. It is updated from time to time by your education organization as it changes. Parents, Teachers and Administrators may have the ability to enter/modify/update some of the above information directly; that is at the discretion of your education organization. Students are never allowed enter/modify/update their own personal information directly. 2. Content You Provide Edsby enables you to provide a wide range of digital content including text, images, audio, video, and web links. This digital content can be placed in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, gradebooks, and postings in shared places. Edsby stores this information on your behalf and tracks the fact that you provided that information. Note that files that you upload into the Site may have metadata associated with them. This metadata is preserved by the Site and will be available to anyone that has the ability to view or download the file you have uploaded. 3. Information Related to Your Usage of the Site *Site Access details:* Each time you log in to Edsby we store information about that session including the time of login, the duration of the session, information about the type of computing device being used, the IP address of the computing device, and the type of browser or application software being used to access Edsby. *Content Usage details:* Edsby stores information about your usage of the Site including which areas of the Site you have visited and which items you have viewed. *Cookies:* A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. Edsby uses cookies to store a secure encrypted token that is used to optimize performance and reduce the number of times a user needs to re-authenticate from the same computer. Personal information is not collected or stored in this cookie. **2) How We Use the Information We Collect and Store** Edsby uses the information we collect and store on your behalf to provide a useful and effective online community for the education community that you are a stakeholder in. We will not sell your personal information or the content you provide. We will not disclose or provide any of the personal information or content you provide to third parties for any purposes except as described in this Privacy Policy. The information we collect and store on your behalf may be provided to other third parties that extend the suite of services supported by or through Edsby on behalf of your education organization. This will be done only at the request and approval of officials at your education organization. The information we collect and store on your behalf is accessible to authorized employees of your education organization and authorized employees, consultants and contractors of CoreFour Inc. and whatever subsidiaries and/or parent companies we may have. The information we collect and store on your behalf will be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may disclose at our discretion a portion of the information we collect and store in special cases where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating the terms and conditions of use of this Site, someone who may be causing injury or interference with our rights or property, someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the education organization using Edsby, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm. Edsby has the ability to provide you with updates and notifications via email and/or text messaging. You can manage this ability (including turning it off) via the “account settings” facility on the Site. We may permit certain trusted third parties to track usage, analyse data such as the source address that a page request is coming from, your IP address or domain name, the date and time of the page request, the referring Web site (if any) and other parameters in the URL. This is collected in order to better understand usage of the Site, and enhance the performance of services to maintain and operate the Site and certain features on the Site. We may use third parties to host the Site; operate various features available on the Site; send emails; and analyse data. We may share the information we collect and store with parent companies, subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates. We may transfer the information we collect and store and all associated rights as an asset in connection with a proposed or actual merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganisation, stock sale or other change in control. We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design the Site and for business and administrative purposes. We may also use or share with third parties for any purpose aggregated data that contains no personally identifiable information. WE ARE NOT LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE OR OTHER INFORMATION YOU CHOOSE TO SUBMIT IN FORUMS SUCH AS A SHARED COMMUNICATIONS PLACE, MESSAGES, CHAT ROOM OR ANY OTHER AREA OF THE SITE THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO OTHER USERS. **3) How We Protect Your Information** We are committed to protecting the information and content we store on your behalf. We take appropriate security measures to protect your information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. To prevent unauthorised access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we maintain appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information and data stored on the Site. While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures we have implemented reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved. **4) Advertising** Edsby does not now nor never has provided any form of advertising to any user on Edsby. In addition the company does not sell any data or information about users to any outside company for the purposes of advertising. **5) Accessing and Updating Your Personal Information and Preferences** The “edit profile” and “account settings” facilities on Edsby enable you to view and in some cases change your personal information and preferences. Note that in many cases some or all of the personal information displayed comes from your education organization, and changes or updates to your information must be done by them. **6) Children’s Privacy and Parental Controls** Students are not allowed to create accounts on the Site. Student accounts are created under the direction of administrators and/or teachers at the education organization. Students are also not allowed to add to, modify or delete the personal contact information and userid that is provided for them on this site by the education organization. The Site is designed so that only teachers at the child’s school, designated administrative staff and the child’s Parents have access to the child’s personal information. Other students and other Parents do not have access to the personal information stored for the child. **7) Disclaimer to Security** No security measures are perfect. We cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you provide to us or that we store on your behalf. You transmit such information to us at your own risk. We cannot guarantee that only authorized people will have access to the information and content we store and display on your behalf. We are not responsible for breaches in our security caused by third parties violating our terms of service and/or bypassing our security mechanisms. **8) Notification of Changes** **CoreFour Inc.** reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time at its sole discretion. Our most current Privacy Policy applies to all the information we have about you unless we specifically state exceptions to this. Your continued use of the Site indicates your assent to the Privacy Policy as posted on this site. We reserve the right to contact you regarding matters relevant to the underlying service provided by Edsby and the applicable privacy policy. **9) CONTACT INFORMATION:** If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy please email us at: **** **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Privacy Policy --- ### [Privacy Policy February 18th, 2016 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-february-18-2016-deprecated/product-news/) **Published:** February 18, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** #### **[![Student Privacy Pledge Sig_logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Student-Privacy-Pledge-Sig_logo-150x150.gif)](http://www.studentprivacypledge.org)** #### **CoreFour Inc.’s Privacy** **Policy for Edsby** **Date of last revision of this policy: February 18th, 2016** **Edsby** (the “Site”) is a website that is owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc.** We are committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors while they interact with the content, products and services on Edsby. This Privacy Policy applies to the Site only. It does not apply to other websites to which we link. Because we gather and store certain types of information about our users, we want you to understand what information we collect about you, how we collect it, how that information is used, and how you can control our disclosure of it. You agree that your use of Edsby signifies your assent to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not use Edsby. For the purposes of this document the term “**Parents**” will be used to refer to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, grandparents that are specifically approved by someone legally responsible for a child to have access to information in Edsby regarding that child. Edsby provides a suite of services to the stakeholders of education organizations including teachers, students, administrators and Parents. Edsby is delivered as a “cloud service”, which means the data that Edsby stores and the servers that provide the Edsby service reside in a commercially run cloud hosting data centre that is designed to provide very high levels of security and reliability. **1) Information We Collect and Store** We collect and store three kinds of information on your behalf: i) your personal information, ii) content you provide, and iii) information related to your usage of the Site 1. Your Personal Information. Our Site has the ability to store your name, userid, password, address, telephone numbers, and email addresses. Most or all of this information is provided by your education organization when your account is created. It is updated from time to time by your education organization as it changes. Parents, Teachers and Administrators may have the ability to enter/modify/update some of the above information directly; that is at the discretion of your education organization. Students are never allowed enter/modify/update their own personal information directly. 2. Content You Provide Edsby enables you to provide a wide range of digital content including text, images, audio, video, and web links. This digital content can be placed in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, gradebooks, and postings in shared places. Edsby stores this information on your behalf and tracks the fact that you provided that information. Note that files that you upload into the Site may have metadata associated with them. This metadata is preserved by the Site and will be available to anyone that has the ability to view or download the file you have uploaded. 3. Information Related to Your Usage of the Site *Site Access details:* Each time you log in to Edsby we store information about that session including the time of login, the duration of the session, information about the type of computing device being used, the IP address of the computing device, and the type of browser or application software being used to access Edsby. *Content Usage details:* Edsby stores information about your usage of the Site including which areas of the Site you have visited and which items you have viewed. *Cookies:* A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. Edsby uses cookies to store a secure encrypted token that is used to optimize performance and reduce the number of times a user needs to re-authenticate from the same computer. Personal information is not collected or stored in this cookie. **2) How We Use the Information We Collect and Store** Edsby uses the information we collect and store on your behalf to provide a useful and effective online community for the education community that you are a stakeholder in. We will not sell your personal information or the content you provide. We will not disclose or provide any of the personal information or content you provide to third parties for any purposes except as described in this Privacy Policy. The information we collect and store on your behalf may be provided to other third parties that extend the suite of services supported by or through Edsby on behalf of your education organization. This will be done only at the request and approval of officials at your education organization. The information we collect and store on your behalf is accessible to authorized employees of your education organization and authorized employees, consultants and contractors of CoreFour Inc. and whatever subsidiaries and/or parent companies we may have. The information we collect and store on your behalf will be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may disclose at our discretion a portion of the information we collect and store in special cases where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating the terms and conditions of use of this Site, someone who may be causing injury or interference with our rights or property, someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the education organization using Edsby, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm. Edsby has the ability to provide you with updates and notifications via email and/or text messaging. You can manage this ability (including turning it off) via the “account settings” facility on the Site. We may permit certain trusted third parties to track usage, analyse data such as the source address that a page request is coming from, your IP address or domain name, the date and time of the page request, the referring Web site (if any) and other parameters in the URL. This is collected in order to better understand usage of the Site, and enhance the performance of services to maintain and operate the Site and certain features on the Site. We may use third parties to host the Site; operate various features available on the Site; send emails; and analyse data. We may share the information we collect and store with parent companies, subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates. We may transfer the information we collect and store and all associated rights as an asset in connection with a proposed or actual merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganisation, stock sale or other change in control. We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design the Site and for business and administrative purposes. We may also use or share with third parties for any purpose aggregated data that contains no personally identifiable information. WE ARE NOT LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE OR OTHER INFORMATION YOU CHOOSE TO SUBMIT IN FORUMS SUCH AS A SHARED COMMUNICATIONS PLACE, MESSAGES, CHAT ROOM OR ANY OTHER AREA OF THE SITE THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO OTHER USERS. **3) How We Protect Your Information** We are committed to protecting the information and content we store on your behalf. We take appropriate security measures to protect your information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. To prevent unauthorised access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we maintain appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information and data stored on the Site. While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures we have implemented reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved. **4) Advertising** Edsby does not now nor never has provided any form of advertising to any user on Edsby. In addition the company does not sell any data or information about users to any outside company for the purposes of advertising. **5) Accessing and Updating Your Personal Information and Preferences** The “edit profile” and “account settings” facilities on Edsby enable you to view and in some cases change your personal information and preferences. Note that in many cases some or all of the personal information displayed comes from your education organization, and changes or updates to your information must be done by them. **6) Children’s Privacy and Parental Controls** Students are not allowed to create accounts on the Site. Student accounts are created under the direction of administrators and/or teachers at the education organization. Students are also not allowed to add to, modify or delete the personal contact information and userid that is provided for them on this site by the education organization. The Site is designed so that only teachers at the child’s school, designated administrative staff and the child’s Parents have access to the child’s personal information. Other students and other Parents do not have access to the personal information stored for the child. **7) Disclaimer to Security** No security measures are perfect. We cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you provide to us or that we store on your behalf. You transmit such information to us at your own risk. We cannot guarantee that only authorized people will have access to the information and content we store and display on your behalf. We are not responsible for breaches in our security caused by third parties violating our terms of service and/or bypassing our security mechanisms. **8) Notification of Changes** **CoreFour Inc.** reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time at its sole discretion. Our most current Privacy Policy applies to all the information we have about you unless we specifically state exceptions to this. CoreFour will update users by email of any future material changes to its Privacy Policy. Continued use of the Site represents consent to the revised Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to contact you regarding matters relevant to the underlying service provided by Edsby and the applicable privacy policy. **9) CONTACT INFORMATION:** If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy please email us at: **** **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Privacy Policy --- ### [Privacy Policy January 5th, 2018 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-january-5th-2018-deprecated/product-news/) **Published:** September 2, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** #### **[![Student Privacy Pledge Sig_logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Student-Privacy-Pledge-Sig_logo-150x150.gif)](http://www.studentprivacypledge.org)** **Date of last revision of this policy: January 5th, 2018** **Privacy Policy Overview** Edsby is a cloud-based software service that modernizes how teachers, students and parents engage with each other. The types of education organizations which use Edsby include public school districts and private schools. Edsby is selected by these organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student data, and is managed by the education organization as one part of the suite of technology solutions that every education organization requires. Education organizations pay to use Edsby, and own and manage the information stored and collected by Edsby on their behalf. Edsby’s sole business focus is to serve the needs of these education organizations. Edsby does not subject end users to any advertising, nor does it sell any of the information it is entrusted with to any third parties. Providing appropriate ways to safeguard the privacy of the people served by Edsby is of utmost importance to the company. This Privacy Policy enables you to better understand the information that is collected and stored in Edsby, how that information is used, and how that information is protected. **Privacy Policy Details** Edsby includes a public website at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com) (the “Site”) and a set of private web domains that each provides a suite of software services (the “Services”) to the teachers, students, parents and administrators of a specific education organization. The Site and the Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc.** (the “Company”)**.** For the purposes of this document the term “**Parents**” will be used to refer to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, grandparents that are identified by the education organization as someone with the right to have access to information in Edsby regarding that child. **1) Information We Collect and Store About You** We collect and store three kinds of information about you : i) your personal information, ii) content you provide, and iii) information related to your usage of the Site and Service. i) Your Personal Information Our Service has the ability to store personal information such as your name, user ID, password, home address, telephone numbers, and email addresses. Most or all of this information is provided by your education organization to the Edsby Service as part of the Edsby deployment process. This information may be updated from time to time by your education organization as you inform them of changes to this information. Parents, Teachers and Administrators may have the ability to enter/modify/update some of the above information directly via the Service; that is at the discretion of your education organization. Students are never allowed enter/modify/update their own personal information directly in the Service. ii) Content You Provide The Edsby Service enables you to provide a wide range of digital content including text, images, audio, video, files and web links. This digital content can be placed in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, gradebooks, and postings in shared places. Edsby stores this information on your behalf and tracks the fact that you provided that information. Note that files that you upload into the Service may have metadata associated with them. This metadata is preserved by the Service and will be available to anyone that has the ability to view or download the file you have uploaded. Edsby has the ability to integrate with other computer systems that are used by the education organization you are part of. Examples of such computer systems include Microsoft Office 365 and Google G Suite. When Edsby integrates with these systems it provides a way for you to log in to Edsby by using your Microsoft or Google authentication credentials. In addition Edsby provides a convenient way for you to select files you have stored in the Microsoft and Google offerings and share either a link to that file or a copy of that file in Edsby. If you choose to share a copy of the file within Edsby then the Edsby software will make a copy of the file and store it on the Edsby server where it is subject to the permissions and access control settings of Edsby. A typical example where this would happen is when a student writes an essay in Office 365 or Google Docs and selects that file through Edsby and submits it to their teacher. Edsby will make a copy of the selected file and make it available to the teacher via the Edsby Service. iii) Information Related to Your Usage of the Site *Service Access details:* Each time you log in to the Edsby Service we store information about that session including the time of login, the duration of the session, information about the type of computing device being used, the IP address of the computing device, and the type of browser or application software being used to access Edsby. *Content Usage details:* Edsby stores information about your usage of the Site including which areas of the Site you have visited and which items you have viewed. *Cookies:* A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. Edsby uses cookies to store a secure encrypted token that is used to optimize performance and reduce the number of times a user needs to re-authenticate from the same computer. Personal information is not collected or stored in this cookie. **2) How We Use the Information We Collect and Store About You** Edsby uses the information we collect and store about you to provide a useful and effective online experience for the education community that you are a stakeholder in. We will not sell your personal information or the content you provide. We will not disclose or provide any of the personal information or content you provide to third parties for any purposes except as described in this Privacy Policy below: - The information we collect and store about you is accessible to authorized employees of your education organization. For example, a school principal may use Edsby to quickly find a Parent’s telephone number to call in the case of an emergency. - The information we collect and store about you is accessible to authorized employees, consultants and contractors of CoreFour Inc. and whatever subsidiaries and/or parent companies CoreFour Inc. may have. This access is used for the purpose of providing technical support to the education organization and its users of the Service. - The information we collect and store on your behalf may be provided to other third parties that provide software that extends the suite of services supported by Edsby on behalf of your education organization. This will only be done when specifically requested and approved in writing by an authorized senior member of the education organization you are using Edsby through. - The information we collect and store on your behalf will be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. - We may disclose at our discretion a portion of the information we collect and store in special cases where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the education organization using Edsby, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm, or someone who may be violating the terms and conditions of use of this Site or Service. In all such cases of disclosure the education organization that is managing this instance of the Edsby service will be informed. - We may transfer the information we collect and store and all associated rights as an asset in connection with a merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganisation, stock sale or other change in control. In such a case users will be provided with notice via communications on the Site. On the public Edsby web site (Site) we may permit certain trusted third parties to track usage, analyse data such as the source address that a page request is coming from, your IP address or domain name, the date and time of the page request, the referring Web site (if any) and other parameters in the URL. This is collected in order to better understand usage of the Site, and enhance the performance of services to maintain and operate the Site and certain features on the Site. We may use third parties to host the Site; operate various features available on the Site; send emails; and analyse web site traffic data. We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design the Site and our Services and for business and administrative purposes. We may also use or share with third parties aggregated Services data that contains no personally identifiable information. We might do this, for example, to illustrate the usage patterns of Edsby users by role and by time of day and day of week. **3) How We Protect Your Information** We are committed to protecting the information we store about you. Edsby runs in the cloud and embraces best practices for security and privacy. Edsby uses Microsoft as its cloud services provider as Microsoft has a strong focus on serving the information technology needs of organizations around the world in a secure and reliable manner. Microsoft’s cloud platform, called Azure, is used by thousands of other organizations, including governments, banks and large corporations. Microsoft Azure meets very stringent standards and requirements for information protection and data sovereignty issued by governments around the world. All Edsby user accounts set up for an education organization are done so based on information provided by the education organization. There is no way for a person from outside the education organization to create an account. All users accessing Edsby within an education organization need to do so with a user ID and a password. Typically these credentials are provided and managed by the education organization. Each account within Edsby has a role assigned to it which limits the scope of what that user can do and what information they can have access to. All data sent between the Edsby server and Edsby client (web browser, smartphone app, tablet app) is encrypted via SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). This is the standard security technology used by banks, online retailers and the like to establish an encrypted link between a web server and a browser/app. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browser/app remains private. While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures we have implemented reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved. **4) Advertising** Edsby does not now nor never has provided any form of advertising to any Edsby user. In addition the company does not sell any data or information about users to any outside company for the purposes of advertising. **5) Accessing and Updating Your Personal Information and Preferences** A summary of the personal information provided to Edsby by your education organization is available via the “Personal Information” menu command that is accessed via the drop down under your name in the upper right corner of the standard Edsby interface (and by the “hamburger menu” on the Edsby smartphone interface). This information is only available to appropriately authorized staff members within the education organization. Some education organizations will enable you to provide changes to your personal information via this same mechanism in Edsby. Many however turn this facility off in Edsby since they have established procedures for how changes to personal information are officially recorded, since such changes need to be entered into other systems within the education organization. Your profile page is available via the “Profile” menu command that is accessed via the drop down under your name in the upper right corner of the standard Edsby interface (and by the “hamburger menu” on the Edsby smartphone interface). This page includes a placeholder for a photograph of the user. Staff members and Parents are usually free to upload their own photo if they choose; however students are not allowed to upload a photo. Typically the photos of students are uploaded by the education organization into Edsby. Access to each user’s profile page is restricted. For example, a teacher teaching at one school in a school district can only see student and parent profiles for students and parents at the school they teach at. A Parent can only see the profile of their own children and staff at the school(s) that their children attend. The Edsby Service has the ability to provide you with updates and notifications via email, text messaging and mobile “push” notifications. You can manage this ability (including turning it off) via the “Account Settings” facility available in the same menu as “Personal Information” and “Profile”. **6) Student Privacy and Parental Access** Students are not allowed to create accounts on the Site or Service. Student accounts are created under the direction of administrators and/or teachers at the education organization. Students are also not allowed to add to, modify or delete the personal contact information and user ID that is provided for them on this site by the education organization. The Service is designed so that only educators at the child’s school, designated administrative staff and the child’s Parents have access to the child’s personal information. Other students and other Parents do not have access to the personal information stored for the child. **7) Disclaimers** No security measures are perfect. We cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you provide to us or that we store on your behalf. We cannot guarantee that only authorized people will have access to the information and content we store and display about you. We are not responsible for real or perceived breaches in our security caused by third parties violating our [Terms of Use](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use/). For example, our Terms of Usage states that a user agrees they will only use the Service to access their own account. However a common security “breach” in many computer systems occurs when one user finds out another user’s password and uses that to access an account other than their own in clear violation of the Terms of Use. Edsby provides very powerful ways for groups of users to communicate and collaborate. Edsby users must take care to wisely select what information they choose to share within Edsby and who they choose to share that information with. We cannot guarantee that a user will not share private, confidential or inappropriate information in Edsby with other Edsby users. We do provide facilities to ensure such items can be identified and deleted expeditiously. **8) Changes** This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. Previous versions of this Privacy Policy will be available to you on our website for your review. Our most current Privacy Policy applies to all the information we store about you unless we specifically state exceptions to this. **9) CONTACT INFORMATION:** If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy please email us at: [**privacy@edsby.com**](mailto:privacy@edsby.com) **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Privacy Policy --- ### [Usage Policy](https://www.edsby.com/usage-policy/product-news/) **Published:** September 28, 2021 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** **CoreFour Inc.’s Usage Policy for Edsby Services** **Date of last revision of this policy: September 28, 2021** Welcome to Edsby! Edsby provides a suite of software services (the “Services”) to teachers, students, parents and administrators of a specific Education Organization. The Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc.** (the “Company”)**.** This document contains our Usage Policy governing your access to and use of the Edsby Services. We suggest you read these terms carefully before using the Services. If you do not accept this Usage Policy, you may not use the Services. If you use our Services you agree to this Usage Policy. Respecting and protecting the privacy of information stored within the Edsby Service is very important to us. Please consult our Services Privacy Policy at [**edsby.com/privacy-policy/**](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) for details on how we do that. ## 1. Overview Edsby is a cloud-based software service that modernizes how teachers, students and parents engage with each other. Edsby is often selected through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student data. Edsby Services are managed by Education Organizations as one part of a suite of technology solutions that every Education Organization requires. Education Organizations pay to use Edsby and own and manage the information stored and collected by Edsby on their behalf. User accounts for a specific Education Organization using Edsby are created by or under the direction/invitation of the administrative staff of that Education Organization. Parents/guardians and students are not allowed to create their own accounts on Edsby; they are only allowed to use authorized accounts set up specifically for them at the direction of the Education Organization they are members of. You are permitted to access a specific customer’s Edsby Services only if you have been directly invited and authorized to do so by the administrative staff within that Education Organization. ## 2. Changes To This Usage Policy The Company may make changes to this Usage Policy from time to time. We suggest you check this Usage Policy periodically for changes. By your continuing use of the Services after changes are posted, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes. Previous versions of our Usage Policy, previously described as Terms of Use, are available on our website for review. ## 3. Scope of Use You are only authorised to view, use, copy for your records and download small portions of the Content (including without limitation text, graphics, software, audio and video files and photos) from the Services for your informational, non-commercial use, provided that you leave all the copyright notices, including copyright management information or other proprietary notices intact. You may not store, modify, reproduce, transmit, reverse engineer or distribute a significant portion of Services Content, or the design or layout of Services in any form or media. The systematic retrieval of data from the Services is also prohibited. You agree not to submit or transmit any content, files, videos, photos, web links or other materials to the Services that: (i) are defamatory, threatening, obscene or harassing, (ii) contain a virus, worm, Trojan horse or any other harmful component, (iii) incorporate copyrighted or other proprietary material of any third party without that party’s permission or (iv) otherwise violate any applicable laws. The Company shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any information or materials that you submit online except as specified in this Usage Policy, or as set forth in any additional terms and conditions relating to specific products or services, or as otherwise specifically agreed or required by law. ## 4. Copyrights and Trademarks The materials on these Services, as well as their organisation and layout, are copyrighted and are protected by international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may access, download and print materials in these Services solely for your personal and non-commercial use. No right, title or interest in any of the materials contained in these Services is transferred to you as a result of accessing, downloading or printing such materials. You may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, publish, license any part of these Services; create derivative works from use on any other website, transfer or sell any information obtained from these Services without the prior written permission of the Company. ## 5. Links For your convenience, we may provide links to various other websites that may be of interest to you and for your convenience only. However, the Company does not control or endorse such websites and is not responsible for their content nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements contained within such websites. Please read the terms and conditions of the Usage Policies of any other company or website you may link to from our Services. This Usage Policy applies only to the Company’s Services. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked from our Services, you do so at your own risk. The Company reserves the right to remove any link at any time. The Company disclaims all warranties, express and implied, as to the accuracy, validity, and legality or otherwise of any materials or information contained on such websites. ## 6. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use As a condition of your use of these Services, you warrant to the Company that you will not use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use the Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Services or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Services. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Services. ## 7. No Commercial Activities Posting or transmitting advertising or other such promotional materials or forms of solicitations to other users of the Services is prohibited unless authorized by the Company or an administrator at your education organization. ## 8. User Accounts and Security You can and should notify your Education Organization of any known or suspected unauthorized use(s) of your account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorised disclosure of your password. You agree you will not access or attempt to access any accounts provided by the Services other than the account(s) assigned to you. If we suspect or detect such inappropriate account access we will inform authorities within your Education Organization. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for the suspension or termination of your account, at the Company’s discretion or by direction of your Education Organization, and you may be reported to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. ## 9. User Provided Content Users will be held directly and solely responsible for the content they post on the Services. You acknowledge that you own, are solely responsible or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post on the Services; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this Usage Policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify the Company or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. For any content that you post on the Services, all rights, including all intellectual property rights, shall remain the exclusive property of the original owner, and the Company will have a limited, nonexclusive license solely for the purpose of performing its commercial obligations to its Education Organization customer you are a member of, including but not limited to storing, using, translating, and displaying the content. The license you grant is still in effect even if you stop using the Services. This is required so that for example, content shared by a teacher to other teachers can continue to be provided by Edsby even after that teacher has retired. The Education Organization through which you are obtaining the Edsby Services has overall control over the disposition of the content you have provided via the Services we operate for it. The Company reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following: - Remove content that is abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fails to conform with this Usage Policy - Terminate a user’s access to any or all portions of the Services upon any breach of this Usage Policy - Monitor and share with your Education Organization any content in any shared area of the Services The Company reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our customers, users, employees or the public. The Company has no liability or responsibility to users of the Services or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities. **Contact us:** If you would like to request additional information regarding this Usage Policy, please contact us at: [**terms\_of\_use@edsby.com**](mailto:terms_of_use@edsby.com) **Categories:** Product news **Tags:** Terms of Use --- ### [Edsby review by MindShare Learning](https://www.edsby.com/mindshare-learning-edsby-review/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** August 11, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** MindShare Learning, an edtech strategy consulting, news, and events company, has published a review assessing how well Edsby meets the needs of managing learning in K-12. **Content:** ### Organization’s Edsby review describes it as “simple and powerful” and “first-rate.” MindShare Learning, an edtech strategy consulting, news, and events company, has [published a review of the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12](https://mindsharelearning.ca/edsby-review-by-tim-gard-chief-learning-strategist/). Chief Learning Officer Tim Gard assesses how well Edsby meets the needs of school districts and states/provinces’ objectives in managing learning. Many digital learning and data platforms, Gard writes in his Edsby review, offer one or several modest features, but most lack the breadth of tools, intuitive interface, deep understanding of data collection, assessment and communication required between stakeholders in K-12. Edsby, he finds, “provides the right balance of tools with the right amount of social media-like simplicity and power.” Focusing on Edsby’s [assessment](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/) capabilities, Gard writes that it provides the right frameworks that reflect the essence of K-12 data collection and management “without causing anguish in the process.” > Assessment, whether for, as or of learning, is the rich fabric of learning and Edsby provides the right kind of framework to make this happen for all partners in learning. > > Edsby provides a teacher with the ability to plan, collect, assess, and report multiple different assessment artifacts using many different tools and multiple frames of reference. I found the ability to collect ‘evidence’ a powerful way to convey to both students and parents during the interview cycle the full scope of his/her learning. Gard calls the Edsby [gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-overview/) the most comprehensive he’s seen. > Multiple forms of assessment are supported. You are not contained by a narrow assessment schema. You can use assessment as defined by your district, state or province’s assessment policies. This is the powerful core of Edsby! You are not contained by the philosophy of the program’s designers or a limited set of features. You can change your assessment to meet the needs of your teaching context. In short, Edsby’s team has developed a full-fledged assessment regimen that is modern, comprehensive and rich. Gard concludes his Edsby review by calling the all-in-one solution “comprehensive, robust, intelligent and efficient.” > Edsby is the sine qua non for digital learning, assessment keeping, and K-12 class and school communication in the 21st century. Designed specifically for the K-12 market, Edsby contains all the necessary tools that a teacher, student, parent and administrator would require to meet the clear and straightforward mandate of teaching and learning in today’s educational contexts. Read the full Edsby review [here](https://mindsharelearning.ca/edsby-review-by-tim-gard-chief-learning-strategist/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby and Turnitin update](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-and-turnitin-update/product-news/) **Published:** August 30, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Organizations that use Edsby for assessment and reporting can configure Edsby assessments to be uploaded via Turnitin. **Content:** #### Connection between Edsby and Turnitin improved A new integration between Edsby and Turnitin is now available to customers of both companies. Organizations that use Edsby for assessment and reporting can configure their school or district’s Turnitin license to be available to their teachers. Turnitin is one of the leading formative feedback and originality checking services. Teachers use it to promote critical thinking, ensure academic integrity and help students improve their writing. Edsby and Turnitin first forged a partnership [in 2019](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190228005128/en/Turnitin-Feedback-Studio-Now-Integrates-with-Edsby-K-12-Learning-Management-System-for-Easier-More-Personalized-Writing-Assessment). Turnitin recently introduced [AI writing detection](https://www.turnitin.com/solutions/ai-writing). Instructions on how organizations can configure their Edsby systems with their Turnitin license can be found [here](https://www.edsby.com/integration/turnitin/). Once configured, teachers can create assessments in Edsby and have them submitted, and graded, in Turnitin by following [these steps](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assessments-and-turnitin/). **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Favorite teacher memories from Edsby staff](https://www.edsby.com/favorite-teacher-memories-from-edsby-staff/commentary/) **Published:** May 5, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How do we at Edsby thank our favourite teachers? With embarrassing photos. Of us, that is. **Content:** ## We at Edsby salute formative teachers ### Some flattering pics of Edsby staff from their childhoods, with reflections on most meaningful teachers. ![Scott 1978](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ScottPortrait1978.jpg "Scott 1978") ### H.E. Scott Welch – VP Special Projects Sheila Perry taught Grade 10 English at Fort Richmond Collegiate in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I needed an extra half-credit, and looking through the course catalog I saw something called “Public Speaking.” I thought it looked easy, so I signed up. On the very first day, Ms. Perry told us, “everybody needs to know how to give a proper speech, even if the only two they ever give will be at their wedding and their retirement.” As we progressed through the year, I realized it doesn’t matter what area of work you go into, you’re going to need to convince somebody about something. You’re going to need to argue your case, promote your idea, beg for funding, get a crowd whipped up, or even do a bit of corporate brown-nosing. In every case, the ability to speak well is paramount. Looking back now, I can say without a shred of doubt that it was the single most useful course I ever took in my life. As a startup co-founder, product evangelist, CEO, product manager, and now startup co-founder again, the communication tools I learned to use in Grade 10 are deployed every single day. I would not be where I am today without the skills that Ms. Perry taught me thirty-five years ago. Wherever you are, Ms. Perry, thanks from the bottom of my heart. You changed my life for the better, and for that I am eternally grateful. ![Jonny](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jonny-300x300.jpeg "Jonny") ### Jon Asbury – VP Design Favorite teacher: Mr Edwards, the headmaster, despite getting the strap from him twice. 🙂 Also. Mr Peacock was great, and Miss Adey. ![Karen School](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/karen-woods.jpg "Karen School") ### Karen Woods – Director of Sales I played tons of sports at school, including with the Laura Secord Patriots, and and am so thankful for those teachers that spent the extra hours they did supporting extracurricular activities. Opportunities for sports team comraderie, dedication, focus and developing new skills wouldn’t be possible without teachers like Mrs. Matsushita! ![Mark Grade 5](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/MarkGrade5Project.jpeg "Mark Grade 5") ### Mark Stewart – Quality Assurance A few teachers who stood out to me were those who shared their passion like Mr. Morse, our biology teacher who would collect road kill on the way to school and Mr. Henaut, our English teacher that shared his love of Shakespeare with us. Also Jimmy Hale, who would on occasion interrupt my class via intercom to ask if I could come fix the computers in the lab, knowing that was a strong area of interest to me. To those, and all the others, I give my thanks and appreciation for all the effort they put into expanding our young minds. ![Dallas PET photo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Dallas-PET-photo-article.jpg "Dallas PET photo") ### Dallas Kachan – VP Marketing I’m indebted to two teachers in particular: Lina Rody, who taught me the basics of the three R’s in a small school in Northern Ontario and the benefits of good, careful notetaking. And Russ Holden at Ryerson for installing the realities of broadcast writing and deadlines (muttering “time marches on!” walking through the aisles as we banged out stories on ancient Selectrics.) I would not be where I am and have enjoyed the experiences I have without the valuable guidance of these two great teachers, whose lessons extended far beyond where they likely thought they would. ![Quinton2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Quinton2-300x300.jpg "Quinton2") ### Quinton Coish – Engineering My favourite teacher was my grade 6 French teacher, Mr. Shawn Smyth at R.H. Cornish in Port Perry, Ontario. He really loved his job and always made learning fun. He’d go above and beyond by creating clubs for students to join, such as Guitar Club or Miniature Painting Club. He helped organize a grade 6 class trip to Québec where we got to immerse ourselves in everything French. He even helped run fundraising programs to raise money for the extracurricular activities so everyone would have the opportunity to participate. I was one of the few students who wasn’t going to join the class on the trip to Québec until Mr. Smyth handed me a letter to bring home. I didn’t know until many years later but I got to go for free because of those fundraising programs. It’s a trip my friends still talk about today. One of them pooped his pants on that trip and we still laugh about it! **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Happy holidays from Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/happy-holidays-from-edsby/commentary/) **Published:** December 20, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby family wishes you, your family and friends a happy holiday season. **Content:** ## The Edsby family wishes you, your family and friends a happy holiday season The above is winning artwork from our [2018 Edsby holiday meme contest](https://www.edsby.com/holiday-meme-contest-2018/). In the artist’s words, “I am currently 8 years old and I had created what I thought was the best piece of work I had made and I am posting it on my brother’s twitter account! It is the edsby logo with a gift box design. It also features two arms which are made of snow hitting a dab. The ears is made from candy cane. I thought it was very christmas spirited and I hope you find it too.” **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Parents encouraged to focus more on teachers' comments in report cards](https://www.edsby.com/parents-encouraged-to-focus-more-on-teachers-comments-in-report-cards/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 10, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** End of year report cards don't tell the whole story, educators say. **Content:** ### End of year report cards don’t tell the whole story, educators say With the school year winding up, report cards are on everyone’s minds. But experts caution there are more nuances to reports on a child’s education than what’s suggested by their final grades. Educators offer reminders in a story on the subject by [CTV Windsor](https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/parents-encouraged-to-focus-more-on-teacher-s-comments-in-report-cards-1.4459584). > The Superintendent of Education at the Greater Essex County District School Board, Clara Howitt, says parents should focus more on teacher’s comments. > > “I encourage parents to read the entire report card, not just the grade,” says Howitt. “Those comments are very rich and valuable. It’s not the only method and it shouldn’t be the first method.” Howitt also noted communication with educators should be happening throughout the year: face-to-face, by telephone and even via online through systems like Edsby… which her district uses for its 35,000 students and their parents. > “It takes a community to raise a child and do great things, so that communication needs to be happening all the time,” adds Howitt. Read the article [here](https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/parents-encouraged-to-focus-more-on-teacher-s-comments-in-report-cards-1.4459584). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby a top 20 school administration product of 2019](https://www.edsby.com/top-20-school-administration-product-2019/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** July 2, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Capterra, an enterprise software directory research company, has ranked Edsby among the leading school administration software products of 2019. **Content:** ### For the third year running, Capterra, an enterprise software directory research site owned by Gartner Group, has ranked Edsby among the top 20 school administration software products. Top 20 Most Popular School Administration Software is an independent assessment that evaluates user reviews and online search activity to generate a list of market leaders in the school administration space that offer the most popular solutions. The full Top 20 School Administration Software report is available [here](https://www.capterra.com/school-administration-software/#top-20). Capterra is a leading online resource for business software buyers. Founded in 1999, it features validated user reviews and independent research across hundreds of software categories. Each month, Capterra helps more than three million buyers find the right software. For more information, visit [capterra.com](http://www.capterra.com/). Edsby received the same distinction in [2017](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-top-20-school-administration-product/) and [2018](https://www.edsby.com/gartner-capterra-edsby-most-popular-school-administration-2018/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Fairfax County issues illustrate benefit of purpose-built, managed K-12 platforms](https://www.edsby.com/k-12-school-districts-need-purpose-built-managed-platforms-like-edsby/commentary/) **Published:** June 26, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Fairfax County's difficulties trying to use Blackboard and Google G Suite for Education for online learning underscore the need for dedicated systems. **Content:** ### Fairfax County’s challenges trying to get Blackboard, and then Google, to work at scale for online learning underscore the need in K-12 for dedicated systems like Edsby. Fairfax County Public Schools, a 190,000-student district in Virginia, transitioned to Google’s G Suite for Education applications after [a high profile failure trying to use Blackboard](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-online-learning-blackboard/2020/04/18/3db6b19c-80b5-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html) for distance learning earlier this year. Yet a new investigation by [the Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/after-online-learning-flopped-fairfax-schools-switched-to-google-more-virtual-harassment-followed/2020/05/16/728ecb1e-9449-11ea-91d7-cf4423d47683_story.html) has found serious shortcomings with Google, including students being subjected to virtual harassment and parents distraught to find that teachers could not see nor stop the messages. Educators have been unable to control or turn off the chat function of the Google learning platform, where students have been able to communicate with each other using fictional, and in many cases, intentionally offensive names. “At this time, Fairfax County Public Schools is not able to restrict students’ access to Google Chat,” wrote district officials. Harassed students “should ignore individual and group chat requests.” **Features to encourage authentic communication** Unlike Google, platforms like Edsby offer similar chat functionality in visible classes and groups, allowing teachers to oversee student messaging and activity. Further, in Edsby, any user can easily report an inappropriate message by flagging it as such; flagged messages are reviewed by school or district admins. Because Edsby connects to districts’ official systems, including authentication, all communications in a closed, managed Edsby system are with students’ real names. E**very student becomes accountable for their words and online actions and learns valuable digital citizenship lessons.** Fairfax students have been able to evade teacher management in Google Classroom and other Google products by creating documents or slides and filling them with inappropriate language and images, including “racist and homophobic language,” according to images [sent to The Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/after-online-learning-flopped-fairfax-schools-switched-to-google-more-virtual-harassment-followed/2020/05/16/728ecb1e-9449-11ea-91d7-cf4423d47683_story.html). Such content was shared with other students, including hateful messages to bullied students. “Basically kids have zero issue getting content from the open Internet into fcpsschools.net and back out. Kids are running circles around administrators,” said one Fairfax parent, according to the Post. A common tactic on G Suite involves confining inflammatory exchanges to the comments section of documents or slides, which not all teachers know to check, wrote the Post. **A richer environment in platforms like Edsby for learning** Designed as a K-12 purpose-built learning platform, Edsby keeps all exchanges accountable and auditable. Most Edsby customers disable student-to-student communication inside Edsby because of concerns for what students will exchange among themselves given the opportunity. In Edsby, interactions between teachers, students, and even parents become more school-appropriate. ### Compare Google G Suite for Education to purpose-built platforms like Edsby. #### Parent involvement In Google, parents are expected to share their child’s account, and/or subscribe to emailed daily/weekly digest updates. When a teacher feels it’s warranted to contact a student’s parents, Google expects teachers to email parents. Parent distribution lists are expected to be maintained by individual teachers or facilitated with a new Guardian Summary feature. In Edsby, parents are associated with each child and are pre-loaded for teachers from the district’s official records. Parents get their own unique accounts in Edsby associated with their children’s accounts. Parents see: - Homework - Class news, school news, district news - Attendance records of their children - Clubs and teams their children belong to and all relevant discussions and schedules - Upcoming field trips - Assessment information as shared by teachers Parents can also belong to groups, book parent-teacher interviews or respond to online permission forms. Edsby manages access rights for parents, as parents come and go in the district or region’s master systems or if their access rights to specific children’s info changes over time. Teachers don’t have to update this data themselves. Parent are able to see their childrens’ work throughout the year and provide additional support at home. There are no surprises at report card time as parents and students are kept abreast on a regular basis. #### Email In G Suite for Education, standard Gmail means teachers need to manage class and individual distribution lists. Communication is wide open to anyone the teacher would like to email in the wider world, undesirable to many K-12 organizations. Everyone needs email addresses, which is undesirable for students in younger grades. In Edsby, messaging is possible between stakeholders. For compliance reasons, only parents with access to records are able to participate. Teachers do not need to manage distribution lists in Edsby. Edsby manages lists for them, including parents, and only authenticated stakeholders are allowed into the platform. Edsby intentionally does not allow emailing with the outside world beyond the closed Edsby system. #### Classroom management G Suite for Education doesn’t let teachers take attendance or view attendance records from a school or region’s official systems. Edsby’s extensive [classroom management features](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/social-classroom/) include a full attendance-taking and workflow system which writes to the official systems of record. Planned absences can be reported in advance by group, team and or class. If a district or region chooses to use its SIS for attendance taking, Edsby shares this data so parents are immediately informed of lateness or absences. Other classroom management features like seating plans and graphical views of student achievement are available. #### Regional, district and local school news News handling is not a function of G Suite for Education. Students need to check school/district websites and listen to announcements or receive announcements through a separate system. Edsby has a [full workflow for authoring, approval and distribution of official announcements](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/school-district-news/). It pools news from the school, district and/or region for each stakeholder. Parents also get the news. If they have children at different schools, their streams are merged so the parent sees all relevant news for all schools. #### Online testing Google Classroom has self-grading quizzes (short answer, multiple choice, true/false) using Google Forms. Google supports rubrics for assessments only with a cumbersome add-on requiring each teacher using them to perform a number of steps to configure. In Edsby, teachers can create and re-use tests and quizzes and share them among themselves and their district or region. [Assessments](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/assessment-reporting/) can use local or regional standards, expectations or outcomes. Grades automatically appear in the Edsby gradebook, can be tied to learning goals and used as the basis of the district or region’s official report cards. Edsby has [built-in support for rubrics](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/rubrics-2-2/) and rubric-based grading. #### Calendars In Google Classroom, each class has an associated calendar available to the teacher and their students. In Edsby, each stakeholder (teacher, student, parent, administrator) has a main calendar which amalgamates entries from all calendars of each class, school, club or team events. Edsby even reflects the unique day cycles of K-12 schools so students and parents know to bring the right clothes for gym class or football practice on the right days. #### Electronic portfolios Google does not offer an electronic portfolio of students’ best work. Edsby has a well designed ePortfolio which accepts tags, standards, expectations, outcomes and comments. Students can add their own work. For younger students, teachers may add on their behalf. This is a way to share work progression throughout the student’s learning journey. Parents have access to the portfolios of their children. #### Report cards Google has no interface for official report cards nor the capacity to create them. Edsby can either show report card information from the official systems of record or serve as the system for teachers to create them and submit them to the office for approval, where they can be printed and/or shared safely with students and parents electronically. #### Analytics Google Classroom allows the sharing of spreadsheet summaries from teacher to teacher. No learning analytics features are offered. Google Analytics, Google’s well-known service for analyzing website traffic, does not yield insights into learner progress and academic performance. Edsby’s purpose-built [learning analytics](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/analytics/) dashboard for K-12 principals helps find students at risk in realtime data, attendance issues, performance warnings, academic performance by subject and grade. Regional pre-built and custom dashboards give district or state/provincial administrators the ability to drill down at regional levels to uncover areas needing additional support to ensure student success. #### Cost Google’s G Suite for Education is free. Edsby has one-time and annual costs associated with it. [Contact us](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/) for details. **No substitute for a purpose-built K-12 environment** A platform dedicated to K-12 districts’ digital transformation for all stakeholders in a child’s education, Edsby offers so many more tools, manageability, and resources for students to succeed in the increasingly online world of K-12 learning. As Fairfax County has learned, shortcomings of Google G Suite for Education make it a risky selection. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [How Edsby is using Microsoft's Power BI](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-using-microsofts-power-bi/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 20, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Microsoft has profiled the Edsby learning & analytics platform for K-12. **Content:** ### Edsby’s use of Microsoft’s Power BI data visualization environment is profiled in a new case study by Microsoft. When Edsby decided to add a premium analytics service, it used Microsoft Power BI Embedded to build advanced data visualizations directly into the Edsby experience. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-20-at-3.55.24-PM-850x717.png) > “We saw a lot of demand and great potential for data solutions in education,” says Edsby Cofounder Scott Welch. “We also saw the opportunity to help our customers uncover the stories behind billions of Edsby data points.” Read Microsoft’s profile of Edsby’s use of Power BI [here](https://customers.microsoft.com/en-us/story/edsby-education-technology-power-bi). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby named 2023 Tech Edvocate best LMS](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2023-tech-edvocate-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 1, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby named top education LMS of 2023 and finalist for Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication Tool and Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining Tool. **Content:** ### Education publication names Edsby Best Learning Management System of 2023 The Tech Edvocate, a U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group, has announced winners of its annual education technology awards. The Edsby platform was named Best Learning Management System of 2023. It’s the [second year in a row](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-2022-tech-edvocate-award/) Edsby won the same distinction. Finalists this year included Google Classroom and Blackboard Learn. Edsby was also a finalist in the publication’s Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining App or Tool and Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication App or Tool categories. **Voting and judging** The four month program solicited nominees from readers in June/July of 2022. Online voting from May 1, 2022 – July 31, 2022 gauged nominees’ popularity, but did not signal they would become a finalist or win an award, according to the publication. Finalists and winners were ultimately selected by a panel comprised of two edtech thought leaders, two PreK-12 teachers, one college professor, two K-12 administrators, one college administrator and two PreK-12 parents, the publication wrote. The full list of winners and finalists is [here](https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2023-tech-edvocate-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Supporting K-12 in the time of COVID-19](https://www.edsby.com/covid19-lms-k12-online-learning-distance-education/commentary/) **Published:** March 6, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** As school districts grapple with the health and safety of students and staff, digital learning platforms like Edsby can play a role. **Content:** ### As education leaders take unprecedented measures, platforms like Edsby are playing an important role **Since 2010, the Edsby digital learning and data platform has been complementing K-12 classroom education with safe, effective online instruction purpose-built for the unique needs of K-12. Schools and whole regions are relying on it more than ever today. Edsby has tools and resources to support schools transitioning from bricks and mortar to dynamic online learning environments while keeping learners and their families engaged.** \[testimonial id=”18050″\] ### Existing Edsby sites – are you using all this? If you’re already an Edsby site, are you taking advantage of the following to maximize student online distance learning and parent engagement? - [Class conversation and activity feed](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/) – Every Edsby classroom and group has its own feed for discussions and sharing links. Teachers can use these for regular check ins to help maintain and assess student and parent well being, for sharing PDFs for parents to print out and to stay visible as possible to help maintain community in this extraordinary time. Use Edsby polls to engage with students and parents and learn what they’re thinking and feeling. - [Realtime video and voice](https://www.edsby.com/integrations/) – Edsby integrates with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts and more. Configure Edsby to use any of these for realtime video and voice conversations inside Edsby classes and/or groups. - [Content Builder](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) – Teachers can arrange and publish curriculum in each of their classes in a hierarchical lesson plan. This can vary from a few pages added into a usual mix of assignments and lessons to full online learning courses complete with online testing and automated grading. - [Import of SCORM and ePub online course content](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) – Found online course packages to present to your students? Import course materials into the Edsby Content Builder above from a variety of sources including IMS Common Cartridge, ePub (eBook, digital textbooks, etc.), SCORM and websites. Once imported, content can be copied in part or whole and edited as required by teachers. - [Journals](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/journal-2/) – Use Journals to share learning goals and supporting materials. Parents who can spend time during the day helping their child with schoolwork will appreciate knowing what learning resources have your stamp of approval. Students can use the information to learn independently. Journals can appear in an Edsby Class on a set date so teachers can work ahead if they wish. Journals are also listed separately within a Class. Students and their parents will learn to check the Journal for information about learning expectations and support materials. - [Learning Object Repositories](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/) – Make it easier for educators at your school, or even across your district, to collaborate on and share best videos, PDFs, images and more. LORs are easily set up in Edsby and are integrated with Edsby search so teachers can quickly find and use the best content other teachers have already found. - [Online tests](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing/) – Edsby has powerful online testing. Tests can include multiple choice, true/false, all-that-apply, short answer, paragraph, Likert Scale, and drag-and-drop answers. Online test results go straight into each classes’ Edsby gradebook. - [Edsby Groups](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/group-collaboration/) – There’s no better time to use the powerful group system in Edsby for discussions that are important to your classes, schools and districts. - [Private messages](https://www.edsby.com/help/sending-messages-with-edsby/) – School closures are increasing stress levels at home. Your students may need to talk to a trusted adult privately. Share information with your students on how to send you a private Edsby message. - [News](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/school-district-news/) – Keep students and parents up-to-date with latest school or district-level happenings via Edsby. - [Notifications](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/) – Remind your students and parents that Edsby has notifications so they don’t miss anything. Many of them don’t know Edsby has notifications and haven’t set them up yet. There are special notification instructions for [parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-for-parents/). #### Specific suggestions for teachers and online learning If you’re a teacher, here’s a short checklist of ideas, with screenshots, to help promote student wellbeing with Edsby while students are at home: [Suggestions for teachers using Edsby for online learning](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/). [Contact us](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/) if you’d like further info or guidance on any of the above. ### Protecting people We want to make sure we do everything we can to protect the health of the people at the learning organizations we serve and our wider industry, as well as our staff and their families. We’ve taken steps to help assure that our customers and the Edsby team continue to operate at peak performance during this crisis: - We are providing our training and customer meetings strictly through online webinars until at which time it makes sense to shift back to face-to-face - We have cancelled all participation at trade show events and conferences in the next two months as part of our social distancing efforts - All Edsby team members have the capacity to work from home should that be required, and most team members are currently doing so in alignment with government recommendations - We have cancelled all international business travel, and - We are limiting visitors to our office to further reduce potential sources of infection ### Protecting Edsby Edsby is 100% cloud-based and runs on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. This gives Edsby remarkable security, reliability and scalability. We’ve engineered Edsby to provide excellent performance at all times, and that will continue as customers transition to new models of teacher-student-parent interactions. These shifts may see students doing more and more work remotely via Edsby. The resources that power Edsby can be scaled up in minutes should increases in user load require it, and this will all be managed transparently by us on behalf of our customers. In these uncertain times, the Edsby team is closely monitoring the availability and responsiveness of our customer Edsby systems. We know your organization may be coming to rely on Edsby more than ever in the coming weeks. We’ll also be prioritizing feature enhancements that enable students, teachers and parents to be even better connected in this new distance model of learning. ## Download a K-12 Emergency Readiness Plan One Edsby site, the [American School in Japan](https://www.asij.ac.jp), has offered to let other educators see and learn from its plan for extended school closures. Titled the ASIJ Distance Learning Plan, it was readied before the onset of COVID-19 and updated in recent weeks. This 17-page document includes: - Procedures to follow in the event of a school closure due to a crisis - Distance learning approach - Technology systems to be used - Guidelines for teachers - Guidelines for parents - Roles and responsibilities during distance learning - Priorities and considerations for early learning, elementary, middle school & high school [The ASIJ Distance Learning Plan](https://edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ASIJ-Distance-Learning-Plan-2020-21.pdf) ### Contact us if Edsby can help you further in these challenging times \[button url=”https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/” title=”Contact Edsby”\] \[testimonial id=”18051″\] **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Updates to Services and Website Privacy Policies](https://www.edsby.com/2023-updates-to-privacy-policies/commentary/) **Published:** February 8, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby updated its service and website privacy policies February 3rd, 2023. Read what changes we made and why. **Content:** ### Edsby describes further what we *don’t* do with user data Edsby has updated its [Services](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) and [Website](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/) Privacy Policies. The new versions became effective February 3rd, 2023. We’ve not made any changes in what we do with customer data. We still doesn’t monetize or do anything irresponsible with personal information. But these revised policies give more detail to minimize ambiguities. Big changes include: - **Who uses Edsby and what they do**: Our policies now clarify that education organizations create Edsby accounts for their users. Users can never create their own Edsby account. And they describe how under no circumstances can students or parents ever designate anything they do in Edsby as publicly-viewable, or message anyone outside of Edsby. Therefore there are no privacy permissions for student and parent users to manage or configure incorrectly. Nor is any personal user profile information ever publicized. - **No biometric or geolocation data**: Edsby has never and never will collect biometric or geolocation data on users. These new policies make this clear. - **No cross referencing or augmenting data for resale**: Edsby only manages and collects information as directed by your education organization and never augments or cross references it with other data sources. Data in Edsby only exists to fulfill the services we have contracted to provide for your education organization and is not used for other commercial purpose. - **We don’t market to you**: We do not subject users to any advertising, contextual, personal or otherwise. There is no marketing to opt-out of, as we do not send marketing messages to end users via our Edsby services. Edsby does not make offers to end users like sweepstakes or contests. And we do not sell, rent or otherwise share any personal information with any third party that does. We never have and never will. - **We don’t let third party code access your info**: A [report](https://www.the74million.org/article/startling-96-of-school-tech-exposes-student-data-research-finds/) from Internet Safety Labs that condemns 96% of edtech apps for irresponsible data practices mostly blames certain third party code libraries used in these products for questionable handling of student data. Edsby takes measures to ensure any third party libraries used in our products are never given personally identifying information or other sensitive data. Our latest policies explain how. - **Our public website, intended for prospects**: End users cannot log into Edsby services from our public website at www.edsby.com – which exists primarily for prospective education organization customers to learn about Edsby. Data collection via forms on Edsby’s public website is to identify new possible education organization customers. Edsby users never have to fill in forms on Edsby’s public website. No data collected on our website is shared with Google any longer, even for analytics, let alone remarketing. You can always find Edsby’s latest Services Privacy Policy in its entirety [here,](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) and our Public Website Privacy Policy [here](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). You’re also invited to read our [About Edsby & User Data](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/) document. Your continued use of Edsby is your acceptance of our revised policies. If you have any questions about these changes, you can reach us at . **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [May 2014 Edsby improvements](https://www.edsby.com/may-2014-edsby-improvements/product-news/) **Published:** May 15, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** In a server update now available, Edsby now offers new features and hundreds of other improvements. **Content:** Edsby is constantly introducing new features and making fixes. In a server update now available (“build 13116”), Edsby now offers five new features and many fixes. ### **New features** #### Progress Reports Teachers and administrators can now print Progress Reports at the class level by navigating to a Gradebook. Click the gear icon and select View Progress Reports. You can now select your reporting period (all or current). ![progress alerts](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/progress-alerts.png) The Progress Report provides a printable report that includes: - A graph of assessment grades - A list of Shared and graded assessments - A list of any Shared and incomplete assessments tagged with Overdue, Rejected, or Not Done - Attendance history Here’s an example of a Progress Report with all the segments enabled. ![progres alert example](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/progres-alert-example-300x300.png) Only Incomplete Assessments are included in the report. Only students with incomplete assessments will be included. If you have 4 students with overdue assessments, you will only get 4 reports. No wasted paper. #### Importing Assessments and Grades Teachers that use software like Scantron that captures student grades can import the information into their Gradebook. The minimum requirements to import assessments and grades are: - The software must produce a csv file - If the software only produces a list of student names, they must exactly match the names in the gradebook To import one or more assessments, do the following: - Navigate to your Gradebook - Click on the Gear icon, and choose Import Dates are required to import more than one assessment. - Click Browse and locate the .csv file or drag and drop the file to the Import form. The information exported by your software is mapped to the fields required by Edsby - Select a Unit - Click Import #### Private Observations Teachers can now add Private Observations on a student by hovering over the student’s name or photo anywhere in the class and clicking Private Observations. No longer do teachers have to be in a student Perspective view. ![private observations](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/private-observations.png) #### Improved roster printing Teachers can now fit more students on a single page when printing a class roster. #### Mobile client improvement groundwork The Edsby server now has new functionality that will enable significant updates of the Edsby clients for iOS and Android, scheduled soon. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - Fall 2015](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-fall-2015/product-news/) **Published:** August 24, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Standards-based grading. Rubrics. Student portfolios. Parent-teacher scheduling. There's a lot that's new in Edsby for the 2015 school year. **Content:** ![constructionedsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/constructionedsby-300x235.png)Edsby gathers feedback from teachers, administrators, students and parents across the continent, and uses that input to drive our product roadmap and priority for enhancements. Some enhancements are made available as they’re ready. But some are saved and released at the start of the new school year for teachers teaching a fresh set of students in a fresh set of classes. Here’s an overview of some of what’s new in Edsby as the 2015-2016 school year begins. We hope you’ll find them interesting, helpful and exciting. More great new features will show up as the school year continues. ### Assessment Enhancements #### Learning Expectations/Outcomes/Standards Most education jurisdictions define a common set of expectations (sometimes referred to as “outcomes” or “standards”) that detail the key learning goals for a particular subject and grade level. Edsby now has the ability to make these expectations available so that teachers can link their assessments, lessons and observations to the relevant expectations. Edsby automatically provides you with the right set of expectations based on the classes you are teaching. This saves teachers time, and helps provide more effective student progress tracking. ![New in Edsby: standards1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/standards1.png) Edsby now also provides teachers with a clear mapping of expectations/outcomes coverage at the class level; this makes it easy for teachers to track their coverage of the curriculum. ![New in Edsby: standards2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/standards2.png) In addition, teachers can easily review each student’s progress by expectation. Edsby takes all scores from all assessments in the gradebook that are linked to an expectation and maps these scores to one of four levels. Teachers can even assess students by expectation or make observations on student performance right in this view by simply clicking on the appropriate row. This is especially helpful for teachers in primary grades where individual assessments and observations are utilized more than class-based testing. Edsby also makes it easy for teachers to share this information with students and parents if they choose to do so. ![New in Edsby: standards3](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/standards3.png) These expectations/outcomes are installed in Edsby for each education organization based on their jurisdiction and their preferences after consultation to confirm the best fit with the organization’s assessment practices. #### Support for Rubrics Many teachers use rubrics as a standard part of their assessment practice. Edsby now supports an easy-to-use rubric capability that enables teachers to create, score and reuse rubrics. Rubrics can support any number of rows. Compound assessment schemes such as Strands, Categories and Outcomes are supported on a per-row basis. Rubrics can be created on the fly as you create an assessment. All rubrics created are automatically saved in your *new* Edsby personal folder so you can reuse it across assessments, across classes and even across school years. ![New in Edsby: rubric1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/rubric1.png) Rubrics can easily be scored directly in the Edsby gradebook. This works very well on both the web and on tablets. You can share a rubric-based assessment with students and parents by simply clicking the “share” button. They will have instant access to the underlying rubric and the student’s score in each row of the rubric. ![New in Edsby: rubric2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/rubric2.png) #### **Perspective Enhancements** Edsby’s Perspective feature provides a powerful way for teachers to access all the information they have about a particular student’s progress in class and the class as a whole. Edsby now provide the ability for teachers to print a progress report for an individual student or the whole class right from the Perspective. This is especially handy at parent-teacher conference time. This new command is under the “gear” button: ![New in Edsby: perspective1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/perspective1.png) Also, the Perspective graph for an individual student now includes a summary of attendance, progress and assessment status (similar to what students and parents see). This inclusive performance snap shot provides a great summary of student performance within a class at a glance. ![New in Edsby: perspective2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/perspective2.png) #### Observation Enhancements The Observations feature in Edsby has been enhanced in a couple of ways: - Observations can now be scored by teachers. By default Edsby provides a 4-level assessment scheme for this. - Observations can now be linked to expectations/outcomes/standards The following shows how each of these may be done when creating a new observation: ![New in Edsby: observations](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/observations.png) #### eSubmit Enhancements Teachers love how easy it is in Edsby to have students submit work electronically, and how those student submissions show up automatically in the Edsby gradebook. Many teachers remarked how this feature would be even more useful if the teacher could add in an online submission on behalf of the student. This is useful if, for example, one student hands in a paper essay and the teacher wants to scan and store it in Edsby so that all the work for the entire class is available online. It is also useful in the lower grades in cases where the students are not submitting work at all, but the teacher wants to store a record of student work (a photo of a project or artwork, perhaps) as part of the assessment. The Edsby gradebook has been extended so that when a teacher clicks on a cell for a student in an assessment that has been marked for “eSubmit” the teacher will have the option to make a submission on behalf of the student: ![New in Edsby: esubmit](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/esubmit.png) #### Sharing of Subjective Performance Indicators Edsby has always had a feature that enables teachers to quickly set a “Subjective Performance/Progress Indicator” (SPI) to any student in their class by clicking in the SPI field at the far left of the gradebook, e.g. Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Needs Improvement. In the past this indicator has been visible to other educators at the school via the Panorama, and also automatically available to students and parents. The Class Setup form has now been extended to provide teachers with control over whether or not parents and students should see the SPI. Some teachers may wish to never show the SPI to students and parents, or perhaps control the timing of when they share these with students and parents. The setup control is shown below: ### ![New in Edsby: spi](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/spi.png) #### Gradebook Analytics Educators know that a spreadsheet-style computational average of assessment scores provides a useful indicator of student performance. However, a single number on its own does not provide insights into the trends and potential issues that are contributing to that single number. By working closely with educators using Edsby we’ve designed and implemented a new Gradebook Analytics feature that performs a series of calculations on the assessment scores for every student in the gradebook and alerts the teacher (via a “!” on the average) if one or more “unusual” situations is found. The situations checked for are shown in the image below. This helpful new feature assists teachers in identifying students for which the simple average shown may not tell the whole story of the student’s performance in the class and who thus may require more in-depth professional analysis and judgement when considering the student’s overall level of achievement. ![New in Edsby: gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/gradebookan.png) ### General Features A number of other additions and enhancements are now available in Edsby for teachers. #### Enhanced Mini-profiles When you hover on a person’s name in Edsby, their “mini-profile” pops up. This provides useful information about the person, including their full name, their role, and if it is a student it even shows you the location that student is currently scheduled to be in. The style and layout of the mini-profile has been changed to make it more appealing and to accommodate an increasing number of helpful context-sensitive buttons that provide useful shortcuts to common activities. One new context-sensitive shortcut is a quick link to a student’s Perspective page when a teacher hovers on that student in a class. ![New in Edsby: miniprofile](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/miniprofile.png) #### Personal Folder for Staff Edsby has a “library” capability in Edsby classes and Edsby groups that enable digital content such as files, videos and the like to be organized in a hierarchical folder structure. New in Edsby for 2015: staff members are now being provided with a “Personal Folder” which is based on the same system provided in the past for libraries. This Personal Folder is accessible via a new icon on the top tool bar: ![New in Edsby: personal1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/personal1.png) Edsby objects such as rubrics and online tests (coming soon) can be stored in the Personal Folder along with standard files, videos, etc. ### ![New in Edsby: personal2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/personal2.png) ### Edsby Groups Groups help people to focus on an activity or a subject matter. Groups are great for collaboration, communication, sharing resources, scheduling, and capturing group knowledge. Sports teams, school clubs, parent volunteers, school departments, and like-minded sets of teachers all use groups to achieve their goals. New group features in Edsby include: #### Group Moderators Panel A new panel that lists the moderator(s) of the group is automatically shown in every group. This makes it easy for group members to know who to contact if they have a question or need a change made to something in the Edsby group that only moderators can do. ![New in Edsby: groups1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/groups1.png) #### Closed Group Membership Request Workflow When you create an Edsby group, you can make it “closed” so only invited members are in in it. You can also control which roles see that the group exists (including no one). If a person can “see” a closed Edsby group in their list of “find more” groups (indicated by a lock icon) Edsby now provides a way for the person to ask the moderator if they can be added to the group. ![New in Edsby: groups2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/groups2.png) Moderators will receive a workflow request in their Edsby mailbox. They can use this to either accept or reject the request. ![New in Edsby: groups3](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/groups3.png) #### Auto-enrollment of Students, Parents and Staff Edsby now supports the ability to have a group’s membership be automatically maintained based on role types (teacher, principal, student, parent…), grade level, and subject. So it is now a breeze to create a group with all the Grade 12 students in it. Best of all, as new Grade 12 students join your school or district they are automatically placed in this group since the group membership is updated every night after synchronization with your student information system. Note that at this time this advanced feature is only available to school administrator roles. ![New in Edsby: groups4](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/groups4.png) ### Mobile Enhancements The world today is increasingly mobile, with the usage of smartphones and tablets growing in leaps and bounds. Edsby enables parents, students and teachers to easily leverage all this technology through [Edsby’s mobile apps](https://www.edsby.com/users/download-mobile-apps/). Edsby also works well on any mobile device that has a modern mobile browser. This includes Windows Mobile and recent vintage Blackberry devices. New mobile capabilities available in Edsby include: #### “Login with…” support Previously Edsby provided the ability to do single sign-in on the web with popular systems used in education like Google Apps for Education and Office 365. This quick and convenient authentication option now works on smartphones and tablets as well. ![New in Edsby: mobile1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/mobile1.png) #### Smartphone Access to Search In the past Edsby has provided a “people search” through the standard web interface and the tablet interface. This feature is now available on smartphones as well. This is a great way for educators to quickly get to a student’s Panorama information. ![New in Edsby: mobile2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/mobile2.png) #### Expanded Smartphone Access to Panorama In the past educators could use a smartphone to access some portions of a student’s Panorama page. By popular request this has been expanded to include information about the student’s parent/guardians and the student’s Information panel that include things like the home address and phone number. ### Student Portfolios Many schools have used Edsby’s student profile feature as an informal way to showcase student work. Students would post exemplars of their best work, and teachers and fellow students could comment on it. Also, the student’s parents were able to see their child’s profile. The student profile has evolved into a more formal student portfolio. Students can now publish work in a modern blogging-style fashion. Each contribution is tagged by the school year and subject. User-generated tags are available as well. Also, teachers can now post items on behalf of the student. This is especially helpful with younger students; teachers can now use this to build and publish samples of their students’ work to share with the parents with just a few clicks. ### ![New in Edsby: eportfolio](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/eportfolio.png) ### Parent-Teacher Scheduling Schools struggle with the process of scheduling parent-teacher meetings. Many schools still do this with a paper process, which has many obvious limitations and costs. Some schools use standalone “point” solutions to address this, but they are a headache to configure and support. Edsby knows about every class in a school or district, including who the teacher is, who the students are, and who their parents are. Many customers asked if we could leverage this information to ease the burden of doing parent teacher scheduling. So we did! The new Edsby Parent-Teacher Scheduling subsystem takes into account the needs of all the stakeholders involved. The process is in three key steps: 1. A school administrator sets up a booking period by creating the slots on a calendar (e.g. 10 minute slots on Tuesday and Wednesday night from 6:30PM until 8:30PM). The school administrator also determines which classes this applies to via a convenient Edsby class picker. The administrator opens up the schedule to teachers when ready. 2. Teachers then review and block off slots they will not be available in (due to prior engagements or pre-booked meetings with specific parents or desired breaks). 3. The administrator then provides access to the parents who receive an Edsby message alerting them that slots can now be booked. The parent can make their bookings and print out a summary list if they like. If they have more than one child at the school, all students will appear on the same booking screen to assist with time management for the parent. ![New in Edsby: pti](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/pti.png) *Note that this is an optional module available to Edsby sites at an incremental price.* ### Parent and Student Sign-ups Another great new subsystem is Edsby sign-ups. Sign-ups can be directed to either students or parents and are a fast and convenient way to get parent approvals for things like field trips, media releases and so on. Student sign-ups provide a great way to find student volunteers for helping out with an event, or which students want to go on an optional trip. Sign-ups are easy to create – just pick a set of parents or students (by class, by grade, individually or elsewise), edit the body of your sign-up request, and send it off. The recipients get a form in their Edsby mailbox and can click an appropriate response. Here’s what request form creation looks like: ![New in Edsby: signups1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/signups1.png) Once you’ve sent the sign-up request, parents (or students) will receive it in their Edsby mailbox, and they can respond with a couple of clicks: ![New in Edsby: signups2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/signups2.png) Edsby provides the originator with a status view to track the responses: ![New in Edsby: singups3](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/singups3.png) *Note that this is an optional module available to Edsby sites at an incremental price.* ### Watch for more that’s new in Edsby in the months ahead! **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - Fall 2016](https://www.edsby.com/whats-news-edsby-fall-2016/product-news/) **Published:** September 12, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** There've been a lot of updates to the Edsby learning management, analytics and data aggregation platform for K-12. Here's what's new today and what's coming soon. **Content:** ## Welcome to Edsby 2016! ![constructionedsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/constructionedsby-300x235.png)**Edsby listens to feedback from teachers, administrators, students and parents across the globe. This feedback comes from a variety of sources including meetings, visits, feedback group suggestions, social media, and more. This valuable input helps shape the ongoing development of Edsby. Edsby 2016 includes over 50 new features as described below, and every one of these was built in response to feedback from customers.** **Some of these enhancements listed here are available already. Some are coming soon. Not all new features will necessarily be available to everyone, as it’s up to a given school or school district when or if they choose to introduce new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning, and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon.** **Please keep that feedback coming; it helps us ensure Edsby remains great for teachers, students, parents and administrators at schools around the world!** ### Assessment Enhancements #### Assessment Conflict Detector When teachers think about scheduling an assessment they have a number of considerations to take into account: - Are there any planned school activities on the date being considered? - Are there other assessments (perhaps too many) scheduled for that same date? Often schools have resorted to create grade-wide or school wide activity calendars that teachers are required to consult (and update) for every assessment they want to schedule. This is tedious and error prone since teachers often forget to do the updates. Edsby 2016 includes a new feature that enables teachers to see if a selected day has potential conflicts that may influence the choice of dates. A “Check For Conflicts” button is now available on the “create assessment” form right beside the date picker. Clicking the button enables the teacher to see every assessment, event and planned absence that each student in the class has on that day. The teacher can hover on any item to see details. #### Online Testing Edsby now supports the creation and re-use of online tests. Currently the following types of questions are supported: - True/False questions - Multiple choice questions - Short answer questions - Paragraph response questions Key features include: - Online tests can be used for summative assessment through setup options that enable the teacher to control the start and stop times of the assessment - Online tests can be used for formative assessment by enabling students to take tests at their own pace, and with helpful feedback options for wrong answers - All questions except paragraph response questions are automatically scored by Edsby based on answers provided by the teacher - Test results are stored in the Edsby gradebook for easy review and sharing with students and parents Setting up questions is easy (with or without feedback built in): ![onlinetestb](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/onlinetestb.png)![onlinetesta](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/onlinetesta.png) When teachers wish to have an online test in Edsby, they simply choose the “online test” choice in the Online Submission section of the new assessment form: ![onlinetestc](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/onlinetestc.png) Question Sheets are stored in a teacher’s Edsby Personal Folder. This makes it easy for teachers to reuse online tests from class to class. When students complete an online test, the results are instantly available to the teacher in the Edsby gradebook. Questions that need to be scored manually can be done there. As with all other Edsby assessments, the teacher can choose to share the results with the student (and parents) by simply clicking the “Share” button on the assessment. #### Gradebook Printing Although Edsby is designed for a world in which most activity is done online there are still times where teachers prefer a nicely formatted printout of information stored in Edsby. A feature has been added to provide printing support in two key areas in the Edsby gradebook: - ***Sheet mode printing:*** printing support has been added to “sheet mode” to enable a teacher to print out the detailed view of information pertaining to a specific assessment. This includes the roster of students, the assigned grades, the status indictors and the comments provided by the teacher ![gradebookprint1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/gradebookprint1.png) - ***Gradebook overview printing:*** teachers are now able to print the overall gradebook. The command to do this is available under the “gear” icon in the top right hand corner of the gradebook This creates a printout (see sample browser print dialog below) that looks much like the screen version of the gradebook with all students listed vertically and all assessments listed horizontally across the top. If there is too much assessment information to fit on one page, additional pages will be printed to enable the teacher to place them together side by side to create one large gradebook view. ![gradebookprint2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/gradebookprint2.png) #### Show Averages Control in the Perspective Edsby had a class setup option called “Show Averages in Gradebook” that controlled whether or not an overall average column is displayed to the teacher when viewing the gradebook. The main use of this option has been by teachers of early grades in which averages are not meaningful. This option has been extended and is now called “Show Averages in Gradebook and Perspective”. ![showavg1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/showavg1.png)The Show/Don’t Show choice controls the display of the Average field in the Perspective as shown here: ![showavg2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/showavg2.png)This addresses two needs: - If the teacher of students in early grades doesn’t want to see averages in the gradebook then they likely don’t want to see averages in the Perspective either - Teachers of students in higher grades generally do want to see averages within the Edsby gradebook. Sometimes however they wish to review the Edsby perspective with a student and/or the parent(s) of the student directly from Edsby and do not wish to have the average displayed (for example, at a parent-teacher conference). This new change enables the teacher to disable the display of an overall average if desired for this sort of teacher-student or teacher-parent dialogue and then re-set when meetings end if desired. #### Support for Strands in Rubrics The first release of rubrics in Edsby included support for attributing each category in a rubric to an overall set of category choices such as “Categories of Knowledge”. In Edsby 2016 this has been extended to also support attributing a category to a “strand”. Strands can be defined on a per subject basis, and are automatically linked in to each Edsby class based on subject. This means that math strands will be available in rubrics within math classes, and language strands will be available within language classes. An example of this is below: ![rubric](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/rubric.png) #### ESOs on Lessons and Units Edsby 2015 provided a new facility that enabled teachers to tie assessments to relevant Expectations/Standards/Outcomes (the terminology used for this concept differs from region to region so it will be referred to as “ESOs” in short form in this document). Edsby provides the ability to load up the relevant ESOs on a per customer basis, and map these in to each class on a subject and grade level basis. In Edsby 2016 teachers can now also associate ESOs with Edsby Lessons and Units in the same way it is done in Assessments. This enables teachers to map out their lesson plans to help ensure they are covering desired ESOs. The following shows this being done at the Lesson level and the Unit level: ![eso2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eso2.png)![eso1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eso1.png)In addition, the Perspective has been enhanced so that when in the “all students” mode the teacher can now see how many times each ESO has been covered in Lessons as well as Assessments: ![eso3](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eso3.png) #### ESOs From Multiple Subjects In Edsby 2015 the ESOs were automatically set up for the teacher by subject. However, from time to time teachers want to cover ESOs from other subjects. One example would be if some Grade 10 Math concepts are being taught in a Grade 9 Math class. Another example would be if some Physics concepts are being covered in a Grade 9 Math Class. In Edsby 2016 the ESO picker will continue to default to the set defined for the class. Support has been added so the teacher can now browse to the ESOs for other subjects and grade levels and choose items from there for inclusion in the current class. This provides better support for teachers who teach cross-curricular concepts within the same class setting. #### Creating Assessments by ESOs This new option will enable teachers to create assessments in which the columns provided in the Edsby Gradebook are the ESOs associated with the assessment. In the case where ESOs are associated at the unit level there will be an option for the assessment to inherit the ESOs defined at the unit level. #### ![eso4](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eso4.png)Unit-Based Weighting Buckets Support for unit-based weighting buckets is being added to Edsby. This will enable a teacher to have a weighting bucket per unit, and the teacher can specify what percentage of the overall grade should be allocated to each unit bucket. #### Enhanced eSubmit Workflow The eSubmit form in Edsby is being enhanced to make it more apparent and easier for students to submit web-based links (Google Doc, Microsoft Word Online, etc.) in addition to the option for submitting traditional document files. ### Student Portfolio Enhancements A Portfolio feature was included in Edsby 2015. Edsby Portfolios are now in use at many schools, and users have provided great suggestions for how Portfolios could be even better. Edsby 2016 will include a number of enhancements to the Portfolio feature as described below. #### Simplified Parent Access If a student has a Portfolio in Edsby then the parent will automatically see a “View Portfolio” button in the “Classes” panel of the student on the home page. This is more convenient and easier to find than in Edsby 2015 where it was on a secondary page for the student accessed by clicking on the student’s name on the parent home page. #### Simplified Tag Information Access Support has been added to enable a viewer of a portfolio to hover on the “tag” icon and see a list of tags that have been applied to a portfolio item. This eliminates the need to open portfolio items just to see how they are tagged. #### Enhanced Media Support on Mobile Support has been added enable users to add content to portfolio items by taking advantage of mobile devices’ media capabilities using the inherent controls in each mobile operating system. For example, on iOS a user now has the option to either choose existing media (photo, video, file) from their device, or capture new media (photo, video) to use as the portfolio item. Note that video content is currently not streamed; it is treated as a file that can be downloaded and played. #### Enhanced Attachment Support Edsby Portfolios will be enhanced to enable resources such as files and links to be attached to Portfolio items. ### Reporting Enhancements Edsby provides a powerful system for collecting, reviewing, approving, exporting and publishing reporting information that comes from teachers and ends up on report cards. A number of enhancements have been made in this area as listed below. #### Feedback Assistant Comment Management Edsby has added a major new enhancement that makes the task of providing student reporting information faster and more effective than ever. Research by the Edsby team uncovered a broad spectrum of philosophies (and therefore needs) in this area. Some organizations embrace an approach that encourages teachers to provide original and “from the heart” feedback to each student in the teacher’s own words. Other organizations prefer uniformity and consistency, and require teachers to select from a pre-approved set of comments (usually known as “comment banks”). This new capability in Edsby has been carefully designed to enable each organization to roll this out in a way that is consistent with the organization’s approach to reporting. This new facility will provide for teacher-level, school level and district-wide comment resources that can easily be used by staff. Comments will be stored in a way that supports noun/pronoun substitution on the fly. In addition, relevant comments can be found by simply typing in a few keywords (including a code). Relevancy is enhanced through the consideration of factors such as grade, subject, and achievement level of the individual. Organizations can easily turn off the use of these sets to prohibit the use of shared comment banks, or force the use of shared comment banks depending on the organization’s policies. ![commentmgmt](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/commentmgmt.png) #### Feedback Assistant Advanced Fill The Feedback Assistant will be extended to enable teacher input to be applied selectively to groups of students based on factors such as selected students, assigned grade level, attendance data, and more. This will make it very easy to apply consistent feedback to subsets of students within a class with just a few clicks. #### Enhanced Tracking of Reporting Data Exports This feature provides teachers and administrators with additional ways to track reporting data as it flows through Edsby. First, the Edsby Report Card Zoom now shows if a report card sheet has been exported or not. This information will show up in the facet panel on the left, making it easy for administrators to find new report card sheets that haven’t been exported yet. This helps streamline the review and export process. This is shown below (circled in red): ![tracking1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/tracking1.png)In addition, each time a particular report card sheet is exported a record is written into the report card sheet submission history to capture who did the export and when that export happened. This provides for better tracking and helps the teacher know if their most recent changes have been exported to the repository of record yet or not. This is shown below: #### ![tracking2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/tracking2.png) #### Enhanced Formatting of Reporting Data Exports This feature provides additional flexibility in the way reporting data exports can be configured in Edsby. This includes: 1. The file extension of the file generated by the export request can now be automatically configured in Edsby to match the extension required by the software being used to upload the file into the repository of record. This saves the reporting administrator from having to do this manually each time. 2. Character filtering and substitution schemes can be defined on a per customer basis to enable Edsby to provide reporting exports (that usually contain teacher comments) in a format that is compatible with the repository of record that the data is being uploaded to. This is necessary since Edsby supports a broad set of characters (UTF-8) whereas many older systems have significant restrictions on the types of characters they can import. ### Class Enhancements Edsby Classes provide dynamic collaborative spaces for students and teachers along with a powerful suite of tools that enable teachers to manage a wide range of classroom activities. New Class features in Edsby 2016 include: #### Support for Multiple Subjects in One Class In the real world teachers often have a mixed set of students (split classes by grade, dual track classes, co-op classes, etc.) in the same physical class. To date Edsby has only supported a homogeneous class of students from a subject (course code) perspective. All students in an Edsby class needed to be taking the same course code. This enforced a model where such teachers would have multiple Edsby classes for one physical class, which isn’t always the preferred choice. Edsby 2016 has the ability to support Edsby classes with students with a mixed set of course codes / section IDs. This enables the Edsby classroom to more closely mirror the physical classroom. When Edsby encounters this configuration each student’s specific section ID is stored as an override to the class course ID. This per student code will be displayed in the Gradebook, Perspective and in Report Card sheets. At reporting time the student’s specific section ID will be included in the generated data for the class. **NOTE 1:** When students are consolidated into a single Edsby class like this, assessments and all class communications will flow out to ALL students in the class. This mode shouldn’t be selected if the teachers need class facilities that are unique to each course code being taught. **NOTE 2:** At this time this mode can only be implemented via customization at the SIS integration level for the customer site. It cannot be turned on/off by individual teachers. #### Manual Scheduling of Classes In some cases, the system that Edsby synchronizes with to obtain information about students, classes and schedules does not provide scheduling information for some classes. A typical example of this is with elementary class scheduling. Often the underlying student information system has no scheduling information about non-core subjects such as music, and physical education, yet teachers, students and parents need to know about the schedule for these. This means schools often have a paper process to communicate the schedules for these classes. ![manualscheduling](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/manualscheduling.png)Edsby 2016 provides the option to create schedules for classes that aren’t scheduled in the underlying student information system. This is done through the class setup form, so it can be easily taken care of by the teacher in question (the Phys Ed teacher, for example) or by the office if they want to manage this for all specialty teachers. It does require that at the school level a valid bell schedule(s) exists so the teacher can choose from the specified day cycle and period set available. #### Automatic Removal of De-Assigned Teachers Currently, if a teacher has been assigned to a class in the Student Information System and Edsby obtains that information via a “sync”, that teacher will remain listed as one of the teachers of the class even if another teacher is now assigned in the SIS and shown in Edsby. This has some benefits in some situations to help with continuity. On balance though, customers have indicated they would prefer to have the “de-assigned” teacher automatically removed, and leave it at the discretion of the assigned teacher to decide whether the previous teacher needs to be added in as a co-teacher or not. ### Groups Enhancements Edsby Groups help people to focus on an activity or a subject matter. Groups are great for collaboration, communication, sharing resources, scheduling, and capturing group knowledge. Sports teams, school clubs, parent volunteers, school departments, and like-minded sets of teachers all use groups to achieve their goals. New Group features in Edsby 2016 include: #### Message to Groups Staff users with access to the Groups Zoom can use the filtering/selecting features of the Zoom to select a subset of groups and now have a new “Message” option that enables them to have a message that will go directly into the selected groups. This expands upon the previously available choices of sending a message directly to all the members of all the selected groups, or all the moderators of all the selected groups. #### ![msgtogroups](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/msgtogroups.png)List Groups Today Edsby has a number of group types including groups for clubs, sports, professional learning communities and regular groups. Edsby 2016 will provide support for a new group type that has the unique characteristic that people in the group who aren’t moderators will not know they are in the group. This will be known as a List group. A list group can be used in many different ways. For example, the moderators may include the student success team at a school, and members may be the students that are deemed to be “at risk” at the school. This group provides a convenient place for staff members to discuss strategies for the students, to quickly access the students’ Panorama pages and to even be able to send out communications to the students, or the parents of the students. Another example of usage could be a district level specialist such as a special needs consultant who would have all of his/her students they are currently providing services to in one convenient place. ### Attendance Enhancements Edsby has a very powerful attendance management facility. A number of great enhancements are available today and/or coming shortly in this area. #### Expanded Attendance Incident Codes ![attendanceincident](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/attendanceincident.png)Previously Edsby put all attendance incidents into two categories: Absences (“A”) and Lates (“L”). There are reason codes for each category, and for some types of absences (such as a school activity) the absence is not counted for reporting purposes, and is effectively treated as an “Excused” absence. Edsby can now be configured to provide a set of attendance codes that cover a range of attendance incidents that are not straight absences and that do not count as absences for report card purposes. The default set includes Present, Late and Absent, but additional ones such as “Excused” or “School Closure” can be added in as needed and they will show up in the area circled in red. #### Expanded Attendance Incident Counts by Category A student’s attendance summary details now show three categories (Absent, Late and Other) now instead of the two shown previously. The “Other” category includes all attendance codes that don’t show on the report card. This will make it easier for teachers, students and parents to understand the “report card” absences vs. excused absences. One example of this change is shown here in an attendance sheet: #### ![attendancebycategory](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/attendancebycategory-300x170.png)Enhanced Student Attendance Incident Viewing ![attendanceview](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/attendanceview.png)Teachers and administrators can now easily view the list of all attendance incidents for a student in a particular subject or across all subjects. This is displayed as a simple list of incidents in reverse chronological order. This enhancement provides teachers and administrators with a facet/filter capability that makes it easy to drill down into a student’s set of attendance incidents in a number of different ways: - By type or code (Late, Absent, Excused…) - By reason (ill, vacation, school activity…) - By subject - By age of incident #### Parent Booking of Planned Absences This new feature enables parents to book planned absences for their children directly in Edsby. Parents can easily book a planned absence by choosing the appropriate button in the child’s calendar panel or from the child’s Edsby mini-profile as illustrated here: ![parentabsencebooking1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/parentabsencebooking1.png)It is designed to conveniently handle both short term planned absences (“my child is sick today”) and more complex planned absences (“we are going away on a vacation as a family for a week.”). Parent-booked planned absences flow to the office Attendance Zoom as unapproved planned absences. Attendance secretaries can review and easily approve a proposed planned absence: ![parentabsencebooking2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/parentabsencebooking2.png)Approved planned absences are confirmed back to the parent by appearing in the student’s activity feed visible on the parent home page. This helps address the case where a student impersonated the parent and booked the planned absence since items in the activity feed cannot be deleted by the parent (or a student pretending to be the parent!). #### Intra-Period And Cross-Period In/Out Support Support has been added to Edsby to track a student’s comings and goings within an attendance period. This works in full-day attendance mode, half-day attendance mode and per period attendance mode, which are all just “periods” to the attendance system. This enhancement handles both unexpected class departures (for example when a student leaves in the middle of class due to a sudden illness) and planned absences that start or finish within a period. This first illustration shows what a teacher would see for a student that has a pending planned absence that is slated to start during the current period: ![inout1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/inout1.png)The next illustration shows what a teacher would see in an attendance sheet for a student that has was present at the start of the period but left part way through due to a planned absence: ![inout2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/inout2.png)This third illustration shows what the teacher of the next period would see in their attendance sheet when the student returned (at 11:25) and the teacher marked them as “Present” after their planned absence was complete: ![inout3](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/inout3.png)Organizations will be able to specify the rules that control when to declare the student’s overall attendance for the period a “P” or an “A” based on the fraction of the class attended by the student. If it is declared an “A” then the overall period will be counted as an absence and the “Absent” counter on the right will be incremented by one. #### Attendance Risk Indicators Edsby provides school administrators with a very useful “Risk Indicators” feature in the Student Zoom. To date the Risk Indictors have included showing the number of subjects that the student is below threshold in, and the number of subjects with performance indicator warnings.![riskindicators](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/riskindicators-300x115.png) In Edsby 2016 the set of Risk Indicators is being expanded to include attendance. Customers can specify thresholds and Edsby will automatically compute the indicator status for each student and show it in the risk indicators column. #### Attendance Details in Student Zooms The Student Zoom is being enhanced to provide distinct columns for Present, Absent, Late and Other counters to make it easier to see and sort based on each of these columns: #### ![attendancezoom](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/attendancezoom.png) #### Late Slip Handling Different schools and districts have different policies when it comes to the process of handling students who are late to class. Some organizations require that late students go to the office prior to entering the class. Some go a step further and require that the student provide a “late pass” to the teacher to prove they went to the office. Often this pass has a timestamp on it so the teacher can confirm that the student went directly from the office to the class. Edsby will provide additional support to handle a variety of processes for handling students who arrive late. The key mechanism for this will be a new “late slip” button for the Office attendance secretary. This will bring up a form that will enable the details of the “late” to be captured. This can be printed if the school has a late slip printer. The “late” will also show up on the Edsby class attendance form with a timestamp and the teacher can confirm the student arrived. ### Panorama Enhancements The Edsby Panorama provides a powerful and easy-to-use facility track an individual student’s progress within class and across the school. A number of Panorama enhancements are coming in Edsby 2016 and/or available now. #### Privacy Controls for Viewing Student Achievement Data The Edsby Panorama provides a way to view how a student is doing academically in each active subject. It also offers convenient access to additional academic achievement data such as progress reports and report card information. However, this kind of student achievement information is confidential and access to it must be managed very carefully to respect the privacy of the student. Edsby is used in many different jurisdictions, and each typically has its own set of privacy regulations. These regulations all share common goals related to protecting privacy, but often differ in the details of how this should be done. In all jurisdictions encountered so far it is clear that senior administrators at a school (principal, vice-principal, guidance counsellor) should have access to this information for all students, and Edsby provides that. In all jurisdictions encountered so far it is clear that other administrative staff at a school (general office staff, support staff, teaching assistants…) should not have access to this information for any student, and Edsby enforces that. The major area in which jurisdictions differ is in the scope of what an individual teacher should be able to see about students at the school in which they teach. Edsby 2016 will deliver an enhancement that lets each organization choose a privacy setting that is most appropriate for their organization that controls the scope of what teachers can see regarding a student’s academic achievement information. These settings will include: 1. Teachers have access to academic achievement information for all students at the school or schools in which they teach. 2. Teachers have access to academic achievement information for JUST the students they teach. 3. Teachers have no access to academic achievement information about any student other than specific achievement information that teacher generates themselves. #### Option to Import/Display Supplementary Info The Edsby Panorama is a convenient “Information” panel for each student. By default it includes information such as the student’s grade, home address and other contact information. It can be extended now to import and display other information from the Student Information System (or other systems) such as IEP flags, ESL flags, locker number, and so on. In order to do so, a small amount of custom integration work needs to be done to bring the data into Edsby from the identified source.![displaysupplementaryinfo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/displaysupplementaryinfo.png) #### Option to Import/Display Alert Information The Edsby Panorama includes an Alerts panel that enables administrators to flag a wide range of alerts (academic, medical, discipline, etc.) on a student. Edsby now also has the ability to import alerts from other sources such as the SIS. The type of alerts brought in can be be filtered to show just the set desired. Imported Alerts display as follows: ![displayalert1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/displayalert1.png) Details about the alert including the source of the alert and when it was last modified are available by clicking on the “expand” button in the Alerts panel as shown here: ![displayalert2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/displayalert2.png) ### Messaging Enhancements Edsby’s messaging service provides a convenient way for teachers, students and parents to communicate with each other. Edsby 2016 will provide some significant enhancements to the way messaging is done in Edsby. These are described below. #### New Responsive Messaging User Interface The look and feel of Messaging in Edsby will be significantly updated in Edsby 2016. A key aspect will be to make it “responsive”; meaning the same implementation will work on all device types ranging from small screen devices (smartphones) right up to full size computers. The user interface will include more extensive use of color, and will feature user photos when available. #### ![messaging](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/messaging.png) #### Message Searching A search facility has been added to the Messaging application to enable users to quickly find messages from a specific person or on a specific topic. Users can type the keyword (name, topic) they are looking for in the search box provided above the list of conversations as shown here: #### ![messagesearch](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/messagesearch-300x145.png) #### Enhanced Printing Support for Messages Edsby 2016 will provide an explicit “print” command to enable individual messages to be printed in a suitable paper-oriented format. #### Message Archiving Edsby 2016 will provide a command that will enable users to archive message conversations. This will remove them from the list of visible conversations in the messaging area. All conversations are retained by Edsby for audit trail purposes. #### Showing Read Messages This feature will enable the sender of a message in Edsby to know when the recipient has viewed the message in Edsby. Note that this does not handle the case where the viewer has message notification to email turned on and simply viewed the message email notification rather than the actual message in Edsby. #### Support for Forwarding Messages Edsby will be enhanced to enable a user to forward received Edsby messages on to other Edsby users ### Calendar Enhancements Edsby’s Calendar service will have some significant changes for Edsby 2016: #### New Responsive Calendar User Interface The look and feel of Calendaring in Edsby will be significantly updated in Edsby 2016. A key aspect will be to make it a “responsive” design; meaning the same implementation will work on all device types ranging from small screen devices (smartphones) right up to full size computers. The user interface will include more extensive use of color to differentiate between various kinds of events. Also, the “full calendar” view will now have the option of showing the same kind of events as the home page summary calendar, such as class meeting times. #### ![calendar1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/calendar1.png) #### Calendar Show/Hide Controls Users will now be able to control which calendar events are displayed. This will be especially handy for turning off “noisy” calendars (resource booking calendars for example) so users can focus on key events. The ability to turn on and off event displays by calendar type will be handled through a set of checkboxes accessed via a new “gear” icon in the Calendar panel: ![calendar2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/calendar2.png) ### Mobile Enhancements ![iosuploads](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/iosuploads.png)The importance of strong mobile support grows each year as more and more students, teachers and parents use mobile devices for a significant part of their online experience. Edsby supports this through the Edsby mobile app that you’ll find in the Apple App Store for iOS devices and in the Google Play store for Android devices. Edsby also works well on mobile devices that have a modern mobile browser. This includes Windows Mobile and recent vintage Blackberry devices. New mobile capabilities available in Edsby 2016 include: #### Better Access to Media and Files on iOS The Edsby mobile app for iOS devices has been enhanced to take advantage of long awaited new capabilities in iOS to provide consistent access to the camera on the device, media already on the device, and even cloud storage available through the device. Note that this requires iOS 9 since the underlying iOS technology was only made available in that version of iOS. This tighter integration is now available in a range of places in Edsby such as when posting in classes and groups, making observations, and creating portfolio items. #### Personal Folder Access on Tablets Edsby 2016 will include providing teachers with access to their Edsby Personal Folder on tablet devices. This will make it easy for teachers to have mobile access to rubrics, online question sheets and of course all other digital resources they have stored in their Edsby personal folder. ### Parent-Teacher Scheduling Enhancements The Edsby Parent-Teacher Scheduling feature was new in Edsby 2015. Over the course of the 2015-2016 school year a number of organizations that used this new feature have provided helpful feedback and suggestions for enhancements. A number of these enhancements will be included as part of Edsby 2016 in October: - Enable parents to book slots for each child when they have multiple children in the same class - Enable administrative staff to book slots on behalf of teachers - Enhanced printing support for the primary schedule (parents, rooms, days, etc.) - Restyling of per-day tabs to make it easier to distinguish between days - Prevent the modification of dates that are in the past - Put parent meeting times on parent’s Edsby personal calendar - Add a “Number of Bookings” column to the Parents tab - Enhance clarity for parents by changing the wording used to book time slots (“booked” instead of “unbook” and “available” instead of “change”) ### New General Features A number of other additions and enhancements are coming in Edsby 2016. #### New Layout for Home Pages A small but significant change is being made to the user home page in Edsby when viewed with a traditional web browser. The home page is being divided into three horizontal sections, with panels stacking up tightly to the panel above it in each section. Prior to this panels were laid out horizontally, and this sometimes led to large amounts of “white space” in certain configurations, such as a staff member that was linked to many schools since the Groups panel started at the bottom of the panel listing all schools. This will therefore improve the effective use of screen space for a number of users. #### ![newhomepage](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/newhomepage.png) #### Enhanced Search Today Edsby provides a search capability that enables users to search for people and groups. A user is only able to search for items that they should have access to. For example, a parent can’t search for students other than their own. Edsby’s search feature will be expanded in Edsby 2016 to provide a similar permission-controlled search facility for content. This means that users will be able to do keyword searching for content, and Edsby will automatically restrict the search results to groups and classes that the user has permission to access. #### Staff Can Delete Own Posts In Edsby 2016 a change will be made to enable staff members to delete posts they have made in places such as Groups and Panorama pages. Currently such posts can only be deleted by moderators of the group or administrators at the school. #### Staff Can Edit Own Posts Edsby staff users will be provided with an “edit” command on all class and group posts that they have made. This will enable the staff user to quickly fix a typo or make a minor change to an item they posted earlier. At this time this feature is not being extended to non-staff because of potential for abuse. #### Enhanced Link Sharing Today in Edsby users can share links easily in class feeds and group feeds by simply posting them. If the link is to a website or a popular site like YouTube or Vimeo, Edsby provides a nicely formatted presentation of the link. However, if the link being used is a link to a Google Doc or an O365 live document, no special formatting support is provided today. Furthermore, if the student is submitting work (an essay for example) and wants to submit a live Google Doc link or O365 document link, Edsby doesn’t make it clear how this should be done. To address this Edsby will add in explicit support for submitting links such as links to Google Docs or O365 documents. This will be available in most places files can be added today, including in class and group feeds, in the submit workflow for assessments, in the creation of Portfolio items, and so on. ### New System Features A number of system level enhancements will be provided in Edsby 2016. These will include: #### Separation of Staff/Parent Accounts Today Edsby provides a way to configure a staff account to also be used as a parent account. It does this by linking the students (children) in question directly to the staff member’s account. This flexibility can cause issues. Such a teacher may inadvertently display information about their own children when logged in to Edsby and projecting their screen. In addition, the staff member/parent is listed as a staff member at schools that their child or children attend even if they are not on staff at that school. An explicit check will be added in to Edsby to prevent these kind of accounts from being created. This is non-trivial since Edsby is generally data-driven by external systems as it sets up these accounts, so an override will be created to flag these situations and not enable the accounts to be set up in this fashion. #### LTI (Learning Tool Interoperability) Support LTI is a standard that enables learning platforms like Edsby to integrate with a growing suite of LTI-enabled “Tools” that focus on specific areas of learning. Examples of an LTI Tool include adaptive math or reading programs, e-textbooks, plagiarism checking tools, and so on. LTI includes an authentication protocol, so users don’t need to log in to the tool when launched through Edsby. Edsby 2016 will enable administrators to configure LTI tools, and take advantage of Edsby’s powerful facilities for sharing links to make these readily available to teachers and students. #### File Type Prohibition Feature Today users can upload any kind of digital file to Edsby. Edsby 2016 will provide a new feature that will enable each education organization to create their own list of file types that users in their organization will be prevented from uploading or sharing. Typical restricted file times could include ones such as “.exe”, “.scr”, “.zip” and so on. If a user attempts to upload a file that has a type on the organization’s restricted list they will receive a message informing them that their school has decided that specific file type cannot be shared in Edsby. ### Edsby Applications Edsby 2016 will provide support for optional applications. These applications may be custom built for a specific organization, or they may be applicable to many organizations. Over time an Edsby App Store will be provided to enable customers to find and configure applications as desired for their specific organization. #### Community Service Hours App One of the first applications to be available will be a Community Services Hours tracking application. This will enable students to submit community service hours work items for tracking and approval. It will provide a simple workflow for the approvals of these items. Students or administrators will be able to submit the details of a particular community service activity electronically. Details include the date, hours worked, the organization where worked, the supervisor, and even an electronic copy (photo) of an approval form. ![communityservice](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/communityservice.png) Administrators will see all submitted forms and can review and approve or decline each form: ![communityservice2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/communityservice2.png) Staff, students and parents will be able to see each student’s Community Service hours details. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - Fall 2017](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-edsby-fall-2017/product-news/) **Published:** July 20, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** It's that time of the year again! There’ve been many updates to the Edsby learning & analytics platform for K-12 for this new 2017-2018 academic year. Here’s a summary of what’s new, or what's coming soon. **Content:** ## Welcome to Edsby 2017! ![constructionedsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/constructionedsby-300x235.png)**Edsby listens to feedback from customers and incorporates new features throughout the year. And every September, we introduce a special, new release.** **Edsby 2017 includes over 50 new features, many of which are described below.** **Some of these enhancements listed here are available already. Some are coming soon. Not all new features will necessarily be available to everyone, as it’s up to individual schools or districts when or if they choose to introduce new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning, and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon.** **Please keep feedback coming; it helps us ensure Edsby remains great for teachers, students, parents and administrators at schools around the world.** ## Assessment Enhancements ### Gradebook Access Customization Access to the gradebook in an Edsby class is normally restricted to the teacher or teachers of that class. Now, access permissions can be customized to enable additional roles, such as Senior Admin, to have access to specific areas such as class gradebooks. This type of customization can now be implemented by Edsby support on a per customer basis. Edsby customers should contact Edsby support to have this change made for their system. ### Access to ESOs in Classes with no default ESOs Edsby 2015 provided a new facility that enabled teachers to tie assessments to relevant Expectations/Standards/Outcomes (the terminology used for this concept differs from region to region so it is referred to as “ESOs” in this document). Edsby is usually set up to automatically load up the relevant ESOs on a per class basis based on the course code assigned to the class. However, in some cases a class may not have a course code, or may have a course code but no corresponding set of ESOs. In Edsby 2017, teachers can now browse the set of available ESOs by course code, and choose a set to be used within the class. Edsby will remember that choice for the duration of the class to make it convenient for the teacher as the ESOs are used for lessons, assessments, observations and the like. ### Full Text of ESOs in Perspective Previously, Edsby only displayed one line of the ESO in the Perspective. Now if a teacher clicks on an ESO, the entire text of the ESO is displayed. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ESPPerspective.png) ### ESO Support for Rubrics in Personal Folders Support has been added to enable teachers to access the ESO picker when creating rubrics in their personal folder. This lets the teacher associate the desired ESOs with the rubric so the ESOs don’t need to be added each time the rubric is used in a class. ### Rubric Import When a new rubric is created, an option is now available to import the contents of the rubric. Note that the appropriate grade scheme needs to be selected prior to the import so Edsby knows the right configuration for the rubric. The file format supported is CSV, with the first row specifying the name and order of the rubric columns (based on the grade scheme) and each subsequent row providing the data for each row in the rubric. ### Online Testing Enhancements Significant new enhancements have been added to Edsby online testing: - Questions can now include rich text. This option is accessible by simply clicking on the rich text icon at the far right end of the text entry field. - Three new question types have been added to the set of question types supported in Edsby Question Sheets. - True/False - Drag/Drop - Likert Scale - Edsby Question Sheets can now have a set of ESOs associated with the overall sheet. In addition, ESOs can be associated with each question. - Sections can now be added into to Edsby Question Sheets. Subsets of questions within a section can be randomized (“show each student 3 of 8 available questions”). ### Gradebook Summary Printing In Edsby 2016, support was added to enable teachers to print the details of a particular assessment (“sheet mode printing”). Support was also added to print out the entire visible contents of the gradebook in a way that enabled the teacher to recreate on paper the way the gradebook is displayed online. In Edsby 2017 a new “print gradebook summary” feature is being added to enable the teacher to print a convenient one page summary of the gradebook that includes one line per student, and with each line including the overall average, attendance data, and counts of assessments completed, not done, etc. ### Enhanced Gradebook Comments Teachers can add comments tied to a specific student in the gradebook via “sheet mode” for a specific assessment, or via the rubric scoring facility. Previously, the user interface for these comments made it difficult for teachers to enter more than a relatively small number of characters. This is being enhanced to provide a way to enable teachers to more easily enter and view larger comments. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Enhanced-gradebook-comments.png) ### Enhanced Display of ESOs Today teachers have convenient access to the both the codes corresponding to ESOs and the underlying text of the ESO. In Edsby 2017 students and parents will now also have convenient access to see the actual ESO codes and the corresponding text in cases where the teacher has associated an ESO with a lesson, assessment, observation, etc. ### Evidence Management Edsby 2017 provides a powerful new way for teachers to gather evidence of learning in a variety of ways, and to be able to tag, analyse and share this information with other teachers, and with the student and their parents. This new capability puts a special focus on providing a very simple way to capture evidence using smartphones and tablets that have built in cameras and microphones. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Evidence-Management.png) Once evidence has been captured, teachers can tag it with tags from their own tag cloud, link it to relevant ESOs, provide observations and analysis of the evidence, and share evidence with parents and students, who may comment in return. ## Student Portfolio Enhancements A portfolio feature was included in Edsby 2015. Edsby portfolios are now in use at many schools, and teachers have provided great suggestions for how portfolios could be even better. Edsby 2017 includes a number of enhancements to the portfolio feature as described below. ### Portfolio Item Tracking Per Student The Edsby Student Zoom (for administrators) and “My Students” for teachers have been enhanced to track new/unread portfolio items and the total number of portfolio items on a per student basis. This enables teachers and administrators to better manage the portfolio process. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture2.png) ### Quick Portfolio Switcher for Teachers Teachers using the Edsby portfolio feature requested a fast way to see new portfolio items and to jump to other student portfolios. This has been added via a simple dropdown menu when viewing one student’s portfolio. Teachers can use this to quickly switch to viewing another student’s portfolio. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture3.png) ### Portfolio “Show To…” Controls Students and Teachers can now control who gets to see particular items in a student’s portfolio. There is a new “Show to…” control on each portfolio item that can be used to choose one of several different options. This enables, for example, a student to showcase work they are proud of with other students at school, yet still keep private other items that may represent an area of development. Teachers can set this for students just as teachers can create portfolio items for students. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture4.png) ## Reporting Enhancements Edsby provides a powerful system for collecting, reviewing, approving, exporting and publishing reporting information that comes from teachers and ends up on report cards. A number of enhancements are in Edsby 2017. ### My Report Cards for Teachers Managing report cards for teachers has now been made easier than ever by providing teachers with a subset of the Report Card Zoom to enable them to quickly see, navigate and launch all their report cards via a subset of the Zoom technology that school administrators currently use. This is very analogous to the “My Students” feature. My Report Cards provides access to the “sheet view” and “student view” just like the administrator Report Card Zoom. So this means teachers will now have the ability to review the submitted report card data for all the students they teach. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture5.png) ### Multiple Tags Per Comment Edsby comments in a comment bank have always had the ability to have multiple tags per comment. The search algorithm has been changed to prioritize results based on all tags entered rather than just the first tag match. This enables teachers to use different sets of tags (e.g. a category tag and a level tag) to get to a specific subset of choices very quickly. ### Comment Filtering by Course Code The Edsby comment bank format has been expanded to have a “Course ID” field. When teachers are applying comments in a class Edsby will treat the Course ID of the class as an especially strong correlator for searching the available set of comments. This means, for example, that teachers can have large comment banks with multiple subjects and grade levels in them. However their comments in a specific subject will automatically treat as a priority the comments specific to that course code. ### Fill for Reporting Data The Edsby Report Card sheet is being enhanced to provide an auto-fill capability. The fill feature can be accessed by either a button on the report card sheet or by a keyboard shortcut ( + L). The feature will work by auto-filling the value in the currently selected cell to all empty cells of the same type. For example a teacher could fill in a few Learning Skills results in the Communications area to “E”, and then fill one as “G” and then hit the fill button to have all other students with no assigned code in that field be assigned the “G” code as well. Fill also works on comments (“Visual Art will be reported on next term”). ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Fill-for-Reporting-Data.png) ## Class Enhancements Edsby classes provide dynamic collaborative spaces for students and teachers along with a powerful suite of tools that enable teachers to manage a wide range of classroom activities. New class features in Edsby 2017 include: ### Automatic Removal of De-Assigned Teachers Previously, if a teacher was assigned to a class in the Student Information System and Edsby obtained that information via a sync operation, that teacher would remain listed as one of the teachers of the class even if another teacher was assigned in the SIS and shown in Edsby. This had some benefits in some situations to help with continuity. On balance though, customers indicated they would prefer to have the “de-assigned” teacher automatically removed and leave it at the discretion of the assigned teacher to decide whether the previous teacher would remain as a co-teacher or not. This is now the behavior. ### Adjusted Class Options for Parent Access In the past, options for how a teacher could enable parents to access an Edsby classroom were added to Edsby. A number of customers felt some of the options that enabled a teacher to let parents see information about all the students in the class (student names, student photos) was too open, and asked us to customize these options out. We agreed with that feedback, and so for Edsby 2017 the two choices (shown with a red line through them in below) that enabled teachers to provide this kind of broader access have been removed. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Adjusted-Class-Options.png) ### Add Lesson in Class Feed Edsby provides a powerful planner tool that enables teachers to construct course plans by creating units and populating those units with lessons, assessments and journal entries. For convenience, the Edsby class feed provides the teacher with another path to create assessments and journal entries. Teachers have asked if Edsby could be enhanced to enable them to create lessons right in the Edsby class feed as well. This is being added. ### Display of Planner Items in Feed Pop-outs Teachers have noted that when they use the class feed to create planner items, there is no convenient way for the teacher to see the all the details of the item without going to the planner. Edsby will be enhanced to provide a way to display all the fields of the underlying form so the teacher can conveniently review and potentially make changes. ## Groups Enhancements Edsby groups are great for collaboration, communication, sharing resources, scheduling, and capturing group knowledge. Sports teams, school clubs, parent volunteers, school departments, and like-minded sets of teachers all use groups to achieve their goals. New Group features in Edsby 2017 include: ### Ordering of Moderator List In the past the order of the list of moderators in an Edsby group was fixed. In Edsby 2017, any group moderator can manage the order with which the moderators are displayed by simply dragging and dropping the moderators in the Group Setup form. This enables group members to see an ordering that may reflect, for example, which moderators are the key go to people (the ones on the top). Also, the top moderator in the list is the one used on Report Cards in cases where organizations are having Edsby print report cards with report card content coming from Edsby Groups. ### Access to ESOs in PLC Groups Edsby Professional Learning Community (PLC) groups provide a great way for groups of teachers to work together on course plans. In Edsby 2017 teachers will be able to link Expectations/Standards/Outcomes to PLC-based course plan material via a convenient picker that enables any configured set of ESOs to be selected via course code. ### Export of Student Group Membership Data Some Edsby customers have discovered the power of the StudentReport export for getting up to the second information about each class a student is currently enrolled in. The StudentReport feature has now been enhanced to have a “group” tab as well as a “class” tab. If you select the group tab, it displays one row per student per group membership. This can be exported as well for additional downstream processing. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture6.png) ### Badge Groups Edsby 2017 will provide support for badge groups. These groups support the awarding and tracking of certifications and badges for both students and staff. These will be useful for a range of applications including tracking student accomplishments and staff professional development. Badge groups can be configured to be open to members to collaborate in; this provides a great way for the members to engage on the topic even after being awarded the badge. Points may be assigned to each badge group for the use of tracking participation and potentially for the creation of leaderboards in a future release. Badges and certifications display for each Edsby user in a new Badges panel on their home page. ## Attendance Enhancements Edsby has a very powerful attendance management facility. A number of great new features are being added to Edsby attendance in 2017. ### Attendance Incident Tagging The Edsby attendance incident resolution form now provides a way for attendance primes to assign tags to attendance incidents. Tags make it easy to mark an attendance incident with a common outcome (instead of having to type it in to the comment). Examples of common tags include “spoke with parent”, “left a message for parent” and so on. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture7.png) By default tags can be added into the attendance incident tag cloud at each school by the administrators there. However, it is possible to define a central set and lock these down so that all administrators at all schools use the same set of tags. The latter configuration requires some setup by Edsby support. ### Attendance Alerts in Attendance Sheets In a previous release, Edsby added in support for generating attendance alerts based on threshold settings defined for each customer. These alerts are visible in the Student Zoom (for administrators) and My Students Zoom (for teachers). This enhancement adds a column for attendance alerts to each attendance sheet in order to make this key information more readily visible to each teacher. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture8.png) ### Creating Planned Absences via Student Zoom By popular request, the student zoom has been enhanced to include a “create planned absence” command in the drop-down set of commands. This enables all the filtering and selection power of the zoom to find a set of students for a particular planned absence. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture9.png) ### Consecutive Days Attendance Alerts A new customer definable alert has been added to enable customers to define “yellow alert” and “red alert” thresholds for attendance alerts based on consecutive days of absence. When a threshold is crossed the attendance alert icon (yellow or red) is now turned on for that student. ### Attendance Incident Export for Merged Classes Edsby now supports a powerful way to merge multiple classes (each with a unique course code) into a single Edsby class. This is often used for co-op classes, special education classes, and the like where for reporting reasons the SIS has a number of separate classes that run in the same physical class at the same time. The Edsby attendance export facility has been enhanced to recognize such merged classes and ensure that the attendance incident export data contains the original class information rather than the merged class information. This is necessary for uploading the attendance data back into the SIS. ### Attendance Incident Export Controls The Edsby attendance incident export facility can now be controlled to start exporting attendance incident data from a specified date. This can be configured on a school by school basis if necessary. This makes it feasible to switch from Edsby attendance read mode to Edsby attendance write mode at any time during the school year. The export can also be configured to cover the export of events based on when they were modified rather than when the initial incident occurred. This enables Edsby to efficiently export changed incidents rather than having to export all incident data for a wider range of days just to capture changed incidents. ### Late Slip Notifications on Smartphones Edsby introduced an electronic late slip facility in late 2016. This included a way for teachers to manage late slips via the web or tablets. However support for smartphone access to late slips was not included due to planned overhaul of the Edsby architecture for smartphones. As the new smartphone architecture is released over the spring and summer of 2017 support for late slips on smartphones will be added. ### Yearly View of Student Attendance Incidents The per student Edsby attendance incident viewer is being enhanced to provide a “school year at a glance” mode which will display all attendance incidents for the entire school year for a particular student in a one page view suitable for viewing and printing. ### Attendance Notifications Edsby is being enhanced in 2017 to include a powerful notification engine (described elsewhere in this document). As this is introduced, a number of attendance conditions will included as options for generating attendance notifications. Examples include notifying parents of an attendance incident and notifying staff of attendance alert thresholds being released. ## Panorama Enhancements The Edsby [Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/?help=panorama) provides a powerful and easy-to-use facility track an individual student’s progress within class and across the school. A number of Panorama enhancements are included as part of Edsby 2017. ### Privacy Controls for Viewing Student Achievement Data The Edsby Panorama provides a way to view how a student is doing academically in each active subject. It also offers convenient access to additional academic achievement data such as progress reports and report card information. However, this kind of student achievement information is confidential and access to it must be managed very carefully to respect the privacy of the student. Edsby is used in many different jurisdictions, and each typically has its own set of privacy regulations. These regulations all share common goals related to protecting privacy, but often differ in the details of how this should be done. In all jurisdictions encountered so far it has been clear that senior administrators at a school (principal, vice-principal, guidance counsellor) should have access to this information for all students, and Edsby provides that. Similarly, in all regions it has been clear that other administrative staff at a school (general office staff, support staff, teaching assistants…) should not have access to this information for any student, and Edsby enforces this. The major area in which jurisdictions differ is in the scope of what an individual teacher should be able to see about students at the school in which they teach. Edsby 2017 delivers an enhancement that lets each organization choose a privacy setting that is most appropriate for their organization that controls the scope of what teachers can see regarding a student’s academic achievement information. These settings will include: 1. Teachers have access to academic achievement information for all students at the school or schools in which they teach. 2. Teachers have access to academic achievement information for JUST the students they teach. 3. Teachers have no access to academic achievement information about any student other than specific achievement information that teacher generates themselves. ### New Observation Counter on Recent Activity Observations made about a student on the Panorama page are easily accessible to teachers that teach that student via the “Recent Activity” section of the teacher home page. Previously, teachers needed to check that stream from time to time to see if there were any new updates on any relevant students. A new item counter (red ball) is being added to the Recent Activity area to proactively inform teachers when there are new observations for them to see. ### Support for Panorama Feed Filtering A variety of events flow into the Panorama feed area, including observations, attendance updates and enrollment updates. Previously, important information such as observations could be hidden by a large number of mundane attendance updates. The Panorama feed will soon be filterable to provide quick access to any desired information. ### Support for Confidential Observations Edsby’s Panorama observations provide a powerful way for educators at a school to share information about a student with each other. Numerous customers have asked for an extension to this to enable confidential observations to be stored in the Panorama as well. Confidential observations are only accessible to senior roles at the school including Senior Admin and Guidance. This provides a place for very sensitive information (health updates, family status updates, etc.) that may not be appropriate to share with all educators at the school. ## Messaging Enhancements Edsby’s messaging service provides a convenient way for teachers, students and parents to communicate with each other. Edsby 2017 will provide a number of useful messaging enhancements. ### Message “Seen By” Tracking Edsby messaging has been enhanced to provide a “seen by” indicator that shows when the recipient has viewed the message in Edsby. This can be very helpful in a broad range of situations. It should be noted that the “seen by” status is not set if the recipient views a notification that supplies the body of the message. It is only set if the recipient views the message in Edsby. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture10.png) ### Attachment Names in Message Notifications Today Edsby provides the body of a message via the message notification (e.g. email). However if there are attachments to the message the recipient may not know about that if they are not explicitly referred to by the sender. Edsby will be enhanced to provide the name(s) of all attachments associated with a message so the recipient can better judge if/when they need to go to Edsby to access the attachments. ### Enhanced Printing Support for Messages Edsby 2017 will provide an explicit “print” command to enable individual messages to be printed in a suitable paper-oriented format. ### Message Archiving Edsby 2017 will enable users to archive message conversations. This will remove them from the list of visible conversations in their messaging area. All conversations are retained by Edsby for audit trail purposes. ### Support for Forwarding Messages Edsby will be enhanced to enable a user to forward received Edsby messages on to other Edsby users. ## Calendar Enhancements Edsby’s Calendar service received a significant revamp in 2016. In Edsby 2017 one key calendar feature is slated for delivery. ### Calendar Integration Support Edsby has a powerful calendaring capability that automatically merges all school, class and group calendar events together for each user. Many users have calendars outside of Edsby, and some users wish to have Edsby calendar events appear in these other calendar systems. This will be delivered in Edsby 2017 through the addition of iCal support in Edsby. This standard is widely supported by many calendar applications including those from Google, Apple and Microsoft. ## Mobile Enhancements The importance of strong mobile support grows each year as more and more students, teachers and parents use mobile devices for a significant part of their online experience. Edsby supports this well through Edsby mobile apps available in the [Apple App Store for iOS devices](https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814?mt=8), the [Google Play store for Android devices](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en) and the [Windows Store for Windows 10 devices](https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9P2MZHD385B3). Edsby also works well on mobile devices that have a modern mobile browser. New mobile capabilities available in Edsby 2017 include: ### New Responsive-based Smartphone Support A major reworking of the underlying Edsby applications development environment has occurred over the past 12 months with the goal to move all Edsby user experience code to a “responsive” framework that enables application code to be written once and automatically work on all platforms including regular PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. This work is now complete. New mobile support for smart phones (web and app) is now based on this unified responsive design. This release includes a number of user interface enhancements and clean-ups. Icon size and font size are more consistent across the interface, and in general are larger to enhance readability. A new navigation bar has been provided for access to components of groups and classes. ### New Smartphone Home Page Layout The organization of the smartphone home page is undergoing a significant redesign for students, teachers and parents. This is aimed at making it easier to navigate to key aspects of the Edsby interface and making the overall experience more intuitive. ### Edsby Alerts on Mobile Devices In the spring of 2017, Edsby released a new alerts feature in the standard web interface. The first application to use this facility was attendance late slip handling. Initially, Edsby alerts weren’t supported in the smartphone user interface. With the new responsive infrastructure in place, support for Edsby alerts is being added to the smartphone experience. ## Parent-Teacher Scheduling Enhancements The Edsby Parent-Teacher Scheduling feature was new in Edsby 2015. Over the course of the 2015-2016 school year a number of organizations that used this new capability have provided helpful feedback and suggestions for enhancements. ### Parent-Teacher Interview Enhancements A number of enhancements are being included as part of Edsby 2017: - Siblings within the same class now have separate booking slots - Slots can no longer be created in the past to prevent administrator mistakes - Groups can be used for scheduling now (in addition to classes) - Support has been added for printing parent PTI schedules - Support has been added for printing Teacher schedules - Clearer terminology has been used (“Free” -> “Available”; “Unbook” -? “Remove Booking”) ## General User Features ### Enhanced Search Edsby search has been expanded to cover a wide range of content in groups, classes, messages, news items and knowledge bases. Content is indexed immediately upon creation so it is instantly available for the search engine. An initial “hit list” of top matches is produced, but the user can move to a full page search interface to do an expanded drill-down on the search results. Edsby search only returns results to a user for content that the user has permission to see in Edsby. For example, if a teacher does not have access to the “All Principals” group the teacher’s search results will not include any content from that group. In the current release the enhanced Edsby search feature is only available to staff. This may get extended to students and parents at a later time. ### Add Staff to School Today Edsby assigns staff to schools based on the information found in the Student Information System. However, in multi-school organizations there are often staff members who get involved with one or more schools on a short term or long term basis. Examples include a special education specialist working with students and multiple schools or a Trustee responsible for a group of schools. A new “Add Staff’ button has been provided on the Staff Zoom at each school that enables a school administrator to find a staff member defined at the district level and connect them in as a staff member in the local school. This enables that person to see the school news, access school groups, get added to classes, and be listed in the staff panel. ### News Item “Show To” Control By default all news items created on a school or district page are only visible to other authenticated users in the organization. School and district administrators now have the option of designating a news item to be sharable outside of Edsby – typically on a public web site. Edsby does not actually put the item on the website, but web publishing packages can use the Edsby API to access news items designated for public display. Also, district news items marked “General Public” will be shown on the Edsby login page. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/News-items-show-to.png) ### Staff Can Edit Own Posts Edsby staff users now see an “edit” command on all class and group posts that they have made. This will enable the staff user to quickly fix a typo or make a minor change to an item they posted earlier. The history of previous versions of the post are retained for staff to view. However, students and parents cannot see the history of an edited post. At this time this feature is not being extended to students. This feature could be used inappropriately in that a student could post something malicious or hurtful, and then quickly “retract” the offending words by editing them. Although Edsby will retain the initial post in its archive this could create a headache for staff that would need to check the archived post to confirm a complaint by another student. ### Staff Can Delete Own Posts This feature will enable staff members to delete posts they have made in places such as Groups and Panorama pages. Currently such posts can only be deleted by moderators of the group or administrators at the school. ### Enhanced Link Sharing A new graphical uploader has replaced the “Add Resources” function across the product. This supports all previously supported features, including adding Google Docs or O365 documents, and adds in new ones including support for pasting images from the clipboard (very handy!) and support for adding links. The set of icons presented also reflects capabilities of the device being used. Adding images to a post has never been easier – simply copy the image you want to use to your clipboard and paste it into the body of the note to have it added to the post. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/New-uploader.png) ## New System Capabilities A number of system level enhancements are being provided in Edsby 2017. These include: ### Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) Support LTI is a standard that enables learning platforms like Edsby to integrate with a growing suite of LTI-enabled “tools” that focus on specific areas of learning. Examples of an LTI tool include adaptive math or reading programs, e-textbooks, plagiarism checking tools and so on. LTI includes an authentication protocol, so users don’t need to log in to the tool when launched through Edsby. Edsby released support for LTI 1.1 in February, 2017 and upgraded the level of support to LTI 2.0 in May, 2017. ### Support for Legal Last Name Support has been added for an optional second “last name” field. If such a field is available for a student, it will be displayed in the Panorama (in addition to the preferred last name) and is available for use in things like report cards. Teachers and students will still see the regular (preferred last name) in all other cases. ### Support for Embedded Power BI Analytics Edsby has been enhanced to provide a secure, permission-sensitive way to embed Microsoft Power BI-based analytics into the Edsby user experience. Analytics views can operate in a designated window, in an “Edsby FullScreen” mode or popped out to a separate tab for an even larger view. ### Windows 10 App A new Edsby Windows 10 App is available in the Windows Store. This App provides full Edsby functionality and is integrated with Microsoft’s Live Tile and Action Center notification services. In addition, this App runs on Windows 10 S and is compatible with the advanced device management software Microsoft is providing to education customers. ### Separation of Staff/Parent Accounts Previously, Edsby provided a way to configure a staff account to also be used as a parent account. It did this by linking the students (children) in question directly to the staff member’s account. This flexibility could cause issues. Such a teacher could inadvertently display information about their own children when logged in to Edsby and projecting their screen in a classroom. In addition, the staff member/parent could be listed as a staff member at schools that their child or children attended even if they were not on staff at that school. An explicit check has now been added in to Edsby to prevent these kind of accounts from being created. An override has been created to flag these situations and to not enable accounts to be set up in this fashion. ### Notification Services Edsby is being enhanced to provide support for a wide range of notification techniques including mobile push notifications, SMS/text notifications and voice notification. In addition, Edsby will provide a growing set of conditions that can trigger notifications. Planned triggers are to include attendance incidents, attendance thresholds, late slips, new assessments, new grades, new news, new portfolio items and so on. ### Edsby Applications Edsby 2017 provides support for optional applications. These applications may be custom built for a specific organization, or they may be applicable to many organizations. Over time, an Edsby App Store will be provided to enable customers to find and configure applications as desired for their specific organization. ### Community Involvement Tracker App One of the first applications to be available will be a community involvement hours tracking application that will enable students to submit community service hours work items for tracking and approval. It will provide a simple workflow for the approvals of these items. Students or administrators will be able to submit the details of a particular community service activity electronically. Details include the date, hours worked, the organization where worked, the supervisor, and even an electronic copy (photo) of an approval form. Administrators will see all submitted forms and can review and approve or decline each form: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Picture12.png) Staff, students and parents will be able to see each student’s community service hours details. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [About Edsby & your data](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby-your-data/product-news/) **Published:** February 28, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How is student saved and used by the Edsby learning platform for K-12? Who owns it? And what do they do with it? **Content:** ### How is data saved and used by the Edsby platform for K-12? Who owns it? What can they do with it? If you use cloud-based applications, you likely have questions about the safety and security of your personal data these days. We don’t blame you. We’re reading the same unfortunate stories as you are of what other companies have done with user data. That’s why we’ve outlined in a [new summary document](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/), in as clear and plain language as we can, answers to questions like: - Who owns the data in Edsby? - Where, physically, does it reside? - Who has access to that data? What can they do with it? - What measures are in place to protect this data? - How long is it retained? - Does Edsby make any money from advertising, mining or otherwise sharing this data? Read the answers to all the above and more [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/). **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - Fall 2018](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-fall-2018/product-news/) **Published:** September 4, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for Fall 2018, here's what's now available in the Edsby learning & analytics platform for K-12. **Content:** ## Welcome to Edsby 2018! **Every September, Edsby introduces many new features. This year, our “back to school” release contains many new additions and changes.** **Many new documents and videos have been created to describe the new features in more detail. These are all available in [the support section of our website](https://www.edsby.com/support/); simply click your role to see the resources available for that kind of Edsby user.** **Not all new features will necessarily be available to all users immediately, as it’s up to individual schools or districts when or if they choose to introduce new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon.** **This release also includes many quality and performance improvements that are too numerous to list individually.** ## General Enhancements ### User Interface Revamp The Edsby user interface has undergone a makeover with updated fonts, font sizes, colours, shading, icons, buttons and more. This work gives Edsby a fresh new look and enhances usability. It incorporates many customer suggestions collected over the last couple of years. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/New-UI.png) ### Notification Enhancements Edsby released a new notification infrastructure in the fall of 2017. The initial release supported both email-based notifications and simple mobile push notifications for an initial set of events including class and group activity. Notifications have now been expanded to include options for news items, attendance items, calendar items and portfolio/evidence items. In addition parents can configure their account to receive notifications for a set of events for each child they are linked to. [How to set up notifications »](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/) [How to set up notifications if you’re a parent »](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-for-parents/) ### New Folder Subsystem Edsby folders have provided a great way to organize files, links, Edsby resources and more. This same software powers the Edsby Personal Folder, the Library in Classes and Groups, and the Documents panel on the School and District page. Edsby folders have been completely rewritten and many great new features have been added: - New icons for all items - Universal cut/copy/paste across folders - Support for Edsby courses, in addition to Rubrics and Question Sheets - Breadcrumb facility for easy folder navigation - Facility to sort list views by key column types - Support for tagging resources ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Folders.png) ### New Rich Web Editor Edsby now uses a more powerful and easier-to-use rich web editor. It’s available in all parts of the product that support advanced web editing including News, Knowledge Base, Journals, Course Content and more. It includes advanced table editing, flexible image embedding, spelling and grammar checking, accessibility checking and an advanced equation editor. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NewEditor-1.png) ## Evidence of Learning Enhancements The Edsby evidence of learning subsystem was first released for the 2017-2018 school year. Substantial enhancements have been made to it based on feedback received from teachers during the first year of usage. The evidence system is now available in all Edsby classes. The Edsby “private observations” feature is now deprecated as its functionality has been recreated in the evidence subsystem. ### Evidence Tab Layout Enhancements In the first release of Edsby’s evidence of learning, the key tabs included Gather, Organize, Collaborate, and Learning story. In the updated version the tabs have been changed as follows: **Gather:** Eliminated. Instead, the “sea of faces” is now available dynamically any time the teacher clicks on “New Evidence”. **Organize:** Remains with the same name and function. **Collaborate -> All Evidence:** Renamed to “All Evidence” since it provides convenient access to all evidence items in reverse chronological order. Although one use of this tab is to enable multiple teachers within a class to see what new Evidence items have been captured, this tab has other uses that don’t involve multiple teachers collaborating. **Learning Story -> Shared:** The concept of the “Learning Story” has been eliminated. Evidence items that have been marked “shared” by a teacher will appear to the student and parent as part of the student’s Edsby portfolio. To align with this, the previous “Learning Story” tab has been renamed to “Shared” to make it more apparent to the teacher what this tab is for (i.e. to see evidence items that have been shared). ### Evidence Card Layout Enhancements ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-Evidence-Card-1.png)The layout of the interface has been modified to make the buttons/touch areas larger and easier to tap on mobile devices. Icons have been added to all choices to make them more easily identifiable. ### Creating New Evidence Shortcuts As teachers use the evidence of learning subsystem to capture more and more aspects of student progress they asked for shortcuts to make it faster and easier to create new evidence items. Two enhancements have been added to support this. First, if a teacher has enabled evidence of learning in a class, the teacher will automatically have a “New Evidence” button right beside the class in the Classes panel. Second, the Edsby mini-profile has been enhanced to provide a “New Evidence” option for a specific student whenever the student is accessed in the context of a class that has evidence turned on. ### Evidence/Portfolio Integration The first release of evidence of learning was independent of the Edsby portfolio feature. These two systems have now been harmonized in key areas to make sharing across them easier and more intuitive. When a teacher wishes to share an evidence item with a student and their parents, the text box to do this has been relabeled as “Share in Portfolio.” The student and parents no longer see a separate “Learning Story” button. Instead, they see shared Evidence items integrated into the existing student portfolio. ### Notification of New Evidence Items The Evidence subsystem is now using Edsby notifications to provide students and parents with the option of receiving a notification when a teacher shares an evidence item in the student’s portfolio. The user has the option of selecting the notification mechanism, including email or mobile push notification. [How to capture and edit evidence of learning in Edsby »](https://www.edsby.com/help/capturing-and-editing-evidence/) ## Content Builder ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-Course-Builder-new-items-230x300.png)A new content builder has been created in Edsby to make it easy for teachers to create sequenced digital learning material incorporating a wide array of digital content including rich web text, video, photo albums, discussions, polls, web content, links, quizzes, assessments and much more. Course materials may be imported in a variety of formats including IMS Common Cartridge, ePub (eBook, digital textbooks, etc.), SCORM and websites. Once imported, the content can be copied in part or whole and edited as required by the teacher. The new content builder is completely backwards compatible with the current Edsby planner and course plans created in Edsby in the past. Teachers can copy material as usual from previous Edsby classes and paste it in to the new content builder. Teachers can now also build content directly in their Personal Folder. Edsby provides students with a great view into course content material: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-Course-Builder-Student-View.png) This view can be used by the student to indicate that they have completed the review of the material (via “Mark Complete”) and even indicate their feedback on the material. Edsby tracks student access to each part of the content and produces a history and progress summary view for the teacher. The “History” view provides detailed access into each student’s activity within the classroom from a time perspective: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-couse-history-view.png) The “Progress” view provides a quick summary of each student’s progress through the material: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-course-builder-progress.png) [Using the new Edsby content builder »](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) ## Learning Object Repositories (LORs) Learning Object Repositories, or LORs, can now be created in Edsby to collect, discuss, categorize and curate content. LORs can be used to connect teachers within a school or used across an entire district to provide a powerful shared resource for teachers to develop and share education content. Teachers can post notes or contribute learning objects. When an object is contributed, anyone with the appropriate privileges has access to it. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-LOR.png) Teachers can easily search for resources within LORs using the standard Edsby search system. [Using Edsby LORs »](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/) ## Assessment Enhancements ### Support for Strands, Categories and Expectations in Online Questions Edsby’s online tests have been enhanced to allow questions to be associated with specific strands and/or expectations/standards/outcomes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Online-Tests.png) ## Reporting Enhancements ### Support for Very Large Comment Libraries Previously, applicable Edsby comment banks (district level libraries, school level libraries and teacher libraries) were all loaded into a teacher’s browser cache when being used for reporting. This approach had some limits to scalability that impacted the ability to roll out very large comment libraries. Now, comment banks store all comments in the highly scalable Edsby search engine where users can quickly and efficiently view and navigate through very large comment libraries. ### Enhanced Personal Comment Library Management The interface Edsby provides for educators to manage their comment libraries has been enhanced in a number of ways: - **Comment Export**: Teachers are able to apply filters to their overall set of comments and then export the filtered set of comments to a CSV file. This export file can easily be imported by other teachers, providing a convenient way for teachers to share comment libraries. - **Comment Delete**: Teachers now have a way to delete individual comments from their comment library. - **Comment Edit**: Teachers can now select individual comments from the library and edit them with changes immediately saved and available in the comment library. - **Comment Add To Library**: Teachers now have a convenient way to take comments/phrases used in a report card sheet and have them added to their personal comment library. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-Comment-Library.png) ## Class Enhancements Edsby classes provide dynamic collaborative spaces for students and teachers along with a powerful suite of tools that enable teachers to manage a wide range of classroom activities. New class features in Edsby 2018 include: ### Integrated Course Builder As noted above, the previous Edsby course plan has been replaced by the Edsby course builder. It is backwards compatible so that course content from older classes can be copied and pasted into new Edsby classes that use the new course builder. ### Direct Form Opening in Class Feeds The Edsby class feed has been enhanced so that if a teacher clicks on an assessment or journal entry, the edit form for the underlying item is opened in place. The teacher no longer needs to go to the planner to view and make changes to the item. ### Evidence of Learning replaces Private Observations As noted above, evidence of learning now completely replaces previous Edsby private observations. Teachers can use the more powerful evidence system to capture observations and keep them private by simply not sharing them. ### Streamlined Class Navigation Over time more items have been added to the Edsby Classroom. This release provides a modified navigation mechanism to get to the various entities in a way that enables popular items to be a click away and still provide access to less frequently used components: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-Class-Navigation-300x52.png) ## Groups Enhancements Edsby groups are great for collaboration, communication, sharing resources, scheduling and capturing group knowledge. Sports teams, school clubs, parent volunteers, school departments, and like-minded sets of teachers all use groups to achieve their goals. New group features in this release include: ### Study Groups Edsby also now includes support for a new group type called Study Groups. These are district-wide groups that can be created for each unique course being offered in a district. When a Study Group is created for a specific course code, every student and teacher across the district enrolled in that course will be automatically enrolled in the corresponding Study Group. Teachers will have moderator permissions. Students across the district will be able to ask questions, learn from other students, and, of course, be guided by educators who are facilitating the learning in this area. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-Study-Group.png) ### List Groups Another new group type, a List Group, can be used for performing actions on a set of students. It is an Edsby group that students or parents never see that they are a member of, but that appears as a normal group to teachers and administrators. List groups can be used for attendance, e.g. make a planned absence for all grade 8 students, or for mail list-type purposes, e.g. using the existing Edsby message parents/students from group function. A list group an also be used to group students for disciplinary or other reasons. ### Option to Hide Group Membership Normally all Edsby group members can see all other members of an Edsby group via the group members panel. Edsby now includes a group setup option that enables the group administrator to hide the group membership list from group members. This is useful if the list of members needs to be protected, or if the list of members is very large and is not useful to make available to members. ### Professional Development Groups (Beta) Edsby PD groups provide a modern way to create and deliver self-paced training for a wide range of staff training activities including teacher professional development, staff compliance training, training in support of new technology deployments and more. This feature is considered to be in beta status at this time. The Edsby training team will be producing a range of training modules for key aspects of the Edsby product. This will provide a great showcase for this new capability, and will provide another great tool for Edsby customers to use as part of an Edsby rollout strategy. Key capabilities include: - **Easy to create and manage:** Edsby PD has been implemented as a new form of Edsby group. This makes it very easy and intuitive for organizations to create and manage the spaces used to author and deliver PD. - **Powerful tools for enrolment management:** All available group membership facilities will be applicable including open membership, invitation only membership, automatic membership, import (live feed or CSV) and so on. Capacity limits can be set to manage user numbers. - **Modern content authoring and delivery:** PD groups have access to the same content builder as Edsby classes. Content options include pages with text and images, video content, online quizzes to assess progress and understanding, discussions to encourage collaborative enquiry with other participants and training leaders. - **Content import**: Training content can be imported into Edsby through Edsby’s new support for the IMS Global Common Cartridge standard, based on the SCORM standard. This enables organizations to add training content from legacy training systems and to purchase content from a wide range of vendors that supply training materials. [Using Edsby PD groups »](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) ## Attendance Enhancements ### Attendance Notifications Edsby attendance now takes advantage of the new Edsby notifications system to add in notification options for parents in a number of areas. Examples include notifying parents of attendance incidents at the discretion of the school attendance administrator, and when submitted planned absences are approved. Icons are provided to show when notifications have been successfully sent and when notifications are not configured. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-attendance-notifications.png)Attendance Taking on Planned Absences Edsby has provided a powerful way for designating students that will be away from their regular class schedule for things like field trips, sports events, and the like. The planned absence facility has been enhanced to provide an option for taking attendance based on the list of students in a planned absence. This facilitates attendance management for these types of events. ### Flexible Multi-day Planned Absences Previously, multi-day planned absences in Edsby could start at any time in the initial day, but only support ending at the end of the day on the last day of the planned absence. Edsby has now been enhanced to enable the end time of the last day of the planned absence to be set to any time as well. ## Panorama Enhancements The Edsby panorama provides teachers with powerful and easy-to-use access to a wide range of information about a particular student. Further, it provides a great way for the educators at a school to share thoughts and observations on each student’s unique learning journey at school. New enhancements in this release include: ### Enhanced Privacy Controls The Edsby panorama provides teachers with a fast way to view how a student is doing academically in each active class. It also provides teachers with convenient access to additional academic achievement data such as progress reports and report card information. However, this kind of student achievement information is confidential and access to it is managed carefully to respect the privacy of the student. Edsby is used in many different jurisdictions, and each typically has its own set of privacy regulations. These regulations all share common goals related to protecting privacy, but often differ in the details of how this should be done. It is clear that senior administrators at a school (principal, vice-principal, guidance counsellor) should have access to academic achievement information for all students at the school, and Edsby provides that today. Similarly, in all regions it has been clear that other administrative staff at a school (general office staff, support staff, teaching assistants, etc.) should not have access to this information for any student, and Edsby enforces this. In the past, by default, Edsby enabled all teachers at the school to see the academic achievement information for any student at the school. This has now been tightened so that a teacher can only see academic achievement information (e.g. the Classes panel) for a student *only if they are currently teaching that student* as per the enrollment data shared with Edsby. If a teacher goes to the panorama of a student they are not teaching, they see everything BUT the classes panel as shown in the image here. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Edsby-panorama.png) ### Panorama Feed Streamlining Some Edsby educators felt the value of the panorama feed was negatively impacted by attendance updates intermixed with more valuable content such as observations and enrollment changes. Since the attendance information provided in the panorama feed duplicated what was already available via the attendance summary and the schedule panel already in the panorama, the duplicated content in the feed has been removed. ## Calendar Enhancements ### Deleting Individual Repeating Events Edsby’s repeating events have now been enhanced to enable a user to open up a specific instance of the sequence and delete that instance without impacting the rest of the calendar repeats. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [New in Edsby - Dec 2019](https://www.edsby.com/new-in-edsby-dec-2019/product-news/) **Published:** December 18, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for the coming new 2020 year, here are brand new features now available in the Edsby digital learning & data platform for K-12. **Content:** ## New Features As We End 2019 **Edsby received a big set of new capabilities in its annual “back-to-school” upgrade [this September](https://www.edsby.com/new-in-edsby-september-2019/). Since then, a number of new features have been in development which are now being released just before the holiday.** **Not all new features will necessarily be available to all users immediately, as it’s up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon, if not already.** **Happy holidays from all of us at Edsby!** ## Assessment enhancements ### Flexible Gradebook Summary Columns The Edsby gradebook has been enhanced so that a wide range of new summary columns can be turned on in teachers’ class gradebooks. Teachers now get even more flexibility in how they can view assessment data and how it can be shared with students and parents. And these settings can be defined in course models so that, for example, all Grade 5 math classes in a school district can be configured to show strand averages so teachers don’t have to set them up themselves. Here’s an example of what this looks like in an Edsby Gradebook: ![gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gradebook.png) Teachers can access the Gradebook Summary Columns setup screen by clicking the “gear” mode drop-down in the upper right hand of the gradebook. They will see a new “Gradebook Setup” option in the list of available commands. The Gradebook Setup provides the teacher with a flexible way to choose additional summary columns they might like to see in the gradebook. These provide a range of choices including median, mode, range and standard deviation. In addition, the teacher can choose to add columns for individual strands or categories of knowledge. Teachers can check the “Show to Students” checkbox if they wish to have the values in a particular column made available (privately and securely of course) to each student and their parents via the “My Work” view. An example of what this looks like from a student’s perspective: ![mywork](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/mywork.png) [More about the new Edsby gradebook summary columns »](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-overview/gradebook-settings/) ## Learning evidence enhancements ### Evidence Student Picker Sorting ![evidencepicker](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/evidencepicker.png)The “Organize” view within Evidence provides teachers with a handy “picker” to quickly jump from student to student. Previously, this list would show both active and dropped students all sorted together alphabetically, with dropped students flagged with a “dropped” label. In this new release, the list of students in this dropdown is automatically sorted to show all the active students first (still sorted alphabetically) and the dropped students next (at the bottom of the list). This saves teachers from having to navigate over dropped students each time they use the tool, but still provides a path to review evidence for such students when desired. [More about Edsby’s learning evidence system »](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) ## Attendance enhancements ### Attendance Administrator “Student” Tab In 2018, Edsby provided a new feature for attendance administrators called “Student Actions” that provided a powerful set of student-centric options to enable a busy administrator to efficiently deal with the steady flow of students coming in to the office. Our research found the feature was not as “discoverable” as it could be, and many administrators haven’t been using it because they didn’t know it is available. In this release, we’ve moved it from a button on the “Incidents” tab to being a tab on its own, and is the new default tab when an attendance admin accesses the Attendance system. ![studenttab](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/studenttab.png) To make training easier, we’ve created guide text directly in the interface and embedded a helpful video right in the user experience. ## Planned Absence Import Support Edsby now supports the ability to import planned absences. The initial deployment of this new facility accommodates planned absences generated by SchoolMessenger. This enables, for example, telephone-based planned absences received by SchoolMessenger to automatically appear in Edsby. Useful options include: - Configurable schedule for import frequency - Can import both telephone-based and app-based planned absences - Can import “Safe Arrivals” parent responses to unresolved incidents as planned absences - Imported planned absences can be set to be auto-approved or require manual approval [How attendance works in Edsby »](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-overview-2-2/) ## Mobile enhancements ### Mobile Push Notifications Active Links Edsby has supported mobile push notifications [since 2017](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-edsby-fall-2017/). However if a user received such a notification in their device’s notification center and tapped it, the Edsby application would be launched, but with no context set. Tapping or clicking notifications now place the user in the appropriate context in the Edsby app. For example, if the notification was to a parent about a new item in their child’s Learning Story, then a tap on the notification will take the parent to that child’s Learning Story within the Edsby mobile application. ### Improved Parent Navigation on Mobile For parents, key per-student actions are now explicitly listed on the mobile app home page. This includes links to each student’s “Recent Activity” stream and each student’s Calendar. Previously, the way to access these were less obvious. Also, the term “Upcoming” has been changed to “Calendar” to make its contents clearer. ### Mobile Access to School and District Information ![gearicon](https://i0.wp.com/edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gearicon.png?resize=264%2C158&ssl=1)Mobile users now have more convenient access to school and district information. The full web interface provides this via a panel in the upper left hand corner. The mobile interface now supports these via a “gear” button on the mobile home screen in the upper right. When the user taps this, it provides much of the same school and district information they would see via in the full screen web user interface. The gear also provides also provides access to Edsby’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. ### Mobile Support for Applications Applications such as Registrations and Community Service Hours are now officially supported on mobile devices for Edsby systems that have deployed them. These applications appear on the user’s mobile home page just as they appear on the user’s web home page. Special support has been added in to the Registrations application to provide users with mobile-friendly navigation for moving from section to section within complex multi-section forms. [The Edsby mobile app for teachers and admins »](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-the-edsby-app-3/) [The Edsby mobile app for parents »](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-the-edsby-app-2/) [The Edsby mobile app for students »](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-the-edsby-app/) ## General enhancements ### Edsby Password Management ![improvedpassword](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/improvedpassword-e1576646973518.png)Over a year ago, Edsby implemented measures to ensure all new passwords created within Edsby followed NIST recommendations for strong passwords (minimum of 8 characters, no long repeats of characters, etc.). These applied to all new passwords created since that time. This new release applies these tightened restrictions to ALL Edsby passwords at password entry time, and require that any user using a password that doesn’t comply with the tightened standards to change their password. This means a user who set up a weak password in the past will now be forced to change it to a stronger password. Note this does not affect users whose passwords are managed outside of Edsby in a district or regional authentication server such as Active Directory or Azure Active Directory. As part of this change the password reset user experience has been reworked to provide helpful messages to inform the user of specific issues with proposed new passwords (e.g. too short, too many repeated characters, too common a word, etc.). And a “?” button has been added that links to a page that describes the password change process in more detail. ### Highlighting Items User has “Liked” The way Edsby displays “Likes” has changed. If a user looks at an item they have liked, the like icon will be shaded. On item they haven’t yet liked, they will see the traditional unshaded icon. This is illustrated in the screen snap below. This enables users to easily tell if they’ve liked a particular item yet or not. ![shadedlikes](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/shadedlikes.png) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2020](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-september-2020/product-news/) **Published:** September 21, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for September 2020, here's what's now available in the Edsby digital learning & data platform for K-12. **Content:** ## Welcome to the Edsby September 2020 update **Edsby is excited to share with you great new features that have been added in recent months. Enhancements included here were selected based on the input and feedback from teachers, administrators, students, and parents across our entire customer base.** **Key product areas of focus for September 2020 include classes, embedded content, online testing, groups, Panorama and notifications.** **New documents and videos have been created to describe new features in more detail. These are all available in [the support section of our website](https://www.edsby.com/support/); click your role to see the resources available to you.** **Not all new features will necessarily be available to all users immediately, as it’s up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon, if not already.** ### Notifications [Last year](https://www.edsby.com/new-in-edsby-september-2019/), we enabled parents to turn on notifications when they logged in for the first time. In September 2020, faculty will see the Setup Notifications dialog the first time they log in. For teachers, the following notifications will be enabled if Turn on Notifications is selected: - Private messages - Replies & likes on my posts (groups and classes) - Grades commented on - Assignments due soon - Class calendar reminder - Upcoming tests - Digest – weekly These notifications are not automatically enabled when selecting the above but can still be manually enabled if desired: - Group calendar reminder - Class feed activity, posts, replies - Group feed activity, posts, replies Notifications are delivered via Edsby, email, and mobile. Selecting Turn Off Notifications will leave the message notifications enabled. Notifications can be changed by navigating to the Account Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/picture1.png) ### Unread Tracking for Evidence, Learning Story, Portfolios Unread Tracking has been added to Evidence. Within a Class, a teacher will see the unread counter on both the Evidence link and on the All Evidence page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/picture1-1.png) Students and parents will now see an unread tracker for both the Learning Story and Portfolio. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture2.png) ### Content Builder Show Progress A new Show Progress page has been added to the teacher view of the Content Builder within a Class. The page provides the teacher with information about what items the students have completed and records the student’s reaction to the Content Builder item. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture3.png) The Content Builder now supports the importing of epub3 files. Also, when files fail to import an error is visible to the user. ### Embedded Content in Notes & Journals Content from the following sites will play within the Class Feed when added as a link to a Note or Journal. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture4.png) - YouTube - Vimeo - SlideShare - SoundCloud - Google Docs (view link) YouTube and Vimeo will play within the Content area of classes and groups. ### Online Tests In Online Testing, teachers can change the number of retakes for a specific student. To change the number of retakes, navigate to the Gradebook and select the online test cell. Click Change Attempts and set a number in the Attempts field. The student will be able to retake the test while the test is open. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture5.png) ### Perspective and My Work Graph The graph includes an updated look with controls to zoom in and out along with the ability to download the graph. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture6.png) ### Report Card Sheets Edsby has added a new “cardlet” view for teachers on report card data entry sheets. This view is helpful on report card sheets that have large input areas per student. It enables the teacher to view a single student’s sheet by clicking on their name rather than having to scroll down through all students’ sheets to find one student. This view is enabled on an “as needed” basis. For example, it will be automatically included in the Ontario Kindergarten report card data entry sheets, since those contain a number of large text areas per student. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture7.png) ### Groups Edsby’s Content Builder technology is now being used for authoring and editing knowledge base documents. Teachers have grown familiar with the Content Builder and wanted to see the Content Builder used in all groups. The Content Builder enables users to create a richer set of documents with sections, pages, links, and uploads and it is much easier to reorder sections and items. Visibility controls enable people to work on content before revealing it to other members of the group. Existing Knowledge Bases have been converted. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture8.png) ### Panorama UI improvements The student Panorama has been restyled, however all content and permissions remain the same. 1. The Planned Absence and Message button have moved beside the student’s name. 2. The link to the Portfolio has moved to the right side of the screen and a link to the Student Admin has been added. 3. The Student Admin page includes the Student Information section of the Panorama 4. Within the Student Admin tab, the Caregivers button opens the Parent/Caregivers information. Clicking on Parent or Contact on Panorama will also open this page. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture9.png) ### Permission and roles changes #### Removing manually added staff improvement Faculty can be added to schools through the Staff Zoom’s Add Staff function and can be removed by clicking the Remove button. We’ve enhanced the removal of the manually added staff members to also remove them from any groups they are enrolled in. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture10.png) #### Removing access to classes at other schools IT Admins, Senior Admins, Head Office, and Guidance roles can no longer see information about classes and students at another school. Previously, this access occurred when a teacher was teaching at two schools and the Teacher Details page included classes from both schools. This access has been removed by only showing the classes that the Teacher and the School IT, Senior Admin, Office Head or Guidance have in common. For example, James Maupin teaches at both Tecumseh and Mesa. When the principal at Mesa views Mr. Maupin’s Details Page she only sees the 4 classes taught at Mesa. When the principal at Tecumseh views Mr. Maupin’s Details Page he only sees the 2 classes at Tecumseh. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture11.png) ### Analytics Monitor groups are now available as a filter in the Analytics Dashboard. Students can be added to Monitor groups to create a custom filter. The key feature of a Monitor group is students do not know they are a member of the group. Administrators, classroom teachers, itinerant teachers, guidance and support all have a place by which they can discuss and monitor students at risk or those needing extra attention. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture12.png) ### Assessment and reporting by outcomes Many jurisdictions assess and report on outcomes as a rubric rather than a Letter Grade or Percent. An outcome-based Report Card looks like this: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture13.png) Rather than this: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture14.png) Assessing and reporting based on Outcomes requires a new set of tools. New assessment schemes have been created to support assessment based on the Global Level Outcome (GLO). For example, if an Outcome has three levels, A would be the strand, A.1 would be the GLO and A.1.1 would be the Specific Level Outcome (SLO), sometimes called indicators. The GLO assessment type enables teachers to link any SLOs (indicators) to an assessment but assess on the overall GLO. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture15.png) The GLO assessment type enables teachers to link any SLOs to an assessment but assess on the GLO. In this illustration, the teacher has selected 5 SLOs but will be assessing on the GLOs. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture16.png) The next tool needed to support the assessment and reporting by outcomes is the ability to weight by GLOs and choose an aggregate method. The available aggregate methods are mean, mode, latest, and highest. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture17.png) For example, when assessing by outcome, the teacher could choose to set the Aggregate Method to Latest. Any time the teacher accesses a student’s ability for an outcome like “Multiplying a 2 or 3-digit number by a 1 digit number” the result reflects the student’s current ability and the Report Card system would use the latest evaluation of any GLO to populate the report card sheet. Outcome-based assessment and reporting also needs to pull the data from the gradebook based on the Aggregate method to create a report card input template. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture18.png) And finally, the school would send home a report card that looks like this: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Picture19.png) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2021](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-september-2021/product-news/) **Published:** September 9, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for September 2021, here's what's now available in the Edsby digital learning & data platform for K-12. **Content:** ## Welcome to the Edsby September 2021 update **Edsby is excited to share with you great new features added in recent months. Enhancements included here were selected based on customer input and feedback from teachers, administrators, students, and parents.** **Key product areas of focus for September 2021 include a new Social Emotional Check-Ins feature and enhancements to Online Testing, Professional Development Groups, Learning Object Repositories, LTI Certification and Moodle imports.** **New documents and videos to describe new features in more detail are available in [the support section of our website](https://www.edsby.com/support/). Click your role to see the resources available to you.** **Not all new features will be available to users immediately. It is up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators plan and give end-users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon, if not already.** ### **Social Emotional Check-Ins** The optional Social Emotional Check-Ins feature enables students to share their feelings with their teacher(s). It presents professionally curated strategies so educators can help them be as ready as possible to succeed. Whether students are in class, hybrid, or fully remote, Edsby now gives teachers a quick and easy way to poll students at the beginning or throughout the day on how they’re feeling. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture1-1024x479.png) The user interface, icon color, age-appropriate emotion selection, and regulation strategy content in Edsby Check-Ins come courtesy of a team of social-emotional, academic advisors and an exclusive relationship with MindUP—an evidence-based non-profit program designed to improve children’s emotional well-being founded by actress Goldie Hawn. MindUP is aligned with current SEL research and is accredited by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or CASEL. Once this feature is available at the district level, teachers can choose which classes they want to enable Check-Ins. If students decide to check-in, they can click the Check-In button and see color-coded icons representing the various emotions students their age can recognize. After they make their selection, they can explain their answer further. After completing the check-in, students will see regulation strategies tailored to the specific emotion they selected and their age range. For teachers, the Class includes a Check-Ins summary page complete with an unread counter. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture3-1024x189.png) Teachers see their full roster of students and emotions they’ve been sharing, represented by the characters the students chose and whatever optional explanations they gave about how they’re feeling. Icon colors indicate the overall category of emotion. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture4.png) Teachers see the regulation strategies the student was presented with and receive their own recommendations. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture5.png) Teachers can also see student emotions on the Attendance sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture6.png) For more information about Social Emotional Check-Ins [click here](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-check-ins-sel/). ### Classes Teachers have two new Content items and a re-organized Class and Gradebook Setup form within the Class. Teachers teaching a self-paced course can also take advantage of a new Smart Release feature. #### Content panel enhancements There are two new items in the Content panel: Question Sheet and LTI Deep Link. Teachers can add Question Sheets to the Content area. The ability to store Question Sheets in a Class enables the teacher to share a complete course with other teachers through a Professional Development or Learning Object Repository. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture7.png) Question Sheets created in the class can be attached to assessments to deliver an online test. The Assessment form’s Choose Question Sheet now opens a picker that enables the teacher to choose from the Personal Folders, class, or group. Once a sheet is chosen, a list of questions is visible. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture8.png) The Content panel’s other new item is LTI Deep Link. Deep Linking is an LTI standard for exchanging content between applications and tools. Deep Linking enables LTI tools to appear in the same way that internal tools do. A broad range of content types can be shared, such as static links, embedded images, or other media types and files, extending the LTI toolbox and streamlining the process of setting up an LTI tool link. A district may use a content provider that has hundreds of Chemistry videos and quizzes. After the district sets up the LTI tool, adding an LTI Deep Link will provide a drop-down of all existing tools. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture9.png) Once the teacher selects an LTI tool, clicking Launch will enable them to choose what specific quiz, video, or page they want from the LTI vendor’s site. If the teacher chooses a quiz, the students will see a launch button to begin the quiz. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture10.png)If the LTI vendor provides content, the student can view the content from within Edsby. In the following example, the student can play the video and view the four pages of content on Thermal Energy created by wcln.ca. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture11.png) ### Assessments We’ve made several improvements in online testing. We’ve added ways to manage the question order within question sheets. We’ve added more question types and new options for existing question types. We’ve also made it easier for people to develop question sheets together and share question sheets with others. #### Question sheet management Questions can be cut, copied, and pasted within the Question Sheet or to other sheets. Teachers can reorder questions or easily reuse and adjust existing questions. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture12.png) The rich text editor has been added to enable the teacher to include rich text or add equations with the Equation Editor. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture13.png) In addition, the Equation Editor now supports MathML to enable teachers to copy MathML from an external source and paste it into the Equation Editor. Question sheets now remember previously used courses to speed up the use of standards/expectations/outcomes within a question sheet. Teachers no longer need to choose a new course each time they create a new question sheet. #### New question types Fill in the blank, Match and Numerical question types are available as choices. Teachers can also add instructions within the question sheet. The Fill in the blanks question contains a drop-down list of possible answer choices, including Distractions answers, embedded within the question. The Numerical question expects a numerical answer and offers the option of providing a tolerance range. If the answer is 165 and the tolerance is 0.5, answers between 164.5 to 166.5 would be considered correct. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture14.png) For a Match question, the teacher supplies a list of items that must match another list of items. The teacher has the option to give decoy answers. The student view of a Match type question is illustrated below. **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture15.png)** Teachers can provide additional instructions to students within a Question Sheet by creating a label. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture16.png) #### New options for existing question types The Multiple Choice questions support partial and negative marks. However, an online test cannot have a negative grade; a student’s minimum score on an online test is 0. For Multiple Choice questions, the selected answer is set to 100% by default. The Short Answer question type now supports partial marks and wild cards. The student would get full marks for entering Victoria and any additional text such as “BC” in the following illustration. The student would get half marks for not capitalizing and any other text such as “, british columbia.” Entering Vancouver or vancouver and any additional text would result in a deduction of 10% of the question’s value from the overall score. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture17.png) #### Using existing question sheets as a question bank Edsby enables teachers to quickly build a question bank by reusing questions from other Question Sheets from their Personal Folder, class, or group. When creating a Question Sheet, teachers have the option to copy questions from other sheets. For example, Mr. Harris’ class is studying Romeo and Juliet. He has created a set of Question Sheets in his Personal Folder. He can create a new test and draw from other existing sheets by clicking the +Add From Question Bank button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture18.png) He can select any other Question Sheet and see a preview of the questions. Mr. Harris can click all the questions or choose a subset to add to the current Question Sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture19.png) In addition to the Personal folder, teachers can also use Questions Sheets from Professional Learning Communities, Learning Object Repositories, and Classes. #### Professional Development Groups and Question Sheets Question Sheets can be created and edited from the Content panel of a Professional Development Group. Question Sheets can also come from other groups and Personal Folders to the Content panel. This enhancement enables teachers to work together to build Question Sheets and to share with other teachers. #### Sharing Question Sheets Creating good online tests takes work on teachers’ parts. The improvements to Question Sheets help them with this task and empower them to collaborate and share Question Sheets. Improvements include the ability to select questions from other question sheets, create and edit Question Sheets from within a group’s Knowledge panel, and the ability to post Question Sheets to a Learning Object Repository. Teachers can work together in an Edsby Professional Learning Community group to create Question Sheets within the group. In this example, the Chemistry teachers have created a set of questions based on the lessons within the course. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture20.png) The teacher can create an assessment with an online test within a class and choose a Question from the Chemistry Teachers group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture21.png) The teacher can also create a new Question Sheet and draw individual questions from any of the Question Sheets in the Chemistry Teachers group. The teacher can pick four items for Lesson 1 Questions. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture22.png) And the teacher can add five items from Lesson 2 Questions. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture23.png) And the teacher can add all the items from Lesson 3 questions to create a customized online test. The teacher can then create an online test assessment and choose their own custom Question Sheet for the online test. ### Class & Gradebook Setup form reorganization The Class Setup, Weighting, and Gradebook Settings forms are now one form, and the fields are reorganized into sections. The redesign gives teachers the ability to access all the Class and Gradebook options in one form. The students and parents section controls how students and parents interact with the class content. The Teachers and assistants section contains the names of teachers and their access level to the Class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture24.png) The Class names and visibility section enables the teacher to change the name and code the teacher and student see. Teachers can also remove a class from their Classes panel. More information about the Teacher, Support, & Substitute permissions sets can be found [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assigning-teacher-roles/?locale=en). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture25.png) The Assessments section includes all controls that impact assessments, including the grade scheme for the Perspective/My Work graph and the Gradebook Summary columns. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture26.png) The Weighting section enables the teacher to set up the weighing buckets. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture27.png) The Additional Options section displays class information from the Student Information System. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture28.png) The Student well-being page is seen if the optional Social Emotional Check-In or other forthcoming well-being features are available at the organization. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture29.png) Teachers will continue to access this form from existing menu items. When teachers choose the Class Setup, the form will open to the Students and parents section. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture30.png) When the teachers choose Edit Weighting from the Gradebook, the form will open to the Weighting section. When teachers choose Gradebook Setup from the Gradebook, the form will open to the Assessments section. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture31.png) The Help document for the Class and Gradebook Setup form can be found [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/class-and-gradebook-setup/). ### New Class Setup option – Smart Release Teachers can choose how students work with the information and assignments in the Content panel. Smart Release enables students to work through Content at their own pace. To support this type of learning, assessments are not added to the feed or calendar. Smart Release is enabled by navigating to the Class Setup form > Student and parents page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture32.png) When set to Smart Release, a student must open each item in the Content panel before revealing the next item. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture33.png) If an item or section is not visible to the student, it is not in Smart Release. In this illustration, students would not see the lesson plan named Review for Test, nor would the students see the upcoming Novel Study unit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture34.png) When the student completes all the visible items, the Show Progress will indicate to the teacher which students have completed all the items in the Content panel. # ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture35.png) ### Learning Object Repository group enhancements More information about the LOR package includes how many units, lessons, links, and assessments it contains. Copy and View buttons have been added to help teachers add LOR items to Classes, Personal Folders, or other groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture36.png) Non-moderators can copy items from the LOR for use in Classes, Personal Folders, and other groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture37.png) A LOR item can be created by clicking the Paste button and once the item is pasted the Learning Object form can be edited to provide more precise details about the item. Anything from a Content or Knowledge panel can be pasted into a LOR. Question Sheets from a Personal Folder can also be pasted into a LOR. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture38.png) ### Roster printing added to groups The ability to print the class roster is a popular feature, so we’ve expanded it to groups. Print the group’s roster, save it as a PDF and open it in Word, or copy and paste the names to a spreadsheet. With a group, you now have an instant checklist or sign-in sheet. Group permissions already include the ability to control who sees the member list. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture39.png) ### Student Portfolio exports We’ve added an Export Portfolio button to the Student Portfolio. The content is exported as a zip file containing HTML files and images. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture40.png) ### Dark mode Settings now include the option of choosing a Dark theme, which works on both browser and mobile views of Edsby. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture41.png) ### History School and District Admin roles that can view the Teacher Details page have access to account history through the Show History button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture42.png) Account history details changes made by the Student Information System and manual changes to account settings. Information can help track down where changes have been made and by what system or person. In this illustration, the Principal can see the teacher’s updated account settings and change her profile picture. The Principal can also see that William Ham changed fields in the Information section of the Detail page. # ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture43-1024x267.png) ### Edsby certified for LTI Advantage Complete IMS Global Learning Consortium has certified Edsby for LTI Advantage (LTI 1.3 Core, LTI Assignment and Grades Service 2.0, LTI Deep Linking 2.0, and LTI Names and Roles Service 2.0). The first of these (LTI 1.3 Core) is the primary LTI protocol used to launch links. The second (Assignment and Grades 2.0) is the gradebook write-back protocol. The third (Deep Linking 2.0) creates a workflow to allow the easy creation of LTI links by a user. Some tools use the fourth (Names & Roles 2.0) to read the class roster to perform their function. LTI tools are configured by the organization’s District IT Administrator on the district’s Manage page. The LTI Tool configuration form has been updated to support the LTI Advantage requirements. The LTI vendor supplies the district with the information required for the Edsby Config and the Cryptography section. When the form is initially opened, the Tool Config fields are automatically generated. This information is shared with the LTI vendor to complete the setup. ### Moodle Imports Edsby has enhanced its support for importing Moodle packages (.mbz). We currently support the following objects and map them to Edsby as follows: Edsby itemMoodle equivalent itemSectionsectionPagepageLinkURLDiscussionforumPollchoiceAssignment with online testquizAssignment with uploadassignQuestion SheetquestionsIf the Moodle import file includes a question bank, Question Sheets are imported into a hidden section named Question Repository. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Picture44.png) The importer currently supports the following question types: Edsby Question TypeMoodle Question TypeMultiple ChoicemultichoiceTrue/FalsetruefalseShort Answershort answer and descriptionDrop DownmatchingParagraphessayDrag and DropddwtosMatchmatchCurrently, the importer does not support the following: - files and attachments - hidden objects are not hidden when imported - teacher/Student per-object permissions are not imported. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby at Fern Hill private schools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-fern-hill-private-schools/customers/) **Published:** April 28, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** It only took a phone call and a web demo for a respected pair of private schools to choose Edsby. **Content:** Fern Hill Schools in Ontario, Canada are among the latest educational institutions to adopt Edsby to improve student and parent engagement. Fern Hill runs a pair of 30-year old prestigious private elementary schools, known for their small class sizes, high quality instruction and inspiring settings, each set on acres of green space. The schools learned about Edsby on the strength of parents’ recommendations, having seen Edsby used at other private schools. One phone call to Edsby, a quick online demo, and Fern Hill knew Edsby was for them, too. Staff had an inaugural Edsby training session this week. Learn more about Fern Hill [here](http://www.fernhillschool.com). ![Edsby at Fern Hill](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Fern-Hill-w-Edsby.jpg)The little blue guy (bottom left) continues to get around. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Moms outnumber dads 5 to 1 on Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-moms-outnumber-dads-51/commentary/) **Published:** April 9, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Vastly more moms use Edsby to track their kids' academic progress than dads, according to data. **Content:** If you’re a kid in a school district or school that uses Edsby, take note: Your mom is vastly more likely to be checking your grades on Edsby than your dad. Edsby lets parents log in to see their childrens’ school news, academic schedules, attendance records, grades and more. An analysis of login information on Edsby reveals that 73% of the parents that log in are mothers. Only 14% are fathers. Stepmothers, guardians and grandmothers each register as about 1% of login traffic. Edsby examined more than 400 million Edsby logins in arriving at the finding. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Marking Earth Day with local cleanup](https://www.edsby.com/earth-day-cleanup-2019/commentary/) **Published:** April 22, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby gets hyper-local for Earth Day 2019 with a trash cleanup in our own back (and front and side) yard at headquarters. **Content:** ### Because a clean planet starts at home Edsby staff marked Earth Day 2019 with something we’ve done before: a trash cleanup around Edsby’s headquarters in Richmond Hill, Ontario, just north of Toronto. With the final snows of the season (hopefully!) behind us, Edsby staff got out from behind our screens and took to the forest and lake adjoining our building to pick up months of windblown and waterborne trash. Awesome, all! - [ ![k12 learning management system](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9264-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9264")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9264-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![k 12 learning management systems](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9293-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9293")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9293-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![summative assessment tools](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9336-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9336")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9336-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![gartner lms magic quadrant](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9368-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9368")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9368-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![lms platforms for education](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9377-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9377")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9377-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![education software for schools](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9392-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9392")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9392-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![education management software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9418-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9418")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9418-1024x683.jpg) - [ ![online learning platforms k 12](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9423-1024x683.jpg "IMG_9423")](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_9423-1024x683.jpg) **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby tip: Logging in as a teacher & parent at the same time](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-tip-logging-in-as-a-teacher-parent-at-the-same-time/edsby-tips/) **Published:** September 6, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** If you’re a Edsby parent who’s also a teacher in the same school district or region, how do you set up your devices for both? Here's how to log into the same Edsby system with two different identities. **Content:** If you’re a Edsby parent who’s also a teacher in the same school district or region, how do you set up your devices? Your situation is rare; most people are one or the other. But logging into the same Edsby system with different identities at the same time from a single device is totally doable. **Via mobile** Configure the Edsby app on your mobile device with one of your accounts. Then use a tab on the web browser of your mobile device to log in as your other identity, by entering the same Edsby server address as the URL and your other credentials. Then, save the tab to your mobile device’s home screen as a website shortcut, so it appears with its own icon, much like the Edsby app has its own icon. You can even place it right beside the Edsby icon. It works great. You’ll get essentially the same experience regardless of your access method. Instructions for saving website shortcuts on both iOS and Android devices can be found [here](https://www.brandeis.edu/its/support/website-shortcut.html). **Via web browser** You can open multiple browsers on your desktop or laptop and log into the same Edsby system. Open a first browser, e.g. Firefox and log into your system at its unique Edsby server address using your teacher credentials. Open another browser, e.g. Chrome (it cannot simply be another tab on the first browser) and enter the same Edsby server address and your parent credentials. You’ll be able to stay logged in and work simultaneously on both systems. **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Bringing our schools into the 21st century](https://www.edsby.com/bringing-our-schools-into-the-21st-century/commentary/) **Published:** October 13, 2011 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** Thomas Klassen, professor of political science at York University in Toronto, had a great article in the Toronto Star last month. > Over the past two decades, email has become a common way to communicate. However, Ontario’s public schools remain stuck in the paper-and-pen age, especially in regard to parent-teacher interaction. See the full article here: [www.thestar.com](http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1056416--bringing-our-schools-into-the-21st-century "Bringing our schools into the 21st century") **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby named 2023 Best K‑12 Parent/Student Solution](https://www.edsby.com/2023-lms-parent-student-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 25, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby receives top honors in one 2023 "Cool Tool" category and was named a finalist in three others. **Content:** ## Edsby was a big winner in this year’s EdTech Awards The innovative cloud-based K-12 social learning platform [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) that connects K-12 students, teachers and parents using modern technologies, is the 2023 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for Best Parent/Student Solution. The EdTech Awards are an initiative of [EdTech Digest](https://edtechdigest.com/), an online publication serving the education community. The awards program is in its 13th year and “is the world’s largest recognition program for education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech – and those who soon will be,” according to the organization. All entries undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. The Edsby platform was also a finalist in this year’s best learning management solution (LMS) category. It won best LMS three times in the past: [last year](https://www.edsby.com/2022-lms-edtech-award-winner-edsby-platform/), the [year before](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2021-lms-cool-tool-winner/), and previously in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/). Edsby’s [Unison](https://www.edsby.com/unison) K-12 data product was a finalist in the Best Student Data Privacy Solution and Best District Data Solution categories. For a full list of 2023 EdTech Award winners, click [here](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2023-finalists-winners/). For a list of the 70+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Classroom practices and safe digital spaces](https://www.edsby.com/classroom-practices-and-safe-digital-spaces/commentary/) **Published:** January 17, 2023 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** More than a third of youth under 13 are using social media, most often through apps created for much older users, note researchers in a new article. **Content:** ##### More than a third of youth under 13 are using social media, most often through apps created for those over 13 The same practices that apply to create engaging, safe spaces in the classroom should be used in digital spaces, according to Candice Odgers and Jacqueline Nesi, members of the U.S. National Scientific Council on Adolescence who helped author [a report](https://europepmc.org/article/ppr/ppr578640) on youth and digital technology. In[ The Hechinger Report](https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-lets-help-our-middle-schoolers-learn-from-their-digital-worlds/), they write that youths need age-appropriate opportunities to engage online and that new regulations are needed to keep them safe. > We know how to create engaging, safe spaces for youth to learn and thrive. We already rely on evidence-based standards and best practices to ensure that classrooms support learning and well-being; these practices need to be applied in online spaces. > > It is time we expect more from the online spaces where youth spend so much of their time. We need to insist that tech companies employ standards and policies to support our young people and keep them safe, and that policymakers enforce them. The authors’ report says research supports four specific evidence-based recommendations: > 1\) Digital technology should scaffold healthy development and promote wellness. > > 2\) Digital technology should have design and use requirements that make it safe for early adolescents. > > 3\) Digital technology used by early adolescents should incorporate and advance the best available research as part of its design and evaluation process. > > 4\) All early adolescents should have reliable access to the level of digital connectivity and devices required to fully participate in their education and learning. **The [Edsby platform for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) has been built to provide secure online spaces for the interactions between, learners, educators and parents that are so critical to K-12 students’ development. It integrates with a district or region’s databases to ensure only trusted users interact with each other. And it never monetizes user data, or displays advertising. [Learn more](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/).** **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby tip: Reordering classes & groups](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-tip-reorder-classes-groups/edsby-tips/) **Published:** November 30, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Reorder your Edsby classes and groups by logging in with a web browser, and then click and drag things into your preferred order. Easy! **Content:** You don’t have to leave your classes and groups in the order Edsby put them in by default on your Edsby desktop. You can move them into any order you want. Reorder your classes and groups by logging into your Edsby server with a web browser. Click and drag the classes and groups on your desktop into your preferred order. The changes will reflect in the Edsby mobile apps. Didn’t know you could use Edsby with a web browser? Learn how to log in [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-login/). **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Edsby wins 2022 Tech Edvocate award](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-2022-tech-edvocate-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 19, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby platform named best LMS of 2022 and finalist for Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication Tool and Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining Tool. **Content:** ### Publication names Edsby Best Learning Management System of 2022 The Tech Edvocate, a U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group, has announced winners of its annual education technology awards. The Edsby platform was named Best Learning Management System of 2022. Edsby was also a finalist in the Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining App or Tool and Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication App or Tool categories. **Voting and judging** The four month program solicited nominees from readers in June/July of 2022. Online voting from May 1, 2022 – July 31, 2022 gauged nominees’ popularity, but did not signal they would become a finalist or win an award, according to the publication. Finalists and winners were ultimately selected by a panel comprised of two edtech thought leaders, two PreK-12 teachers, one college professor, two K-12 administrators, one college administrator and two PreK-12 parents, the publication wrote. The full list of winners and finalists is [here](https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2022-tech-edvocate-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [How to talk about SEL with families](https://www.edsby.com/how-to-talk-about-sel-with-families/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** August 5, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Get beyond the term itself, write Carl Hooker, Matt Joseph, Suzy Brooks and Leo Brehm of K12Leaders in an article on SmartBrief. **Content:** #### Get beyond the term itself, write Carl Hooker, Matt Joseph, Suzy Brooks and Leo Brehm of K12Leaders in an article on SmartBrief. The term SEL is divisive yet there’s broad parental support for schools teaching the life skills that SEL has come to encapsulate. So there’s now a need to “focus on skills, not terminology,” write Carl Hooker, Matt Joseph, Suzy Brooks and Leo Brehm of the editorial board of [K12Leaders](https://k12leaders.com) in a [new article in SmartBrief on Education](https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2022/08/talk-about-sel-with-families). The authors also suggest highlighting the documented connection between SEL skills and student success. “Research identifies clear academic benefits to SEL: An analysis of more than 200 studies involving 270,000 students found that instruction increased students’ academic performance by 11 percentile points, on average. Another study found a 9% drop in behavioral problems when students learn social and emotional competencies.” They also encourage educators to note the research behind the specific programs they’re using and explain how these programs were developed with sound science in mind. > For instance, the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 allows students to share how they’re feeling with their teachers and gives educators research-based strategies to help meet students’ SEL needs. The system was designed with input from a team of SEL experts and is affiliated with MindUP, an evidence-based nonprofit designed to improve children’s emotional well-being. Read the full article [here](https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2022/08/talk-about-sel-with-families). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby tip: Exact times & dates](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-tip-exact-times-dates/edsby-tips/) **Published:** July 25, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** By default, the Edsby platform for K-12 displays most dates and times as relative. But you can always see the exact time and date something was posted or sent. **Content:** By default, the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 displays most dates and times things were done as relative, for example, ‘five days ago’. Why? It’s easier to understand and more helpful in most cases. But you can always see the exact time and date something was posted or sent if you want to. Exact times are often important! Is your child telling you the truth about when something was submitted, or is due? On the Edsby mobile app, tap any timestamp. On a browser, hover your mouse over the timestamp, and you’ll be shown the exact time, day, month and year it was posted. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-25-at-11.40.47-AM.png) **Categories:** Edsby tips --- ### [Edsby a finalist for two 2022 CODiE awards](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2022-codie-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 21, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named a 2022 SIIA CODiE Award finalist in Best Data Management Solution and Best Learning Management System (LMS). **Content:** ### Edsby has been named a 2022 SIIA CODiE Award finalist for Best Data Management Solution and Best Learning Management System (LMS) The Edsby social learning environment for K-12 is a finalist this year in two categories of one of the most significant awards in education technology: the CODiEs. Finalists represent leading applications, products, and services from educational software developers, digital content, online learning services, and related technologies across the PreK-20 sector. The 2022 education CODiE Award winners will be announced virtually on June 9th. Finalists in each category are listed at **About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards** For over 30 years, the CODiE Awards from the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) have built a strong reputation as a leading peer-recognized program in the business and Ed Tech industries, so a CODiE Award win serves as market validation for a product’s innovation vision and overall industry impact. Each nomination receives a detailed review by expert judges in a first-round review; each finalist product then receives a second peer review by a team of industry leaders. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services, and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit [siia.net/CODiE](http://www.siia.net/codie). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby named 2022 LMS EdTech Award winner](https://www.edsby.com/2022-lms-edtech-award-winner-edsby-platform/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 4, 2022 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby receives top honors in crowded LMS category over other finalists such as PowerSchool Unified Classroom and 13 others. **Content:** ## For the second year in a row, Edsby wins the competitive learning management system (LMS) category Edsby, the innovative cloud-based K-12 social learning platform that connects K-12 students, teachers and parents using modern technologies, is the 2022 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for best learning management system (LMS). Judges selected Edsby over other finalists, such as PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom and 13 others. > “As events unfold on the world stage that seem to inch ever closer to a precipice unknown, we are reminded that the leaders and innovators of education technology have always worked on the edge,” said Victor Rivero, who as Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest, oversees the program. “To the innovators, leaders, and trendsetters in K-12, higher education, and workforce learning who continue connecting, producing and persisting despite all challenges—a hearty hat-tip and a grand salute!” The EdTech Awards are an initiative of EdTech Digest, an online publication serving the education community. The awards program is in its 12th year and “is the world’s largest recognition program for education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech – and those who soon will be,” according to the organization. All entries undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. Edsby was also a finalist in this year’s best learning analytics/data mining solution solution. This is Edsby’s third time winning the EdTech Awards’ LMS category. It won [last year](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2021-lms-cool-tool-winner/), and previously in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/). For a full list of 2022 EdTech Award winners, click [here](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2022-finalists-winners/). For a list of the 60+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [From Co-Op to Co-Worker](https://www.edsby.com/co-op-to-co-worker/commentary/) **Published:** December 15, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Often referred to as "co-op," Cooperative Education solves two needs: real-world work experience for students and access to talent for businesses. For Edsby, it's about investing in a future workforce and a new generation of problem-solvers and leaders. **Content:** #### Partnering with a local school district helps students gain work experience, and helps Edsby build a funnel for new employees Around the world, many companies in the technology industry are continually looking for highly educated and ready-to-work individuals who can make meaningful long-term effects. Edsby is no exception. The company’s focus on K-12 makes for an obvious source of potential talent: high school co-operative education. ### **Co-operative education** Often referred to as “co-op,” this system combines academic programs with professional experience. It solves two needs: real-world work experience for students and access to emerging talent for businesses. ### **Identifying students** In 2017, Edsby partnered with [York Region School District](https://www2.yrdsb.ca/schools-programs/school-programs-nav/school-programs/cooperative-education) (YRDSB) near its offices in the Toronto, Canada area to find talented local students who show skills in computer programming, software development, and engineering. While the board’s co-op program is for students in Grade 11 and 12, any student over 15 years old and with a subject-specific credit in a course related to the co-operative education placement can enroll. Edsby is fortunate to work with excellent teachers who recommend students to work with the Edsby team. Julie Oke, Edsby’s co-op mentor, then interviews the students. “Over the years, we’ve built a strong relationship with the co-op teachers at two local York Region schools. Their dedication to finding and building relationships with both students and community partners is what makes the co-op program beneficial to everyone,” says Julie. ### **Benefits of co-operative education** Co-op work allows students to develop self-confidence. With Edsby, local students acquire hands-on experience, strengthen employability skills, networks, and earn credits toward their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). “Our co-operative education students benefit so much from the hands-on experiences they gain by being immersed in the community. With strong supervisors, our students learn transferrable soft skills. They acquire industry-specific knowledge and competencies that cannot be learned in a traditional classroom. The learning achieved through our dedicated supervisor/facilitators enables these students to gain insights into their career pathways or areas of interest. It enhances and furthers their mastery in both narrow and broad-spectrum areas,” says Michele Axelrod, Interim Head of Department Co-operative Education, Richmond Hill High School. Not only do the students benefit from the co-op program, but community supervisors also benefit from working with a new team of students every semester. Julie says, “Before we joined the co-op, I’d never lead a team of people. The co-op program gave me the opportunity to develop my mentoring skills. Twice a year, I get a new team, and I can keep building and refining our mentoring program.” ### **Edsby’s success with co-op programs** After four years, students and teachers can attribute Edsby’s success in the co-op program to its mentorship. “Edsby has been an outstanding community co-op partner. Edsby allows our students to meet, connect and work with professionals in software development. They mentor and work alongside our students to help them discover and explore a variety of interests in the field of computer science. We are privileged to have such a great working relationship with an organization that values student inspiration and development,” says Mike Mastrandrea, Counsellor & Head of Co-operative education in the Tommy Douglas Secondary School. ### **Real opportunities and solid software experience** Real-world experience in software development is a great “plus point.” Being a co-op for a real software firm is the best way to gain that experience. “Edsby is a wonderful place for high school co-op students. The teams’ strong work ethic, friendly nature, and warm and cozy environment make this one of the best places to work at your co-op term, especially for Computer Science Majors like myself. While working here, I got to see the inner workings of Edsby. I also created videos to help customers, created promotional material for the company using the product, and participated in the most practical task, Quality Assurance (QA). I would say QA was crucial as it’s a set of standards that we have to meet to have a successful and reliable product,” says Mathu Manimaran, a former Grade 11 co-op student. Given that Edsby is made for K-12 students and teachers, having articulate and thoughtful high school students on the team is a great advantage. One of the responsibilities of being part of the Edsby co-op program is to be the student’s voice in product development decisions. When the company wants to know what’s important and valuable to students, it asks them. By 11th Grade, they are experts at being a K-12 student, and Edsby benefits from that expertise. ### **Better software through creativity** Although Edsby’s co-op program focuses on software development and engineering, other skillsets are assets. Tiffany Tjong joined the Edsby co-op program to explore how she could use her artistic talents as a career. Quickly, she realized that her sort of creativity is an important part of the software development process. “Ever since I joined Edsby as a Co-op student in my final year of high school, I was treated as an equal. It’s not often that you get a company that genuinely values your ideas and hard work. I enjoyed working at Edsby so much that I returned for a paid full-time stint in the summer and as an intern during my first two years at university. I enjoyed working alongside caring mentors and exceptional teams and being a crucial part of exciting new features,” says Tiffany. ![Tiffany Tjong](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/03a1e27352558f350252f59ed7ddc6e2d0fc-150x150.png) Tiffany Tjong Tiffany has seen some of her Edsby illustrations incorporated into Edsby seasonal login screens. She has created icons for groups and illustrations for Edsby [news posts](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/ideas-for-the-news-river/). Her work is visible on online help pages and videos. In Tiffany’s second year, she took on the task of testing and documenting companion products to Edsby. She also worked with both other vendors and Edsby’s customers. In 2021, Tiffany learned about latest academic research into facial expressions and emotions to create the signature color-coded icons of Edsby’s [Social-Emotional check-ins feature](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/student-well-being-sel/) with the feedback of the Edsby [Social Emotional Advisory Board](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-advisory-board/), an invaluable contribution. ### **New horizons** For Edsby, hiring a summer student is about investing in a future workforce. It’s about helping to develop a generation of learners, thinkers, problem-solvers, and leaders. It also provides students with vital job experience, a feeling of purpose, responsibility, and exposure to belonging to an organization. It’s a joy at Edsby to see students join the company as co-ops. They develop into trusted and valuable team members. “It was a blast to be a co-op and work full-time with Edsby. It helped me with the fundamental skills I needed for Computer Science,” says Mathu. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby not affected by Log4Shell exploit](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-log4j-log4shell/product-news/) **Published:** December 13, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby's web infrastructure prevented Log4j-based attacks from reaching Edsby systems. A log analysis confirmed all systems were uncompromised even before the vulnerability was publicized. **Content:** Edsby services were not compromised by the [Log4j](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log4j) exploit Log4Shell ([CVE-2021-44228](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44228)) that affected many large systems on the Internet. Shortly after Log4Shell’s public disclosure, the Edsby operations team became aware of the issue and started investigating ramifications to our systems. Almost immediately, our web application firewall provider deployed and began enforcing a filtering rule that prevented these attacks from even reaching the Edsby infrastructure. In parallel, we started to identify potentially affected components in our systems and began deploying mitigations as a precaution. Due to the software versions and our configurations, we determined we were not vulnerable to exploitation that would put customer data at risk. We performed log analysis scanning for attempts to exploit the Log4j vulnerability on Edsby’s systems before disclosure and mitigation by our firewall provider and found no evidence of any compromises of our cloud services. We continue to monitor the situation and will perform further mitigations and analysis if necessary. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Hard SEL Questions Addressed](https://www.edsby.com/sel-questions-answered/in-conversation/) **Published:** December 2, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Two leaders of MindUP, the social and emotional learning (SEL) program from the Goldie Hawn Foundation, take on difficult SEL-related questions submitted in advance by K-12 educators, administrators and critics. **Content:** Edsby’s Dallas Kachan speaks about social and emotional learning (SEL) with [Dr. Molly Lawlor](https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-stewart-lawlor-ph-d-212ba141/), Director of Curriculum and Research at MindUP, and [Dido Balla](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dido-balla-57928428/), Director of Educational Innovation & Partnerships at MindUP. [MindUP](http://mindup.org) is an evidence-based SEL program accredited by [CASEL](http://casel.org). The group takes on tough questions, including educator concerns that SEL is yet another thing on the plate, the potential for misuse of emotion-related data, whether kids can be trusted to answer emotional questions, whether SEL is over-coddling children and whether SEL is a trojan horse planting progressive ideas like critical race theory (CRT.) Want to learn more about how education is changing from those with perspective and insight? Watch more conversations around the future of education with Edsby [In Conversation](https://www.edsby.com/category/in-conversation/). *Sponsored by Edsby. The award-winning Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education around the world for more than 10 years. School districts, states, provinces, and countries adopt Edsby for student well-being, learning management, assessment & reporting, and analytics. Learn more about how Edsby at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/).* **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Coming to America: Advanced Assessment](https://www.edsby.com/coming-to-america-advanced-assessment/commentary/) **Published:** November 10, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Changes are being made in the way Americans grade students in K-12, making advanced assessment & reporting systems like Edsby critical. **Content:** America. Its traditions run deep when it comes to many things, like: - [Imperial measurement](https://www.britannica.com/story/why-doesnt-the-us-use-the-metric-system) - [Theme parks](https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22621855/theme-park-amusement-park-disney-coney-island), and - Number and letter grade assessment in K-12… But change is afoot, at least in the last point. In the U.S., momentum is growing to move away from traditional point-based grading systems, aiming to close large academic gaps among racial, ethnic and economic groups. The trend was apparently accelerated by pandemic school closures that caused troubling increases in Ds and Fs across the country and by calls to examine the role of institutionalized racism in schools in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, according to a [new article from the L.A. Times](https://news.yahoo.com/faced-soaring-ds-fs-schools-130030318.html?guccounter=1). Two of the country’s largest school districts have recently directed teachers to base academic grades on whether students have learned what was expected of them during a course and not penalize them for behavior, work habits and missed deadlines, according to the Times article. The policies encourage teachers to give students opportunities to revise essays or retake tests to show that they have met learning goals, rather than enforcing hard deadlines. **Strands, Outcome-Based Assessment & More** Assessment and reporting in other areas of the world moved on from number and letter grades some time ago. In its article, the Times noted the United States lags other countries in modernizing grading. > In Canada, for example, it’s common for students to receive separate grades for academic achievement, participation, punctuality and effort. That makes each assessment more meaningful than a grade that’s a hodgepodge of factors that can vary from teacher to teacher. **Support For The Future of Assessment** The popularity of the Edsby social learning platform for K-12 in countries such as Canada informed its investment in building advanced [assessment & reporting capabilities](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/) years ago. Edsby allows educators to assess to expectations, standards, outcomes and competencies (ESOCs) and even report in multi-level stranded schemes. The Edsby [gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/) and built-in [report card workflow system](https://www.edsby.com/under-the-hood-with-edsby-report-cards/) support the world’s most advanced assessment & reporting models natively, without plugins or custom development. Support for formative assessment and the capture of [learning evidence](https://www.edsby.com/evidence-of-learning/), showing pictures and videos of students’ work tagged to standards, is also central to assessment & reporting in Edsby. Read details of where those interviewed by the L.A. Times article think K-12 assessment in the U.S. is going in [its article here](https://news.yahoo.com/faced-soaring-ds-fs-schools-130030318.html?guccounter=1). **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Engaging Effectively within Education](https://www.edsby.com/engaging-effectively-within-education/in-conversation/) **Published:** November 8, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Superintendents Dr. Andraé Townsel of Benton Harbor Area Schools; Dr. Kevin McGowan of Brighton Central School District; and Dr. Sheldon Berman, AASA Lead Superintendent for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), discuss SEL, the growing acceptance and adoption of data use, the role of superintendents in maintaining a healthy information ecology, and the risks associated with imparting change at scale. **Content:** [Dr. Rod Berger](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodbergerpsyd/) speaks about engaging effectively within education with [Dr. Andraé Townsel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-andra%C3%A9-townsel-8233335/), superintendent at Benton Harbor Area Schools, Michigan; [Dr. Kevin McGowan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mcgowan-38659019/), superintendent at Brighton Central School District, New York; and [Dr. Sheldon Berman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheldon-berman-50b28218/), AASA Lead Superintendent for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and superintendent of 28 years out of Massachusetts. Those leading our industry have shown outstanding stewardship and innovation during this challenging time, leaping us forward in tech adoption. Does this unique time in modern history allow for a new educational paradigm, and if so, how can the latest technology and changing attitudes to data and analytics shift us to more effective outcomes? The guests discuss the importance of meaningful connections with stakeholders. Not with one-way communication but engaging the aim of proper understanding and empathy. As Dr. McGowen notes, “We need to be intentional in our communication, intentional in providing access, in listening, and being vulnerable.” The discussion covers SEL, the growing acceptance and adoption of data use, the role of superintendents in maintaining a healthy information ecology, and the risks associated with imparting change at scale. Want to learn more about how education is changing from those with perspective and insight? Watch more conversations around the future of education with Edsby [In Conversation](https://www.edsby.com/category/in-conversation/). *Sponsored by Edsby. The award-winning Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education around the world for more than 10 years. School districts, states, provinces, and countries adopt Edsby for student well-being, learning management, assessment & reporting, and analytics. Learn more about how Edsby at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/).* **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Community and collaboration through COVID-19](https://www.edsby.com/community-and-collaboration-through-covid-19/in-conversation/) **Published:** October 12, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Superintendents Dr. Quinton Shepard of the Victoria Independent School District, Dr. Betsy Hargrove of the Avondale Elementary School District; Dr. Zandra Jo Galvan, superintendent of Greenfield Union School District in Northern California. And Mark Finstrom, CTO of Highline Public Schools in Washington State discuss the importance of community engagement in driving educational change... and edtech’s role. **Content:** [Dr. Rod Berger](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodbergerpsyd/) speaks with: - [Dr. Quinton Shepard](https://www.linkedin.com/in/quintin-shepherd-45602715/), superintendent of the [Victoria Independent School District](https://www.visd.net/) in Texas - [Dr. Betsy Hargrove](https://www.chooseaesd.org/Page/131), superintendent of the [Avondale Elementary School District](https://www.chooseaesd.org/) in Arizona - [Dr. Zandra Jo Galvan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/zandra-jo-galvan-99b95172/), superintendent of [Greenfield Union School District](https://www.greenfield.k12.ca.us/) in Northern California, and - [Mark Finstrom](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-finstrom-9685bb5/), CTO of [Highline Public Schools](https://www.highlineschools.org/) in Washington State What questions were posed by the pandemic and what were the individual and collective responses from schools, districts, superintendents, and education partners? Covering their methods for maintaining effective teaching, supporting teachers under new, challenging demands, and connecting with parents through technology, the group highlights their experiences and unique perspectives, and offers insights into the future of education. The panel discusses the complications presented and how edtech, along with strong leadership and agile thinking, has not only supported education during this time, but shown avenues for exploration towards a new education landscape. Technology can support learning management, facilitate community engagement, and provide insights into student well-being. Want to learn more about how education is changing from those with perspective and insight? Watch more conversations around the future of education with Edsby [In Conversation](https://www.edsby.com/category/in-conversation/). *Sponsored by Edsby. The award-winning Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education around the world for more than 10 years. School districts, states, provinces and countries adopt Edsby for student well-being, learning management, assessment & reporting and analytics. Learn more about how Edsby at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com).* **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [How the pandemic is STILL affecting educators in 2021](https://www.edsby.com/how-the-pandemic-is-still-affecting-educators-in-2021/in-conversation/) **Published:** October 12, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The start to the 2021 school year has been like no other, six education leaders said. The number of students in need of counselling and assistance is "off the charts." And the number of students vocalizing their need for assistance is "also higher than it's ever been." **Content:** #### The start to the 2021 school year has been like no other, said educators to K12LEADERS In a webinar by education industry professional development group [K-12LEADERS](https://www.k12leaders.com), six educators reflected on the opening of schools for the 2021 school year and strategies to priority critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity in an educational system still in the grips of a worldwide pandemic. The session, sponsored by Edsby, was titled “Lessons learned… and abandoned: What’s working for education today?” and featured: - Dr. Neil Gupta, District Leader, ASCD Board Member, [@drneilgupta](https://twitter.com/drneilgupta) - Christine Ravesi-Weinstein-Weinstein, School Leader and Mental Health Advocate, [@RavesiWeinstein](https://twitter.com/RavesiWeinstein) - Dr. Matthew X. Joseph, District Leader, [@MatthewXJoseph](https://twitter.com/MatthewXJoseph) - Dr. Keri Orange-Jones, Educator/Author, [@DrKCOrange](https://twitter.com/DrKCOrange) - Dr. Adam A. Phyall, III, Director of Technology, Newton County School System, [@AskAdam3](https://twitter.com/AskAdam3) - Kristen Nan, Educator/Author, [@nankr1120](https://twitter.com/nankr1120) **“The most trying return to school we’ve ever experienced”** Christine Ravesi-Weinstein said this has been a very challenging return to school for kids in terms of behavior. However, compared to other years, children are vocalizing their need for counseling and assistance instead of acting out, allowing adults to find solutions as educators and involve parents as much as possible. > “This was without a doubt the most trying return to school we’ve ever experienced. The amount of discipline issues we were dealing with were intense. Large discipline issues: vandalism, violence, threats. This was not something we were prepared for. The number of students that are in dire need of counselling and assistance is off the charts. The only positive is that the number of students vocalizing their need for assistance is also a lot higher.” > > -Christine Ravesi-Weinstein, Assistant Principal Dr. Keri Orange-Jones said she focuses on the social and art aspect of education, encouraging drawing as a way for children to express their feelings freely and reconnect with socialization among peers. For Kristen Nan, communication and involvement of families is essential. Incorporating emotional support and allowing vulnerability was missing in education before, and now it’s clear that it’s necessary. Dr. Neil Gupta, District Leader and ASCD Board Member, said his year’s focus was to connect with kids emotionally, and encourage them to be “curious not furious.” **Parents benefiting from K-12 technology digital transformation acceleration** Technology also shifted education as we know it. For Dr. Adam A. Phyall III of Newton County School System, it’s changed for the better in many respects. New technology has empowered students to act independently and parents to be more involved than ever. > “I challenge anyone to tell me that we are not more connected with our parents now. I’ve taught and worked in title 1 districts my entire career, where parents couldn’t always show up for conferences because they had jobs where, if they don’t work, they don’t get paid. If you get two 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch, a platform like Zoom allows that parent to now to have a quick conference with a teacher!” > > -Dr. Adam A. Phyall, III, Director of Technology, Newton County School System For Dr. Keri Orange, the pandemic’s acceleration of technology has its pros and cons. Students are more independent and can access information quickly, but there’s always the need for face-to-face socialization. It has surfaced the need for empathy, leading to solidifying the idea of working together for children and bringing community to the forefront of education. Overall, the leaders acknowledged there has been a shift. And moving forward, the focus needed to stay on learning as a community activity. Gupta recalled the African proverb: “If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” *The above conversation was sponsored by [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com). The award-winning Edsby social learning environment has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education around the world for more than 10 years. School districts, states, provinces and countries adopt Edsby for student well-being, learning management, assessment & reporting and analytics. Learn more about how Edsby at [edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com).* **Categories:** Conversations --- ### [Privacy Policy update](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-update-2021/commentary/) **Published:** September 7, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby updated its Privacy Policy September 2nd, 2021. Read details of what changes we made and why. **Content:** ### First Edsby Privacy Policy changes in four years Edsby has updated its Privacy Policy. The new version became effective September 2nd, 2021. We wanted to share details of what changes we made and why. Differences from our previous version include: **Now two policies**: We’ve separated our privacy policy into two: a [Services Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) regarding our paid Edsby service and one regarding our [Public Website Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). We wanted to underscore these are two very different entities with very different priorities and objectives regarding their handling of personal information. For instance, our previous privacy policy suggested certain trusted third parties were able to track usage and analyze data. In fact, this practice referred only to the public Edsby marketing website, not inside our paid Edsby service. These two new policies aim to disambiguate issues like this. **Clarity around data in transfer of ownership**: Our privacy policy previously stated that the data we hold on behalf of our customers transfers to an acquirer in the event of a merger or sale or other corporate transaction. That’s a standard practice in any industry and is still the case. But our customers (school districts, ministries of education, private schools, etc.) own their data and are free to remove it from the Edsby service at any time. If they’re not comfortable with the integrity of an acquirer, they are not obligated to continue using Edsby. The new policy states this outright and clarifies it’s our education organization customers that would be notified in such a case and make this decision. **Cloud service provider systems**: Our Services Privacy Policy acknowledges that, like any other software provider that provide services on the cloud, a small number of infrastructure companies that provide essential elements of Edsby’s Services have limited access to personal information. But we put safeguards in place. For instance, while we store customer data on Microsoft’s Azure military-grade hosting service, it is protected with encryption. **No disclaimers**: We no longer include language disclaiming responsibility for breaches in our security caused by third parties violating our [Terms of Use](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use/), or that we cannot guarantee that a user will not share private, confidential or inappropriate information in Edsby with other Edsby users. These sorts of malicious actions could happen in any system, are not unique to Edsby and therefore not material to distinguish. **Recommendation to learn your school district’s privacy policy**: Our new services policy specifically invites users to familiarize themselves with their education organization’s policies regarding the collection and handling of personal data. Edsby is configured by our customer organizations to handle student data consistent with their policies, which are governed by local laws. **ISO 27001-certified information security standards**: In the last three years, our company has taken steps to establish and follow formal standards for information security. We now have a robust, over-arching security framework that has been [ISO 27001 certified](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/), and our policies now reflect that. You can always find Edsby’s latest Services Privacy Policy in its entirety [here,](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) and our new Public Website Privacy Policy [here](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). Our [About Edsby & User Data](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/) document details the many measures we take to safeguard user data. Your continued use of Edsby is your acceptance of the revised policy. If you have any questions about these changes, you can reach us at . **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [EdTech Digest On Why It Selected Edsby as 2021 LMS](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-digest-why-it-selected-edsby-2021-lms/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** August 26, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby "picks up where many of today's LMSes leave off when it comes to the unique needs of K-12," says publication in naming Edsby a 2021 EdTech Awards Cool Tool winner. **Content:** ## Edsby “picks up where today’s LMSes leave off” Edsby was the [2021 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2021-finalists-winners/) for best learning management system (LMS). Judges selected Edsby over other finalists, such as Schoology, Edgenuity, NEO LMS and 11 others. EdTech Digest, the online publication that publishes the awards, explains why in a [new article profiling Edsby](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2021/08/25/edsby-2/). > “The Edsby digital learning platform picks up where many of today’s LMSes leave off when it comes to the unique needs of K-12. Whereas lightweight systems like Google Classroom might only offer blended learning and rudimentary assessments, and traditional LMSes like Canvas, originally designed for higher education, are fuller featured, they aim to serve intermediate and senior years of K-12. What makes Edsby unique is that it has been purpose-built for the enterprise needs of K-12 districts and governments. Unlike other systems, it serves the needs of early year and elementary teachers, students and their parents—not just senior ones.” Other things set Edsby apart, too, according to the publication. > “Its parent communication and workflow are hard to beat; its market-leading assessment and reporting seem to surpass those built into mainstream LMSes and SISes—and all in a centrally managed, enterprise grade platform customized to the specific needs of individual districts or whole regions.” EdTech Cool Tool Awards undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. It’s Edsby’s second time winning the LMS category. The first time was in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/). For a full list of 2021 winners, click [here](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2021-finalists-winners/). For a list of the 60+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby critical in helping manage COVID-19 at Fort McMurray Catholic Schools](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-edsby-covid19-fort-mcmurray-catholic/customers/) **Published:** May 12, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby helps 6,500-student district rapidly respond to COVID-19 outbreaks in addition to powering all remote learning and communication with its community. **Content:** ### District grappling with its worst wave of the pandemic finds it can do everything it needs to with the Edsby K-12 LMS—and not just teaching and learning With a new, highly infectious wave of the pandemic sweeping through its community, Fort McMurray Catholic Schools finds itself more at risk today than in previous COVID-19 surges. So the district is grateful that its adoption of Edsby has allowed its staff and their 6,500 students and families to stay in touch and continue their learning online. But that’s only part of the story. “Obviously the use of Edsby has also been of great benefits to our school administration support and teaching staff,” says Francois Gagnon, Associate Superintendent for Business & Finance, Fort McMurray Catholic Schools. “But our district and school leaders have able to manage effectively through this crisis because of Edsby. Many have stated that their access to Edsby has been a game changer throughout this crisis as it provides them easy and quick access to reliable data.” The Fort McMurray community was relatively spared in the first and second waves of the pandemic, but is being hit hard with a third wave. Local variants of the virus are proving to be more contagious and appear to spread though children. In recent weeks the school division has sent thousands of students and hundreds of staff into isolation after being in close contact with positive-testing individuals. **Info in Edsby from other district systems key** [Unlike simple LMSes](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/), the district credits Edsby for, among other things, the way it incorporates data like attendance from other official district systems and makes it available to educators in an elegant, modern interface. When a notification of a positive test result is received, the district has had to “scramble to find the homeroom, class and schedule of the students, get a class list with contact information and review attendance data. We then have a few hours to identify and inform all the close contacts. Within 24 hours, we then have to submit a detailed list of close contacts to Public Health,” says Gagnon. > “With access to student information made available to key staff members through Edsby, we are all able to get the necessary information on a real time basis from anywhere. Everyone is able to quickly compile, review and confirm the data we need to respond. Information can quickly be exported and copied into the necessary forms required by other agencies,” says Gagnon. “We introduced Edsby to our staff at the start of this school year. Little did we know at that time how it would become a critical tool in helping us manage our response to the pandemic,” says Gagnon. Edsby has even aided official district communication with the outside world. “This program has saved me countless hours and probably gained me a little sleep over the past few months!” says Megan McKenny, Communications Manager, Fort McMurray Catholic Schools. “I am extremely thankful for attendance data in Edsby for contact tracing. Accurate information that can be accessed quickly was a huge help in making our schools a safer place to learn this year.” **More pandemic response** Read how Edsby is [helping support K-12 in the time of COVID-19](https://www.edsby.com/covid19-lms-k12-online-learning-distance-education/). How a [private school credits Edsby with being key to its response to the virus](https://www.edsby.com/private-school-credits-edsbys-proactive-learning-environment-as-key-to-virus-response/). What Edsby is doing to help facilitate [pandemic-related learning recovery](https://www.edsby.com/learning-loss-edsby-prioritizes-educators-students-families/). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [EdTech Digest names Edsby 2021 LMS Cool Tool winner](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2021-lms-cool-tool-winner/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 26, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby takes top honors in crowded LMS category over other finalists such as Schoology, NEO LMS and 12 others. **Content:** ## Edsby wins competitive LMS category Edsby, the innovative cloud-based K-12 LMS that connects K-12 students, teachers and parents using modern technologies, is the 2021 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Award winner for best learning management system (LMS). Judges selected Edsby over other finalists, such as Schoology, Edgenuity, NEO LMS and 11 others. > “The worldwide pandemic put education and training to the test, but remote learning and working—in many unexpected ways—ultimately brought us closer,” said Victor Rivero, who as Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest, oversees the program. “Trying times revealed strengths and capabilities of people, and workability of products.” The EdTech Awards are an initiative of EdTech Digest, an online publication serving the education community. The awards program is in its 11th year and honors “outstanding contributions to people and companies working to transform education through technology for all learners,” according to the organization. All entries undergo evaluation from a panel of educators, entrepreneurs, journalists and technology professionals. Edsby was also a finalist in the best parent teach solution and best classroom management solution. It’s Edsby’s second time winning the LMS category. The first time was in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/). For a full list of 2021 winners, click [here](https://www.edtechdigest.com/2021-finalists-winners/). For a list of the 60+ awards and accolades Edsby has received since 2010, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [What's New in Edsby - January 2021](https://www.edsby.com/new-in-edsby-january-2021/product-news/) **Published:** January 25, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New launchpad capabilities, reworked user settings, enhanced gradebook and mobile apps are just some of the new features recently introduced in Edsby. **Content:** ## New in 2021 **Edsby is constantly introducing new features to better serve teachers, parents, students and schools. As we start 2021, here’s a roundup of some recently-introduced new capabilities and improvements to existing features.** **Not everything below will necessarily be available to all users immediately, as it’s up to individual schools or districts when or if they choose to introduce new Edsby capabilities.** ### Launch Pad The launch pad (represented by the rocket icon in the navigation bar in the desktop Edsby client, and on the home screen of the mobile apps) now allows staff, students, and parents to add their own custom links for quick navigation. School admins can customize this menu with school-specific links applicable to all school users, and districts can add links to district-wide information. In this illustration, a teacher has added links to a Google Meet for a standing departmental meeting. The school has added links to the school’s website and Twitter. The district has added a link to the district website, the link to the online payments for school activities. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/launch-pad-image-576x1024-1-1.png) ### Settings User settings in Edsby (click your user name in the top right of the Edsby browser client, or Settings on the home screens of the mobile apps) have been reorganized. When there is information in settings that cannot be changed by a user, the user will be advised and invited to contact the school to update their information. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/settings-image-846x390-1-1.png) ### ESOC selection Edsby provides teachers with convenient access to curriculum-based expectations/standards/outcomes/competencies (ESOCs). Based on feedback from teachers, the menu to choose ESOC items is now collapsed by default for easier viewing; any section can be expanded by clicking on it. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Screen-Shot-2021-01-25-at-1.22.08-PM-1.png) ### Edsby Capture A new Edsby Capture app, available for iOS and Android, allows students to submit learning evidence into Edsby by scanning a QR code, making it easier for younger students to submit work without needing to log into their account. Parents and students can submit images and videos and can include a written reflection. Edsby Capture is intended primarily for use by teachers and parents when students are too young to log into Edsby, when students are using a shared device or if the teacher prefers to use QR codes. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/edsby-capture-image-846x431-1-1.png) ### Search New updates to search make it easier for users to filter through search results that might otherwise be extensive. This allows users to narrow down search by specific groups, people, or a date range. Filters can be found by expanding the filters drop down on mobile and by clicking “View More” on desktop. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/search-image-846x597-1-1.png) ### Perspective There’s now more flexibility in how teachers display information on their class Perspective graphs, and the student/parent My Work graph. Teachers now have the ability to set the y-axis to any available grading scheme through the Class Setup form’s new Perspective Axis field. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/perspective-image-846x614-1-1.png) ### Mobile Additions have been made to the mobile app in addition to many bug fixes. Comment banks for report cards are now accessible from both the home screen and Search. Learning Object Repository groups are now viewable, and the contents of LOR groups are accessible through Search. ### Gradebook A gradebook update provides more flexibility in sharing grades for multi-column assessments. Examples of multi-column assessments include the Stranded and KTCA grading schemes. Previously, teachers could only share assessment results if all columns had been completed. Now, they may override the default behavior and share assessments, even if marks are not present for all columns. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/gradebook-image-846x356-1-1.png) ### Rubrics Teachers that create rubrics to assess multiple outcomes or expectations will now see a multi-column assessment in the gradebook. In this illustration, the teacher has created a rubric to evaluate three expectations; the results in the gradebook include a column for each expectation. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/rubric-image-846x328-1-1.png) ### Parent-Teacher Interviews For schools where parent-teacher conferences/interviews are taking place online, the location field now allows for web conferencing links in place of a room number. Parents can click the link directly from the calendar to join a meeting. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/parent-interview-image-846x475-1-1.png) ### And more enhancements Educators interested in details of even more enhancements recently added to Edsby are encouraged to contact their school or district Edsby primes, who have access to detailed notes documenting each new Edsby release, issued approximately monthly. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby named EdTech Startup of the Year & Top 20 Tool of 2020](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-edtech-startup-of-year-top-20-tool/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** January 6, 2021 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Two honors for the Edsby K-12 LMS from edtech industry group. **Content:** ### Two honors from edtech industry group Mindshare Learning, an edtech industry consulting, news and events company, awarded Edsby its EdTech Startup of The Year for 2020. The organization made the announcement in a virtual version of its annual [EdTech Leadership Summit](https://mindsharelearning.ca/canadian-edtech-leadership-summit-celebrates-national-award-winners-announces-the-launch-of-the-canadian-edtech-alliance/). Separately, the group also identified Edsby as a [top 20 of 2020 edtech tool](https://mindsharelearning.ca/top-20-of-2020-edtech-tools-as-recommended-by-canadian-teachers/) as recommended by teachers. For a full list of industry recognition of Edsby, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby wins 2020 Tech Edvocate award](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2020-tech-edvocate-best-parent-teacher-school-communication-app-tool/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** October 5, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby named Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication Tool of 2020 and finalist for Best LMS and Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining Tool. **Content:** ### Publication names Edsby Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication App or Tool of 2020 The Tech Edvocate, a U.S. education policy publication and advocacy group, has announced winners of its annual education technology awards. Edsby was named Best Parent-Teacher/School Communication App or Tool of 2020. The product was also a finalist in the Best Learning Management System and Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining App or Tool categories. Finalists and winners of the 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards were chosen 20% on the basis of industry voting, and 80% “by a panel comprised of two edtech thought leaders, two PreK-12 teachers, one college professor, two K-12 administrators, one college administrator and two PreK-12 parents. They will take each nominees performance on the popular vote into consideration. Companies and individuals will be judged on the extent to which they are transforming education through the development and/or advocacy of edtech.” The full list of winners and finalists is [here](https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2020-tech-edvocate-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby wins Microsoft public sector award](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-microsoft-public-sector-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** July 22, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby was recognized for improving engagement for millions of students, their parents and educators worldwide. **Content:** #### Edsby recognized for improving engagement for millions of students, their parents and educators worldwide The Edsby digital learning and data platform for K-12 has been recognized as the 2020 winner of the Microsoft Canada public sector IMPACT award. Announced today in a livestream in connection with the company’s annual Inspire partner conference, Microsoft wrote Edsby’s “outstanding work clearly stood out to our panel of judges. Thank you for delivering innovative solutions to your customers and for your great partnership with Microsoft.” Edsby is [hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-edsby-microsoft-azure-cloud-analytics/) and incorporates many Microsoft technologies. Microsoft’s popular [Teams platform can be used for video conferencing and screen sharing in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/integration/teams/). Edsby was Microsoft’s [2019 education partner of the year](https://www.edsby.com/award/education-industry-partner-of-the-year/) worldwide. Edsby has received [dozens of industry awards and accolades](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby receives Edtech Digest 2020 Cool Tool award](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-digest-2020-cool-tool-edtech-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** May 7, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby won EdTech Digest's 2020 Cool Tool Award for Classroom Management and was a finalist in the LMS and Parent/Student Solution categories. **Content:** ### Winner of 2020 EdTech Award for Classroom Management, finalist for two others [EdTech Digest](https://edtechdigest.com) has named Edsby the **Classroom Management** “Cool Tool” category winner in its 2020 annual EdTech Awards. The product was also a finalist in the publication’s **Learning Management System (LMS)** & **Parent/Student Solution** categories. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the U.S.-based EdTech Awards is one of the largest and most competitive recognition programs in education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech—and those who soon will be. The program recognizes people in and around education for outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere. Featuring edtech’s best and brightest, the annual program “shines a spotlight on cool tools, inspiring leaders and innovative trendsetters,” according to the publication, across the K-12, Higher Education, and Skills and Workforce sectors. The EdTech Awards recognize people and products with three main honors: - The EdTech Cool Tool Awards - The EdTech Leadership Awards, and - The EdTech Trendsetter Awards “This year has been different, to say the least. However, despite formidable challenges brought about by world events—including locked-down cities, standstill travel, and closed offices, businesses and schools—we endure,” said Victor Rivero, Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. “While The EdTech Awards salutes all those on the front lines of help, with an extraordinary shift to online learning, acknowledging the innovators, leaders, and trendsetters in our field is more important than ever,” said Rivero. The EdTech Awards were established in 2010 to recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate the most exceptional innovators, leaders, and trendsetters in education technology. More than $50 Billion USD has been invested worldwide across the global edtech landscape in just the last several years, according to EdTech Digest. This year’s finalists and winners were narrowed from the larger field and judged based on various criteria, including pedagogical workability, efficacy and results, support, clarity, value and potential. The full list of products and companies identified by EdTech Digest as finalists and winners can be found [here](https://edtechdigest.com/2020-finalists-winners/). Edsby has received [more than 50 industry awards and distinctions](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Meeting unprecedented demand](https://www.edsby.com/covid19-network-demand-online-learning/product-news/) **Published:** April 8, 2020 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Online learning has driven increased usage of digital K-12 platforms like Edsby overnight, straining network infrastructure. Here's what we're doing to meet the challenge. **Content:** #### Meeting high load Edsby is fortunate to be hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud system. It’s quick and easy to scale up resources as needed. We never thought we’d need to do as much scaling as we have these past two weeks, but teachers, students and parents are using Edsby more heavily than ever, and in different ways than before. We’ve been monitoring Edsby closely and scaling as required. For example: - We’ve tripled the size of our database engines - We’ve quadrupled the resources powering our web engines and other backend servers - We’ve quintupled the resources powering searches in Edsby Yet scaling a system of the complexity and importance of Edsby and ensuring it stays available 24/7 for all customers everywhere isn’t just a simple matter of pressing a few buttons. There are a lot of moving parts in the “supply chain of the Internet” that a complex system like Edsby relies on, and those parts sometimes break. For instance: - Challenges in error handling under high loads in the **underlying cloud database** that Edsby uses impacted customers in one region for several hours March 23rd until we were able to work with the provider to get a mitigation in place - The provider of **the service we use to mitigate network attacks** **had an outage** in one of its datacenters that temporarily made Edsby appear inaccessible; it also sometimes interpreted the high new levels of Edsby usage as a coordinated attack by hackers and occasionally locked users out of their Edsby systems - An outside **service that previews popular document files inside of Edsby** **has had occasional failures** when users tried to view or download documents; its “server not available” messages made Edsby seem unavailable - Some customers in one region were impacted the evening of April 7th by **a failure in a disk subsystem used for system logging** run by our service provider, a point of failure nobody anticipated and has been mitigated as a future risk And, of course, with everyone at all of these companies above that Edsby relies on working from home, fixing something that may have taken minutes for these companies to fix a few weeks ago can take longer now. Ensuring the high availability of the Edsby service is fully our responsibility. Through all this we’ve worked hard to maintain our goal of having sub-second response time for users. We weren’t always able to achieve that these last two weeks as load grew. With measures now in place we appear to be able to largely achieve our response time goals even at periods of peak load. Of course, some things will still break and need fixing, and we’ll continue to. Finally, note that with high profile systems we’ve all come to rely on like [Snapchat](https://www.androidcentral.com/its-not-just-you-snapchat-down-right-now), [Netflix](https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/25/21194290/netflix-outage-coronavirus-pandemic-youtube-broadband) and [Zoom](https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/tech/576367/zoom-down-in-mysterious-outage-as-video-calling-app-stops-working-around-the-world/) also experiencing outages these last few weeks—not to mention other edtech applications—it’s clear everyone is grappling with this totally unprecedented work-at-home traffic. All the plumbing of the Internet is being stretched, but it will adapt to the new reality. [ultimate_spacer height=”10″] \[testimonial id=”18266″\] [ultimate_spacer height=”10″] #### How to optimize Edsby for distance learning If you haven’t already, educators should review these tips we’ve prepared on how to make the most out of Edsby in these unusual times. The following is a short list of ideas, with screenshots, to help promote student wellbeing with Edsby while students are at home: [Suggestions for teachers using Edsby for online learning](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/). #### Online learning enhancements coming We’ve been getting suggestions from customers about how Edsby could help even more in this new paradigm of “Learn at Home.” For example, teachers want to be able to more easily tell which students have been active recently in Edsby. Or who have one or more active parents in Edsby. We’ve already completed some changes to support that which are scheduled for release soon. We’re revamping our roadmap to add in a number of additional new features in response to the challenges of distance learning. Stay tuned for updates. #### The Edsby team Our team is fully engaged with all members working from home. We have no cases of COVID-19 internally, and with the strict physical distancing we’ve implemented we expect it to stay that way. [ultimate_spacer height=”10″] ### Contact us if Edsby can help you further in these challenging times \[button url=”https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/” title=”Contact Edsby”\] [ultimate_spacer height=”20″] \[testimonial id=”18052″\] **Categories:** Product news --- ### [District now taking attendance in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/school-district-attendance-on-edsby-adsb/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 3, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Northern Ontario newspaper writes about its local school district, the Algoma District School Board, now taking attendance and managing planned absences with Edsby. **Content:** ### A Northern Ontario newspaper writes about its local school district modernizing how it’s taking attendance and managing parent-generated planned absences. Edsby customer Algoma District School Board (ADSB) is now beginning to take and manage attendance from within the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12, [writes the Sault Star newspaper](https://www.saultstar.com/news/local-news/software-starts-recording-attendance). The 10,000-student district centered around Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in Northern Ontario was previously using the Trillium student information system for attendance. Parents in the district are being shown how they can now use Edsby to let school staff know their child won’t be going to school on a given day, and to tell whether their child has been marked present or late for any of their classes. > #### “Every week I have more parents joining.” > > -Carol Lucio, principal of Anna McCrea Public School in Sault Ste. Marie In an article in the Sault Star newspaper, ADSB superintendent of business Joe Santa Maria said the district was “taking it slowly so that we can build and grow that engagement piece within schools, but understand that different people will be at different stages of the implementation process.” He said his goal is to ensure use of Edsby is “slow and steady as opposed to rushed and rammed through the system.” In a meeting with board trustees, Carol Lucio, principal of Anna McCrea Public School in Sault Ste. Marie, praised Edsby as improving communication with the parents of the nearly 200 students at her school. “Every week I have more parents joining,” she told trustees. Read the whole article [here](https://www.saultstar.com/news/local-news/software-starts-recording-attendance). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2019](https://www.edsby.com/new-in-edsby-september-2019/product-news/) **Published:** September 9, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New for September 2019, here's what's now available in the Edsby digital learning & data platform for K-12. **Content:** ## Welcome to Edsby 2019! **Every September, Edsby introduces new features. This year’s release contains many new additions and changes.** **New documents and videos have been created to describe new features in more detail. These are all available in [the support section of our website](https://www.edsby.com/support/); click your role to see the resources available to you.** **Not all new features will necessarily be available to all users immediately, as it’s up to individual schools or districts/regions when or if they choose to introduce specific new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon, if not already.** **This release also includes many quality and performance improvements too numerous to list individually. And a number of “under the hood” enhancements have recently been completed to make Edsby stronger, faster and more secure than ever.** ## Assessment enhancements ### New expectations/standards/outcomes/competencies picker Edsby provides teachers with convenient access to curriculum-based expectations/standards/outcomes/competencies (ESOCs). Previously there was one interface available in assessments, lessons and units, and a different user interface in Evidence. Each had particular strengths. Edsby now has a single picker that combines the best of both previous mechanisms: - Designed to work well on mobile and regular browsers - Enables the teacher to select items at any level of the hierarchy - Provides a convenient way to show/hide any part of the hierarchy - Enables the teacher to easily find and access ESOCs from other subjects and grade levels - Provides a handy text search ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/esoc-picker.png) ### Scoring ESOCs at any level Many teachers love the using the ESOC tab in the Edsby Perspective to see how a student is progressing against the curriculum and to even score students and/or make observations. In the past, teachers could only score items in the lowest level of the curriculum hierarchy. Edsby now enables teachers to score anywhere in the hierarchy. This enables teachers to apply their professional judgment as they track how students are performing overall on general learning goals. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/esoc-scoreanylevel.png) ### Flexible gradebook summary columns The Edsby gradebook has been enhanced so that a wide range of new summary columns can be turned on in a teacher’s gradebook. These settings can even be defined in course models so that, for example, all Grade 5 math classes in a district can be configured to show strand averages. An example of what this looks like: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/gradebook-flexiblecolumns.png) [More about the Edsby gradebook »](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-overview/) ### Credit recovery A new [credit recovery subsystem](https://www.edsby.com/help/credit-recovery-2/) provides a complete set of workflows and tools to manage the credit recovery process at high schools. Key aspects include: - A way for teachers to provide input on credit recovery opportunities including failure report, recommended placement, comment/rationale and ESOCs not met - A facility for school administrators to review credit recovery recommendations and assign them to local teachers for recovery or to district staff for re-assignment if recovery can’t be completed locally - A capability for district staff to assign credit recovery teachers to specific credit recovery opportunities that couldn’t be addressed at a local school - A special Edsby class for the credit recovery teacher to have access to the student’s achievement record in the failed class, including ESOCs not met. This Edsby class can be used to share credit recovery communications with the student, update the ESOCs met and grades attained, and ultimately produce the justification for awarding the credit if attained [More about the new Edsby credit recovery system »](https://www.edsby.com/help/credit-recovery/) ## Learning evidence enhancements ### Sort by Date defaults to newest first The Organize view within Evidence previously showed oldest Evidence items first when the “Organize by Date” option was selected. This has been changed to now show newest Evidence items first. ### Improved share and date indicators in Organize view Teachers like having an easy way to see which [Evidence](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) items have been shared in the Organize view. The approach initially used to indicate shared items was subtle and some teachers found it didn’t stand out enough. The indicator has been changed. Also, an indicator of how long ago the Evidence item was created is provided. As with all relative dates/times in Edsby, hover on the indicator for the actual date and time stamp. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/evidence-relativetime.png) ### Copy from Class feed to Evidence Edsby now provides a convenient way for a teacher to capture a contribution made by a student in the [class feed](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/) as an Evidence item. The teacher simply hovers on the student contribution in question and selects a new “Add to Evidence” link. An Evidence item is created for the student, and the text of the contribution is captured in the “Conversational Evidence…” field. **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/evidence-feedtoportfolio.png)** ### Full screen view of Learning Story media Media contained in evidence items shared with students and parents via an Edsby [Learning Story](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/learning-stories-for-teachers/) can now by viewed in full screen mode by clicking on the photo in the Learning Story view. A new tab is opened up to display the media. This works for teachers as well in their view of the Learning Story. ### Add Learning Story item to Portfolio The Learning Story has been enhanced to enable students to be able to add a Learning Story item to their [Portfolio](https://www.edsby.com/help/account-settings-3/portfolio/). ### Scoring Analysis notes Edsby now provides teachers with an option to score an Analysis note in the same way they can score an individual Evidence item. As with Evidence items, scoring is optional; teachers who don’t score as part of their practice can ignore the scoring option. **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/evidence-scoringanalysis.png)** ### Analysis Notes can now include other analyses [Analysis notes](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) within the Evidence subsystem have been enhanced to now support the inclusion of other analysis notes. They could previously only contain individual evidence items. [More about Edsby’s learning evidence system »](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) ## Class enhancements [Edsby classes](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-overview-video/) provide dynamic collaborative spaces for students and teachers along with a powerful suite of tools that enable teachers to manage a wide range of classroom activities. New class features in Edsby 2019 include: ### New class role options for staff assigned to a class Previously, all staff added manually or automatically to an Edsby class had the same capabilities within the Edsby class. Edsby now provides four choices for the role a staff member has within a class: - **Teacher**: Same capabilities as before - **Support**: Same as teacher except no access to report cards in the class - **Substitute**: Can take attendance and post in the feed, but can’t access academic information such as the gradebook, evidence, perspective, etc. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/class-newclassroles.png) ### Add staff to class The [Classes Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-classes/) has been enhanced to provide administrators with a convenient way to add a staff member to multiple classes at once. Filter the Classes list to the desired subset (all Phys Ed classes, or all classes taught by Mr. Jones for example) and then choose “Add staff” from the menu dropdown to select staff to add along with the role they should have within the class. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/class-addstaff-e1576727981709.png) [More about Edsby Zooms »](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/) ### Lesson enhancements The Lesson object in Edsby has been enhanced to make it more focused on the core task of lesson planning. In the past, Lessons were often used to share lesson content with students, but the new Edsby [Content Builder](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) provides a much richer way to create and share lesson content. The Lesson form has been streamlined by putting the “Notes for Students” area behind a “+” button so the initial form no longer displays two large content entry areas. Also, the default set of editor buttons have been streamlined to fit on one row. Additional editing features are available in full screen editor mode. A great new feature has been added to make it easy for teachers to copy the text of associated expectations/standards/outcomes/competencies (ESOCs) with a click. ### Adjusted class options for parent access Edsby used to provide four different settings for controlling parent access to material within the class. Many customers felt some of these options were too open and asked us to customize these options out. These options, shown below with a red line through them, have now been removed for all customers to prevent teachers from accidentally creating what might be perceived as a privacy issue. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/class-commentedout-e1568054061569.png) [Edsby classes overview video »](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-overview-video/) ## Attendance enhancements New attendance features added include: ### Attendance planned absence confirmation When parents submit a planned absence in Edsby for their child, they now receive a confirmation message back indicating the request has been received. The notification also now provides a way for the parent to be able to cancel the planned absence, which couldn’t be done previously. ### Attendance approver name removed Previously, Edsby would provide the name of the approver in workflows such as the approval of a parent-submitted planned absence. Now just the school name is given rather than the name of the approver. [How attendance works in Edsby »](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-overview-2-2/) ## General enhancements ### Simplified parent notification setup In [2017](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-edsby-fall-2017/) and [2018](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-fall-2018/), Edsby introduced powerful notification options for parents to receive updates on a variety of things related to their child’s (or children’s) progress at school. However it required the parent to know to go into the [notifications setup panel](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-for-parents/) to enable the specific notifications. Edsby now provides a simplified notifications option for parents when they activate their account for the first time in a new school year. ### More flexible staff archiving If a staff member was removed from the Student Information System (SIS) while on long term leave during a school year, Edsby would mark the staff member as dropped. If the staff member returned prior to the start of the new school year and was added back in to the SIS they would automatically be connected to their previous account. However, if their leave spanned the summer vacation period they would receive a brand new Edsby account and wouldn’t have access to material saved in Edsby previously. Edsby archiving has now been changed to not archive dropped accounts unless they have been dropped for more than one year. ### Guidance role access reductions In the past, the Guidance role in Edsby had almost identical capabilities as other school administrative roles such as “Senior Admin”, “Office Head” and “Administrator.” A number of schools have pointed out that Guidance Teachers are essentially teachers with a bit more responsibility. So Edsby has changed the Guidance role to have the base capabilities of the Teacher role and then added in additional capabilities including: - Access to the Students, Staff, Parents, Contacts and Classes [Zooms](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-zooms/) - Access to the full Panorama for all students at the school - Access to the new Edsby [Credit Recovery](https://www.edsby.com/help/credit-recovery-2/) application - Limited access to each class (same as “Substitute Teacher”) - Ability to create [Monitor groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups-management/monitor-groups/) and add students to them ### New deployment approach The way Edsby builds and performs cloud deployments has changed significantly. Edsby is now deployed through a containerized approach to provide more flexible deployment, scaling and security options. This has been coupled with additional infrastructure for securing and monitoring virtual machine and container resources used in the Edsby platform. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby piloting in South Africa](https://www.edsby.com/south-africa-western-cape-pilot/customers/) **Published:** June 18, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A region-wide trial of the Edsby digital learning platform is getting underway in the South African province of Western Cape. **Content:** ### Edsby is entering into a trial in schools across South Africa’s Western Cape province A region-wide trial of Edsby is getting underway in the South African province of Western Cape. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) selected Edsby in a solution review, provided approval for the pilot in WCED schools and helped choose schools for the project. Western Cape is the southernmost South African province, with coasts bordering the Indian and Atlantic oceans. It’s one of the nine new South African provinces established in 1994 and is where port city of Cape Town is located, nestled beneath famous Table Mountain. In Table Bay, Robben Island is the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, now a museum. Farther afield, vineyards surround historical towns like Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl where some of the country’s best wines are produced. There are six million people in the province, and 1.2 million K-12 students. The Western Cape’s Edsby system will be hosted in South Africa in new world-class Azure cloud datacenters [just opened by Microsoft](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-opens-first-datacenters-in-africa-with-general-availability-of-microsoft-azure/). “It’s critical to state, provincial and national customers that their public sector data such as education information reside within their region,” said Edsby CEO and co-founder John Myers in a pilot kickoff session today. “Our relationship with Microsoft has enabled us to leverage Microsoft’s investment in Azure data centres around the world, including the recently opened Azure centres in South Africa. This enables Edsby to conform to South African data sovereignty requirements, and local servers also mean excellent performance for local users.” ![Edsby South Africa](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PHOTO-2019-06-18-09-47-06-2.jpg "Edsby South Africa") Representatives from 15 schools across South Africa's Western Cape province learn about piloting Edsby. After pilot schools’ data is connected to local Edsby servers, local teacher and administrator training is scheduled for September. Edsby is to be open to selected Western Cape students and parents in January, 2020. Financial support is being generously provided by two organizations with a long history of supporting public education in South Africa: [Pick n Pay](https://www.pnp.co.za/), the second largest supermarket chain store in the country, and [Woolworths](https://www.woolworths.co.za/), a large local retailer. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby wins Edtech Digest 2019 Cool Tool award](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-digest-2019-cool-tool-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 28, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby won EdTech Digest's 2019 Cool Tool Award for classroom management and was a finalist in the LMS and parent/student solution categories. **Content:** ### Edsby wins 2019 EdTech Digest Cool Tool EdTech Award for classroom management, finalist for two others [EdTech Digest](https://edtechdigest.com) has named Edsby the **classroom management** “Cool Tool” category winner in its 2019 annual EdTech Awards. The product was also a finalist in the publication’s **learning management system (LMS)** & **parent/student solution** categories. Now in its 9th year, the U.S.-based EdTech Awards is one of the largest and most competitive recognition programs in education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech—and those who soon will be. The program recognizes people in and around education for outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere. Featuring edtech’s best and brightest, the annual program “shines a spotlight on cool tools, inspiring leaders and innovative trendsetters,” according to the publication, across the K-12, Higher Education, and Skills and Workforce sectors. The EdTech Awards recognize people and products with three main honors: - The EdTech Cool Tool Awards - The EdTech Leadership Awards, and - The EdTech Trendsetter Awards. The EdTech Awards were established in 2010 to recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate the most exceptional innovators, leaders, and trendsetters in education technology. More than $50 Billion USD has been invested worldwide across the global edtech landscape in just the last several years, according to EdTech Digest. This year’s finalists and winners were narrowed from the larger field and judged based on various criteria, including pedagogical workability, efficacy and results, support, clarity, value and potential. “In an age of rapid technological change—innovators, leaders, and trendsetters are our greatest treasures. If our age is golden, they’re lighting the way,” said Victor Rivero, Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. “Nearly a decade in, the EdTech Awards persists in its salute. Featured are the creators and champions of the sufficiently advanced technologies that sometimes wow us, seek to help us, and ultimately move us forward.” The full list of products and companies identified by EdTech Digest as finalists and winners can be found [here](https://edtechdigest.com/2019-finalists-winners/). Edsby has received [more than 30 industry awards and distictions](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Return of the Learning Story](https://www.edsby.com/return-of-the-learning-story/product-news/) **Published:** February 4, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby's Learning Story feature is back. Here's why it went away and where it can be found now. **Content:** ## The Return of Edsby’s Learning Story Edsby’s Learning Story feature is back. In the new school year starting in September 2018, in an attempt to harmonize the user experience between Edsby’s browser interface and its mobile apps, Edsby began making shared evidence items visible in students’ portfolios, an area where significant enhancements had just been made in the mobile apps. The Learning Story concept was intentionally excluded at the time. Edsby has received feedback from educators about the benefits of separating out formative evidence assessment data collected by the teacher, which has a pedagogical component and demonstrates effort, progress, achievements and competencies within a term. The portfolio, educators argued, should remain student curated and be used to invite peer review or simply showcase personal academic achievements. So the Learning Story concept has been reintroduced. ### Learning Story Access Edsby now provides an easy way of accessing the Learning Story and Portfolio on all devices. **In the web user interface**: A new panel is now available on the home page (below the Classes panel) to provide easy access to both the Portfolio and Learning Story. This is the same for both students and parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LearningStoryWeb-e1549308813502.png) **In the mobile app user interface**: Convenient buttons for the Portfolio and Learning Story are now provided on a new mobile home page. Parents can see links for these in each child’s section in their parent mobile home page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LearningStoryMobile-169x300.png) ### Learning Story Content The Learning Story presents students and parents with a scrolling list of shared evidence items. Newest items are shown first. Each item includes the teacher’s observation, any conversation with the student (if captured), and the media (usually one or more pictures). Items also show a list of the learning expectations/standards associated with the item which are displayed when students and parents hover on the item. Finally, there is a conversational feed to enable the teacher, the student, or the parent to reflect and discuss the learning associated with the item. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/EvidenceExample.png) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - Jan 2019](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-jan-2019/product-news/) **Published:** January 2, 2019 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** There are many new Edsby features to learn about and explore this new year. **Content:** ## In 2019, there’s lots that’s new in Edsby **Welcome back from the holidays! There are many new Edsby features to learn about and explore.** **Not all new features below will necessarily be available to all users immediately, as it’s up to individual schools or districts when or if they choose to introduce new Edsby capabilities. This list is here to help teachers and administrators with planning and to give end users insight into new things you may see in Edsby soon.** **This release also includes many quality and performance improvements too numerous to list.** ## New ### Edsby Capture – a new mobile Edsby App Edsby Capture provides an exciting and easy new way to quickly and easily create evidence items in Edsby. It provides a simple way for students, as young as those in kindergarten, to capture photographs of their work and have the images automatically upload into their Edsby evidence stream. In addition, teachers will find Edsby Capture provides a convenient way to capture and assign media images to students in one easy step. Edsby Capture is a mobile device application now available in the [Apple App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/edsby-capture/id1395476423?mt=8) and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.edsby.capture) stores. ## Class enhancements ### Flexible Roster Print-outs This area has been completely re-written to enable teachers to choose the number of columns and the height of each row in a printed roster list. Column headers can be typed in as well if the teacher wishes: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/roster.png) ### Emoji Support Edsby user-entered content can now include emoji. They can be entered via the mobile app or on the web using the normal mechanisms (e.g. emoji pickers, copy/paste, etc.) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/emoji.png) ### Ability to hide “New Evidence” button Edsby provides teachers with a New Evidence button on each class on the Edsby home page. Sometimes a teacher has classes in which the Evidence feature is not being used. There is now a Class Setup option to enable the teacher to hide the button on a per class basis. ### Printing QR Codes The Member view (and the Evidence view) provide a way to print QR Codes that can be used with the new Edsby Capture app to quickly create new Evidence items: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/qr.png) ### Time/Date Displays on Evidence Organize View The Organize view within Evidence now shows a date/time at the bottom of each evidence item. The default text provided displays summary information regarding when the item was created. The exact date and time of the creation of the item is available by hovering over the summary date/time. ### Portfolio Filtering Portfolio navigation has been enhanced to add in filtering by subject, grade and tab. This makes it easier for students to manage large portfolios. ### Comment Library Filtering by Grade The Personal Comment Library interface has been enhanced to support comment filtering by Grade if grade fields are used in any of the comments in the library. ### Hiding Classes Teachers now have the ability to hide classes from the Classes panel. This is typically done when a class has been assigned to the teacher in the Student Information System and so it exists in Edsby but it isn’t in use for the teacher. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/hidingclasses.png) ## Reporting enhancements ### Enhanced report card fill Edsby now provides a more powerful report card fill feature. The “Field” picker enables the teacher to select any data-fillable field on the report card sheet (including drop downs such as Learning Skills). An entry field is then provided to align with the field being filled. If a comment field is selected the user can enter the standard Edsby comment library mechanisms for entering the student name, pronouns, etc. Fill can target blank cells, all cells and cells for selected students. It also supports both append and replace modes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/fill.png) ### Personal comment library import support for mxWeb comment library exports Edsby has now added support for directly importing a personal comment library export from mxWeb. Edsby automatically converts the data to Edsby format including name and gender substitution tokens. ### Find/replace in report card data entry sheets Edsby now provides teachers with a “Find/Replace” button on all report card data entry sheets. This new feature enables teachers to quickly change one word or phrase into another across the entire sheet. Options enable the teacher to control whether it is case sensitive or not, and whether only whole words should be matched or not. ### More flexible report card comment character counter Edsby comment entry support has been enhanced to permit a teacher to go beyond the configured character count limit. When that happens the character counter turns red and shows how many characters over the limit the comment currently is. The teacher can then edit further to ultimately adjust the comment to be within limits. Comments in red can be saved, but not submitted. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/commentcounter.png) ### Report card comment categories search/usage Edsby has been enhanced to support comment categories. Comment categories can optionally be turned on for a report card data entry template with the specific set of categories defined in the template. Each category then provides a shortcut method to filter whatever comment library(s) are set up with the tag associated with the category. If a library comment is chosen the category checkmark is set automatically. A teacher can also type in a comment, and manually click the category checkmark to help track which categories have been covered by the comment entered. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/commentcategories.png) ## Parent teacher interview (PTI) scheduling enhancements ### PTI support for booking student contacts Previously in parent teacher interviews, a teacher or administrator could book a parent into a PTI slot, but only if that parent had an active account in Edsby. In this release, this restriction has been relaxed, so the teacher or administrator can now also book in “student contacts” (which are parent/guardians without an active Edsby account). This saves time and typing for the teacher/administrator. ### PTI support for viewing/booking individual seats in multi-booking slots This has been enhanced in this new version of parent teacher interviews. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ptiviewing.png) ### **Add PTI information to calendar** Parent teacher interview campaign information now shows up on a user’s calendar, and when the user hovers on the calendar event they are provided with a convenient link to open the PTI workflow for the PTI campaign. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ptitocalendar.png) ## Groups enhancements ### List/Monitor Groups Edsby Groups now supports a new kind of group called a list/monitor group. Students can be added in to these groups but however they don’t know they are in the group. List groups provide handy way for a collection of staff members to track, collaborate and communicate around a specific group of students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ListGroupz.png) ### New Member List View The Member List view that comes up when clicking Students on the roster panel has been enhanced to provide a more condensed view: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/memberlist.png) ## Other ### Community Service Hours App The optional Edsby community service app has been enhanced to enable a set of organizations to be pre-specified at setup time so that students pick from the provided set of organizations rather than typing in an organization name themselves. ### New default profile picture Edsby now provides users that don’t have a profile picture with a new “Edstronaut” profile picture. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/edstronaut.png) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [How Edsby exceeded one teacher's expectations](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-exceeded-expectations/customers/) **Published:** August 17, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Gradebooks, Edsby classes and Edsby groups top the favorite features of this teacher, who initially was only required to use Edsby for attendance in her district. **Content:** ### Sixth grade teacher Emily Diotte realized early on that Edsby could do far more than her district was asking of it. When Edsby was first introduced to our 4,500 staff and 35,000 students, we were only intending to use it for attendance tracking. From the first time I was exposed to Edsby, however, I saw the potential that it had. Fast forward a few months, to a new school year, and an opportunity to be involved in a small Edsby learning group. Its potential was revealed to me and has changed my teaching life! > Edsby eliminated the need to make phone calls home, saving me TIME. I never felt like I knew how to properly organize a gradebook until Edsby came along. I would have to say the gradebook is my favourite feature and usually the first thing I teach to colleagues and new teachers. I LOVE that curriculum can be tracked along with formative and summative assessments. I was initially reluctant to give parents and students access to my gradebook data, but gave it a try and won’t turn back. Parents loved that they could see up-to-date assessment data, along with feedback, and whether or not work was submitted. This was a simple way for parents to feel “in the know” and eliminated the need to make phone calls home, saving me TIME! The class walls are my second favourite feature. They’re a place that I share pictures of anchor charts for each subject, ask students questions that they can respond to electronically (hello, saving paper here!), share links for students to visit, and track upcoming assignments through the calendar for each subject. An added bonus is that these posts are always there, and students who may be absent can follow along with our learning, not missing a beat. Edsby groups are the best! I belong to several groups at our district level, but I have also set up and used groups in my class, and for sports teams I’m coaching. In my class we’ve used groups for Literature Circles. This group allows students to share about their reading with their group, ask questions, make predictions and more. Sports teams groups are a great way to share the schedule, keeping students and parents informed about practices, games, and photos from our games and tournaments. > Creating rubrics in Edsby is easy. I’d like to talk a bit more about assessment, mainly RUBRICS! Creating rubrics in Edsby is so easy, and saves time when assessing. I’ve found that I can use many of the same rubrics throughout the years, and I’m able to assess student work more efficiently, helping me to bring less work home. The rubrics are easy to edit, and again, save on paper. Lastly, student and parent engagement is what Edsby has provided for me in my classroom. Students absolutely love that they can interact with our class online, creating a safe place to learn about social media norms. Students are also able to ask questions after hours, that other students offer to answer as well as myself. I would much rather clear up a question about something as soon as possible (even after hours), rather than letting a student worry or question their thinking on a home assignment. I encourage all educators to try out just one new-to-them Edsby feature this school year. It can seem overwhelming, but starting with one can transform your classroom, teaching, and just maybe save you some time! For this reason, and others, our district is now making far greater use of Edsby than we originally intended. *Emily Diotte is a Grade 6 Homeroom teacher at Glenwood Public School in [Greater Essex County District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-greater-essex-county-district-school-board-gedsb/), which has been an Edsby district since 2016.* **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Gartner's Capterra names Edsby one of the most popular school administration systems](https://www.edsby.com/gartner-capterra-edsby-most-popular-school-administration-2018/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 4, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named a Top 20 Most Popular School Administration software platform by Gartner's Capterra software directory service. **Content:** ### Edsby has been named a Top 20 Most Popular School Administration software platform by Gartner’s Capterra software directory service. The Top 20 Most Popular designation is based on Capterra’s assessment of installed base, number of active users and the vendor’s social media presence. “Edsby has been listed on Capterra’s [Top 20 Most Popular School Administration report](https://www.capterra.com/school-administration-software/#infographic) for two years in a row,” noted Capterra Product Report Specialist, James Rew. Capterra is a leading online resource for software buyers. Founded in 1999, it features validated user reviews and independent research across hundreds of software categories. Each month, Capterra helps more than three million buyers find the right software. Capterra is owned by Gartner. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby wins EdTech Award](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-award/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 5, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named winner of the 2018 EdTech Awards Parent/Student Solution category, the second in the EdTech Award series for the company. **Content:** ### Edsby receives second EdTech Award Edsby has been named winner of the [2018 EdTech Awards Parent/Student Solution category](https://edtechdigest.com/2018-finalists-winners/). Now in its 8th year, the U.S.-based EdTech Awards program is one of the largest and most competitive recognition programs in education technology, recognizing the biggest names in edtech – and those who soon will be, according to parent publisher EdTech Digest. The EdTech Awards were established in 2010 to recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate the most exceptional innovators, leaders, and trendsetters in education technology. “On any device, Edsby engages students, parents, teachers. It’s powerful, up-to-date, focuses on effectiveness and is specifically designed for K-12 district needs. It comes from a highly knowledgeable team that has put its experience to great use,” said EdTech Digest Editor-in-Chief Victor Rivero. In 2015, Edsby won the [Learning Management System EdTech Award](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-edtech-digest-cool-tool-award-in-lms-category/). Featuring edtech’s best and brightest, the annual program shines a spotlight on cool tools, inspiring leaders and innovative trendsetters across the K-12, Higher Education, and Skills and Workforce sectors. In addition to winning the Parent/Student Solution category, Edsby was a finalist in the 2018 Learning Management System and Class Management Solution categories. Finalists were selected from thousands of entries, according to organizers. This year’s finalists and winners were judged based on various criteria, including pedagogical workability, efficacy and results, support, clarity, value and potential, according to the publication, according to the publication. See the full list of the 2018 EdTech Award winners and finalists [here](https://edtechdigest.com/2018-finalists-winners/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Steps to building a district-wide Edsby system](https://www.edsby.com/steps-to-building-a-district-wide-edsby-system/customers/) **Published:** March 23, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Clearly define your needs, get creative and speak up to your vendor says Greater Essex County District School Board, which deployed the Edsby platform for K-12 to its 35,000 students and their parents. **Content:** ### Clearly define your needs, get creative and speak up to your vendor says Greater Essex County District School Board, which has deployed Edsby to its 35,000 students and their parents Customization was key to the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) as it implemented the Edsby learning and analytics platform district-wide. In an [article published by edtech analysts Getting Smart](http://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/01/3-steps-to-build-your-own-district-wide-technology-solution/), GECDSB IT Supervisor Shelley Hudson reflects on three key steps the district followed in modernizing its digital infrastructure. Originally the district intended to replace its legacy student information system (SIS), according to Hudson, in an effort to give new capabilities to its teaching staff, students and parents. But then it found it didn’t need to: > After reviewing the responses to our request for information, we ultimately chose an alternative solution to an SIS. Rather than completely replacing our SIS, we decided to have Edsby, a learning platform that focuses on parent, student and teacher engagement, wrap around our current SIS to provide desired functionalities. Being able to embrace existing systems, no matter how dated, was key to the district’s choice. And ultimately the customizability of the platform was a large factor as well: > Even though a lot of forethought went into the foundation of our engagement solution before rolling out, we have made many other customizations since our implementation. For example, secondary schools wanted to provide updated information to students for posted community service hours. We are now working together on a workflow where students record their community service and guidance approves it for posting. Read more about GECDSB’s journey with Edsby [here](http://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/01/3-steps-to-build-your-own-district-wide-technology-solution/). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [The press on Edsby's new evidence features](https://www.edsby.com/press-coverage-edsbys-new-evidence-features/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 9, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New Edsby features that make things easier for teachers in the early years of K-12 have been getting written about in the press. **Content:** ### New Edsby features that make things easier for teachers in the early years of K-12 have been getting written about in the media. Tech & Learning wrote about Edsby’s new new system for capturing and sharing evidence of learning in the publication’s [“What’s New” column](https://www.techlearning.com/ed-tech-ticker/whats-new). It begins: > Edsby has introduced new ways to capture and report on evidence of student learning. In partnership with teachers, Edsby implemented a new subsystem in its K-12 learning & analytics platform to facilitate these types of assessment. Simba Information published an article on Edsby’s new capabilities in its [Electronic Education Report for subscribers](http://www.electroniceducationreport.com). An excerpt: > Edsby’s new features enable teachers to take pictures or record videos, tag them by standards or learning goals, share them with parents and organize them to document growth and streamline reporting on student progress. Through the system, young students can showcase their work to peers and parents. In addition, Edsby’s announcement was published on [The EdTech Roundup](http://www.edtechroundup.org/editorials--press/platform-purpose-built-for-k-12-improves-assessment-and-reporting-for-early-elementary-teachers-students-and-their-parentsedsby-pioneers-new-system-for-capturing-and-sharing-evidence-of-learning-in-k-12), and [Education Talk Radio](https://edutalkradio.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/january-30-2018/). Edsby sells its learning management and analytics platform to K-12 school districts and regional governments, which pay an annual fee to license the system, customize it to their policies and requirements and then deploy it to teachers, students and their parents. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby reviewed by EdTech Roundup](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-reviewed-edtech-roundup/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** January 5, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby is "an excellent LMS for K-12 schools," writes reviewer Michael Karlin of leading education technology blog EdTech Roundup. **Content:** ### Edsby “an excellent LMS for K-12 schools,” writes reviewer Michael Karlin The Edsby learning & analytics platform for K-12 has received a top 5-out-of-5 rating in an in-depth evaluation by [The EdTech Roundup](http://www.edtechroundup.org), a leading education technology blog. Michael Karlin, an award-winning educator with over a decade of classroom experience, looked at Edsby and found it “includes a wide range of features and integrations in order to meet the needs of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. It is one of the few learning and analytics platforms that was designed specifically for the K-12 market, and is completely customizable to district needs and use cases.” Other excerpts from the review: > Edsby is easy and friendly to use, but still offers an enormous range of features and data, particularly given its integration across all district tools. > > Regardless of grade level, if you’re looking for an LMS that was designed with K-12 students, parents, teachers, and administrators in mind, I absolutely recommend considering Edsby. Read the full review [here](http://www.edtechroundup.org/reviews/edsby-k-12-learning-analytics-platform). The EdTech Roundup has been publishing since 2013. It provides latest educational technology news as well as reviews, lesson plans, suggested applications and professional development ideas. It has been identified as one of the [Top 50 K-12 I.T. Blogs by Ed Tech Magazine](http://bit.ly/1OqaT5c) and as a [Top 50 Blog by Getting Smart](http://gettingsmart.com/2015/10/smart-list-54-great-blogs-blasts/). The Edtech Roundup received no compensation for its evaluation of Edsby, and no other commercial relationship exists between Edsby and the publication. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby not vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-not-vulnerable-meltdown-spectre/product-news/) **Published:** January 4, 2018 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby is not at risk from the recently-publicized microchip compromises termed Meltdown and Spectre. **Content:** ### Edsby not vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre Edsby’s cloud servers are protected against the recently-publicized microchip vulnerabilities termed Meltdown (CVE-2017-5754) and Spectre (CVE-2017-5753 & CVE-2017-5715). Edsby’s servers, hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, were patched December 31st, 2017 with latest operating system updates. Edsby will continue to closely monitor and apply any further relevant updates for these or other security vulnerabilities as they are identified. Edsby is committed to ensuring its services and customers’ data remain protected. [About Edsby & your data »](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [G2 Crowd & Capterra rate Edsby a leading K-12 LMS](https://www.edsby.com/g2-crowd-edsby-capterra-lms-2017-2018/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 5, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** User reviews-based sites recognize Edsby for strong customer satisfaction scores. **Content:** ### Two analysts recognize Edsby K-12 platform for strong customer satisfaction. The Edsby learning management and analytics platform for K-12 has been ranked a High Performer by G2 Crowd, a leading business software ranking service. It’s also been named one of the Top 20 Most Popular Learning Management Systems by Capterra, a division of leading IT research and advisory company Gartner. G2 Crowd ranks Edsby a High Performer in its [Winter 2018 Learning Management System Software Grid® report](https://www.g2crowd.com/grid_report/documents/grid-for-learning-management-system-lms-winter-2018). Its rankings are determined algorithmically by combining customer satisfaction ratings from 35 authenticated Edsby customers with vendor market presence determined from social and public data. Capterra’s assessment of Edsby for its annual ranking of [the Top 20 Most Popular LMSes](https://www.capterra.com/learning-management-system-software/#infographic) is based on 78 reviews from Edsby customers sites, the size of its installed base and number of social followers. “In the 2017 report, Edsby jumped from 14th to 12th because of a significant increase in both the total number of users and the total number of customers since the 2016 report,” said Rachel Wille of Capterra. Edsby sells its learning management and analytics platform to K-12 school districts and regional governments, which pay an annual fee to license the system, customize it to their policies and requirements and then deploy it to teachers, students and their parents. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby powering Ontario school boards via ORION](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-powering-ontario-school-boards-via-orion/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 4, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A high speed network 1000 times faster than the public Internet is making Edsby even better for educators, students and their families in the Canadian province of Ontario. **Content:** ### A high speed network 1000 times faster than the public Internet is making Edsby even better for educators, students and their families in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORION research and education high-speed fiber optic network supports school districts using Edsby in the Canadian province of Ontario [via a special agreement](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k-12-learning-management-system-orion/). ORION’s network, spanning the province, claims to be 1000 times faster than publicly available Internet networks. And that allow Edsby districts like Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) and its 34,000 students and their parents to transmit huge amounts of data without bottlenecks, according to a new ORION profile of KPR’s use of Edsby. Thanks to ORION, school boards simply access the platform through their usual, reliable, private ORION connection without having to pay any extra transit costs or use public Internet bandwidth. And that’s made KPRDSB educators happy, according to ORION: > Clarke High School Vice Principal Scott Johnson is seeing the difference access to innovative technology can make in the lives of his students. “In my opinion,” he says, “Edsby has the potential to be a key component for true modern learning to take place in our schools.” > > “Having Edsby provides tremendous advantages in accessibility and user friendliness,” Johnson explains. “The advantage of everything being in one place cannot be overstated. As an app, it allows me to have a wealth of relevant information available at all times, and when situations arise, at any time of the day or night, I am confident that I can make informed decisions in the best interests of the students and the school.” Edsby, writes ORION, is “just one more way ORION empowers those who help make Ontario a better place.” Read ORION’s full KPRDSB Edsby profile [here](https://www.orion.on.ca/news-events/blog/bringing-21st-century-classroom-rural-ontario/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby wins 2017 Tech & Learning Award of Excellence](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-2017-tech-learning-award-excellence/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** November 20, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby named among 76 education hardware and software products as winners of edtech magazine's 2017 Awards of Excellence. **Content:** ### Edsby honored as an “outstanding education technology product.” *Tech & Learning* magazine has named Edsby among 76 education hardware and software products as winners of its [2017 Awards of Excellence](https://www.techlearning.com/resources/awards-of-excellence). The prestigious 35-year-old recognition program tested software, hardware, network, app and web products “including innovative applications that break new ground as well as those that added significant enhancements to proven education tools.” A panel of T&L advisors tested hundreds of entries and chose the winners. From [the publication](https://www.techlearning.com/resources/awards-of-excellence): > Edsby is a comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12 school districts and regional governments. It comes with apps that let parents get real-time views on what’s happening in class, help administrators assess students according to their districts’ policies, terms, and standards, assist students in tracking their assignments and classes while providing helpful reminders, and more. Judges liked its intuitive interface, user-friendly tools, and the brief but engaging tutorials available for all items. This is the latest in a long list of [recent awards for Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). Among them, Edsby [won a CODiE award for best education data solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-recognized-siia-best-data-analytics-solution/) from the SIIA earlier this year, one of the highest honors in the software and information industry. And it was a [finalist for Microsoft’s 2017 Education Partner of the Year](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2017-microsoft-education-partner-finalist/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby in Windsor Life Magazine](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-windsor-life-magazine/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 26, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Greater Essex County District School Board's 34,000 students' use of the Edsby learning & analytics platform has been profiled by a local city magazine. **Content:** ### Greater Essex County District School Board’s 34,000 students’ use of Edsby has been profiled by a local city magazine. The Autumn 2017 issue of *Windsor Life* details how Greater Essex DSB, centered around the Windsor, Canada area, uses Edsby to interconnect its students, teachers, parents and guardians. While teachers in the district get to individually decide how they will apply Edsby in their classes, many use the system to post blogs, homework and assignments, have a class journal, use the gradebook and offer online answers to questions posed by students, parents and guardians, according to the article. “Simple to use, the tool enhances the partnership between home and school,” says the article, which also quotes the district’s project manager on the effectiveness of the platform: > “It makes parents’ busy lives easier,” notes Shelly Hudson, Edsby project manager for the school board … “Edsby helps you support your children so they can arrive ready to learn,” Shelly says. “You’ll know if they have a test, had homework, require their gym clothes today or if you need to make cupcakes for the bake sale.” Read the article in its entirety [here](http://windsorlifemag.dgtlpub.com/?i=4210&p=47). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby and Me: A Classroom Connection](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-classroom-connection/customers/) **Published:** June 30, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** An 8th grade English teacher in New Mexico shares her discovery of Edsby and how she makes best use of it in her classroom today. **Content:** ### New Mexico English teacher Michele Baber shares the story of her personal discovery of Edsby. My district adopted Edsby early on. At the time, I knew little about it. I heard some teachers extolling the virtues of the platform, stating that they no longer needed to make so many copies. I assumed that Edsby was just a drop-box type program, and I moved on to doing my own thing in the classroom. Three years ago, I began working at a middle school in the same district. This school provided us ample time to meet in PLC teams. One of our team’s initiatives was to become more proficient in the technologies our district had to offer, and when we looked closely at Edsby, wow! What an eye opening experience. > Edsby has helped me organize my lesson plans. I can create online quizzes to be used year after year. I can store my lessons on Edsby and not worry about a computer crash erasing years of work. Yes, it was true, you could post copies of texts or homework and cut down on making copies. But there was so much more. I could assign essays and review them on the platform. I could then evaluate them and score them using an integrated grade book. I didn’t have to import my students or give them a new password. Everything from our district appears right in Edsby. Any new student is updated within 24 hours of enrollment. I could engage students in a way that speaks to them. I will often post polls as bell ringers, and students have to take them as soon as we walk in class. Then we can discuss the results as a hook into new material. I can then use a quick quiz at the end of class to gauge my students’ understanding of the topic. I use these formative assessments to shape my lessons to best meet the needs of my students. I can post video and audio clips to supplement student understanding and students can discuss the contents in the feed below. Students can take their time to respond, and I feel that it helps those reluctant students who fear speaking up in class. My hope is to use this function to “flip” my classroom. Parents and students can access Edsby anytime, and that really helps with make-up work. I direct students to Edsby to catch up on what they have missed. Additionally, parents feel empowered by viewing my Edsby page and knowing what to expect for assignments and how to encourage their children at school. Finally, Edsby has helped me organize my lesson plans. I can create online quizzes to be used year after year. I can store my lessons on Edsby and not worry about a computer crash erasing years of work. Additionally, Edsby helps me plan with my PLC. We can easily share data, ideas, and lesson plans across the platform. Our collaboration has been streamlined. > Some of my colleagues joke about my Edsby enthusiasm, but I am making it my mission this next school year to get my entire middle school as excited about Edsby as I am. In the past I had been reluctant to use a web based classroom service. I didn’t want to inadvertently expose my students work or privacy to unknown corners of the Internet. Edsby does not present this problem. Students and parents are provided with secure logins via the district’s systems and student work is not exposed beyond our virtual classrooms. The kids are safe and the parents are happy. In a time when students are digital natives and accustomed to immediate, objective feedback, Edsby has helped me engage my students and organize my lessons in a new way. Edsby allows me to teach using tools students are accustomed to interacting with. Additionally, Edsby provides an immediate record of what the day to day activities are in my classroom so that parents and students are always informed. And I love that it’s integrated with my district’s systems and is built with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other privacy regulations in mind. I’m still learning how to best implement Edsby in my classroom. Edsby releases new features regularly which keeps the platform fresh for my students and myself. Some of my colleagues joke about my Edsby enthusiasm, but I am making it my mission this next school year to get my entire middle school as excited about Edsby as I am. *Michele Baber teaches 8th Grade English Language Arts at Tibbetts Middle School in Farmington Municipal Schools, an Edsby school district in New Mexico.* **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby a top 20 school administration product](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-top-20-school-administration-product/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 19, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Capterra, an enterprise software directory research company, has ranked Edsby among the leading school administration software products of 2017. **Content:** ### [Capterra](http://www.capterra.com/school-administration-software/#infographic), an enterprise software directory research site owned by Gartner Group, has ranked Edsby among the top 20 school administration software products of 2017. “Edsby was listed in Capterra’s top 20 most popular school administration software report,” said Rachel Wille Senior Product Research Analyst at Capterra. “This infographic listing surveyed over 400 school administration software products to determine which school admin solution is the most popular in the industry. A formula is used to calculate popularity and consists of the total number of users, the total number of customers as well as social presence. This year, Edsby was a [new addition](http://www.capterra.com/school-administration-software/#infographic) to the report and with a substantial user base, was listed at #8.” View Capterra’s full report [here](http://www.capterra.com/school-administration-software/#infographic). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby finalist for three 2017 CODiE awards](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2017-codie-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 12, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named a finalist in three categories of the 2017 CODiEs, the Academy Awards of software. **Content:** ### Edsby has been named a 2017 SIIA CODiE Award finalist in three categories: Best Classroom Management Solution, Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution and Best Data Solution. Finalists represent applications, products and services from developers of educational software, digital content, online learning services and related technologies across the PreK-20 sector. Edsby is the most comprehensive learning and analytics platform available for K-12. Edsby engages students, parents and teachers on all of their devices. It enables personalized learning experiences and gives school districts, states and provinces or national governments powerful, new ways to measure and improve their educational effectiveness. The [SIIA CODiE Awards](http://siia.net/codie) are the premier awards for the software and information industries, and have been recognizing product excellence for over 30 years. The awards offer 93 categories that are organized by industry focus of education technology and business technology. Edsby was honored as one of 160 finalists across the 34 education technology categories. “I am impressed by the level of innovation and creativity demonstrated by the 2017 CODiE award finalists. These products are opening doors for learners of all ages by combining new technologies with research about how people learn in order to respond to student and educator needs.” said Bridget Foster, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN), a division of SIIA. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry’s only peer-reviewed awards program. Educators and administrators serve as judges and conduct the first-round review of all education nominees. Their scores determine the SIIA CODiE Award finalists, and SIIA members then vote on the finalist products. The scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners. Winners will be announced during a [CODiE Award Winner Ceremony](http://www.siia.net/eis/PROGRAM/CODiE-Award-Dinner) in San Francisco on July 26 at the Education Impact Symposium, hosted by the Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN), a division of SIIA. Details about each finalist are listed at Edsby [won the 2016 CODiE award for Best Classroom Management Solution](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-codie-best-classroom-management-solution/) and was a finalist in other categories in [2015](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-a-2015-codie-award-finalist/). **About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards** The **SIIA CODiE Awards** is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit [siia.net/CODiE](http://www.siia.net/codie). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby 2017 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year finalist](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2017-microsoft-education-partner-finalist/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 1, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Winners chosen from a set of more than 2,800 entrants from 115 countries worldwide. **Content:** Microsoft has [announced its 2017 partner of the year awards](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-announces-2017-partner-of-the-year-winners-and-finalists-300466148.html) across its global lines of business, and Edsby has been named a finalist for 2017 **Microsoft Education Partner of the Year**. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology in the last year. It’s the [second year in a row](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2016-microsoft-education-partner/) Microsoft has acknowledged Edsby as a key worldwide education sector partner. Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,800 entrants from 115 countries worldwide. Edsby was recognized for providing leading solutions and services in education. > “The outstanding innovation and expertise the Microsoft partner community continues to provide is demonstrated by this year’s award winners,” said Ron Huddleston corporate vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. “We applaud Edsby on achieving finalist for the 2017 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year award.” Edsby announced a global educational industry relationship with Microsoft [early in 2016](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-microsoft-partnership-azure/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby Windows 10 app soon available](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-windows-10-app/product-news/) **Published:** May 2, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby worked with Microsoft to develop an Edsby Windows 10 app for the launch of its Windows 10 S and Surface Laptop **Content:** ### An Edsby Windows 10 app was shown the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 10 S and Surface Laptop In conjunction with today’s introduction of Microsoft’s Windows 10 S and new Microsoft Surface Laptop, a Windows 10 Edsby app was shown at Microsoft’s launch event in New York. Edsby worked with Microsoft in recent months to prepare a Windows 10 app version of Edsby that will soon be available in Microsoft’s Window Store, Microsoft’s catalog of tested, approved Windows apps. Windows 10 S devices only run applications from the Windows Store. The Edsby Windows 10 app takes advantage of the live tile, action center and other features of Windows 10. It will be downloadable free by any student, teacher or parent with an Edsby account. Edsby was shown to press and other attendees at Microsoft’s May 2nd, 2017 launch event in New York on a variety of third party laptops targeted at the education market running the new Windows 10 S. Edsby has a [worldwide relationship with Microsoft](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-microsoft-partnership-azure/), and in 2016 was a Microsoft global [education partner of the year finalist](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2016-microsoft-education-partner/). ![Edsby Windows 10 app](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_6527.JPG.jpg)![Edsby Windows 10 app](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_6521.jpg) **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Special needs learning and Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/special-needs-learning-lms-edsby/customers/) **Published:** April 28, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Arbor School of Central Florida uses Edsby to help children requiring specialized learning reach their fullest potential. **Content:** *By Wendy Cox Blair, MS, Executive Director, The Arbor School of Central Florida* My school, [The Arbor School of Central Florida](http://www.arborschoolflorida.com), is a varied exceptionalities school, which means we have kids that have varied learning abilities and challenges. We’re not only providing academics to our students, but also the therapy support they need to succeed. Our students are successful because they have a team of teachers and therapists collaborating daily to help them learn, a team of supportive parents at home, and classroom technology that encourages independence. When all these aspects are combined, you see an active school community that rallies around the success and progress of our students. Here are a few ways the [Edsby® learning and analytics platform for K-12](https://www.edsby.com) helps us build and maintain an active school community: **Helps teachers collaborate** For our teachers, Edsby helps streamline classroom management and also enables our staff to openly and easily collaborate and communicate. From teachers, administrators, therapists and more, the Arbor School lives by the idea that there’s a whole team that supports every individual student that walks through our doors. Keeping all these staff members in the loop on what is happening with individual students can be a challenge, but with Edsby we’re able to maintain and update student profiles in one place. Furthermore, Edsby is effective when teachers are collaborating across subjects or classrooms and keeping current with each of their student’s needs. For many of our teachers, the LMS is making a difference in their classroom every day. Many of them are communicating with parents and students online if there are questions, and we have other teachers that are trying to learn as much about the platform as possible so they can serve as a resource to other staff members as new groups or classes are set up. **Encourages student independence** We hear a lot about digital citizenship and what it means to help students learn, communicate and collaborate safely and responsibly online. I believe that if our students are to become good citizens, they need the tools and resources analogous to the real and social environments they are in every day. At its core, education is about helping our students learn how to navigate their world, and the technology they use should provide more than just a space for them to download homework and check grades – but also give them a space to ask questions, collaborate and manage what they need to do independently. Prior to implementing Edsby, our students weren’t online checking grades, assignments or communicating with teachers. Today, the number of students wanting access to our online community has increased significantly and students are encouraged to be independent with their lessons and classroom materials. They’re learning valuable skills for when they go off to college or another pathway. **Keeps parents in the know** Technology used in and out of the classroom helps build parent relationships and keeps parents active in their child’s education. Edsby gives parents immediate access to their student’s grades and academic progress all on one platform, as well as the ability to connect with teachers and administrators should they have any concerns or questions. The community-building potential of platforms like Edsby makes them a valuable asset to schools large and small. By giving teachers and students the chance to connect both in school and at home, Edsby is helping build a bridge between in-school activities and at-home learning. *Wendy Cox Blair is a dual certified teacher who has taught students of all ages and abilities for 30+ years in Pennsylvania, Alaska, Washington, and Florida. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Human Services with a specialty in Counseling Children and Adolescents. She has been with Arbor School since 2005, first as Lead Teacher and then as Director in 2010. Arbor School uses [Twine](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-twine-private-schools/), a pairing of Edsby and an open source student information system expressly for private schools, from [Aptiris](http://aptiris.com).* **Categories:** Customers --- ### [EdTech Digest names Edsby for three awards](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-digest-names-edsby-three-awards/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 24, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edtech publication calls Edsby a leading learning management, classroom management & student/parent solution of the year. **Content:** ### Edsby named a finalist in three 2017 “Cool Tool Awards” categories EdTech Digest has named Edsby a finalist in the **learning management system**, **classroom management for teachers** & **parent/student solution** categories in its annual Cool Tool Awards. EdTech Digest characterizes the companies nominated in its latest awards as “innovators, leaders, and trendsetters shining bright in one of the greatest fields of human endeavor.” See all of the companies identified by EdTech Digest as finalists [here](https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/2017-finalists-winners/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Web site publishing now available in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/web-site-publishing-now-available-edsby/product-news/) **Published:** March 9, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Schools and districts can now publish their websites directly from the Edsby platform for K-12 courtesy of a new product called Websby. **Content:** ### Schools and districts can now manage their official websites from inside Edsby with a new third party product called *Websby*. School districts using Edsby for student-parent-teacher engagement find most of their communication happens there. But when it comes to managing their public websites—the information they publish outside of Edsby for the external world—that’s meant paying for, learning and managing a separate system. Now, a fully featured managed web publishing system is available within Edsby. Using the optional system [*Websby*](http://websby.net), district and school level administrators can manage the content of their websites from inside the same Edsby interface they use for everything else. Built on 14 years of experience, Websby was developed specifically for the needs of educational websites, and draws heavily from the school news, calendar, roles-based permission and other systems already managed inside of Edsby, so administrators don’t have to type information twice. Nor do they have to be experts in formatting. > With Websby, you pre-set your site’s colors and fonts so that styles are maintained everywhere and the folks who update content don’t need to worry about the formatting of their content, they just need to think about the content itself. This eliminates the barriers faced by many publishers and means more and better information will get to the website – and more quickly. Websby provides many different combinations of key design objects such as banners, menus, message areas, etc., so almost any layout and design is possible. Websby sites are responsive, so they work great on any screen size from large computer monitors to latest smart phones. Using Websby, district web sites can have a defined look and feel, and all schools within a district can also automatically inherit a uniform look and feel if desired by the district. Learn more about Websby [here](http://websby.net). **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Real time analytics with Microsoft & Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/real-time-analytics-microsoft-edsby/product-news/) **Published:** March 2, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How school districts and governments are getting insights with Microsoft and the Edsby platform for K-12. **Content:** ### School districts and regional & national governments are getting insights with Microsoft and the Edsby platform for K-12. In a session called *Real time analytics with Microsoft & Edsby*, education leaders learned how they can now get instant visibility into student achievement, risk indicators and more without complicated data exports or expensive data warehouses. Powerful analytics are now available via the [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) platform for K-12 running in the Microsoft Azure cloud. In this 40 minute hands-on session plus Q&A, see how Edsby and Microsoft are enabling dramatic new insights for district personnel, school principals and individual teachers. [![Edsby analytics screen](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/analyticsscreen.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/email/recordings/EdsbyAnalyticsMicrosoftMar2017.mp4) Watch and listen to a recording of the event by clicking on the above. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Gartner names Edsby a FrontRunner](https://www.edsby.com/gartner-names-edsby-frontrunner-lms/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** February 6, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Technology analysis firm's latest rankings place Edsby as the leading learning management solution built just for K-12. **Content:** ### Technology analysis firm Gartner’s latest Software Advice rankings place the Edsby social learning management and data platform as the leading learning management solution built just for K-12. Edsby appears as the top K-12-specific platform in new rankings of learning management systems released by IT analytics firm Gartner. In an industry with hundreds of corporate and higher education vendors, Edsby is the only K-12 specific LMS to make the cut of 25 leading products, as [measured against a number of quantitative criteria by Gartner digital property Software Advice](http://www.softwareadvice.com/lms/#top-products). For the assessment, products were evaluated scored against the capability and value they bring to users. The company then plotted the top 25-30 products for its report. To be considered, a product needed a minimum capability user rating score of 3.0 and a minimum value user rating score of 3.0. > All products that qualify as FrontRunners are top performing products in their market. *![Edsby Gartner FrontRunner scoring 2017](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Edsby-Gartner-FrontRunner-scoring-2017.png)* Unlike so-called Gartner’s Magic Quadrant analyses which incorporate an analyst’s qualitative judgement, the FrontRunners matrices rely entirely on authenticated customer reviews and customer ratings of product aspects such as ease of use, customer support and the product’s inclusion of key functionality. Other measurable criteria are also weighed. The table below compares key attributes of the FrontRunners analysis vs. Magic Quadrant: ![Gartner FrontRunner and Magic Quadrant Comparison](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FrontRunner-and-Magic-Quadrant-Comparison.png) Detail of the FrontRunners methodology can be found in Software Advice’s [Learning Management Systems January 2017](http://www.saimgs.com/imglib/other_pages/LMS/FrontRunners-for-LMS%20Report-January-2017.pdf) report. *The content for the FrontRunners quadrant is derived from actual end-user reviews and ratings as well as vendor-supplied and publicly available product and company information that gets applied against a documented methodology. The results neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or any of its affiliates.* **Categories:** In the news --- ### [The most efficient districts use district-wide LMSes](https://www.edsby.com/efficient-districts-use-district-wide-lmses/commentary/) **Published:** January 11, 2017 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Media reports suggest the effectiveness of systems like Edsby contribute to the efficiency of leading K-12 school districts. **Content:** ### Media reports find district-wide platforms like Edsby a common denominator among leading K-12 school districts. Education Dive, an education-related analysis publication, writes that district-wide learning management systems like [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com) can improve the effectiveness of educators by streamlining administrative tasks and freeing them up to spend more time on instruction. Citing [an article in eSchool News on secrets of incredibly efficient districts](http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/01/10/efficient-school-districts/?all), the publication notes most efficient districts use a single district-wide, end-to-end digital platform that allows for the integration of different systems while giving staff members access to everything they need through a single login. > These districts have high user adoption, lower costs, less teacher turnover, an ability to modernize pedagogical methods, and they offer teachers actionable data to measure student progress. By contrast, in less effective districts teachers decide which apps to use themselves, which are often not tied in with district’s back-end systems and therefore require more effort for teachers to configure and roll out, the publications say. > As teachers get the ability to do more online, districts have to be sure their systems are integrated for ease-of-use. From there, efficiency can not only improve staff satisfaction, it can improve student outcomes and operational effectiveness. Integration, as pointed out in the article cited by Education Dive, can take the form of a single log-in for content, curriculum, PD, instruction, communication, collaboration and assessment. Platforms like Edsby are designed to provide a unified experience like this to every educator, student and parent in a district. Read Education Dive’s full analysis [here](http://www.educationdive.com/news/highly-efficient-districts-leverage-power-of-lmses/433761/). **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby wins Readers' Choice Awards from T.H.E. Journal](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-readers-choice-the-journal-2016/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** October 31, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** More than 1,000 readers recognized Edsby as "Most Valuable In Schools" and among the "Top 10 Favorite Technologies Currently Used." **Content:** ### Publication awards Edsby “Most Valuable In Schools” and “Top 10 Favorite Technologies Currently Used” More than 1,000 readers of T.H.E. Journal magazine voted this year to recognize Edsby with two more distinctions in the publication’s Readers’ Choice awards for 2016, naming Edsby in the first two categories of this year’s awards. Edsby won Silver for the technology “most valuable in your schools.” From the magazine’s roundup of the most valuable technology winners: > “Three names showed up in vote after vote: Lexia, Chromebooks and Edsby, in that order … Edsby, which took silver, earned this accolade from a respondent: ‘It continues to be the heart of our school community online. It has increased the voice of our students, centralized announcements, assignments and document resources and given staff a way to work differently together.'” Edsby was also named among the “top 10 favorite technologies” used by the 1,003 educators who responded to the survey. Read the T.H.E. Journal article in its entirety [here](https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/10/31/readers-choice-awards-2016.aspx). This makes [20 recent awards and distinctions for Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby wins 2016 Tech & Learning Award of Excellence](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-tech-learning-award-excellence/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** October 11, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby recognized as "outstanding education technology product" in 34th year of magazine's prestigious awards. **Content:** ### Edsby “saluted” as an “outstanding education technology product.” *Tech & Learning* magazine has named Edsby among 124 education hardware and software products as winners of its [2016 Awards of Excellence](http://www.techlearning.com/contests/0007/34th-annual-awards-of-excellence-winners-announced-by-tech--learning-magazine/70259). The prestigious 34-year-old recognition program tested software, hardware, network, app and web products “including innovative applications that break new ground as well as those that added significant enhancements to proven education tools.” A panel of T&L advisors tested hundreds of entries and chose the winners. > “Once again this year, the Tech & Learning judges examined hundreds of entries to select those products that were deemed worthy of our 2016 Award of Excellence. This wasn’t just checking off spec sheets and surfing other people’s reviews. Each product was handled and scored individually. Not an easy task.” says Kevin Hogan, Editorial Director for NewBay Media’s Tech & Learning Group. This is the latest in a long list of [recent awards for Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). Among them, Edsby [won a CODiE award for best classroom management system](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-codie-best-classroom-management-solution/) from the SIIA earlier this year, one of the highest honors in the software and information industry. And it was a [finalist for Microsoft’s Education Partner of the Year](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2016-microsoft-education-partner/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [A demo of K-12 district-wide analytics using Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/district-wide-analytics-edsby/product-news/) **Published:** October 4, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Recording of a webinar from Microsoft and Edsby on how districts can now get real-time insights into student achievement without complicated data exports or expensive data warehouses. **Content:** ### **In a webinar with Microsoft, Edsby shared how teachers, principals and district administrators & IT staff are achieving new levels of real-time insight into students’ academic performance.** In a session titled *District-Wide K-12 Analytics with Microsoft & Edsby*, the two companies outlined how districts can now get real-time insights into existing student achievement, risk indicators and more without complicated data exports or expensive data warehouses. [Powerful analytics are now available via the Edsby platform](https://www.edsby.com/platform/analytics/) for K-12 running in the Microsoft Azure cloud… whether Edsby is the learning management system of record at a district or not. In this 60 minute session that includes substantial Q&A at the end, see how Edsby and Microsoft are enabling real-time insights into student achievement. The demo shows how districts can find outliers for early intervention and find insight into dropout rates and more using live data. [![K-12 analytics](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/analyticswebinarscreen2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/email/recordings/EdsbyAnalyticsMicrosoftSept2016-80MB.mp4) Watch and listen to a recording of the event [here](https://www.edsby.com/email/recordings/EdsbyAnalyticsMicrosoftSept2016-80MB.mp4). **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby in EdTechReview](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-review-edtechreview/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** October 3, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby is a "a cool tool that keeps parents, students, teachers and administration in a loop," writes edtech publication. **Content:** ### “A great blend of learning management and insightful analytics for school districts,” writes EdTechReview in an Edsby review. > Edsby gives school districts, regions or national governments better student, teacher and parent engagement, improved educational outcomes and new insight into educational effectiveness. Unlike standalone LMS, data warehouse or business intelligence systems, Edsby has the tightest, most innovative connections to a district’s SIS/SMS and other key systems and data. It respects regional policies, terms and standards and data sovereignty needs. And, designed specifically for K-12, it includes features that make it great for junior grades, not just senior ones. #### Edsby review In its Edsby review, it calls Edsby a great way to keep families informed of what’s going on at school, and commends it for its ease of use. > In our opinion this is a cool tool that keeps parents, students, teachers and administration in a loop paving ways to stay informed for the overall wellbeing of students. The ease to use is another point that makes it a big hit among all. Read the article in its entirety [here](http://edtechreview.in/reviews/2531-edsby-learning-management-lms-for-schools). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [New Edsby-based Twine for private schools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-twine-private-schools/product-news/) **Published:** August 8, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Private K-12 schools in the U.S. now have a fast and easy way to engage student, teachers and parents online with a new cloud service that incorporates Edsby. **Content:** ## A new easy, inexpensive way for private schools to experience the power of Edsby Private K-12 schools in the U.S. now have a new, fast-track path to engage their students, teachers and parents online: a cloud service from Aptiris called [Twine](http://www.choosetwine.com). The new Twine offering is powered in part by the Edsby® learning management, data aggregation and analytics platform popular with large public school systems. Twine’s developers approached Edsby seeking to build a complete offering for private schools by pairing Edsby with Twine’s cloud-based student information system (SIS). The bundled, integrated arrangement is intended to simplify startup and reduce costs, particularly for smaller private schools that may not already have an SIS. “Twine is extremely intuitive and easy to use,” said Wendy Blair, director of Arbor School of Florida, Twine’s first site. “Our teachers are very excited to have Twine, and we implemented it in just a few weeks without any IT involvement.” Edsby is pleased to support Twine and invites similar arrangements with other SIS vendors targeting specific vertical or geographic markets. For more information on the hosted Twine service connecting private school educators, students and their parents, visit [ChooseTwine.com](http://www.choosetwine.com). **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby named Trendsetter With Traction by SIIA](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-trendsetter-traction-siia/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** July 26, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The annual conference of the SIIA's Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN) featured Edsby as a K-12 management system to watch in the next generation learning ecosystem. **Content:** ### Edsby a “ground-breaking product making watch-worthy impressions” The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) has bestowed another award on Edsby. The annual conference of the SIIA’s Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN) this week in Denver, Colorado, the Education Industry Symposium, featured Edsby in a track on management systems as a Trendsetter with Traction, characterizing it as a “[ground-breaking product making watch-worthy impressions](http://www.siia.net/Press/ETIN-Names-2016-Trendsetters-with-Traction-Supports-Growth-in-Ed-Tech-Market).” The symposium is the leading conference for the K-12 and higher education technology market. Edsby [won a CODiE award for best classroom management system](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-wins-codie-best-classroom-management-solution/) from the SIIA earlier this year, one of the highest honors in the software and information industry. According to the SIIA, trendsetters at the EIS event were selected on the basis of sound educational principles and innovative technology, having entered the market no more than five years ago and having created substantial awareness among students, educators and other ed tech companies. This is the latest in a long list of [recent awards for Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby 2016 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year finalist](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-finalist-2016-microsoft-education-partner/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 1, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named a leading Microsoft global education partner out of 2,500 entrants from 119 countries. **Content:** Microsoft [has announced its 2016 partner of the year awards](https://news.microsoft.com/2016/05/31/microsoft-announces-2016-partner-of-the-year-winners-and-finalists/?platform=hootsuite#sm.00096u1sb1amwcv3x6r2moa3oeq86) across its global lines of business, and Edsby has been named a finalist for 2016 **Microsoft Education Partner of the Year**. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Partners are to be recognized at the 2016 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference July 10-14, 2016, in Toronto, Canada. Winners were chosen from a set of more than 2,500 entrants from 119 countries worldwide. Edsby was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in the global Public Sector: Education Partner of the Year. > “Our ecosystem of great partners is the cornerstone to delivering innovative and transformative solutions to our mutual customers,” said Gavriella Schuster, general manager, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. “We are pleased to recognize Edsby for being selected as finalist of the 2016 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year award.” Edsby announced a global educational industry relationship with Microsoft [early in 2016](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-microsoft-partnership-azure/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby for elementary](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-elementary/commentary/) **Published:** April 19, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Many LMSes work okay in high school. But younger children have different needs. Here's why the Edsby LMS for K-12 is ideal even for elementary grades. **Content:** ## Why do young kids need an online social learning system if they can barely type? Most LMSes work okay for high school. But younger children have different needs and are assessed differently. And their parents are much more involved. The Edsby LMS was built exclusively for K-12, and that means the whole of the K-12 spectrum… not just high school. Edsby is packed full of features that make it ideal for use by teachers and parents of primary and elementary grade students. Even if those students can’t spell, read or type quite yet! We’ve put together a web page that details the features and benefits of Edsby that make it a superb choice for teachers and parents of young students. Read it [here](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-elementary/). **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Edsby named 2016 CODiE award finalist](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-2016-codie-awards-finalist/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 7, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Prestigious recognition from the top awards program in the software industry. **Content:** Edsby has been identified as a finalist for the **2016 SIIA Education CODiE award for Best Classroom Management Solution**. It’s the second year in a row Edsby has been named for this award. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier awards in the software and information industries, and have been recognizing product excellence for 30 years. Winners are to be announced during a [virtual award ceremony](http://eventcallregistration.com/reg/index.jsp?cid=60821t11) on May 18th. Additional CODiE-related ceremonies and celebrations with take place at the [Education Industry Symposium](http://www.siia.net/eis) in Denver on July 26th. Edsby is a modern, cloud-based learning management system (LMS) for K-12 school districts that uses latest web and mobile technologies to connect teachers, students and parents in exciting new ways. It incorporates social learning, school news, group collaboration, assessment management, timetables and calendars, course planning, report cards, attendance and more. “Every year the list of CODiE Award finalists is a case study of how the ed tech industry is using new technologies in combination with knowledge about how people learn to respond to customer needs. They’re opening doors for learners of all ages.” said Karen Billings, vice president and managing director of Education Technology Industry Network. SIIA is an umbrella association representing 800+ technology, data and media companies globally. Industry leaders work through SIIA’s divisions to address issues and challenges that impact their industry segments with the goal of driving innovation and growth for the industry and each member company. This is accomplished through in-person and online business development opportunities, peer networking, corporate education, intellectual property protection and government relations. For more information, visit [siia.net](http://www.siia.net/). The full list of CODiE award finalists are posted [here](http://www.siia.net/Press/SIIA-Announces-Education-Finalists-for-2016-CODiE-Awards). This is the latest in [a series of recent awards and distinctions](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/) for Edsby. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Eight ways teachers can learn Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/eight-ways-help-teachers-learn-edsby/product-news/) **Published:** March 31, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** We've developed eight ways to help educators get comfortable with Edsby. Why? Because not everybody learns the same way. **Content:** ## Not everybody learns the same way. Not even teachers! Some of us love the challenge of learning new things, and some of us don’t. So Edsby works hard to support all of a school district’s educators as they learn Edsby in ways that work best for them. Edsby has developed eight ways to help educators get comfortable with the system. Visit [this page](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/teacher-success-with-edsby/) for an overview of what Edsby provides to help teachers get the most from their use of Edsby. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Total cost of ownership in the cloud](https://www.edsby.com/total-cost-of-ownership/commentary/) **Published:** March 9, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** There's a lot of expense hidden below the waterline of traditional on-premises software, making cloud-based systems like Edsby compelling. **Content:** ![cloudTCO](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cloudTCO.png) ##### Source: Yankee Group DecisionNote technology analysis Having difficulty understanding the benefits of on-premises software vs. cloud-based systems? The picture above helps give a good understanding of the hidden costs of on-premise solutions versus cloud solutions. For many organizations, the true costs of both solutions are poorly understood, making it difficult to compare total cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI) across the two options. Cloud-based applications like Edsby make great sense in K-12 school districts, where instructional technology and IT teams are often required to deploy and support software to ten times as many users as an average company for one tenth the budget of an average company. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Why one school district chose Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-webinar-kpr/customers/) **Published:** March 2, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** In a webinar with Microsoft, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board shared how it has moved to Edsby for better student & parent communication. **Content:** ### **In an Edsby webinar with Microsoft, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board shared how and why it has moved its 34,000 students to the Edsby learning management system.** In a session titled *Getting Info Out of the SIS And Into The Hands of Students, Teachers and Parents*, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board described how its LMS allows it to share data safely. The district had interest in sharing information from its legacy systems wider among all the stakeholders in a child’s education—but found that safely managing who gets access to what wasn’t easy, especially when parents are involved. [![Edsby webinar with Plaizier and Fitzgerald of KPR](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-02-at-8.19.11-AM-850x480.png)](https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=23351E67BC1D5EC!1130&authkey=!ACacEsvRzfIs6fM&ithint=video%2cmp4)Kawartha Pine Ridge CIO Ron Plaizier and Manager of Network Services Dan Fitzgerald described the process and end result of selecting Edsby as its district-wide solution. Watch and listen to a recording of the event [here](https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=23351E67BC1D5EC!1130&authkey=!ACacEsvRzfIs6fM&ithint=video%2cmp4). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby LMS "goes way beyond the basics" writes eSchool News](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-an-lms-that-goes-way-beyond-the-basics-says-eschool-news/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** February 24, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Publication profiles three K-12 districts and schools using learning management in innovative ways. **Content:** A large school district that uses Edsby for all its students, parents and teachers is one of three places K-12 learning management systems (LMSes) are being used in innovative ways, writes *eSchool News*. In an article titled [3 LMS adoptions that go way beyond the basics](http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/02/24/3-lms-adoptions-that-go-way-beyond-the-basics/), the publication highlights what it thinks are interesting applications of LMS technology. At Greater Essex County District School Board (GECSDB) in Ontario, previous use of a number of other systems required students, parents and teachers to use multiple usernames, logins, and platforms to retrieve information, the reporter writes. The district of 35,000 students, 57 elementary schools, and 15 secondary schools recently moved over to Edsby. > “My daughter had five logins during her final year of high school,” said John Howitt, superintendent. On a mission to “reduce the number of places people have to go for information,” he said the board has been working to consolidate its learning management systems. As part of that mission, GECDSB also wanted to integrate its student information system in a new, centralized LMS. A significant factor in the district’s choice of Edsby was that it could “wrap around” the district’s existing student information system, or SIS, according to the article. District decision-makers also liked that the platform’s developers previously developed FirstClass, an email and collaboration system used by the district for 15 years. According to the superintendent, Edsby’s groups features are even more powerful than the groups popular in FirstClass, offering “a similar ‘group’ conference capability, mixed in with a ‘bit of a Facebook-wall kind of feel,’ said Howitt.” > Using the timetable that’s built into the SIS, for example, ninth-grade science teachers are automatically placed in collaborative “groups” that allow them to pose questions about the curriculum, share resources, and interact *without* have to send out email messages to the entire group. Read the article in its entirety [here](http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/02/24/3-lms-adoptions-that-go-way-beyond-the-basics/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby TV news story](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-tv-news-story/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** February 17, 2016 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A TV network affiliate featured one district's rollout of Edsby to its 35,000 students and their parents across the river from Detroit. Check it out. **Content:** An Edsby TV news story ran recently on CTV Windsor, the local Canadian television network affiliate in Windsor, Ontario—the large city across the river from Detroit. The area’s 35,000 students and their parents are being introduced to Edsby as the local school district’s new parent portal, news source, and teaching and learning platform. The Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) will also be leveraging Edsby’s modern attendance, assessment and learning management tools. Click below to watch the story. [![Edsby TV story](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screen-Shot-2016-02-17-at-2.29.42-PM.png)](http://ctv.news/YAsSSLE) Greater Essex is the fourth large Ontario region to adopt Edsby recently. District School Board of Niagara announced in October, 2015 that its 36,000 students were moving to Edsby. In June, the 60,000-student Halton District School Board announced it was adopting Edsby. And in April, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board announced it had selected Edsby for its 34,000 students. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby named to Getting Smart annual list](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-getting-smart-annual-list/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** October 16, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby named to analyst firm's list of learning platform organizations "doing innovative work." **Content:** Educational technology analysts [Getting Smart](http://gettingsmart.com) have included Edsby on one of the firm’s annual lists. For three years now, Getting Smart has acknowledged people and organizations making a difference with its Smart Lists. This October and November, it is publishing a handful of ‘Best Of’ lists of people, companies and institutions “we appreciate doing innovative work,” the firm writes. Edsby appears on the organization’s list of [28 learning platforms](http://gettingsmart.com/2015/10/smart-list-28-learning-platforms/) deserving recognition, published this week. It notes Edsby for being “K-12 designed, mobile, social & personalized.” In an accompanying article, Getting Smart says vendors on its list “deserve a round of applause.” Earlier this fall, Getting Smart published a review of Edsby in a report and accompanying infographic on [next-generation learning platforms](http://gettingsmart.com/publication/getting-smart-on-next-gen-learning-platforms/). The Getting Smart recognition is the 10th recent accolade for Edsby. Details of all 10 [here](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby among the top 10 LMSes of 2015-2016](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-among-the-top-10-lmses-of-2015-2016/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** September 16, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby has been named a top 10 nextgen learning management system by analyst Craig Weiss of E-Learning 24/7. **Content:** Edsby has been named one of the top 10 next generation learning management systems (LMSes) of 2015-2016 by analyst Craig Weiss of [E-Learning 24/7](http://elearninfo247.com). Weiss, an e-learning blogger, analyst and consultant whose firm provides services to buyers and suppliers in the e-learning industry, included Edsby in a roundup of top 10 LMSes that he thinks represent where e-learning is headed. Weiss defines “next generation” as it relates to LMSes as: - **UI/UX that “hits all the cylinders”** – a modern user experience. - **Strong mobile support** – Responsive web design is not good enough. Dedicated apps needed. - **Broad general feature capability** – A feature set beyond simple compliance/regulatory compliance, beyond simple chatting, beyond social “up/down like/dislike,” and beyond simple courses and content as we think of them today. #### Top 10 LMSes: Edsby Edsby—ranked one of the most disruptive systems across all of corporate learning, higher education and K-12 markets—is described by Weiss as “a whole new ball of wax.” Some of his other comments about Edsby: > I like the ability for students to be able to upload their own content (I know it seems like this would be universal – just as you think it would be on the corporate side – but in neither case it is!) and manage it. > Big pluses for me on the NextGen side include ability to send approvals like field trip, etc. electronically including signatures. > I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid losing approval slips were a common event and oh those report cards that the parent had to sign after seeing it – hello, tossing into a bush and claiming it was stolen! With Edsby – that famous trick won’t work anymore. ###### [![Craig Weiss of E-Learning 24/7 on top 10 LMSes](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/craigweiss_1366647580_06.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/craigweiss_1366647580_06.jpg)Craig Weiss of E-Learning 24/7 Weiss was named one of the most influential people in the e-learning world in 2015. He writes the [E-Learning 24/7](http://www.elearninfo247.com/) blog read weekly in 154 countries and territories. His latest report is [Top 50 LMSs for 2015](http://elearning247.org/products/2015-top-50-lms-report). Weiss is working on a book on “everything you need to know about LMSs including administration, pre/post implementation, business processes and more,” to be published in 2016. Read Weiss’ top 10 next generation learning management systems (LMSes) of 2015-2016 roundup [here](http://elearninfo247.com/2015/09/03/top10nextgen1516/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby at Lakefield College](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-lakefield-college-school/customers/) **Published:** July 3, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Educators at Lakefield College School have been learning Edsby this summer and are looking forward to using it in the fall. **Content:** [Lakefield College School](http://www.lcs.on.ca/) in Ontario—a private school on 315 acres with a lake, fields, forests and small village-like campus—is a latest institution to adopt Edsby. And educators there are very enthusiastic about their new tool. LCS had been using a homegrown learning management system for many years, so teachers and admin staff had high expectations. The majority of staff in a recent training session welcomed Edsby with open arms. The school purchased t-shirts from the [Edsby Store](http://cafepress.com/Edsby) for their internal Edsby champions, who they named Edsby Captains. They purchased additional shirts and mugs as give-aways. Teacher training focused on communication, student evaluation and group collaboration. Teachers spent many years building content in Lotus Notes, so switching content to Edsby required work. Edsby’s [report card workflow system](https://www.edsby.com/features/report-cards/) prompted a round of applause for the report card’s comment box character count. Teachers and admins asked many great questions of trainers and product management. ![Edsby at Lakefield College School](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/20150619_153952-850x436.jpg)Lakefield College staff getting trained on Edsby.Departments gathered together all over the campus to create content in Edsby groups for [professional learning communities](https://www.edsby.com/product-news/edsby-groups-professional-development-plc-pd/) (PLCs) for the fall. Edsby staff rotated between the far flung rooms and answered questions. The Arts group was particularly excited about Edsby’s expectations feature. The phrase “we’ve wanted something like this for years,” was heard. They were particulary thrilled about being able to link observations to expectations. Other groups liked the ability to have discussions around assessments, and plan to get students to use it for reflection. Training sessions ended with rounds of applause. In the hallways, many teachers mentioned how much they liked Edsby and were looking forward to the fall. Lakefield students, parents and teachers log into their Edsby system at [lcs.edsby.com](https://lcs.edsby.com). ![Edsby at Lakefield College School](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/20150619_160429-850x445.jpg)Edsby takes a break on Lakefield College’s dock after a long day of training. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [K-12 needs social learning](https://www.edsby.com/k-12-needs-social-learning/commentary/) **Published:** June 24, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** "Social" is everywhere. So is K-12's current love affair with "personalized learning" a mistake? A THE Journal blog explores the idea. **Content:** “Social” as an adjective—as in social gaming, social media and social networks—is everywhere these days. So why is the North American educational industry so preoccupied with “personalized learning” today, the opposite of social experiences? An excerpt from a new blog at THE Journal, titled [K-12 Needs Social Learning!](http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/06/17/social-learning.aspx): > You are playing a social game, World of Warcraft, when your spouse suggests a dinner on the town. Since you are new to the area, you tap into your social network to find out where the best Mexican food can be had in Kearney (NE). After an old chum from high school, now living in Kearney, points you to Mi Casa, you login into Yelp using your social login, which you use for Facebook and all your other social networks to check for more social proof about the quality of the restaurant. ### Social learning lessons from the real world The business world learned that isolating workers has been detrimental. Working in cubicles didn’t enable employees to work together as teams. It didn’t encourage cooperating and collaborating to solve the problems faced in business, or, frankly, in life. Cubicles are now out of fashion. And yet personalized learning proposes putting kids in front of monitors for long periods of time, alone. When every other aspect of their lives is now hyper social. The authors ask, “is this a recipe for success?” > We need to develop social learning skills; we need to learn to get along with each other. But, with the current focus on “[personalized learning](http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/12/04/personalized-learning.aspx),” where students sit, with headphones, isolated from their peers, in front of computer screen, for a substantial part of the school day, K-12 is in grave danger of missing the point of education: to develop citizens who can work together, joyfully, in social harmony. Read the whole article ***K-12 Needs Social Learning!*** [here](http://thejournal.com/articles/2015/06/17/social-learning.aspx). The blog is by Cathie Norris, a Regents Professor in the Department of Learning Technologies at the University of North Texas, and Elliot Soloway an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of CSE, College of Engineering, at the University of Michigan. They write the blog Being Mobile at [thejournal.com/beingmobile](http://thejournal.com/beingmobile). ### Social learning with Edsby The [Edsby learning management system](https://www.edsby.com) does a great job of encouraging social interaction between students and teachers. It extends their interactions in the physical classroom. Familiar Facebook-like [social feed capabilities](https://www.edsby.com/features/#social-classroom) and [group collaboration](https://www.edsby.com/features/#group-collaboration) features help students feel connected among themselves and to their teachers, in and out of class. Learn more about Edsby [here](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/). **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Coming to Edsby in fall 2015](https://www.edsby.com/coming-in-edsby-fall-2015/product-news/) **Published:** June 2, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** These new Edsby capabilities were shown to customers at this year's Edsbyfest event at Edsby HQ. **Content:** New Edsby features coming for fall 2015 were unveiled to customers last week at Edsbyfest, Edsby’s annual product planning & customer feedback forum at Edsby headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Delegates from some 35 school districts & private schools offered feedback on the Edsby development roadmap and gave input into future Edsby engineering priorities. In all, some 65 new Edsby capabilities coming this fall were previewed. While some were small improvements or changes to existing functionality, many significant new capabilities were detailed, and in some cases demonstrated to attendees. The following were among the significant new features scheduled to be available in Edsby in the fall of 2015: ### Expectations/outcomes/standards-based assessments - Ability to tie assessments, observations and lessons to state, provincial or federal expectations, outcomes or standards - Easy ways to track coverage by class - Easy ways to track progress by student - Private observation enhancements, including tieing observations back to expectations/outcomes/standards, scoring observations with a single click [![Standards-based assessments in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Snap-3.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Snap-3.png)Teachers will be able to map assessments and observations to local or federal educational expectations (i.e. standards or outcomes) in Edsby. Colors indicate individual and rolled-up results. Coming in fall 2015.### Online assessments (formative and summative) - Support for true/false, multiple choice and specific answers - Support for text answers - Can be used as formative or summative assessment - Tie questions to strands/categories - Tie questions to state, provincial or federal expectations/outcomes/standards [![Example of an online test in Edsby, showing multiple question types. Coming fall 2015.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/onlinetest.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/onlinetest.png)Example of an online test in Edsby, showing multiple question types. Coming fall 2015.### Rubric-based assessments - Built in rubric creator - Ability to share and reuse rubrics - Tie rubrics to strands/categories - Tie rubrics to state, provincial or federal expectations/outcomes/standards - Online scoring of rubrics [![Edsby rubric scoring](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/rubric-scoring.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/rubric-scoring.png)Rubric-based assessment scoring in Edsby. Coming in fall 2015.### Online forms (approvals) - Allows schools/districts to electronically receive parent approvals for student activities like field trips - Student zoom used to select students of specified type, e.g. specific class, grade, other filters - Teacher/administrator can edit text body - Status summary of approvals provided once sent - Parents receive workflow in their Edsby mailbox - Notifies both or all parents when one has approved it [![Edsby form approvals](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/approvals.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/approvals.png)A field trip approval form sent to a parent through Edsby. Reducing paper in the backpack. Coming fall 2015.### Parent-teacher interview booking - Replaces paper process in some schools - Replaces complex 3rd party solutions for others - Complete workflow for admin, teachers and parents Many other features and improvements were described and demonstrated to Edsbyfest attendees. ![Edsbyfest Attendees 2015](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_7289.jpg)Read what Edsby and others [tweeted from Edsbyfest 2015](https://twitter.com/search?q=Edsbyfest&src=typd&vertical=default&f=tweets). View pictures from [Edsbyfest 2015 here](https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.725400900903048.1073741835.124004037709407&type=1) and the [last year’s event here](https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.569580179818455.1073741828.124004037709407&type=3). **Categories:** Product news --- ### [4 steps to a useable LMS](https://www.edsby.com/4-steps-to-a-useable-lms/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** May 29, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edudemic profiles how Edsby has revolutionized learning at a high profile private school. **Content:** *Jon Butcher of St. Andrew’s College with students at the private boys school.* The educational publication Edudemic has [published an article](http://www.edudemic.com/4-steps-useable-used-lms/) authored by Jon Butcher of prestigious private school St. Andrew’s College detailing keys to the organization’s use of its Edsby LMS. Edsby adoption at St. Andrew’s is 100%; all students, teachers and parents use the system, according to school officials. According to Butcher, > We implemented a full one-to-one laptop program in 2002, moving to pen-enabled tablet PCs in 2008, and implemented Edsby as our LMS in 2012. Instead of installing an LMS simply for the sake of having one, schools would be better off focusing on their unique pain points and on how an LMS can address them … Above all, students, teachers, administrators and parents all need to believe the system adds value. Without buy-in – most importantly from teachers, every LMS is doomed to be “shelfware.” Butcher details four factors critical to Edsby’s widespread adoption: #### 1. Put teachers first #### 2. Focus on features that do the most good #### 3. Make the connection (with your SIS), and #### 4. Push for customization Read the Edudemic article, with detail on all 4 of Butcher’s points, in its entirety [here](http://www.edudemic.com/4-steps-useable-used-lms/). St. Andrew’s College has been using Edsby for three years. Read a detailed profile of how it uses Edsby [here](https://www.edsby.com/users/case-studies/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [First all-Edsby graduating class](https://www.edsby.com/first-all-edsby-graduating-class/customers/) **Published:** May 15, 2015 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** This year's graduating students at the first school to adopt Edsby have never known high school without Edsby. **Content:** Kids in the graduating class this year at [Toronto District Christian High School](http://www.tdchristian.ca) (“TDChristian”), a private school in the Toronto area, are the first to have used Edsby every year since they started high school. That means these students are the first to have never known high school without Edsby! TDChristian was the first school to adopt Edsby when it was first introduced in September 2011. Edsby worked closely with the school to incorporate feedback, and add features and improve the product. ![Robin at TDChristian](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Robin-850x649.jpg)Edsby developer and former TDChristian student Robin Wallar addresses graduates at the school’s 2015 graduation breakfastTo mark the occasion, Edsby donated an Edsby logo t-shirt to every student in the graduating class, and they were enthusiastically received. Some immediately started asking friends to sign the backs of their t-shirts. A couple said they planned to tie-dye their shirts. Students Edsby spoke with at TDChristian said they still think Edsby is “so cute”, enjoyed when Edsby “dressed up for different occasions” and thought Edsby’s tweets were “really funny.” ![Shirt Signing](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shirt-signing.jpg)Kids sign each others’ Edsby shirts at TDChristianEdsby will miss you, TDChristian grads! Best of luck! (Want Edsby stuff, too? Do you know about the [Edsby store](http://www.cafepress.com/edsby)?) [![Edsby Graduation](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/edsby-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/edsby-student.png) ## Edsby congratulates the 2015 graduating class of TDChristian, and all other graduating classes this year **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby differentiating itself: Analyst](https://www.edsby.com/analyst-edsby-differentiating-itself/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 16, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** An educational research publication notes Edsby for improving student, teacher and parent engagement. **Content:** The *[Electronic Education Report](http://www.electroniceducationreport.com)*, a newsletter from Simba Information that has been publishing about technology in education for nearly twenty years, has published a front-page article profiling Edsby in a latest issue. In the article [Edsby Targets Engagement in LMS Offering](http://www.electroniceducationreport.com/content/edsby-lms-targets-engagement), Edsby cofounder and vice president of sales Scott Welch notes Edsby was born out of a desire to build a great education product that would address a specific problem: dissatisfaction on the part of schools with tools for driving student and teacher engagement and providing parent access. > “The idea that you are going to move the needle in a district with a bunch of off-the-shelf tools that teachers are going to integrate themselves is unrealistic,” Welch said. > > Welch said Edsby is not the same in any two districts. Rather, the product is highly customizable based on the policies, websites and gradebooks of each customer. > > What is consistent is Edsby must operate in conjunction with a student information system. The SIS populates Edsby and is the system of record that drives it. > > The result is there is no change to standard operating procedures and passwords when Edsby is implemented. According to Welch, this drives adoption to much higher levels than is typically seen with new technology products. The article points out that all Edsby sites are paid accounts. There is no free downloadable version of the Edsby software. And when it is adopted, the system is used heavily, the profile notes. > Almost half the users (47%) access Edsby solely by mobile device, while 44% use a mixture of web and mobile access and 9% access solely by web browsers. > > “If you don’t have a truly mobile solution, you cut almost half of your potential users out,” Welch said. “Most LMS vendors are clueless about this.” > > Edsby is a cloud-based product with upgrades and support managed in the cloud. Data is kept on Edsby’s secure server. Welch emphasized that the data is not mined, rented or sold by Edsby. > > “Because we are not freemium, we are quite clear on who owns this data—the school district owns this data,” Welch said. > > The focus on addressing parent access is one of the things that separates an LMS built for K-12 from an LMS repurposed from higher education, where the emphasis is on self-paced student learning, Welch said. While a paid publication, this article and excerpts above are made available by special arrangement with Simba Information. To read the entire article, click [here](http://www.electroniceducationreport.com/content/edsby-lms-targets-engagement). The Electronic Education Report is available to subscribers for $650 for 24 issues per year plus shipping. A free trial is available [here](http://www.simbainformation.com/Electronic-Education-Free-2848369/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby "earning five-star reviews" in school district](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-earning-five-star-reviews-in-school-district/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** April 15, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Close to 40,000 teachers, students and their parents in a rural area will soon be using Edsby, and they love what they see so far, writes local newspaper. **Content:** A newspaper in the area of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in Ontario, Canada has published an article about local schools now using Edsby, with more schools soon coming on board. Close to 40,000 teachers and students, as well as parents and other guardians, will soon be using Edsby (see [this announcement](https://www.edsby.com/pressreleases/edsby-selected-by-kawartha-pine-ridge-for-district-wide-deployment/)). Cobourg Collegiate Institute (CCI) recently implemented Edsby as part of the rollout. The article cites CCI staff. > “\[Edsby\] brings it all together under one nice umbrella,” vice-principal Jamie Patenall summed up. > > “It’s easy for staff to use, and it helps their ability to communicate with students and communicate with parents.” Teachers needing parents to fill out permission forms for a field trip are using Edsby to post it for a parent to scan and e-mail back (or even print it off, sign it and send it in). They’re also finding it a great way to evaluate and professionally collaborate about and assist students individually in terms of grades, attendance or other areas of concern. They’re benefiting from Edsby’s functions that assist teachers with grading, taking into account levels of instruction, grades to date, and all the data needed to sum up a student’s achievement into a grade, according to the writer. CGI teacher Bruce LePage uses Edsby’s social media and group functions extensively, says the article. > LePage loves that creating polls is so easy. He recently polled one class on-line, for example, to see what aspects of climate change they were most worried about. > > He is also excited about the ability to create on-line pages just for groups, like the school’s chess club. If a meeting changes or tournament information is announced, he said, it’s a snap to make sure everyone knows. > > Group pages develop wherever the need is felt, he added. The International Baccalaureate teachers, Grade 10 teachers and English department, for example, have all created their own group sites. CGI Principal Laina Andrews says Edsby excels in helping her find at-risk students, is easy to use, and may help reduce the need for other software in the district. > Establishing parameters for research is so easy, Andrews said. Whether it’s a list of all male students with an overall average of between 62 and 63 or a list of Grade 9 students who have been absent more than once in any given week, Andrews said, “you can drill down to anything.” > > Andrews has found that Edsby is as easy and intuitive to use as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. > > “It has elements of all those things we are already familiar with,” she said. > > Down the road, Andrews can see Edsby eliminating the need for individual teacher websites that are now in use. And school websites will exist only for providing the most basic information to members of the community who are not affiliated with the school. Read the article in its entirety [here](http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2015/04/14/edsby-wins-over-two-cobourg-schools). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby a 2015 CODiE award finalist](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-a-2015-codie-award-finalist/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 31, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby earns prestigious recognition from the top awards in the software industry. **Content:** Edsby has been named a finalist for the **2015 SIIA Education CODiE award for Best Classroom Management Solution**. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier awards in the software and information industries, and have been recognizing product excellence for 29 years. This year’s program features 28 education industry categories, several of which are new or updated to reflect the latest industry trends and business models. Winners are to be announced in a special awards dinner at the [Education Industry Summit](http://www.siia.net/eis) in San Francisco on May 5th, 2015. The announcement is also to be live streamed. Edsby is a modern, cloud-based learning management system (LMS) for K-12 school districts that uses latest web and mobile technologies to connect teachers, students and parents in exciting new ways. It incorporates social learning, school news, group collaboration, assessment management, timetables and calendars, course planning, report cards, attendance and more. “This year’s finalists are breaking ground with new business models and innovative products. We are pleased to recognize the best in educational technology with these products,” said Karen Billings, vice president of the SIIA Education Technology Industry Network. SIIA is the leading association representing the software and digital content industries. SIIA represents approximately 800 member companies worldwide that develop software and digital information content. For more information, visit [www.siia.net](http://www.siia.net/). The full list of CODiE award finalists are posted [here](https://www.siia.net/archive/codies/2015/finalists.asp#Education). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby named Best Company by Richmond Hill](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-best-company-by-richmond-hill/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** March 13, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Chamber of Commerce where Edsby is headquartered has awarded Edsby the Best Medium Sized Company in the region. **Content:** Edsby was born and has grown up in Richmond Hill, Ontario, just north of Toronto. This week, the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce announced its selection of Edsby as the “Best Medium Sized Company of 2015.” “We are delighted to have been selected for this prestigious award,” said John Myers, president of Edsby. “We have had tremendous support from the city and this has been a great location to base our growing software business. It is especially exciting to see more and more education organizations in and around Richmond Hill using Edsby to connect their teachers, students and parents together.” Edsby President John Myers accepted the award in a gala event at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts Tuesday night. ![IMG_6865](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_6865-768x1024.jpg) **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby and the "edtech Holy Grail"](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-aimed-at-edtech-holy-grail/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** February 25, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A publication reviewed Edsby for a series of articles on the evolution of learning platforms. And they liked what they saw. **Content:** Edsby is reviewed by education site Getting Smart in a collection of feature articles titled [Impact at Scale: The Learning Platform Series](http://gettingsmart.com/2015/02/impact-scale-learningplatform-series/). The publication writes: > Launched in Ontario in 2010, Edsby is aiming at the EdTech holy grail–a great learning platform for K-12 schools that is popular with students and parents, yet lets districts enforce policies and regional educational standards. Unlike other learning management systems, especially free apps that teachers can download themselves, Edsby is an enterprise platform intended to be centrally installed. That means teachers don’t have to manage it. And regional administrators can configure it to ensure uniform assessment and reporting standards. The review notes: > Edsby is designed for schoolwide and districtwide use–and it supports all the integrations necessary to support high utilization rates. The article also points out how Edsby is gaining traction for helping districts facilitate professional learning. > Edsby auto populates groups from districts’ existing systems and makes it easy for educators to build professional learning communities. Teachers can capture private observation and selectively share those with other teachers. Students can add artifacts to their portfolio to be shared privately with their teachers and parents. Read the article in its entirety [here](http://gettingsmart.com/2015/02/k-12-lms-edsby-designed-scale-aimed-edtech-holy-grail/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Q&A with a little blue robot that was not like other kids](https://www.edsby.com/qa-with-a-little-blue-robot-that-was-not-like-other-kids/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** February 3, 2015 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** The daily newspaper at the 2015 FETC conference interviewed Edsby, the blue alien/robot mascot of the Edsby learning management system for K-12. **Content:** *The EdTech Show Daily newspaper of the 2015 Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC), which just concluded, ran an interview with Edsby, the blue alien/robot mascot of the Edsby learning management system for K-12.* **I understand you’re from the future?** Yep. My father was something of a notorious [chainsmoking metalworking bot](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/about-edsbys-creators/#whoisedsby) and my [mother was an Andorian](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/about-edsbys-creators/#whoisedsby). I was transported back here to bring K-12 learning management into the future. **How are you doing that?** Our software product Edsby is a modern, cloud-based learning management system (LMS) for K-12 school districts that uses latest web and mobile technologies to connect teachers, students and parents in exciting new ways. Edsby has tightly integrated features like social learning, school news, group collaboration, assessment management, timetables and calendars, course planning, report cards, attendance and more. And they work district-wide, so districts can bring ALL their teachers and students into the future at the same time. **What sets it apart?** Unlike other LMSes, which were developed for higher education or corporate learning, Edsby is designed specifically for K-12 school districts. And to make rollouts quick and to minimize ongoing administration, it integrates tightly with existing school district systems, leveraging data and security policies that already exist. And it allows for deep customization, even while being cloud-based, while similar systems don’t. **You’re working with some famous humans to do this, yes?** Yes. The team at Edsby has been developing educational software [for almost 30 years](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/about-edsbys-creators/). It’s the original team behind FirstClass, a messaging and collaboration product used by school districts around the world and still widely used in K-12. Their close relationships with education customers over three decades have given them insights into problems faced by teachers, students, parents and administrators. This gave them inspiration to create Edsby—something completely new for schools based on latest software technology. **What’s the biggest thing you’ve faced so far?** Well, they made fun of me a lot at school for looking different. **No, I mean at the company.** Oh. Well, #1 has been tending to our largest customer to date. With almost 300,000 users, one school district in Florida uses Edsby extensively. We’ve optimized and customized the system to perform quickly and reliably for it. Its use of Edsby is staggering. Virtually all 300,000 students, parents and teachers use the system regularly. Another challenge is that K-12 education is very regional. Even neighboring school districts often have radically different ways of assessing and reporting kids’ academic progress. Systems like Edsby have to be built to connect to a wide variety of regional databases, embrace a wide variety of assessment schemes (e.g. letter grades vs. percentage grades) and report card formats. Luckily, the company was aware of this from day one, and designed its product to take these requirements into account. **Is Edsby a boy or a girl?** Yes. No. Oh, that’s so outdated. What does it matter?! **Categories:** In the news --- ### [High grades for Edsby on edtech review site](https://www.edsby.com/high-marks-for-edsby-on-edtech-review-site/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** January 22, 2015 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Parents & educators have recently written a dozen new reviews on edtech app site Edshelf. **Content:** What do teachers and parents who use Edsby *really* think about it? Education app review site EdShelf now features a flurry of new reviews of Edsby written by educators and parents. These latest reviewers have been using the most recent version of the Edsby modern learning management system for K-12 school districts. Here are some excerpts. Lisa Andersen, Parent: > It’s never easy making technology changes once you are used to something else. However, Edsby has gotten better in the past few years that our school district has used it … I love that it Edsby is up to date and easy to retrieve my children’s work. It’s a practical tool that helps me as a parent, and my children to be able to stay on top of their daily work … My family has found it to be an excellent way to keep informed and up to date daily on my children’s classwork and with their teachers. Jonathan Boer, Art Educator: > I used Edsby at my last school in Ontario, and wish I had it at my new school in British Columbia … Edsby is quite comprehensive in terms of what it can do, and yet maintains an up to date, user friendly interface that doesn’t feel cumbersome. In my opinion, it is already superior to Schoology, Edmodo, Moodle, and Google Classroom as a learning management system. I would definitely recommend Edsby. Ira Glover, Teacher: > Edsby has become a permanent fixture within my classroom. With my students having access to iPads, it is very easy to upload documents and post them so that students can access the documents and complete tasks in the classroom or at home without having to acquire a paper copy of the task. Also, Edsby allows me as the teacher to input student grades and add comments for students about their progress. David Lee, Vice Principal: > We began using Edsby this fall and the whole school loves it! The interface is easy to use and is very student friendly. Parents love that they can keep up to date on what is happening at the school and with their children. The fact that it draws information directly from our S.I.S. makes updates easy. We use it for classes as well as clubs, teams, PLCs and a lot of other groups within the school … We recommend Edsby without hesitation. Will Lammers, Vice Principal: > We are into our third year of using Edsby as a learning management system. I will unequivocally say that it has become a critical and positive factor in the communication that happens in all of the curricular and extra-curricular life of our school … students and parents have completely bought in to using this product on a daily basis, to access both homework and information on marks, and, although there were some early “kinks” associated with difficultly in accessing Edsby from mobile devices, Edsby helped all users resolve these difficulties effectively and quickly. Julie Cole, Parent: > I have found Edsby invaluable. My son has some executive functioning issues, and being able to connect home, student and school in such an effective way has been a life-saver for this busy mother! Leslieann McLean-Bruno, Parent: > I use this tool for my son who is in Grade 9. It helps me to feel connected with what he is doing at school. I know when to ease up on him on chores and other family activities because I can see what he is doing at school … this is a great app and I wish that my other son in Grade 6 had it at his school. I tell any parent or teacher at other schools about it. Paul Vieux, Parent: > My wife and I use Edsby to stay on top of our two kids’ progress at school. We’ve used other things to follow their grades before, but Edsby is more than just grades… we see their homework, attendance, and even what their daily schedule is. Our kids aren’t the biggest fans of Edsby, because we get to see everything they’re doing and sometimes they get privileges taken away if their grades dip(!), but there’s no question in my mind that Edsby is making them and their classmates better students. John Butcher, Teacher: > Our school has been using every feature of Edsby for 3 years now – it is quite simply the best of breed when it comes to LMS portals. There is nothing I have seen that comes close to its power, simplicity of use, and – most importantly – educational effectiveness … We looked at all the other big names in LMS portals, but none held a candle to Edsby’s power or simplicity. You really have to see it in action to believe it. Read all the Edsby reviews on Edshelf [here](https://www.edshelf.com/tool/edsby). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby named "New and Trending Tech"](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-named-new-and-trending-tech/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** November 24, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Backbone Magazine features Edsby in its guide to noteworthy businesses and tech for 2015. **Content:** In its latest issue, a guide to noteworthy businesses and tech for 2015, Backbone Magazine makes a special mention of Edsby. The new issue focuses on as new and trending tech. It aims to provide readers with a practical glance at some of the most interesting businesses, institutions, innovations, products and trends for the 2015 IT landscape and, ultimately, the economy. In an article featuring Edsby and selected other companies, the magazine writes: > While many companies didn’t fit within the regular categories of this year’s resource guide, a few deserve honorable mention for their rapid growth and innovation. We’ll be watching them closely in the coming year, and you should too. Read the article mentioning Edsby on the web [here](http://www.backbonemag.com/Magazine/2014-11/archive/new-and-trending-tech-2015.aspx), or in digital magazine format [here](http://cloudpublish.net/ezread/backbone/2015annual/index.html#p=30). Backbone Magazine is Canada’s leading magazine focusing on technology, and is bundled with the country’s national newspaper the Globe & Mail. Edsby [won Backbone’s innovation competition in 2013](https://www.edsby.com/coverage/edsby-takes-home-the-top-prize/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby helping teach kids about life online](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-helping-teach-kids-about-life-online/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** November 10, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby is helping students learn how to manage social media and develop safe online behavior. **Content:** Edsby is playing a role in helping students learn online safety & responsibility. The [Tampa Tribune](http://tbo.com/news/education/hillsborough-schools-begin-teaching-kids-to-cope-with-life-online-20141019/) and [eSchool News](http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/11/10/students-online-behavior-378/) write about how students in the Tampa, Florida area are being trained in how to handle themselves online. The initiative goes hand-in-hand with a new “BYOD” (bring your own device) program that is letting kids in the Tampa area bring their phones, tablets and laptops to school. From the Tribune article: > Nikki Rideout, a media specialist at Woodbridge Elementary School, said teaching students how to act online has become part of her job. > > “The media specialist position has changed so much,” Rideout said. “We are no longer keepers of the books. It’s an instructional technology piece we’ve brought under our wing.” > > So far this school year, Rideout has met with several classes each week and other teachers have requested that she work with their classes, too. She has the students practice their social media skills on Edsby, the district’s online gradebook and communication site. > > “The students are so receptive,” Rideout said. More than a quarter of a million students, teachers and parents in the Tampa region make heavy use of Edsby. **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby at Villanova College](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-villanova-college/customers/) **Published:** November 3, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby extends a warm welcome to a latest private school to join its customer community. **Content:** An independent Catholic school in the Toronto area is the latest private school to adopt Edsby. Villanova College is a community-based school. Which means it treats parents as a vital component of a student’s education and the student’s school experience. Edsby is to play a big role in helping improve parent participation even further. Villanova, which has a 33 acre campus in the Toronto area, is part of the Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition and community of schools whose history dates back to 1842 in North America. Its affiliation to seven other Augustinian high schools in the United States and Villanova University makes it part of a broad and rich educational community, according to the school. Learn more about Villanova [here](http://villanovacollege.net/). **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby not vulnerable to Unix Shellshock](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-not-vulnerable-to-unix-shellshock/product-news/) **Published:** September 26, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby's servers are protected against the recently publicized “Shellshock” security holes in Unix. **Content:** Edsby’s cloud servers have been patched with all latest available OS updates for the recently-publicized vulnerabilities in the Unix Bash shell, i.e. CVE-2014-6271 and CVE-2014-7169. We will continue to closely monitor the issues and apply any further updates that are relevant from our OS providers. Edsby’s servers will remain protected. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [What's new in Edsby - September 2014](https://www.edsby.com/whats-new-in-edsby-september-2014/product-news/) **Published:** September 2, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Polls. Likes. Grade book enhancements. New mobile clients. Archiving. Lots has been added to Edsby for this new school year. **Content:** It’s the start of the new school year! Edsby has been hard at work all summer on new features and fixes. Here’s a look at what’s new in Edsby and now available to all users in all schools and school districts. ### New features #### Polls Polls can be used to ask simple questions to a class or group. They’re useful for collecting anonymous responses from students, colleagues, or parents. Polls can be posted in any class or group and can only be accessed by members of the class or group. ![poll](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/poll.png) Viewing and participation depends on the rules of the class or group. Anyone with permission to contribute to the particular class or group where the poll is posted will also have permission to vote. However, those who only have permission to view will not be able to participate but will have access to the results of the poll. Polls can have file attachments and may be posted to multiple classes. And their results can be kept private by the creator of the poll or shared with all respondents. #### **Likes** Members of a class or group can now like a post by hovering over the item and clicking Like. Members of the class or group can see who like a post. Clicking Unlike removes your name from list of people who like the post. #### **New mobile clients** New Edsby clients for iOS and Android introduce faster performance and fix many longstanding issues. And expect even more mobile improvements in the coming weeks as Edsby introduces even more features and fixes without having to upgrade the application in your mobile device. The Edsby mobile apps will magically improve even more without a new download of the app itself. #### Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive Users can now upload files from Microsoft OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) or their Google Drive accounts if their district or school has enabled the capability. #### LTI support Edsby has introduced initial support for the [Learning Tools Interoperability](http://www.imsglobal.org/lti/) specification (1.0) from the IMS Global Learning Consortium. This new functionality opens the door for plug-and-play integration of other educational applications within Edsby. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting new capability in Edsby and what it opens up. #### **Class setup** Edsby has introduced two new tools for teachers to configure their Edsby classes: 1. **Class renaming** – Teachers may now change the name of each class. So, for example, instead of “5080066-8”, a teacher can give the class something more personal like “Morning Grade 10 Algebra” or “Mrs. Ayoub’s Reading Class”. The changed name is shown to the student and teacher, but official locations still use the official class name. 2. **Assignment weightings visible** – The “My Work” display for students and parents has been rebuilt. As part of that improvement, the weighting of each assessment is exposed so students may have a better understanding of how their average is calculated. However, there may be situations in which teachers may not want to reveal this level of information to students (e.g. at the beginning of term, weightings may be confusing). So teachers have the ability to show and hide weighting information. #### Perspective Teachers and administrators now have access to a new Perspective, an in-depth display for teachers and administrators of how an individual student is performing in a class. Teachers can now find all information about a student directly on the Perspective, including all of the student’s assessments, as well as private observations made about the student. Teachers can even add new observations directly from the Perspective. The redesigned chart allows teachers to display not only the average, but also performance based on assessment type and weighting bucket. Teachers can also display all students in the class together, to see which students may need additional assistance. ![perspective](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/perspective.png) The Perspective takes the vast sea of numbers in a teacher’s gradebook and presents them in way that helps them identify students at risk and discover learning and behavior trends. A powerful individual student Perspective view is also available. Private observation features have been enhanced and are accessible through the Perspective. Teachers can also now define and assign tags to private observations, allowing them to quickly find and review observations of a given type, or find all students for whom a certain type of observation has been made. #### Grade book modes There are a number of improvements to the Edsby grade book used by teachers, and a new view: Details Mode. In previous versions of Edsby, the grade book looked like a spreadsheet, a view now called Regular Mode. Teachers could see the whole gradebook at once, or could click on an individual grade and use the Grade Gadget to get more information about that one result in Grade Gadget Mode. Now, Details Mode allows teachers to focus on a single assessment. Teachers can see all of the details of a single assignment, including the grades for each child and any notes they may have entered. They can also enter grades and comments directly from Detail Mode, so it’s faster and easier to make ad-hoc comments for multiple students. #### New student and parent “My Work” reports Students and parents now see more information when they click on “My Work” in each class from a web browser. ![mywork](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/mywork.png) #### Additional Grade Book Improvements Edsby has introduced additional capabilities for teachers importing grades from other grade books. And progress reports can be configured to show student achievement as attractive, new graphical chart and tables. #### Easier Ways To Add Users to Groups Group owners can now invite or automatically add others to groups through the Staff, Student or Parents Zoom views. Easily filter and add the results of any filter to a group. For instance, it is now easy to invite all staff to a Staff Lounge group, say, or automatically add all grade 8 students to a Grade 8 group. Or invite parents of students with an average below 70% into a group. #### New Report Card Data Entry To make the subjective report card data entry process easier, Edsby now provides teachers with a split screen that shows all of a student’s achievement, observations made about the student and even past report cards, all conveniently at the same place at the same time. #### Archives The start of every school year is a time of fresh beginnings. Classroom are clean. Last year’s notes and posters are down from the wall. Old lesson plans are sorted away in binders. Edsby is like that, too. Edsby removes all last year’s old notes and grades from the Student Panorama and puts them away in the Edsby archive. The entire contents of Edsby classes are archived, including course plans, grade books and report card sheets. For groups, feed items older than 90 days are archived. At the school level, all the News River posts are archived. Teachers, principals and other school administrators can go back into the Edsby archive and access classes, students and grades from the previous year. To access archived content, they can select “Archives…” from the drop down menu beside their name in the top right corner of every Edsby screen. ![archives](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/archives-300x173.png) ### Watch for more improvements in Edsby in the months ahead! **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby at Farmington Municipal Schools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-farmington-municipal-schools/customers/) **Published:** July 14, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A district of 10,000 students and 1,200 staff in the northwest corner of New Mexico was looking to lay the infrastructure for standards-based grading and common core curriculum. It turned to Edsby. **Content:** ### How one school district has big plans for Edsby over time Farmington Municipal Schools has its eye on the future. And with Edsby, it’s investing in plumbing for that future. The public school district of 10,000 students and 1,200 staff in the northwest corner of New Mexico was looking to lay the infrastructure for standards-based grading and common core curriculum. It was also seeking a way to share assignments. At the same time, it wanted to continue to benefit from the culture of collaboration and sharing that students, teachers and other staff in the district have enjoyed for the previous 19 years with the popular education email and groupware product FirstClass. In the 2012 school year, Farmington adopted social networking software Edsby to help it facilitate some of this. Farmington had confidence in Edsby because it was designed and published by the same core team that built FirstClass. “Everything you did there \[with FirstClass\] was nice and solid,” noted Charles Thacker, Director of Technology, Farmington Municipal Schools. “Having this group start something with a different name, I didn’t see how it could possibly be bad.” Thacker said the motivation to find another solution for group collaboration than FirstClass was his biggest motivation. *(Continued in PDF, below. Click to read in full.)* [![CaseStudy-Farmington-thumbnail](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CaseStudy-Farmington.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CaseStudy-Farmington.pdf "Edsby at St. Andrew’s College")Download this article as a PDF. **Categories:** Customers --- ### ["Let Me Check My Edsby" vid](https://www.edsby.com/let-me-check-my-edsby-vid/customers/) **Published:** July 2, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Parody of the popular Let Me Take A Selfie by the Chainsmokers. A student production by kids at Toronto District Christian High School in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. You gotta see this. **Content:** A student production by kids at Toronto District Christian High School in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. Parody of [Let Me Take A Selfie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdemFfbS5H0) by the Chainsmokers. Click the image below. All the snapshots in the video are kids checking their Edsby accounts! **Categories:** Customers --- ### [TechFaster calls Edsby "favorite edtech so far"](https://www.edsby.com/techfaster-calls-edsby-favorite-edtech-so-far/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 5, 2014 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Tech pub found Edsby the most impressive educational technology at the 2014 Alabama Educational Technology Conference. **Content:** Tech publication [TechFaster](http://www.techfaster.com) was at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference (AETC) this week. In [an article from the show](http://www.techfaster.com/edsby-aetc/), the publication writes Edsby was its favorite find at the conference. > We’ve already seen a bunch of awesome education companies, but our favorite so far has to be Edsby. Edsby is an incredibly useful tool for educators, administrators, students, and parents. TechFaster applauds Edsby for being “robust, holistic school management software” that helps teaches cut down on the time it takes to handle tedious, administrative tasks while serving as a sort-of daily/weekly/monthly planner and calendar for students. And while the article notes there are other resources that offer similar student and teacher functionality, TechFaster says Edsby really separates from the crowd with its administrator and parent features. > It all starts with deployment. Rather than going through a painstakingly difficult process, Edsby offers turnkey incorporation. Quite simply, Edsby works with any and all IT systems and architecture that schools already use. Meaning, rather than undertaking a massive, expensive migration process, Edsby handles it all internally, and quickly. Once Edsby is in use, administrators are able to see a 360° view of the school. This is truly where Edsby stands out as the best school management software. By viewing each school in totality, Edsby is able to keep all parties – students, teachers, administrators, and parents – informed and up to date. Read the full article [here](http://www.techfaster.com/edsby-aetc/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Edsby at St. Andrew’s College](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-st-andrews-college/customers/) **Published:** May 8, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Read how Edsby has become "the most important application at our school for teaching and learning" at a leading private boys' school **Content:** ### Helping shape bright minds of the future at a leading private boys’ school Edsby is the killer app on the network of one of the leading private all boys’ boarding schools in North America. “Edsby is the most important application at our school for teaching and learning,” acknowledged St. Andrew’s College IT Director Steve Rush. St. Andrew’s, established in 1899, has a beautiful 110-acre campus on which sits a collection of Georgian-style brick and modern buildings just north of Toronto, Canada. It’s known worldwide for its cutting edge use of information technology. In the 1990s, it installed desktop PCs and labs before most public and private schools. In 2002, it put laptops in the hands of all teachers. All students received laptops the following year. In 2009, the school moved to tablet PCs. Edsby was introduced in late 2012. St. Andrew’s has long believed that technology has a role to play in helping students and teachers see their daily work, and for parents to be able to see what students are doing on a daily basis. To facilitate this, the school initially looked at systems such as Net Community from Blackbaud, Desire2Learn, WebCT (later absorbed by Blackboard) and Angel. But none were appropriate. “None of them focused on reporting back what students do by day, what homework they have,” said Rush. So the school developed its own system using FrontPage HTML editor and an online gradebook program. “We had essentially 100% teacher, student and parent uptake, but unfortunately FrontPage became unsupported, and much of the work was manual and time-consuming, and so we needed a sustainable replacement,” said former St. Andrews IT Integration Committee Chair Jon Butcher. School IT staff set itself a three to five-year goal to build a parent/student/teacher portal that would provide access to all course, student, and parent related data. Then staff learned about Edsby—which was able to provide much of what the school wanted almost immediately. “It was impressive to see 80% of our five-year plan implemented in about five months,” said Butcher. *(Continued in PDF, below. Click to read in full.)* [![CaseStudy-SAC-thumbnail](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CaseStudy-SAC-thumbnail.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CaseStudy-SAC.pdf "Edsby at St. Andrew’s College")Download this article as a PDF. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby at Emmanuel Christian High School](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-at-emmanuel-christian-high-school/customers/) **Published:** May 5, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Edsby extends a warm welcome to Emmanuel Christian High School, the latest addition to the Edsby customer family. **Content:** Edsby extends a warm welcome to Emmanuel Christian High School. The latest addition to the Edsby customer family, Emmanuel Christian High is located in Fergus, Canada. It serves the Canadian and United Reformed communities in the area. ![Emmanuel High](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/headerimage.jpg)Emmanuel Christian High School in Ontario … brrr!Read more about Emmanuel [here](http://echs.ca). Edsby will connect to the existing student information system (SIS) run by Emmanuel so as to provide online collaboration for every class in the school, attendance-taking, grade books, parental engagement and more. **Categories:** Customers --- ### [Edsby not vulnerable to OpenSSL compromise](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-not-vulnerable-to-openssl-compromise/product-news/) **Published:** April 10, 2014 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** The recently publicized "Heartbleed" vulnerability in OpenSSL encryption no longer applies to Edsby. **Content:** Edsby is no longer vulnerable to the recently publicized “[Heartbleed](http://heartbleed.com)” compromise in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. The Edsby educational engagement platform uses Apache, which uses OpenSSL for the SSL/TLS encryption it uses to protect user traffic, and upgraded its servers immediately after a fix was made available by the OS service provider. The vulnerability had been in the wild since OpenSSL release 1.0.1 on March 14, 2012, but had only recently been publicized. OpenSSL 1.0.1g, released this Monday, April 7th, 2014, fixed the OpenSSL bug. Edsby incorporated the fix the next day. **Categories:** Product news --- ### [Edsby lauded for its design](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-lauded-for-its-design/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** June 25, 2013 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** Backbone Magazine interviewed Edsby on the role of design in user experience. In an article titled “Edsby: If You Want People to Use Your Software, Make Design a Priority,” the magazine cited Edsby’s focus on increased adoption through a “two-pronged approach: education and, especially, design.” > “Education is part of it, but we think what’s more important, in a way, is the design aspect. So, you’re designing in a way that the users won’t need extensive training,” said John Myers, president of CoreFour, developer of Edsby. > > Myers pointed to Facebook’s 1.11 billion users—all with different degrees of tech savvy—as an example of how the need for training can be reduced or even eliminated. “If you do it well, you can find the learning curve, and adoption, are not so hard,” he said. He said the “old way” of improving adoption is expensive training, but while Edsby conducts training, design is its primary weapon of choice in reaching its goal of 95 per cent use by teachers in the school boards who’ve deployed the cloud-based grade book and social learning platform. > > Still, it can be an “interesting challenge” rolling the product out to some of the largest school boards in North America, like one that is to begin using Edsby on July 1, 2013. The board, with more than 260 schools, nearly 200,000 students and more than 15,000 teachers, is one of the 10 largest school districts in the U.S. > > In the second week of June, three Edsby team members were training 600 technology lead teachers, who will, in turn, train their peers. The design and training efforts rely on the familiarity Edsby founders have with their target market of educators and its reliance on modern practices for cloud-based software, Myers said. Read the full article [here](http://www.backbonemag.com/Backblog/edsby-if-you-want-people-to-use-your-software-make-design-a-priority.aspx). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [Including Teachers and Districts in the Edtech Discussion](https://www.edsby.com/opinion-including-teachers-and-districts-in-the-edtech-discussion/commentary/) **Published:** April 17, 2013 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** *by Scott Welch* *Edsby Co-Founder* Let me start by saying that I think the disconnect is a real and serious one. But I think that the proposed solution–granting teachers purchasing power–is the wrong one. Well, not so much wrong as ineffective. I have a particular and informed perspective on this, having built K-12 education technologies for 25 years now. First, as the co-founder of the company that built [FirstClass](http://www.firstclass.com/) (founded in 1989, it’s the district-wide email and collaboration product currently in 3 of the top 10 school districts in the U.S.) and now as co-founder of [Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/), for which we just announced a district-wide deployment in Tampa, FL, the 8th largest district in the U.S. Where to start? I think that as a group, teachers are woefully underrepresented within the mindshare of typical edtech startups. For 25 years, I’ve seen the same thing happen: some bright young techies get a cool idea on how they can revolutionize education (or fix/disrupt/transform/etc., the jargon changes). They build their clever product, and let’s assume that they do a good job. Then they show it to teachers, and if they are really lucky, they find that some percentage of teachers like the clever product. But when they finally go out to talk to K-12 public school districts, they discover that it doesn’t matter how clever their product is. Because what matters more is whether the district can effectively deploy the product to tens or even hundreds of thousands of users, at a reasonable price, while at the same time staying within the confines of the legal, policy and parental constraints that they operate under. And usually, they can’t. The problem with all of this is that the end result of the whole sorry process is that teachers (the ones who needed the help in the first place!) end up having to put up with the same out-of-date tools and systems that they are stuck with now, and that is where the true shame lies. So, what can be done about it? Well, there are two things. First, we have to bring a new respect for teachers to the edtech scene. There’s only one way to understand what pain points teachers have, and that’s to ask them. We started Edsby in April of 2010. We spent an entire year, from April 2010 to April 2011, doing nothing but talking to teachers and trying to understand their challenges and synthesize their answers. We also talked to principals, and that was even more eye-opening. At the end of a year, we started to get a handle on what technological solutions might have a positive impact on teachers, principals, students and parents. We did not build a product inspired by our own hypotheses and then show it to teachers and ask, “What do you think about this?” People always like shiny, slick-looking baubles. Of course they’ll say they like it. Second, without a viable strategy for large-scale district-wide deployment, edtech products will be relegated to the dustbin. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a single viable example of a successful freemium-model product for district-wide deployment in K-12. There are some really, really good reasons for this. The major one is that K-12 district sales are fundamentally enterprise sales, and those are long, slow, and fraught with complex technical, timing and regulatory issues. K-12 districts run under some of the most complex and difficult regulations in the world, and you can’t just dump in new products because they are “cool”. So, what about the thrust of the original article? Putting purchasing power in teachers’ hands? The good news is that if we’re talking about classroom tools for individual teachers, that can work, sometimes. But tools that have to interact with district data sets, manage class rosters, report grades, and communicate with parents are only going to work when tightly integrated into the back-end systems of the district. That necessary level of integration is never going to be available to tools bought and installed by individual teachers. The security risks of providing that data to third-party providers are enormous. The end result? Cool stuff that gets used by a few early adopters who are willing to do manual data integration, while the majority of the teachers trudge on with paper gradebooks, 3270 terminals for accessing the student information system, and bubble sheets for attendance. Not really optimal. Not really revolutionary. As you can see, I’m pretty passionate about this stuff. I do want to enable change in education, and I believe that as an industry we can do it. But it’s not necessarily going to be easy, or quick. Long term pilot programs and testing requires collaboration between school IT departments and classroom teachers, and constant contact between product developers and school districts. When more companies undertake the rigours necessary to implement change-making resources in education, then the real revolution can begin. [Originally published on EdSurge April 9th, 2013](https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-04-09-including-teachers-and-districts-in-the-edtech-discussion). **Categories:** In the news, Commentary --- ### [Edsby interviewed in MindShare Learning podcast](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-interviewed-in-mindshare-learning-podcast/edsby-in-the-news/) **Published:** December 4, 2012 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** Listen to Edsby Co-founder and President John Myers in an interview with MindShare Learning, an educational technology consulting and events company. Published December 4th, 2012. You’ll find the podcast [here](http://mindsharelearning.ca/2012/12/04/podcast-interview-with-edsby/). **Categories:** In the news --- ### [BYOD is coming to a school near you... what's your plan?](https://www.edsby.com/byod-is-coming-to-a-school-near-you-whats-your-plan/commentary/) **Published:** April 12, 2012 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** Gigaom has a great article on BYOD [here](http://gigaom.com/2012/04/08/byod-is-unstoppable-smart-companies-must-build-apps/). Although it’s aimed at the corporate market, the BYOD movement has massive implications for education. The takeaway is pretty simple: users are going to demand slick, sophisticated mobile interfaces with access to critical data. That means that your 1990-era SIS with a Y2K web interface is not going to cut the mustard with an on-the-go principal or harried parent. And if you seriously want to get kids to use BYOD, the apps you deploy better be as good as what they see in the latest game. The good news in all of this? Edsby has fast, slick, easy-to-use apps for mobile devices, and they’re included in the standard Edsby license for free. Just one more way we’re making your life easier. **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Which SIS & LMS Features Do Teachers Dislike Most?](https://www.edsby.com/which-sis-lms-features-do-teachers-dislike-most/commentary/) **Published:** February 22, 2012 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** The latest report on LMS & SMS use in K-12 (sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) shows that the majority of teachers and administrators are deeply dissatisfied with their existing LMS and SIS solutions. ![satisfaction](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/satisfaction1.jpg) **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [SoLoMo?](https://www.edsby.com/solomo/commentary/) **Published:** December 1, 2011 **Author:** edsby_admin **Excerpt:** Troy Williams has an excellent post on what he calls "SoLoMo": Social, Local and Mobile for Education. **Content:** Troy Williams has an excellent post on what he calls “SoLoMo”: Social, Local and Mobile for Education. Says Williams: > “The days of mutual exclusivity between traditional learning tools and social networks are numbered. The winning cross-platform apps and cloud-based systems will transcend easy categorization and integrate all the social sharing widgets we’ve come to expect, from Facebook and Twitter to real-time conversation and chat layers. > > Students are already sharing all kinds of content with their friends. The problem is that neither Facebook nor Blackboard go far enough to provide the right contextually-aware, fun sharing environment. ” See the full article here: [http://mashable.com](http://mashable.com/2011/12/01/education-social-mobile/ "Why Schools Need to Get Social, Local and Mobile") **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Great post from Lisa Neilson](https://www.edsby.com/great-post-from-lisa-neilson/commentary/) **Published:** November 24, 2011 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** In a recent post “Five Things Students Want Their Teachers to Know about Online Learning,” award-winning blogger and author Lisa Neilson says > “Students appreciate the opportunity to learn online, but want their teachers to be sure to incorporate these elements which allow them to realize the benefits of online learning while not losing what they enjoy about face-to-face interactions. With this advice and these tools in mind, teachers will be sure to provide their students with a more positive online learning experience. ” See the full article here: [http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com](http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/11/five-things-students-want-their.html "Five Things Students Want Their Teachers to Know about Online Learning") **Categories:** Commentary --- ### [Parental involvement REALLY helps](https://www.edsby.com/parental-involvement-really-helps/commentary/) **Published:** November 24, 2011 **Author:** edsby_admin **Content:** A new study shows that parental involvement really helps. > “just asking your child how was their school day and showing genuine interest in the learning that they are doing can have the same impact as hours of private tutoring. It is something every parent can do, no matter what their education level or social background.” See the full article here: [www.nytimes.com](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-about-better-parents.html?_r=2&src=tp&smid=fb-share "How About Better Parents?") **Categories:** Commentary --- ## Pages ### [Home](https://www.edsby.com/) **Published:** August 21, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby gives K‑12 districts, schools and governments a single, purpose-built platform for learning, assessment, family engagement and digital forms — built for K‑12 from the ground up, not adapted from anything else. --- ### [Edsby Destinations](https://www.edsby.com/destinations/) **Published:** July 23, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** New enterprise grade learning software that enables every student and their parents to know where they are in their learning journey. --- ### [Administrators](https://www.edsby.com/support/administrators/) **Published:** January 18, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Help files and videos for school administrators using Edsby. --- ### [Parents](https://www.edsby.com/support/parents/) **Published:** January 18, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Help files and videos for parents using Edsby. --- ### [Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/support/teachers/) **Published:** January 18, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Help files and videos for K-12 teachers using Edsby. --- ### [Edsby Forms & Workflows](https://www.edsby.com/k12-forms-and-workflows/) **Published:** March 25, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby's K-12 forms system can perform advanced workflows. Automate the most complex K-12 forms, even those requiring audited parent or student sign-off. It's a powerful and scalable system that leverages existing district databases to make operations simple. --- ### [Improving Family Engagement](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/community-engagement/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The Edsby platform for K-12 family engagement is used by millions of students, parents and guardians worldwide. --- ### [Edsby vs. Canvas](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/) **Published:** October 18, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this AI-powered analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 and Instructure Canvas. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Canvas. It was output by Gemini in August 2026 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: *Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with Instructure Canvas, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.* *As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.* *Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.* *Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.* ## Systemic Architecture in the K-12 Digital Ecosystem: Edsby Versus Instructure Canvas The selection of an all-in-one digital learning platform represents one of the most consequential structural decisions a K-12 educational jurisdiction can make. Unlike higher education institutions—where enterprise learning management systems (LMS) often operate independently of student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled ecosystem. School districts, regional authorities, and ministries require platforms that manage not only instructional content, digital assignments, and curriculum pacing, but also daily attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who possess legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, two distinct philosophies of all-in-one digital learning infrastructure emerge. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows with social-style communication under a single, unified database architecture. On the other side is **Instructure Canvas**, an industry-leading enterprise learning management system originally engineered for higher education and adapted for K-12 districts, heavily favored by institutions seeking modular course assembly, flexible Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) integration, SpeedGrader capabilities, and college-preparatory academic environments. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark contrasts in how these platforms perform in the crucible of daily K-12 operations. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished look at how software behaves once the sales cycle concludes and daily usage begins. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, Software Advice, and TrustRadius reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby generally commands strong ratings across review ecosystems (averaging approximately 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary schooling. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple school workflows—attendance tracking, parent messaging, permission slips, grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant technology users. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress without navigating disparate software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also points to notable pain points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor issues or requested adjustments can take months to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel clunky, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility desired by power users. ### Instructure Canvas: Higher-Ed Enterprise Power and Modular Flexibility Instructure Canvas achieves high satisfaction scores across broad enterprise deployments (averaging approximately 4.4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2 and Capterra), particularly among secondary educators, curriculum directors, and technology coordinators. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently praise Canvas for its clean, module-based course assembly, robust SpeedGrader tool, and unmatched LTI integration ecosystem. Teachers laud the platform’s stability and uptime, as well as its “Blueprint Courses” feature, which enables district curriculum teams to push standardized course templates across entire grade levels. Secondary educators appreciate that using Canvas prepares high school students for the exact digital tools and learning management workflows they will encounter in higher education. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 user sentiment reveals recurring points of friction regarding platform complexity and K-12 administrative depth. Because Canvas was fundamentally architected around course-based higher education delivery, elementary teachers and parents often report a steep initial learning curve. Reviews on G2 and TrustRadius frequently call out navigation fragmentation; because individual teachers can organize Canvas modules differently, students and parents find it difficult to maintain consistent navigation habits across classes. Furthermore, Canvas relies heavily on external SIS integrations for official report card generation, daily attendance compliance, and parent communication, as its standalone parent app (“Canvas Parent”) offers restricted visibility compared to a native K-12 administrative portal. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Canvas approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths - **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected to understand that K-12 schools are not merely collections of online courses; they are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, regional reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. - **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents see the exact same contextual updates, class feeds, and assessment feedback that teachers publish for students, minimizing parent-teacher friction. - **Balanced Assessment and Documentation:** Reviewers frequently note Edsby’s strength in capturing qualitative learning evidence—conversations, observations, and formative artifacts—alongside traditional quantitative grades. This aligns exceptionally well with modern K-12 curriculum frameworks that emphasize competency-based reporting and holistic student development. ### Canvas’s Core Strengths - **Granular Course Assembly and Blueprint Distribution:** Canvas excels in structured content delivery. Its module builder, mastery paths, and Blueprint Course architecture allow district curriculum leaders to author high-quality instructional units, publish them across hundreds of class sections, and ensure consistent academic rigor. - **SpeedGrader and Advanced Assessment Workflows:** The Canvas SpeedGrader is widely considered a benchmark for assignment evaluation. It allows teachers to view student submissions (documents, media, URLs), mark them up with digital ink or text annotations, evaluate them against complex rubrics, and record audio/video feedback within a single interface. - **Ecosystem Interoperability via LTI Standards:** Canvas boasts one of the largest edtech integration marketplaces in the industry. With support for over 1,000 LTI apps, open REST APIs, and seamless bridges to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Turnitin, and external publisher materials, Canvas acts as an extensible instructional foundation for technology-heavy districts. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. Canvas, while offering strong analytics add-ons, operates primarily as a course-level container and lacks native K-12 ministry-level report card generation and sovereign administrative engines. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment, and vendor responsiveness. - **Platform Recommendation:** Split / Context-Dependent (Edsby for holistic operational cohesion; Canvas for higher-ed-aligned secondary districts with heavy edtech integration needs) - **Rationale:** For standard K-12 school districts seeking to eliminate software sprawl—replacing disconnected tools for attendance, parent communication, and grading—Edsby offers a faster path to unified adoption with lower training overhead. However, for large secondary districts focused on curriculum publishing, secondary-to-higher-ed alignment, and leveraging extensive third-party LTI tool integrations, Canvas provides an enterprise-grade instructional foundation backed by Instructure’s massive cloud infrastructure. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby (for K–8 Elementary and Standards-Based Educators); Canvas (for High School, AP, IB, and Higher-Ed Prep Educators) - **Rationale:** - **K–8 and Elementary Teachers:** Edsby captures the daily rhythms of a K-12 classroom—allowing an educator to take attendance, log observations, post class updates, message parents, and record grades in a single streamlined workflow. - **High School and AP/IB Teachers:** Secondary educators running complex, multi-module academic courses benefit greatly from Canvas’s SpeedGrader, automated quiz engines, and flexible rubric configurations. However, secondary teachers using Canvas must still rely on an external SIS to publish official term report cards and process daily compliance attendance. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** A clear, distraction-free view of what is due, immediate access to learning materials, clear feedback channels, and mobile-friendly interfaces. - **Platform Recommendation:** Canvas (for Secondary Students in Grades 9–12); Edsby (for Elementary and Middle School Students in Grades K–8) - **Rationale:** - **Secondary Students (Grades 9–12):** Canvas prepares older students for post-secondary education by exposing them to college-standard LMS navigation, module tracking, discussion boards, and digital submission workflows. - **Elementary and Middle School Students (Grades K–8):** Edsby’s social-media-adjacent feed format provides a welcoming, less intimidating digital workspace where due dates, class streams, and teacher feedback are surfaced cleanly without navigating dense, course-centric folder trees or complex multi-tier menus. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** This represents one of the sharpest differentiators in the marketplace. Edsby was built from day one with the family unit embedded into its core architecture. Parents do not view a secondary guest portal; they see an integrated window displaying real-time attendance, teacher notes, portfolio evidence, and upcoming assessments across all enrolled children. Canvas relies on the separate “Canvas Parent” application or observer accounts, which can suffer from sync lags and restrict visibility to individual course assignments rather than providing a holistic view of school life. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and Instructure Canvas is fundamentally a choice between purpose-built K-12 operational cohesion and an enterprise-grade, modular instructional engine. **Edsby** is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking an all-in-one environment that respects the unique administrative, attendance, standards-based grading, and familial communication structures of primary and secondary education. It reduces software sprawl, brings parents into the daily educational loop, and unifies classrooms under a single, purpose-built digital roof. **Instructure Canvas** remains a powerful, highly flexible LMS best suited for school divisions whose primary strategic imperative is advanced course building, curriculum distribution across high schools, deep LTI ecosystem integration, and preparing secondary students for higher-education learning environments—provided the district pairs it with a primary SIS to handle official administrative records, report cards, and parent engagement. For the vast majority of traditional K-12 school districts looking to unify classrooms, administrators, and parents within a single, purpose-built digital infrastructure, collective customer sentiment indicates that Edsby delivers a more naturally aligned operational fit. August, 2026 analysis by Gemini of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Canvas themselves. --- ### [Edsby K-12 LMS](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** About the Edsby platform, a unique system enabling advanced teaching, learning and communication for K-12. --- ### [Edsby Student Analytics](https://www.edsby.com/k12-student-analytics/) **Published:** August 5, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby Student Analytics gives educators and policymakers near real-time insight into student achievement, right inside the platform your teachers already use. --- ### [Edsby vs. Moodle](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-moodle/) **Published:** October 20, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform and Moodle. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some large and growing percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Moodle. It was output by Gemini in August 2026 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: *Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with Moodle, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.* *As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.* *Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.* *Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.* ## Edsby Versus Moodle: A K-12 Comparison The selection of an all-in-one learning platform represents a watershed architectural decision for K-12 educational jurisdictions. Unlike higher education institutions—where learning management systems (LMS) frequently operate as autonomous academic silos disconnected from student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled, highly responsive digital ecosystem. School districts, regional authorities, and ministries of education require platforms capable of orchestrating not only instructional content, digital assignments, and curriculum pacing, but also mandatory statutory attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who retain legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, two fundamentally irreconcilable philosophies of educational technology emerge. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows, attendance reporting, and social-style community communication under a single, turnkey database architecture. On the other side is **Moodle**, the global open-source giant deeply rooted in higher education and institutional training, renowned for its radical modularity, infinite customization, and zero-licensing-fee distribution model. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark operational contrasts in how these two platforms perform in the high-stakes, time-sensitive environment of daily K-12 schooling. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished window into software performance once marketing cycles conclude and daily academic routines take over. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, Software Advice, and TrustRadius reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby commands consistent, strong satisfaction ratings across review ecosystems (averaging roughly 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary education. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple fragmented school workflows—such as attendance tracking, parent messaging, digital permission slips, standards-based grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the technical barrier to entry for educators and parents who may feel intimidated by enterprise software. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress without navigating software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also highlights notable friction points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor requested adjustments can take extended periods to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel cumbersome, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility demanded by advanced power users. ### Moodle: Infinite Extensibility and Open-Source Power Moodle maintains a massive global footprint with solid aggregate review scores, though its reviewer base leans heavily toward higher education institutions, vocational training centers, and large school districts with dedicated, in-house IT and software development teams. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently laud Moodle for its absolute freedom from proprietary vendor lock-in, zero software licensing fees, and unmatched capacity for structural customization. Instructors and instructional designers appreciate the platform’s vast ecosystem of plugins, enabling the creation of intricate, gamified, self-paced learning pathways. For districts with robust technical personnel, Moodle serves as an adaptable canvas where almost any pedagogical workflow, grade calculation method, or third-party integration can be engineered to exact specifications. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 user sentiment reveals recurring, acute points of friction regarding administrative overhead and user experience fragmentation. Because Moodle is open-source and modular, out-of-the-box K-12 features—such as automated student attendance sync, native zero-configuration parent portals, and real-time report card generation—are rarely turnkey. Districts must invest heavily in custom hosting, plugin maintenance, and continuous security patching. Reviewers on G2 and Capterra frequently complain about clunky, outdated default user interfaces, a steep learning curve for elementary and middle school teachers, and the administrative nightmare of managing broken plugins following mandatory software updates. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Moodle approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths 1. **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected with the understanding that K-12 schools are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, regional reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. 2. **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents see the exact same contextual updates, class feeds, and assessment feedback that teachers publish for students, minimizing parent-teacher friction. 3. **Balanced Assessment and Documentation:** Reviewers frequently note Edsby’s strength in capturing qualitative learning evidence—conversations, observations, and formative artifacts—alongside traditional quantitative grades. This aligns exceptionally well with modern K-12 curriculum frameworks that emphasize competency-based reporting and holistic student development. ### Moodle’s Core Strengths 1. **Absolute Architectural Freedom and Cost Control:** For districts with advanced IT engineering teams, Moodle provides a completely open codebase. There are no per-student software licensing fees, allowing jurisdictions to redirect capital toward infrastructure, hardware, or direct instructional support. 2. **Deep Pedagogical Modularity:** Moodle offers an unrivaled repository of plugins, quiz formats, interactive modules, and collaborative tools. Educators can construct highly sophisticated, differentiated, and media-rich online courses that adapt dynamically to learner pacing. 3. **Institutional Autonomy and Data Sovereignty:** Because Moodle is self-hosted (or managed via certified Moodle Partners), educational jurisdictions retain absolute control over where student data resides, ensuring strict compliance with local data residency and privacy statutes. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. While Moodle can be adapted for large-scale deployments, doing so requires massive, centralized IT orchestration to ensure consistent standards across disparate local server instances. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment, and vendor responsiveness. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Split / Context-Dependent (Edsby for turnkey operational cohesion; Moodle for enterprise IT departments with custom development capacity)** - **Rationale:** For standard, brick-and-mortar K-12 school districts seeking to eliminate software sprawl—replacing disconnected tools for attendance, parent communication, and grading—**Edsby** offers a rapid path to unified adoption with minimal administrative overhead. Conversely, for large school districts or regional authorities that possess dedicated software engineering teams, strict open-source mandates, and a desire to completely own their data stack without vendor licensing dependencies, **Moodle** provides the ultimate customizable engine, provided the district has budgeted adequately for ongoing hosting and maintenance. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** Teachers are routinely overwhelmed by administrative tasks. Review sentiment indicates that Edsby successfully captures the daily rhythms of a K-12 classroom—allowing an educator to take statutory attendance, post a homework update, message a parent, and log an observation in a single streamlined workflow. While Moodle offers immense course-building power, teacher reviews frequently cite frustrating multi-click menu structures, disjointed assessment layouts, and a higher-education design paradigm that introduces unnecessary friction into the fast-paced, multi-tasking reality of a primary or secondary classroom. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** A clear, distraction-free view of what is due, immediate access to learning materials, clear feedback channels, and mobile-friendly interfaces. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Moodle** (for upper grades/secondary specialized programs); **Edsby** (for elementary/middle school) - **Rationale:** For advanced secondary students, virtual school participants, or independent study settings, Moodle’s deep resource libraries, robust quiz modules, and structured course formats foster essential independent academic habits. Conversely, for younger students and middle schoolers, Edsby’s social-media-adjacent feed format provides a welcoming, less intimidating digital workspace where due dates, class streams, and teacher feedback are surfaced cleanly without navigating dense academic folder hierarchies. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** This represents one of the sharpest differentiators in the marketplace. Edsby was built from day one with the family unit embedded into its core architecture. Parents do not view a secondary guest portal; they see an integrated window displaying real-time attendance, teacher notes, and upcoming assessments. Moodle, while capable of supporting parent observer roles through specific plugins or custom portal builds, frequently suffers from fragmented parent access, sync lags, and configurations that require technical onboarding—failing to match the seamless, consumer-grade family connectivity demanded by modern K-12 communities. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and Moodle is fundamentally a choice between turnkey operational cohesion and open-source architectural sovereignty. **Edsby** is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking an all-in-one environment that respects the unique administrative, attendance, and familial communication structures of primary and secondary education. It reduces software sprawl, brings parents into the daily educational loop, and mirrors the social-collaborative workflows modern users expect without requiring custom IT engineering. **Moodle** remains an exceptional, highly powerful open-source platform best suited for districts, virtual academies, or regional authorities possessing robust technical personnel whose primary strategic imperative is absolute control over source code, custom feature development, and zero-licensing-cost scalability. For the vast majority of traditional K-12 school districts looking to unify classrooms, administrators, and parents under a single, purpose-built digital roof, collective customer sentiment indicates that Edsby delivers a more naturally aligned operational fit. August, 2026 analysis by Gemini of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Moodle themselves. --- ### [Edsby vs. Brightspace](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-brightspace/) **Published:** October 18, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this AI-powered analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 and D2L Brightspace. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Brightspace. It was output by Gemini in August 2026 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: *Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with D2L Brightspace, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.* *As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.* *Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.* *Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.* ## Edsby Versus D2L Brightspace: A k-12 Comparison The selection of an all-in-one learning platform represents one of the most consequential structural decisions a K-12 educational jurisdiction can make. Unlike higher education institutions—where enterprise learning management systems (LMS) often operate independently of student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled ecosystem. School districts, ministries, and regional authorities require platforms that manage not only instructional content and assignments, but also daily attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who possess legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Gartner Peer Insights, and TrustRadius, two distinct philosophies of all-in-one digital learning infrastructure emerge. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows with social-style communication. On the other side is D2L Brightspace, a powerhouse scaled extensively in higher education and enterprise sectors that has adapted its robust course-authoring, modular design, and advanced analytics engine for school districts seeking deep pedagogical configurability. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark contrasts in how these platforms perform in the crucible of daily K-12 operations. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished look at how software behaves once the sales cycle concludes and daily usage begins. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, and Gartner reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby generally commands strong ratings across review ecosystems (averaging approximately 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary schooling. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple school workflows—attendance tracking, parent messaging, permission slips, grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant technology users. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress without navigating disparate software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also points to notable pain points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor issues or requested adjustments can take months to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel clunky, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility desired by power users. ### D2L Brightspace: Scalable Customization and Robust Architecture D2L Brightspace achieves similar high marks in overall satisfaction (hovering around 4.4 stars on G2), though its reviewer base leans more heavily toward higher education, enterprise training, and larger school divisions with dedicated instructional design support. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently laud Brightspace for its clean, modern interface, highly reliable uptime during peak testing windows, and robust course-building flexibility. Instructors and curriculum coordinators appreciate the platform’s deep support for diverse learning paths, outcomes-based assessment structures, and LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) integrations, which allow districts to effortlessly plug in third-party video conferencing, interactive content engines (like H5P), and specialized web apps. The platform’s granular tracking of learner progress and module-based content organization receive high praise from secondary educators managing complex, multi-unit courses. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 and mid-market educational users note that Brightspace can feel overly complex or “heavy” for daily administrative routines. Reviewers point out that routine tasks often require excessive clicking or deep navigation through hierarchical menus. Furthermore, because Brightspace is fundamentally rooted in a higher-education paradigm, out-of-the-box parent portals and native K-12 administrative synchronizations (such as attendance tracking tied to provincial or state funding mandates) often require significant custom configuration, third-party extensions, or supplemental administrative layers to match what purpose-built K-12 systems provide natively. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Brightspace approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths 1. **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected to understand that K-12 schools are not merely collections of online courses; they are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, Ministry/Department of Education reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. 2. **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents see the exact same contextual updates, class feeds, and assessment feedback that teachers publish for students, minimizing parent-teacher friction. 3. **Balanced Assessment and Documentation:** Reviewers frequently note Edsby’s strength in capturing qualitative learning evidence—conversations, observations, and formative artifacts—alongside traditional quantitative grades. This aligns exceptionally well with modern K-12 curriculum frameworks that emphasize competency-based reporting and holistic student development. ### D2L Brightspace’s Core Strengths 1. **Pedagogical Depth and Content Authoring:** Brightspace shines in environments where rich, multimedia-heavy, self-paced, or asynchronous coursework is paramount. Its content authoring tools, quiz engines, and release conditions allow educators to build sophisticated, highly customized learning modules that adapt dynamically to student performance. 2. **Enterprise-Grade Stability and Scalability:** For massive school districts, state-wide implementations, or virtual schools managing tens of thousands of simultaneous users during high-stakes evaluations, Brightspace offers proven, enterprise-level performance and stability. 3. **Extensibility via Open Standards:** Because of its deep adherence to educational technology standards (such as LTI), Brightspace acts as a stable anchor tenant in a broader software ecosystem, allowing districts to plug in best-of-breed specialized tools for analytics, content libraries, and specialized accessibility aids. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education (such as national implementations in international deployments or regional provincial rollouts) require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment, and vendor responsiveness. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Split / Context-Dependent (Edsby for operational cohesion; Brightspace for massive virtual/blended scale)** - **Rationale:** For standard, brick-and-mortar K-12 school districts seeking to eliminate software sprawl (replacing disconnected tools for attendance, parent communication, and grading), **Edsby** offers a faster path to unified adoption with lower training overhead. However, for massive metropolitan districts or dedicated virtual school districts where advanced instructional design, complex credit-recovery pathways, and extensive third-party tool integration are the primary operational drivers, **Brightspace** provides the enterprise muscle and architectural extensibility required. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** Teachers are routinely overwhelmed by administrative overhead. Review sentiment indicates that Edsby successfully captures the daily rhythms of a K-12 classroom—allowing an educator to take attendance, post a homework update, message a parent, and log an observation in a single streamlined workflow. While Brightspace offers immense pedagogical power, its interface can feel over-engineered for the rapid-fire, multi-tasking reality of a K-12 classroom teacher who needs speed and simplicity above all else. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** A clear, distraction-free view of what is due, immediate access to learning materials, clear feedback channels, and mobile-friendly interfaces. - **Platform Recommendation:** **D2L Brightspace** (for upper grades/secondary); **Edsby** (for elementary/middle school) - **Rationale:** For secondary students preparing for higher education or navigating complex online courses, Brightspace’s structured modules, detailed rubrics, and explicit learning paths foster essential independent study habits. Conversely, for younger students and middle schoolers, Edsby’s social-media-adjacent feed format provides a welcoming, less intimidating digital workspace where due dates, class streams, and teacher feedback are surfaced cleanly without the dense navigational hierarchy sometimes reported in enterprise LMS environments. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** This is perhaps the clearest differentiator in the marketplace. Edsby was built from day one with the family unit embedded into its core architecture. Parents do not view a stripped-down, secondary guest portal; they see an integrated window displaying real-time attendance, teacher notes, and upcoming assessments. Brightspace, while capable of supporting parent observer roles, maintains a higher-education DNA where parent access is frequently an afterthought or requires complex custom provisioning that rarely matches the frictionless, consumer-grade family connectivity demanded by K-12 communities. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and D2L Brightspace is fundamentally a choice between operational cohesion and pedagogical extensibility. **Edsby** is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking an all-in-one environment that respects the unique administrative, attendance, and familial communication structures of primary and secondary education. It reduces software sprawl, brings parents into the daily educational loop, and mirrors the social-collaborative workflows modern users expect. **D2L Brightspace** remains an exceptional, enterprise-grade powerhouse best suited for districts, virtual academies, or regional authorities whose primary strategic imperative is advanced course authoring, deep institutional customization, and scalable higher-ed preparation. For the vast majority of traditional K-12 school districts looking to unify classrooms, administrators, and parents under a single, purpose-built digital roof, collective customer sentiment indicates that Edsby delivers a more naturally aligned operational fit. August, 2026 analysis by ChatGPT 5.0 of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Brightspace themselves. --- ### [Edsby vs. Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-google-classroom/) **Published:** October 20, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform and Google Classroom. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Google Classroom. It was output by Gemini in August 2026 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: *Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with Google Classroom, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.* *As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.* *Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.* *Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.* ## Systemic Architecture in the K-12 Digital Ecosystem: Edsby Versus Google Classroom The selection of an all-in-one digital learning platform represents one of the most consequential structural decisions a K-12 educational jurisdiction can make. Unlike higher education institutions—where enterprise learning management systems (LMS) often operate independently of student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled ecosystem. School districts, regional authorities, and ministries require platforms that manage not only instructional content, digital assignments, and curriculum pacing, but also daily attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who possess legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, two distinct philosophies of digital learning infrastructure emerge. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows with social-style communication under a single, unified database architecture. On the other side is **Google Classroom**, an agile, lightweight workflow and assignment management layer built on top of the Google Workspace for Education suite, heavily favored by districts seeking low-friction digital document distribution, rapid setup, and seamless optimization across budget-friendly Chromebook hardware. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark contrasts in how these platforms perform in the crucible of daily K-12 operations. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished look at how software behaves once the sales cycle concludes and daily usage begins. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, Software Advice, and TrustRadius reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby generally commands strong ratings across review ecosystems (averaging approximately 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary schooling. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple school workflows—attendance tracking, parent messaging, permission slips, grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant technology users. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress across all enrolled children without navigating disparate software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also points to notable pain points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor issues or requested adjustments can take months to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel clunky, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility desired by power users. ### Google Classroom: Agile Streamlined Workflow and Workspace Integration Google Classroom achieves high satisfaction scores for general ease of use and document workflow management (averaging approximately 4.5 to 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2 and Capterra), particularly among teachers in 1:1 Chromebook districts and technology directors seeking zero software friction. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently laud Google Classroom for its zero-learning-curve setup, clean interface, and flawless integration with Google Workspace for Education tools (Google Docs, Drive, Slides, Forms, and Meet). Teachers praise the automated creation of student file copies, quick assignment posting, auto-graded Google Forms quizzes, and lightweight resource demands. Technology leaders highlight its zero/low cost in foundational tiers, near-100% cloud uptime, and seamless execution on low-spec student hardware. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 user sentiment reveals recurring points of friction regarding platform scope and administrative depth when evaluated as a standalone institutional LMS. Because Google Classroom was designed as an assignment distribution stream rather than a full-scale LMS, educators complain that it lacks a comprehensive K-12 gradebook. It cannot handle standards-based mastery calculations, multi-term weighted averages, daily attendance tracking, or official report card generation out of the box. Furthermore, parent engagement remains a significant limitation; Google Classroom does not provide an interactive parent portal, relying instead on passive daily or weekly “Guardian Summaries” sent via email. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Google Classroom approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths - **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected to understand that K-12 schools are not merely collections of online courses; they are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, regional reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. - **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents see the exact same contextual updates, class feeds, and assessment feedback that teachers publish for students, minimizing parent-teacher friction. - **Balanced Assessment and Documentation:** Reviewers frequently note Edsby’s strength in capturing qualitative learning evidence—conversations, observations, and formative artifacts—alongside traditional quantitative grades. This aligns exceptionally well with modern K-12 curriculum frameworks that emphasize competency-based reporting and holistic student development. ### Google Classroom’s Core Strengths - **Frictionless Assignment Workflow and Google Workspace Integration:** Google Classroom excels at simplifying homework logistics. Its direct connectivity with Google Drive allows teachers to push document templates to an entire class with a single click, manage digital submissions, and annotate student essays in real time. - **Lightweight Architecture and Chromebook Optimization:** Designed to run inside standard web browsers with minimal resource overhead, Google Classroom provides fast load times and stable performance on entry-level student Chromebooks and low-bandwidth home networks. - **Cost Efficiency and Universal Familiarity:** Available as part of the Google Workspace for Education suite, Google Classroom carries an exceptionally low financial barrier to entry. Its minimalist design requires virtually no technical onboarding for teachers or students who are already accustomed to consumer web applications. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. Google Classroom lacks these macro-level educational reporting engines and cannot function as an administrative system of record. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment, and software consolidation. - **Platform Recommendation:** Split / Context-Dependent (Edsby for holistic operational cohesion; Google Classroom for low-budget, Google-centric environments relying on a separate SIS) - **Rationale:** For standard K-12 school districts seeking to eliminate software sprawl—replacing disconnected tools for attendance, parent communication, and grading—Edsby offers a faster path to unified adoption with lower training overhead. However, for budget-constrained districts heavily committed to 1:1 Chromebook hardware where Google Workspace is already embedded, Google Classroom provides a zero-cost instructional workflow layer, provided the district retains a secondary SIS to manage official marks, attendance, and compliance reporting. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby (for K–8 Elementary and Standards-Based Educators); Google Classroom (for Secondary Teachers focused on Google Docs workflows) - **Rationale:** - **K–8 and Elementary Teachers:** Edsby captures the daily rhythms of a K-12 classroom—allowing an educator to take attendance, log observations, post class updates, message parents, and record grades in a single streamlined workflow. - **Secondary Teachers:** Educators whose courses rely heavily on written essays, Google Slides presentations, and quick Google Forms quizzes benefit from Google Classroom’s assignment distribution speed. However, secondary teachers using Google Classroom must still rely on an external SIS or secondary gradebook to record official term marks. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** A clear view of what is due, immediate access to learning materials, clear feedback channels, and mobile-friendly interfaces. - **Platform Recommendation:** Google Classroom (for Secondary Students in 1:1 Chromebook environments); Edsby (for Elementary and Middle School Students in holistic K-12 environments) - **Rationale:** - **Secondary Students (Grades 9–12):** Google Classroom’s clean “Classwork” feed, integrated Google Drive storage, and simple deadline reminders make managing daily document submissions straightforward for older students in Chromebook-heavy districts. - **Elementary and Middle School Students (Grades K–8):** Edsby’s social-media-adjacent feed format provides an approachable digital workspace where due dates, class streams, portfolio items, and teacher feedback are surfaced cleanly without navigating multi-tiered Google Drive folder structures. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** This represents one of the sharpest differentiators in the marketplace. Edsby was built from day one with the family unit embedded into its core architecture. Parents do not view a secondary guest portal; they see an integrated window displaying real-time attendance, teacher notes, portfolio evidence, and upcoming assessments across all enrolled children. Google Classroom limits parents to passive, automated email summaries detailing upcoming or missing work, offering no interactive parent portal, direct teacher messaging, or official gradebook views. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and Google Classroom is fundamentally a choice between a purpose-built K-12 operational system of record and an agile document distribution and assignment management layer. **Edsby** is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking an all-in-one environment that respects the unique administrative, attendance, standards-based grading, and familial communication structures of primary and secondary education. It reduces software sprawl, brings parents into the daily educational loop, and unifies classrooms under a single, purpose-built digital roof. **Google Classroom** remains an exceptionally popular, low-friction assignment workflow tool best suited for school divisions whose primary tactical objective is distributing digital Google Workspace documents on budget Chromebooks—provided the district pairs it with a primary Student Information System or secondary gradebook to handle official administrative records, report cards, and interactive parent communication. For the vast majority of traditional K-12 school districts looking to unify classrooms, administrators, and parents within a single, purpose-built digital infrastructure, collective customer sentiment indicates that Edsby delivers a more naturally aligned operational fit. August, 2026 analysis by Gemini of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Google Classroom themselves. Read [additional analysis of Edsby vs. Google Classroom >](https://www.edsby.com/google-classroom/) --- ### [Edsby vs. Microsoft Teams](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-microsoft-teams/) **Published:** October 20, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform and Microsoft Teams. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Microsoft Teams. It was output by Gemini in August 2026 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: ***Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with Microsoft Teams, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.*** ***As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.*** ***Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.*** ***Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.*** ## Edsby Versus Microsoft Teams for K-12 Education The selection of an all-in-one learning platform represents one of the most consequential structural decisions a K-12 educational jurisdiction can make. Unlike higher education institutions—where enterprise learning management systems (LMS) often operate independently of student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled ecosystem. School districts, regional authorities, and ministries require platforms that manage not only instructional content, digital assignments, and curriculum pacing, but also daily attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who possess legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, two distinct philosophies of all-in-one digital learning infrastructure emerge. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows with social-style communication under a single, unified database architecture. On the other side is **Microsoft Teams for Education**, an established corporate collaboration suite adapted for academia, heavily favored by districts seeking enterprise-grade real-time video conferencing, synchronous document co-authoring, and deep integration with the broader Microsoft 365 enterprise ecosystem. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark contrasts in how these platforms perform in the crucible of daily K-12 operations. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished look at how software behaves once the sales cycle concludes and daily usage begins. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, Software Advice, and TrustRadius reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby generally commands strong ratings across review ecosystems (averaging approximately 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary schooling. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple school workflows—attendance tracking, parent messaging, permission slips, grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant technology users. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress without navigating disparate software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also points to notable pain points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor issues or requested adjustments can take months to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel clunky, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility desired by power users. ### Microsoft Teams for Education: Enterprise Collaboration Hub and Digital Workplace Integration Microsoft Teams achieves solid satisfaction marks for collaboration and remote instruction (averaging 4.2 to 4.5 out of 5 stars), particularly among IT leaders and secondary educators operating within established Microsoft 365 environments. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently laud Microsoft Teams for its unmatched real-time communication tools, robust video conferencing with breakout rooms, and seamless integration with Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Teachers appreciate the speed of creating document-based assignments and leveraging OneNote Class Notebooks for digital binder organization. Specialized additions like Reading Progress earn substantial praise for automated literacy tracking. Furthermore, district technology officers value the ability to deploy enterprise-grade communication tools at zero incremental software licensing cost under existing academic M365 agreements. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 user sentiment reveals recurring points of friction regarding administrative scope and hardware performance. Because Microsoft Teams was engineered fundamentally as an enterprise collaboration workspace rather than a dedicated K-12 LMS, teachers complain bitterly that it lacks a true, native K-12 gradebook. It cannot handle standards-based mastery calculations, term-over-term cumulative grading schemes, or official report card generation out of the box. Reviews frequently note heavy CPU and RAM consumption on lower-spec hardware and budget student Chromebooks. Furthermore, parent engagement remains a major deficit; Teams relies on passive weekly email summaries rather than providing an interactive, native family portal. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Microsoft Teams approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths - **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected to understand that K-12 schools are not merely collections of online courses; they are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, regional reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. - **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents see the exact same contextual updates, class feeds, and assessment feedback that teachers publish for students, minimizing parent-teacher friction. - **Balanced Assessment and Documentation:** Reviewers frequently note Edsby’s strength in capturing qualitative learning evidence—conversations, observations, and formative artifacts—alongside traditional quantitative grades. This aligns exceptionally well with modern K-12 curriculum frameworks that emphasize competency-based reporting and holistic student development. ### Microsoft Teams’ Core Strengths - **Enterprise-Grade Real-Time Collaboration and Video:** Microsoft Teams offers industry-leading synchronous communication. Its native video conferencing, breakout rooms, channel-based chat, and live transcription give educators enterprise tools for virtual instruction and remote guest lectures. - **Deep M365 Ecosystem and OneNote Integration:** The tight coupling of Teams with OneNote Class Notebook, Microsoft Forms, and OneDrive enables live document co-authoring and digital file organization that mirrors professional workplace environments. - **Zero Incremental Licensing Overhead and Enterprise Infrastructure:** For districts already anchored in Microsoft 365, Teams eliminates additional platform software fees. It benefits from Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) single sign-on, enterprise-grade data security certifications, and global cloud infrastructure reliability. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. Microsoft Teams lacks these macro-level educational reporting engines and cannot function as an administrative system of record. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment, and vendor responsiveness. - **Platform Recommendation:** Split / Context-Dependent (Edsby for holistic operational cohesion; Microsoft Teams for M365-centric enterprise ecosystems) - **Rationale:** For standard K-12 school districts seeking to eliminate software sprawl—replacing disconnected tools for attendance, parent communication, and grading—Edsby offers a faster path to unified adoption with lower training overhead. However, for technology directors managing tight budgets where an M365 license is already funded, Microsoft Teams delivers immediate video collaboration and file storage at zero added software licensing cost. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby (for K–8 elementary and standards-based reporting); Microsoft Teams (for secondary STEM and project-based collaboration) - **Rationale:** Teachers are routinely overwhelmed by administrative overhead. Review sentiment indicates that Edsby successfully captures the daily rhythms of a K-12 classroom—allowing an educator to take attendance, post a homework update, message a parent, and log an observation in a single streamlined workflow. While Teams offers document collaboration power, teacher reviews cite the absence of an official K-12 gradebook and report card generator as a major drawback that requires dual-entry into an external SIS. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** A clear view of upcoming deadlines, immediate access to learning materials, intuitive mobile access, and responsive hardware performance. - **Platform Recommendation:** Microsoft Teams (for upper grades/secondary); Edsby (for elementary/middle school) - **Rationale:** For secondary students navigating multi-subject schedules, Microsoft Teams fosters real-world workplace digital literacy through document co-authoring, channel discussions, and professional chat hygiene. Conversely, for younger primary students, Edsby’s social-media-style feed and lightweight browser footprint provide an approachable digital workspace that runs smoothly on low-cost hardware without consuming excessive device resources. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** This represents one of the sharpest differentiators in the marketplace. Edsby was built with the family unit embedded into its core architecture. Parents do not view a secondary guest portal; they see an integrated window displaying real-time attendance, teacher notes, portfolio items, and upcoming assessments. Microsoft Teams limits parents to passive, automated weekly assignment digests, failing to meet the active family engagement expectations of modern K-12 communities. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and Microsoft Teams for Education is fundamentally a choice between native K-12 operational cohesion and enterprise-grade collaborative flexibility. Edsby is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking a true all-in-one environment that respects the unique administrative, attendance, standards-based grading, and familial communication structures of primary and secondary education. It reduces software sprawl, brings parents into the daily educational loop, and unifies classrooms under a single purpose-built digital roof. Microsoft Teams for Education remains a powerful, highly cost-effective collaboration suite best suited for school divisions whose primary tactical objective is leveraging existing Microsoft 365 licensing, fostering workplace digital literacy, and conducting real-time virtual instruction—provided the district maintains a separate, primary SIS or LMS to handle official grading, report cards, and interactive parent engagement. For the vast majority of traditional K-12 school districts looking to unify classrooms, administrators, and parents within a single, purpose-built digital infrastructure, collective customer sentiment indicates that Edsby delivers a more naturally aligned operational fit. August, 2026 analysis by Gemini of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Teams themselves. --- ### [Edsby vs. Seesaw](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-seesaw/) **Published:** October 18, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this AI-powered analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 and Seesaw. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Seesaw. It was output by Gemini in August 2026 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: ***Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with Seesaw, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.*** ***As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.*** ***Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.*** ***Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.*** ## Edsby Versus Seesaw: A Comparison of K-12 Ecosystems The selection of an all-in-one digital learning platform represents one of the most consequential structural decisions a K-12 educational jurisdiction can make. Unlike higher education institutions—where enterprise learning management systems (LMS) often operate independently of student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled ecosystem. School districts, regional authorities, and ministries require platforms that manage not only instructional content, digital assignments, and curriculum pacing, but also daily attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who possess legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, two distinct philosophies of digital learning infrastructure emerge when evaluating platforms for primary and secondary education. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the entire K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows with social-style communication under a single, unified database architecture. On the other side is **Seesaw**, a specialized elementary Learning Experience Platform (LXP) designed primarily for early childhood and primary classrooms (PreK through 6th grade), heavily favored by educators seeking multimodal student expression, digital portfolios, and interactive lesson libraries. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark contrasts in how these platforms perform in the crucible of daily K-12 operations. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished look at how software behaves once the sales cycle concludes and daily usage begins. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby generally commands strong ratings across review ecosystems (averaging approximately 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary schooling. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple school workflows—attendance tracking, parent messaging, permission slips, grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant technology users. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress across all enrolled children without navigating disparate software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also points to notable pain points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor issues or requested adjustments can take months to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel clunky, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility desired by power users. ### Seesaw: Elementary Portfolio Excellence and Multimodal Learning Experience Seesaw achieves high satisfaction marks for early childhood and primary education (averaging approximately 4.4 to 4.6 out of 5 stars on Capterra and G2), particularly among elementary teachers, speech-language pathologists, and parents of young children. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently laud Seesaw for its exceptional multimodal creation tools. The ability for young students—including non-readers and early writers—to take photos, draw, record audio explanations, and upload videos creates an engaging window into student thinking. Teachers praise the extensive “Seesaw Library” of pre-made, interactive activities across core subjects and social-emotional learning, while parents express delight at receiving real-time mobile push notifications containing visual artifacts of their child’s classroom work. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 user sentiment reveals recurring points of friction regarding platform scope and structural limitations when evaluated as an all-in-one district LMS. Because Seesaw was engineered fundamentally as an elementary portfolio and learning experience platform rather than a full-scale K-12 LMS, administrators and upper-grade teachers note that it lacks native, comprehensive K-12 administrative engines. It does not feature official report card generation, complex standards-based secondary gradebooks, native attendance management systems, or robust high-school scheduling capabilities. Furthermore, educators and parents report recent friction following major messaging UI updates, as well as occasional mobile app glitches where unsubmitted student drafts or audio recordings fail to save properly. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Seesaw approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths - **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected to understand that K-12 schools are not merely collections of online courses; they are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, regional reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. - **Comprehensive K-12 Assessment and Report Card Engine:** Edsby supports contemporary K-12 pedagogical frameworks, including standards-based grading, mastery tracking, and the “triangulation of assessment” (conversations, observations, and products). It seamlessly automates the path from daily classroom marks to official district or ministry report cards, drastically reducing end-of-term administrative burdens. - **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement Across All Grade Levels:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents log into a single dashboard that aggregates updates, attendance records, discipline notices, permission slips, and grades for all of their enrolled children across elementary, middle, and high schools. ### Seesaw’s Core Strengths - **Multimodal Creative Tools for Early Literacy and Young Learners:** Seesaw shines in early childhood environments where traditional text-heavy LMS interfaces fail. Its intuitive suite of audio recording, screen drawing, photo annotation, and video tools empowers PreK–5 students to articulate their learning visually and orally, making it a gold-standard platform for early literacy, English language learners, and special education. - **Student-Driven Digital Portfolios and Formative Evidence Showcase:** Seesaw builds long-term digital portfolios that capture student growth over time. Students build agency and pride by documenting their own physical and digital artifacts, creating a cumulative archive of personal learning milestones. - **Joyful, Instantaneous Family Connectivity for Primary Education:** For parents of young children, Seesaw delivers immediate emotional resonance. Caregivers receive direct mobile alerts showing photos or audio clips of their child performing a reading assessment or science experiment, fostering strong home-school partnerships during formative developmental years. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. Seesaw is engineered as an elementary learning experience tool and lacks the enterprise administrative infrastructure, official grading databases, and district-wide reporting mechanisms required for regional or ministry-level governance. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment across K-12, and software consolidation. - **Platform Recommendation:** Split / Tiered Deployment Strategy (Edsby as the district-wide core LMS and system of record; Seesaw as an optional, specialized early-learning portfolio add-on for PreK–2 or PreK–5) - **Rationale:** For school district leadership seeking to eliminate software sprawl across an entire K-12 division, Edsby represents the superior foundational investment. It spans elementary, middle, and high school grades seamlessly, providing a single SIS-synced platform for attendance, report cards, and parent portals. However, because elementary curriculum directors frequently advocate for Seesaw’s unique early-literacy audio/drawing capabilities, district IT leaders often license Seesaw specifically for primary grades while utilizing Edsby as the primary system of record for district-wide administrative data, grading, and secondary instruction. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** Seesaw (for PreK–3/5 Elementary Educators); Edsby (for Middle and High School Teachers, and Standards-Based K-12 Educators) - **Rationale:** - **Elementary Teachers (PreK–Grade 5):** Seesaw saves early childhood educators time by providing thousands of pre-built, interactive activities and enabling young children to submit work via voice and video independently. It eliminates the need for young students to type passwords or manage complex file downloads. - **Middle and High School Teachers (Grades 6–12):** Edsby is overwhelmingly superior for upper grades. Secondary educators require flexible weighted gradebooks, rubrics, standards alignment, assignment dropboxes, group collaboration spaces, and direct integration with term report cards—capabilities that lie outside Seesaw’s elementary design scope. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** Age-appropriate user interface, clear submission methods, instant feedback, engaging multimodal interaction, and reliable device performance. - **Platform Recommendation:** Seesaw (for Primary/Elementary Students in Grades PreK–4); Edsby (for Middle and High School Students in Grades 5–12) - **Rationale:** - **Primary Students (PreK–Grade 4):** Young children who are still developing fine motor skills and text literacy thrive in Seesaw. Large visual icons, color-coded buttons, audio instructions, and direct screen-drawing tools allow early learners to take ownership of their work without experiencing cognitive overload. - **Secondary Students (Grades 5–12):** As students transition into departmentalized schedules and secondary subjects, Seesaw’s elementary interface feels limiting. Older students require Edsby’s structured newsfeed, interactive course calendars, multi-subject assignment trackers, digital portfolio repositories, and formal assessment feedback panels. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** Edsby (for multi-child, all-grades operational continuity); Seesaw (for joyful primary school artifact viewing) - **Rationale:** - **For Families with Multiple Children Across Grade Levels:** Edsby provides an unmatched family experience. A parent with a 2nd grader, a 7th grader, and an 11th grader logs into one single Edsby account to view attendance alerts, teacher messages, gradebook entries, and report cards for all three children simultaneously. - **For Parents of Early Childhood Learners:** Seesaw delivers immense delight by sending push notifications containing direct audio recordings or photos of a young child’s daily classroom achievements. However, because Seesaw cannot display high-school cumulative transcripts, official report cards, or secondary attendance records, families with older children inevitably require a secondary district portal if Seesaw is used in isolation. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and Seesaw is fundamentally a choice between an enterprise, end-to-end K-12 operational learning management system and a specialized, early-childhood learning experience and portfolio platform. **Edsby** is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking a complete, district-wide system of record that unifies administrative attendance, standards-based gradebooks, official report cards, and family engagement across all primary and secondary grade levels. It eliminates software fragmentation and provides the governance infrastructure required for modern school divisions and ministries of education. **Seesaw** remains an exceptional, world-class learning experience platform tailored specifically for early primary education (PreK through 5th grade). It excels at capturing multimodal formative evidence, fostering student agency among pre-readers, and building intimate home-school connections during a child’s initial school years. For district leadership evaluating holistic edtech architecture, collective customer sentiment indicates that Seesaw operates best as a targeted early-learning portfolio tool, whereas Edsby provides the comprehensive operational backbone necessary to power an entire K-12 educational community. August, 2026 analysis by Gemini of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Seesaw themselves. --- ### [Edsby vs. Schoology](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-schoology/) **Published:** October 20, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Read a synthesis of user reviews and other research in this analysis of what customers like most about the Edsby digital learning platform and Schoology. **Content:** AI and large language models like Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT and Claude have distilled some percent of overall human knowledge, including sentiment expressed about products and services on public forums. AI should therefore be in the best position to generate the most credible, impartial, difficult-to-game analyses of products compared to each other if drawing on the body of the collective internet. Edsby presents the below AI-generated analysis of Edsby and Schoology. It was output by Gemini in August 2025 in response to the following prompt, which we invite you cut and paste into your own AI of choice to compare the veracity of the analysis: *Generate a 2,500 word article contrasting the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 with Schoology, specifically as it relates to both products’ applicability to the K-12 education market as all-in-one learning platforms.* *As your primary input, synthesize sentiment found on the internet from paying customers of the two systems. Prioritize customer reviews published on popular review platforms such as, but not limited to, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and Capterra.* *Highlight each product’s apparent strengths for the K-12 education market and what K-12 customers appreciate most about each product. Make recommendations about which product appears most suitable for the unique needs of each of the main K-12 education stakeholders, which are department/ministry of education staff, school district staff, teachers, students and their parents.* *Do not spend word count for your analysis on decision checklists, pilot plans or other adoption documents, which readers can generate themselves.* ## Edsby vs. PowerSchool Schoology: A K-12 Comparison The selection of an all-in-one learning platform represents one of the most consequential structural decisions a K-12 educational jurisdiction can make. Unlike higher education institutions—where enterprise learning management systems (LMS) often operate independently of student information systems (SIS)—the K-12 environment demands a tightly coupled ecosystem. School districts, regional authorities, and ministries require platforms that manage not only instructional content, digital assignments, and curriculum pacing, but also daily attendance, standards-based gradebooks, formal report cards, and multi-directional communication with parents who possess legal custody and operational oversight over minor children. Across popular software review marketplaces such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, two distinct philosophies of all-in-one digital learning infrastructure emerge. On one side is **Edsby**, purpose-built from its inception exclusively for the K-12 market, unifying administrative data workflows with social-style communication under a single, unified database architecture. On the other side is **PowerSchool Schoology**, an established learning management platform that operates as part of the broader PowerSchool ecosystem, heavily favored by districts seeking flexible course design, powerful resource sharing, and deep integration with traditional administrative infrastructures. Synthesizing paying customer sentiment from across the collective internet reveals stark contrasts in how these platforms perform in the crucible of daily K-12 operations. This analysis evaluates both ecosystems through the lens of their real-world applicability, surfacing what users truly appreciate, where friction occurs, and how well each platform serves the distinct stakeholders within the K-12 educational community. ## The Voice of the Customer: Sentiment Synthesis from Public Review Platforms Real-world user reviews provide an unvarnished look at how software behaves once the sales cycle concludes and daily usage begins. An examination of feedback aggregated across G2, Capterra, Software Advice, and TrustRadius reveals distinct satisfaction patterns for both vendors. ### Edsby: Purpose-Built K-12 Cohesion Edsby generally commands strong ratings across review ecosystems (averaging approximately 4.3 to 4.4 out of 5 stars), driven heavily by its deliberate focus on the operational realities of primary and secondary schooling. - **What K-12 Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers consistently highlight the value of consolidating multiple school workflows—attendance tracking, parent messaging, permission slips, grade books, and classroom management—into a single application. Educators frequently praise the platform’s social-style interface, noting that its familiar, feed-based layout lowers the barrier to entry for hesitant technology users. Parents and administrators alike champion the transparency Edsby provides; because classroom feeds, learning evidence, and grade books are natively linked, caregivers gain a unified window into daily student progress without navigating disparate software silos. - **Primary Points of Friction:** Customer sentiment also points to notable pain points. Administrative and IT support users frequently express frustration with the velocity of bug fixes and feature updates, noting that minor issues or requested adjustments can take months to clear development and reach production environments. Teachers occasionally report that searching past messages or sorting archived content can feel clunky, and certain legacy workflows—such as printing specific gradebook subsets or customized report configurations—lack the flexibility desired by power users. ### PowerSchool Schoology: Flexible Course Management and Ecosystem Power Schoology achieves solid satisfaction marks, particularly among secondary educators and districts deeply embedded in the PowerSchool SIS family. - **What Customers Appreciate Most:** Reviewers frequently laud Schoology for its clean folder-based organization, robust resource-sharing capabilities, and smooth integration with external tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft products, and LTI-compliant third-party applications. Teachers appreciate the autonomy to build and structure their courses creatively, utilizing discussion boards, interactive assessments, and shared district resource repositories to maintain vertical alignment across grade levels. For districts utilizing PowerSchool SIS, the auto-rostering and grade-passing capabilities provide a streamlined administrative bridge once fully configured. - **Primary Points of Friction:** K-12 user sentiment reveals recurring points of friction regarding interface fragmentation and update cycles. Following its acquisition by PowerSchool, many long-standing users note that development priorities have shifted heavily toward corporate cross-product integrations rather than resolving core usability bugs. Teachers frequently complain about cumbersome grading mechanics for specific assignments (such as multi-page Google Drive submissions), a steep learning curve for elementary populations, and disjointed assessment settings where creation menus and due-date toggles are housed in separate tabs. Furthermore, because Schoology is fundamentally classroom-centric, standalone districts not utilizing comprehensive auxiliary tools often find gaps in native, zero-configuration parent portals and all-in-one administrative record-keeping. ## Apparent Strengths for the K-12 Education Market When evaluated strictly as all-in-one digital learning platforms for K-12 institutions, Edsby and Schoology approach systemic challenges from fundamentally opposite directions. ### Edsby’s Core Strengths 1. **Native Administrative Integration:** Edsby was architected to understand that K-12 schools are not merely collections of online courses; they are physical institutions governed by strict attendance laws, regional reporting codes, and complex scheduling rules. Its ability to ingest student information system (SIS) data and present it cleanly alongside instructional spaces makes it an authentic all-in-one utility. 2. **Frictionless Parent and Community Engagement:** By treating parents as first-class citizens within the software architecture—rather than external guests logging into an auxiliary portal—Edsby bridges the communication gap. Parents see the exact same contextual updates, class feeds, and assessment feedback that teachers publish for students, minimizing parent-teacher friction. 3. **Balanced Assessment and Documentation:** Reviewers frequently note Edsby’s strength in capturing qualitative learning evidence—conversations, observations, and formative artifacts—alongside traditional quantitative grades. This aligns exceptionally well with modern K-12 curriculum frameworks that emphasize competency-based reporting and holistic student development. ### Schoology’s Core Strengths 1. **Granular Course Design and Resource Sharing:** Schoology shines in environments where teachers desire architectural control over their digital classrooms. Its folder structures, media embedding options, and district-wide resource pools allow educators to curate, reuse, and distribute rich instructional units across grade levels and schools with high fidelity. 2. **Robust Assessment Engine:** Schoology offers advanced item types, rubric-based scoring, and integration with high-stakes testing security tools (such as LockDown Browser), giving secondary educators powerful mechanisms for formative and summative evaluation. 3. **Ecosystem Leverage via PowerSchool:** For districts already anchored in the PowerSchool infrastructure, Schoology provides a familiar enterprise umbrella, enabling macro-level administrative continuity and shared single-sign-on capabilities. ## Stakeholder-by-Stakeholder Suitability Analysis The utility of an educational platform depends heavily on who is interacting with it. The unique needs of the five primary K-12 education stakeholders dictate distinct platform recommendations. ### 1. Department / Ministry of Education Staff - **Primary Needs:** Statewide or provincial data standardization, compliance with funding and attendance regulations, equity of access across rural and urban jurisdictions, and high-level macro analytics to track systemic achievement gaps. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** Ministries and departments of education require platforms that respect sovereign educational frameworks and administrative compliance out of the box. Edsby’s architecture naturally aggregates district-level operational data, attendance metrics, and standards-based reporting into formats that align with government oversight requirements without requiring heavy custom data engineering. ### 2. School District Staff (Superintendents, IT Directors, Curriculum Leaders) - **Primary Needs:** Seamless SIS integration, reliable data security and student privacy stewardship, manageable total cost of ownership, scalable deployment, and vendor responsiveness. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Split / Context-Dependent (Edsby for holistic operational cohesion; Schoology for PowerSchool-centric enterprise ecosystems)** - **Rationale:** For standard, brick-and-mortar K-12 school districts seeking to eliminate software sprawl—replacing disconnected tools for attendance, parent communication, and grading—**Edsby** offers a faster path to unified adoption with lower training overhead. However, for districts heavily locked into the PowerSchool administrative product family where SIS-to-LMS alignment is the overriding IT mandate, **Schoology** provides the path of least resistance for native data handoffs. ### 3. Teachers - **Primary Needs:** Minimized administrative friction, intuitive gradebook management, streamlined communication loops with families, and flexibility in how assignments and formative feedback are delivered. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** Teachers are routinely overwhelmed by administrative overhead. Review sentiment indicates that Edsby successfully captures the daily rhythms of a K-12 classroom—allowing an educator to take attendance, post a homework update, message a parent, and log an observation in a single streamlined workflow. While Schoology offers immense curriculum building power, teacher reviews frequently cite frustrating multi-click grading workflows, disjointed assessment setting menus, and administrative overhead that pull focus away from direct instruction. ### 4. Students - **Primary Needs:** A clear, distraction-free view of what is due, immediate access to learning materials, clear feedback channels, and mobile-friendly interfaces. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Schoology** (for upper grades/secondary); **Edsby** (for elementary/middle school) - **Rationale:** For secondary students navigating complex, multi-unit courses, Schoology’s clean folder hierarchy, integrated digital dropboxes, and badge/reward mechanics foster independent study habits. Conversely, for younger students and middle schoolers, Edsby’s social-media-adjacent feed format provides a welcoming, less intimidating digital workspace where due dates, class streams, and teacher feedback are surfaced cleanly without navigating dense academic folder trees. ### 5. Parents and Caregivers - **Primary Needs:** Total transparency into their child’s daily life at school, effortless communication with educators, absolute clarity on academic standing, and zero technical barriers to entry. - **Platform Recommendation:** **Edsby** - **Rationale:** This represents one of the sharpest differentiators in the marketplace. Edsby was built from day one with the family unit embedded into its core architecture. Parents do not view a secondary guest portal; they see an integrated window displaying real-time attendance, teacher notes, and upcoming assessments. Schoology, while offering parent access features, frequently relies on separate parent accounts that can suffer from sync lags or require supplemental portal configurations, rarely matching the seamless, consumer-grade family connectivity demanded by K-12 communities. ## Conclusion Choosing between Edsby and PowerSchool Schoology is fundamentally a choice between native K-12 operational cohesion and modular instructional flexibility. **Edsby** is the definitive victor for K-12 jurisdictions seeking an all-in-one environment that respects the unique administrative, attendance, and familial communication structures of primary and secondary education. It reduces software sprawl, brings parents into the daily educational loop, and mirrors the social-collaborative workflows modern users expect. **PowerSchool Schoology** remains a powerful, highly flexible LMS best suited for districts whose primary strategic imperative is advanced course structuring, deep resource sharing across teacher teams, and seamless operational continuity within an existing PowerSchool SIS environment. For the vast majority of traditional K-12 school districts looking to unify classrooms, administrators, and parents under a single, purpose-built digital roof, collective customer sentiment indicates that Edsby delivers a more naturally aligned operational fit. August, 2026 analysis by ChatGPT 5.0 of real world customer comments and other publicly available data. If comparing these two products for potential deployment, the most authoritative assessment about each products’ actual fit for your specific requirements will come from first hand evaluations of Edsby and Schoology themselves. --- ### [Edsby for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/teacher/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby automates much of teachers’ administration work, gives teachers better insight into students than ever, and enables new, more efficient ways to communicate with parents. --- ### [Edtech Glossary](https://www.edsby.com/edtech-glossary/) **Published:** March 5, 2026 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Definitions of education technology terms related to the Edsby social learning and data platform for K-12. **Content:** # Edtech Glossary --- ### [FAQs - The Edsby digital learning platform](https://www.edsby.com/faqs/) **Published:** September 27, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Answers to frequently asked questions about the Edsby social learning and data platform for K-12. --- ### [Governments](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-regions/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** A K-12 school management system unifying assessment, reporting & parent engagement. Trusted by governments as a modern digital learning platform. --- ### [Independent Schools](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-private-schools/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby is a modern, all-in-one way to manage an independent or private school's teaching, learning & community. --- ### [Enhancing Privacy and Security](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/privacy-security/) **Published:** March 6, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How the Edsby K-12 learning platform enables privacy, compliance and peace of mind when it comes to access of student data. --- ### [School Districts](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-for-districts/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** For K-12 school districts, Edsby is a single, centrally-managed application for all digital learning, assessment and reporting. --- ### [Comparisons](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/) **Published:** September 25, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The Edsby platform for K-12 compared to Instructure Canvas, D2L Brightspace, Schoology, Moodle, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams & Seesaw. **Content:** # Edsby vs. Top K-12 LMS Platforms: Features & Benefits [ ![Edsby vs Canvas](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvCanvas.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-canvas/) [ ![Edsby vs Brightspace](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvBrightspace.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-brightspace/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-brightspace/) [ ![Edsby vs Schoology](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvSchoology.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-schoology/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-schoology/) [ ![Edsby vs Moodle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvMoodle.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-moodle/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-moodle/) [ ![Edsby vs Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvClassroom.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-google-classroom/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-google-classroom/) [ ![Edsby vs Teams](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvTeams.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-microsoft-teams/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-microsoft-teams/) [ ![Edsby vs Seesaw](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EdsbyvSeesaw.webp) ](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-seesaw/) [Read](https://www.edsby.com/comparisons/edsby-vs-seesaw/) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Classroom management![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Automatic setup of classes & students from SIS![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Async blended learning social areas per class![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Simple polls, complex surveys![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Class files library![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Per-teacher personal resources areas![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Wiki-like knowledge base for every classroom![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Facilitate student collaboration on assignments![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Virus checking of uploads![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Printable class rosters![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Seating plan![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Google Workspace and O365 integration![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Integrated closed, secure email system![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Teachers can unsend messages![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Synchronous learning![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Realtime video![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Breakout rooms![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Whiteboarding![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Screensharing![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Realtime text chat![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Course content![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Author course content in platform![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Organize content by unit, arrange, i.e. planner![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Teacher-managed course models![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)District-managed course models slaved to SIS![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Copy & paste content from previous courses![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)See progress through content by learner![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Mastery/personalized, self-paced paths![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Import SCORM![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Import Common Cartridge![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Import ePub![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Import Moodle![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Enable LTI applications![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Tag to expectations, standards, outcomes (ESOCs)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Curriculum collaboration with teachers across district![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Learning Object Repositories (LORs)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Bulk import into LORs![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)LOR object meta data, tagging, assigning to ESOCs![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)LOR management![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)LOR sharing between schools, districts![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Math equation editor![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Music notation support![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Easily view changes made to course content![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Attendance![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Record attendance in classes![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Late slip management, planned absence mgmt![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Customize to district’s attendance workflow & terms![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Export attendance![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Sync attendance to SIS![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Display attendance in system if taken in SIS![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Teacher can take attendance on mobile![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Integration with official district notification systems![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Attendance in groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Assessment![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Comprehensive K-12 optimized gradebook![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Support for advanced K-12 grading schemes![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Assessment weighting![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Gradebook history change tracking![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Rubric support, incl. re-use![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Create new assessment in multiple courses at once![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Electronic submissions via file uploads![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Built-in online testing![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Wide variety of online test question types![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Randomize order of multiple choice questions![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Draw questions from a question bank![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Auto grading of online tests, gradebook insertion![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Record audio or video as answer submissions![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Originality checking w/popular services (e.g. TurnItIn)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Assess by expectations, standards, outcomes (ESOCs)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Measure interim class progress against ESOCs![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Leave video or audio commentary when grading![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Formative assessment support![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Override calculated grades, professional judgment![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Built in subjective performance indicators![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Import into gradebook![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Capture learning evidence, incl. audio & video![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Dedicated app for collection of classroom evidence![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Reporting![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Tag learning evidence by ESOCs![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Report on rolled up ESOCs![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Tag, categorize & annotate evidence![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Data wall-like drag & drop evidence for analysis![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Share select evidence with students & their parents![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Portfolios![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Student reflections on work in portfolio![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Categorize portfolio entries by folder or tag![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Student-determined visibility of items in ePortfolio![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Export from portfolio in non-proprietary format![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Badges, certifications![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Export from gradebook![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Sync grades with SIS automatically![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Publish official progress reports & report cards![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Formal report card workflow with principals, admins![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Report card worksheets populated by gradebook![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Report card comment banks![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Enforce unique report card comments![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Report card printing on district/school template![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Print report cards from application![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Export report card data for printing elsewhere![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Current and previous report cards securely online![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Group collaboration![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Class-level groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)School-level groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)District-wide groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Region-wide groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Auto-assign users to groups from SIS info![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Mandatory staff moderator(s)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Multi-level group privileges and permissions![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)District-wide study groups spanning schools![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Monitor groups for actioning at risk students![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Special features for teacher PLCs/PD![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Private groups by invitation only![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Files libraries in groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Wiki-like knowledge bases in groups![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Group events appear on user calendars![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Timetable & calendar![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Show student & faculty’s daily timetables![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Share student timetable with parents![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Show realtime student attendance in timetable![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Indicate where student should be at current time![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Support for esoteric K-12 day & period schedules![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Consolidated calendar of all course events![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Filter calendar by event types and/or courses![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Printable calendar view![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Include sports team & school club calendars![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Export calendar events to other calendars![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Create recurring calendar events![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Parent engagement![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Native support for parents by design![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Parents provisioned without pairing codes![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Teacher and parent 1:1 emailing in platform![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Teachers can easily email some or all parents![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Teachers don’t need to know parent email addresses![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Parents don’t need to know teacher email address![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Teachers can view as a parent![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Teachers don’t manage parent access to records![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Parent self-serve registration![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Parent import from CSVs![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Manage parent authentication via LDAP![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Manage parent authentication via AD/Azure AD![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Sync parent accounts with SIS![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Parents don’t need email address for accounts![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Parent sees children’s academic progress![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Show overdue assignments to parents![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Parent visibility into classes if allowed by teacher![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Parent can comment with voice/video in portfolio![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Content translated to language of parents’ device![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Participation in groups as allowed by staff![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)All children visible from single parent account![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Permission forms![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Parents can report planned absences![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Parent digest emails and/or instant notifications![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Registrations & workflows![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)School registrations (e.g. kindergarten, IB)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Parent-teacher interview booking![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Electronic field trip approvals![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Credit recovery![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Community service hour tracking![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Substitute teacher & duty management![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Open-ended workflow capability![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw News distribution![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Class-level announcements![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)School-level news![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)District-level news![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Region-level news![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)User news determined by orgs & role![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Staff or students can suggest items![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Administrators with privs can approve![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)News items can be viewable before login![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Analytics![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)System usage reports![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Learner analytics, i.e. grades, attendance, behavior![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Teacher realtime visuaizations of their students’ data![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Principal realtime analytics of their school![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Principal full view of student when a parent calls![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Data visualization integrated, i.e. same product![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Incorporate all historical academic information![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Accept non-LMS data, e.g. standardized test scores![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Regional staff realtime analytics of their region![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)See room, resource, teacher utilization![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Learning Record Store (LRS)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Universal integration![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Large number of SIS integrations![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Direct SIS integrations![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)AD, Azure AD, LDAP user authentication![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Support for flexible user IDs, incl. non-email addresses![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Single Sign On capability (incl. O365, Google, Clever)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Robust set of fields pulled/pushed to SIS![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Integration with HR systems for staff rostering![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Integration with payment processing![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Data consolidation![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Connect to n heterogenous SISes![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Normalize data from multiple sources![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Other architectural![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Mobile app capabilities & user popularity![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)All functionality on platform-independent browser![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Accessibility support (Section 508, WCAG, JAWS)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Customize with regional terms, hide features![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Customize to regional personal information policies![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)International language support![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Configurable roles-based permissions across product![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)Ability to launch other non-integrated applications![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Impersonate any specific user & see system as them![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Guaranteed data residency in customer locale![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Themable![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)White label-able![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Own API![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Sandbox available![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Data privacy policies (Common Sense® evaluation)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Logging of all system activity enabling forensics![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Year-end rollover and archiving![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Restore selected information from archive![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png) ![Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/edsby.png)Instructure CanvasD2L BrightspacePowerSchool SchoologyMoodleGoogle ClassroomMicrosoft TeamsSeesaw Extended product elements![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Ease of use, positive user experience![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Quick to learn![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Vendor willing & able to partner with customers![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Onboarding services![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Migration services![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Training services![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Training materials![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)Customization services![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Support from vendor (e.g. 24/7, forums, email)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)Help files, videos and online user community![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)Security controls protecting private info![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)ISO 27001 certification of data practices![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0.png)Known, trusted brand![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png)![Icon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4.png) This matrix was assembled by a human, reviewing publicly available vendor websites, product documentation, support knowledge bases, vendors’ user community discussion boards and customer-generated videos and documentation illustrating products’ capabilities and intended use in their schools or districts at the time of analysis. Customer commentary was also reviewed on public enterprise software review sites such as G2, Capterra, Software Advice, SourceForge and Gartner Peer Insights. While many criteria might suggest only a binary yes or no, subjective ratings of 0-4 were used throughout this analysis to convey nuances such as, but not limited to, a capability not being available across all user platforms, dependency on a third party product, requiring end-teacher set up, or having been added only recently via acquisition. --- ### [Integration With Key Systems](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/integration-not-duplication/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby has been designed from the ground up for fast, easy, efficient, bidirectional integration with a wide variety of data stores and services found in school districts. **Content:** # Edsby’s integration architecture Edsby has been designed from the ground up for fast, easy, efficient, bidirectional integration with a wide variety of data stores and services found in school districts. Unlike rudimentary data export approaches intended for basic student, teacher and class rostering, there are different types of advanced integrations offered by Edsby that enable powerful data capabilities, and are key to its powerful role-based permission and access control: **Data Synchronization Integrations**, **Authentication Integrations**, and **Real-Time Data Integrations**. ### Data Synchronization Integrations #### Unidirectional Data Synchronization Integrations The most common form on integration is one in which Edsby acts in a dependent configuration with the various “system-of-record” platforms in the district. The most common one of these is with the Student Information System (SIS), which is typically the system of record for all students, teachers, classes, schools and enrollments. All synchronization integrations are done using a fully automated bidirectional data synchronization engine designed specifically to provide a bridge between Edsby and district enterprise data management systems. As such, Edsby is ideal for managing situations in which there are multiple systems-of-record in a single district. For example, it is often the case that the SIS contains information about all teachers, but has no information about non- teaching staff such as guidance, district curriculum specialists, etc. Those staff must be then loaded from an alternative source such as the Human Resources (HR) Information System. Similarly, disparate systems may be used for substitute management, state and federal test results, athletics, etc. In all of these cases, Edsby may be configured to pull the relevant data from each system, and then synchronize the data to the appropriate location in Edsby. #### Bidirectional Data Synchronization Integrations While most data synchronization is from district data sources to Edsby, it is common for districts to want so synchronize data from Edsby back to a district data table. This may be operational data, such as statistics, but it may also be pedagogical data such as attendance, grades, or report cards. Edsby has been built with a plug-in architecture for both import and export data communication. This allows Edsby to both query district data and use that to populate the appropriate content in Edsby, and well as querying Edsby and using that to populate the appropriate data stores in the district. #### Edsby Data Query and Update Standards Edsby currently supports the following standards for both import and export: - Direct connections to dozens student information or management systems (SISes or SMSes) - CSV - Excel - ODBC - Web Services (SOAP, REST, JSON, AJAX) - SIF (via CSV or XML) - FirstClass Batch Admin - Flat file - Batch Image Libraries (school photo upload) Edsby has been designed for extensible data access, and additional protocols are added regularly. #### High Performance and Parallel Processing Edsby may run multiple uploads (imports) and downloads (exports) in parallel with no interference between the tasks. In addition, a single Edsby site may run multiple connection instances (very useful in overcoming firewall/VPN/security issues). In all cases Edsby will process the Edsby synchronization in the most efficient parallel way, leading to typical synchronization times of a few minutes for most sites. #### Full Compression and Encryption of All Data All data transferred is both compressed as well as transmitted over an HTTPS connection. There are no plain-text data transmissions at any stage. #### Full Reporting And Trace Files Each and every synchronization run is tracked and logged, and the district IT administrator has full access to the transmission files for debugging and analysis. #### Flexible Scheduling Edsby has a flexible scheduling system, so that synchronizations may be scheduled to best coincide with requirements of the district. ### External Authentication Integrations The second major type of Edsby integration is the Authentication Integration. In almost all Edsby installations, it is highly desirable for users to use their existing district UserIDs and passwords in order to log in. In order for that to happen, the Edsby server supports the ability to enable External Authentication. #### External Authentication With External Authentication, Edsby takes the User ID and password entered by the users, but instead of checking that UserID and password against internal Edsby passwords, it sends the UserID and password over a secure link to the existing district identity management solution (e.g. Active Directory or LDAP) in order to authenticate the user. If the response from the identity management solution is positive, the user is able to log in. If it is negative, the user is given the response code from the identity management solution. #### Single Sign On (SSO) Integrations Edsby also supports a number of Single Sign On (SSO) integrations. With SSO, logins are handled in quite a different way. Broadly speaking, in an SSO scheme there is some third party server which handles all authentication. Once the user is logged in to that service, the browser is given a ticket, which is stored in the browser. When a user clicks the appropriate link in the authenticated service, the ticket is passed to the Edsby server, the Edsby server talks to the authentication server, and if everything matches the user is authenticated into Edsby without having to enter an UserID or password at all. While SSO schemes are powerful and convenient, they do have certain restrictions. The major restriction is that in almost all cases, the UserIDs on all linked services must match. Since some services do not allow any control over the UserID, this means that all services must use that UserID. An excellent example of this is Google Apps for Education, which must use an email address as a user ID (e.g. billy.student@someschool.edu). In order to use SSO with Edsby, Edsby must use the same UserID format. [Edsby provides a seamless integration with Google Apps for Education and Office 365 + Azure »](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/with-google-gafe-microsoft-office-o365/) #### OAuth SSO Server Integrations In addition to the SSO client integrations described above, Edsby is also capable of acting as an OAuth Server. This means that should the district wish, other district services may perform OAuth authentications against Edsby, enabling SSO for those services. #### The Importance of UserIDs in Authentication Integrations Building successful authentication integrations is highly dependent on being able to configure a common UserID between the various constituent systems, including Edsby. This is because most identity management systems installed in a district require a very specific UserID. To make matters even more complex, these UserIDs are not necessarily the same across all identity management systems. To use one simple example, Active Directory and LDAP require X.400-stype addresses, while Google Apps requires an email address. In order to address this requirement, Edsby has extensive support for the ability to do UserID namespace mapping (e.g. users enter an email address as the user ID, but Edsby uses the student number as the User ID for LDAP BIND). All accounts in the proposed system will be created through synchronization with the various authoritative identity management systems in the district (e.g. SIS, HR, Active Directory, etc.). Edsby will internally convert this to a Globally Unique ID (GUID) that will identify each and every user on the system, and the GUID mapping table will be exported automatically for district use. At login time, the entered user ID will be used to formulate the correct external authentication call, which may vary based on school, role, etc. Note that in addition, Edsby also supports single-sign-on technologies such as OAuth. In order to make this work, the district must define at least one universal Unique Identifier (UID) per role. Typically this will be something like this: **Role**Staff Student Parent Non-district staff Volunteers **UID**Employee ID Student Number Email address Contractor ID Email address #### Multiple External Authentication Integrations Edsby also support multiple OUs, multiple AD/LDAP servers, and multiple role- based UserID formats. Our external authentication support is also multi- tenanted, so that if multiple schools are on the same Edsby server, each school could use their own custom external authentication setup. Conversely, it is also possible from a single school or district to use multiple OUs or multiple AD servers. By way of example, the largest Edsby server currently has just over 300,000 user accounts, with complex rules-based authentication. Students and teachers authenticate against one Active Directory server with two different domains, and also with two different sets of user IDs. Parents authenticate against a second Active Directory server, and casual users authenticate against the internal Edsby password system. All of this is working seamlessly, handling hundreds of thousands of authentications per day. ### Real-Time Data Integrations #### Learning Tools Interoperability Integrations Edsby has been certified to the following LTI standards: - Learning Tools Interoperability V1.0 - Learning Tools Interoperability V1.3 - LTI Assignment & Grade Services 2.0 - LTI Deep Linking 2.0 - LTI Names and Role Provisioning Services 2.0 - LTI Advantage Complete #### SIF Support Edsby supports SIF via CSV and XML. It is also worth noting that the underlying Edsby data structures for Students, Courses, Parents, Schools and Timetables are all based directly on the SIF specifications. #### OneRoster Support Edsby supports OneRoster Consumer, Service Provider and Gradebook Passback. #### Extended Edsby Import Capabilities On the uplink side, Edsby can query multiple systems, synthesize the resultant data set into a single update, and then use that to populate the relevant data structures in Edsby. This means that Edsby can easily be synchronized with (for example) UserIDs from an Identity Management System, teacher names from an HR database, pictures from a folder of JPEGs, passwords from FirstClass, and enrollment data from an SIS. In addition, Edsby is extensible, so for example the Edsby Student Panorama form could be easily extended to provide access to data such as: - Student Community Service Hours - Standardized test results - Student Locker Numbers, etc. #### Edsby Export Capabilities On the export side, any data collected in Edsby may be exported into an appropriate district data store. This includes: - Gradebook data - Parent contact information - All grade data including details with grades, notes, etc. - Usage data - Attendance data - Report card data Export data may then be saved either as CSV files, stored in auxiliary SQL tables, or written directly back to the required enterprise database. #### Attendance and Discipline Data Edsby may be configured to import attendance data from a variety of sources, and this data will be displayed to students, teachers, parents and administrators as appropriate. In addition, the attendance data (if available) will be collated and used as part of the report card submission process. [Click here to set up a demo of Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/) --- ### [About Us](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/about-edsbys-creators/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** About the Edsby team that has been building scalable, reliable, award-winning software for education for more than 30 years. --- ### [Contact Us](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/contact-us/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Students](https://www.edsby.com/support/students/) **Published:** January 18, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Help files and videos for K-12 students. --- ### [Edsby offices](https://www.edsby.com/map/) **Published:** December 19, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** --- ### [Board](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/board/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Edsby Enthusiasts](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-enthusiasts/) **Published:** June 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Are you an educator doing great things with the Edsby platform for K-12? Become an Edsby Enthusiast. Share your passion, help Edsby improve the product and get free stuff. --- ### [With Google Apps And Microsoft M365](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/with-google-gafe-microsoft-office-o365/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby adds a host of new capabilities to schools and districts that use Google Workspace for Education and/or Microsoft 365. --- ### [Providing Data-Driven Insights](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-analytics/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Only Edsby lets educators see where students are at across a region or district, and then enables them to take action, right in the same system. --- ### [Solutions](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Personalized Learning](https://www.edsby.com/personalized-learning/) **Published:** August 29, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Edsby is a K-12 personalized learning platform that supports personalized learning plans, student agency, family engagement & growth in education. --- ### [Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/parent-teacher-interview-conference/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Schedule parent-teacher conferences easily with the Edsby K-12 digital learning platform. Improve parent engagement and communication today. --- ### [Building Capacity for Educators](https://www.edsby.com/building-capacity/) **Published:** March 7, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How the Edsby K-12 learning platform enables educators do more with less. --- ### [Edsby platform training workbooks](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/training-workbooks/) **Published:** July 10, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** These workbooks are used in training sessions introducing the Edsby platform for K-12 to teachers and administrators at new Edsby organizations. --- ### [Public Website Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/) **Published:** October 3, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The policy governing handling of private information entered into Edsby's public marketing website, edsby.com, in the course of prospective customers learning about Edsby's products and services. **Content:** **Date of last revision of this Policy: August 16th, 2024** **Edsby believes the foundation of any relationship is based on trust and transparency**. This Public Website Privacy Policy enables you to better understand how Edsby collects, uses, discloses, stores and protects your information via our Public Website. Providing appropriate ways to safeguard your personal information is of utmost importance to us as is your privacy. ## **1.0 What Does This Policy Apply To?** **This Policy applies to visitors of our public marketing website (**[**www.edsby.com**](https://www.edsby.com/)**) (“Public Website”), which exists primarily to inform and identify new prospective Edsby customers. Edsby’s target customers are Education Organizations such as K-12 school districts, boards or divisions, state or provincial education authorities and national governments. This** **Public Website Privacy Policy does not apply to Edsby products, services, software or application (collectively, “Services”) used by students, parents, teachers and administrators, which is covered in our [**Services Privacy Policy**](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/)**. Users do not log into Edsby Services via the Edsby Public Website.** Edsby’s Public Website, operated by CoreFour Inc. (“we”, “us”, or “our”), may collect Personal Information of intended clients or prospective clients, all referred to in this Public Website Privacy Policy as “you” or “your”. **“Personal Information”** is any information provided to us or generated within the Public Website that may directly or indirectly identify an individual, such as name or email address, or other information which could be reasonably linked to such identifying information. Unless otherwise specified, Personal Information referenced in this Policy is interchangeable with Personally Identifiable Information, which is information that, that when used alone or in combination with other information, can identify an individual. Personal Information does not include de-identified information (i.e., information that does not identify you) such as usage data. *Other Links:* Our public Website contains links to other websites and services that we do not own or operate. By clicking on those links, you will leave our Public Website. Those third-party websites and services are governed by separate and independent privacy policies, which we recommend you read carefully. ## **2.0 How Do We Collect Your Personal Information?** ### Personal Information You Voluntarily Provide to Us You may voluntarily provide us with Personal Information, such as your name, email address, phone number and company name, when you subscribe to our mailing list, fill in a sales lead form, make an inquiry or respond to an offer on our Public Website. We do not seek or collect sensitive data from prospective customers, only basic contact information data such as name, email address and phone number. Based on applicable law, filling in a form on our website is your implied consent. We also rely on opt-in consent when applicable law requires us to obtain explicit consent or when you proactively opt to receive marketing communication. ### Information We Automatically Collect Like most websites, when you visit our Public Website, we may receive information about your visit and interaction with our Public Website. Although most of the information we collect is non-identifiable and aggregated usage data, such as how many individuals visited our Public Website, peak hours of visits, and page(s) viewed, we may also collect your Internal Protocol (“IP”) address along with other data from vetted third party tools listed below. We collect this information through the use of cookies and similar technologies. To learn more about how we collect this information, please see Section 9.0 (What Are Cookies?). We do not collect geolocation data. ## **3.0 How Do We Use Your Information?** ### To Respond to Your Communications We respond to inquiries, comments, feedback or questions when prospects fill out online forms on our Public Website. We may also use your contact information to send you notices about changes to our terms, conditions and policies. ### To Engage in Marketing Or Promotional Activities If the information you share identifies you as a K-12 school district or other likely educational institution decision maker or influencer for which the Edsby service would be commercially suitable, and your interactions with our marketing materials suggest interest in Edsby, you may receive individualized outreach from us, such as a telephone call or personalized email from a sales representative. Other non-targeted Public Website respondents who have filled in a form or chatted with a chatbot may receive periodic newsletter-style or other emails from Edsby. Our marketing emails always include an “unsubscribe” link so that you can opt out of receiving marketing emails from Edsby. You can also email us at to opt out of receiving promotional emails. We will obtain your consent before sending you marketing communications if required to do so by applicable laws. Note that we do not track visitors of our Public Website outside of our website. ### To Develop and Improve Our Public Website We collect usage information about how visitors enter and navigate our Public Website that helps inform optimizations to its marketing content. We collect this information through cookies and other similar technologies. See Section 9.0 for more information and details on how to disable cookies. ## **4.0 To Whom Do We Disclose/Transfer Your Personal Information?** **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide to us. We do not rent or otherwise share any Personal Information for commercial purposes, even in an aggregated or de-identified form. We do not combine Personal Information with data from other sources to attempt to build a database product. Personal Information collected from prospects on our Public Website is for our sole use.** We limit who we share your Personal Information with. We also limit what information we share and how third parties may use, access, process or store such information in the course of performing duties for us. The full list of third-party services used by our Public Website for collecting or managing Personal Information are: – **Microsoft Clarity**, which helps us understand visitors’ user experiences on our Public Website and optimize it for efficiencies and performance – **FlowXO**, which provides an automated support chatbot on our Public Website for end users of our product seeking help with common Edsby functions – **HubSpot**, our customer relationship management (CRM) system, which manages our Public Website forms and submissions, records interactions prospects may have with our marketing content and provides insights into our Public Website and other marketing content usage patterns. (HubSpot is NOT used for management of user information in any Edsby Services; see Edsby’s [Services Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/).) There are only very limited circumstances in which we may disclose or share your Personal Information with third parties other than these. Those circumstances include: – To subsidiaries or affiliated companies in the event of a merger or acquisition, or a due diligence process as part of a transaction; and – If required to comply with relevant laws or respond to subpoenas or warrants served on us or to protect/defend our company’s rights, clients, or Public Website visitors If we need to disclose your Personal Information for any other purpose, other than those listed above, we will first seek your consent to do so. ## **5.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?** We are committed to protecting your Personal Information. Edsby employs a variety of physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect Public Website visitors’ Personal Information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. We also restrict access to Personal Information to Edsby staff who need to know that information for the purpose set out in this Policy and ensuring those staff acknowledge confidentiality. We retain Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, in accordance with contractual terms, or as is permitted or required under applicable laws. ## **6.0 What Are Your Choices?** It is your choice whether you provide us with your Personal Information on our Public Website, by filling in a contact sales or other form. However, if you choose not to provide information that is required to process your requests or use features of our Public Website, we may be unable to process your requests, or you may be unable to use those features that require the information to function. You have rights and choices as it relates to your Personal Information. Those include: – The right to **access** and/or **correct your Personal Information**, which we collected on our Public Website. You may access, update or correct your Personal Information and exercise your rights by emailing us at or using the contact information below. We will consider and respond to all requests per applicable laws. – The right to **opt out of marketing communication** from us either by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of all promotional or sales emails or by contacting us. – The right to **withdraw your consent** for us to use your Personal Information. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted before your withdrawal or the processing of your Personal Information for any other lawful grounds other than consent. – You may **disable cookies** at any time to prevent information collection and tracking. Please see Section 9.0 for more information. When we receive a request from you to exercise your right, we will verify your identity by matching the identifying information you provide to us with the Personal Information we have about you. ## **7.0 Children’s Privacy** Our Public Website is not intended for use by children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information on our Public Website from children (as defined in your jurisdiction). If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we have inadvertently collected Personal Information from your child without proper consent, please contact us at and we will immediately investigate and delete any such information. To find out more about how we process children’s Personal Information through our Edsby Services, please visit our [Services Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/). ## **8.0 Do We Transfer Your Information Internationally?** Data collected from Public Website visitors and their interactions with our website and marketing assets is stored in Edsby’s CRM, HubSpot, hosted in the United States. From time to time, we may need to transfer your Personal Information to Canada, our headquarters, or another country where Edsby or authorized third parties operate. These countries may not necessarily have data protection laws as comprehensive or protective as those in your country of residence; however, when we transfer your Personal Information in this manner across country borders, we implement adequate measures for its protection and for compliance with applicable laws. ## **9.0 Cookies and Similar Technologies** Our Public Website, like most other websites, uses cookies and similar technologies. “Cookies” are small text files installed on your computer hard drive or web browser when you visit or use our Public Website. Most browsers accept cookies by default. ### What information do we collect using cookies? The cookies we collect primarily collect information so as to gauge a prospect’s interest in licensing Edsby for their Education Organization. They also remember visitor preferences, such as language preferences, so that the user can have a better experience. Some cookies on our Public Website are set by us (i.e., first-party cookies) and some cookies are set by third parties (i.e., third-party cookies). To learn more about cookies, visit [www.allaboutcookies.org](http://www.allaboutcookies.org/). ### How can you manage cookies? Although most browsers accept cookies, you can set your browser to reject cookies. You will need to follow the instructions contained in your browser’s help file (usually located within the “Help,” “Tools,” or “Edit” settings). If you have more than one browser, the opt-out or settings you set will only apply to that specific browser and not the others. If you choose to disable cookies, some of the features and services on our Public Website might not function properly. ## **10.0 Changes to This Privacy Policy** Edsby reserves the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect the changes in our business and practices. When we change the Policy we will reflect the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. ## **11.0 How to Contact Us?** You may contact us at with any questions or concerns you have related to your Personal Information. We may also be reached as follows: 68B Leek Crescent, Suite 200 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1 Canada +1 (877) 337-0070 ## **12.0 California Privacy Notice Addendum (“Addendum”)** If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This Addendum solely applies to consumers who are California residents and supplements the information contained in Edsby’s Public Website Privacy Policy. The Addendum does not apply to job applicants or employees. We may make changes to the Addendum. Please refer to the Addendum from time to time to keep yourself informed of how we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information. “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked directly or indirectly with a particular California resident. Personal Information does not include publicly available information from government records or de-identified or aggregated consumer information. ### 12.1 Categories of Personal Information Over the past 12 months, we have collected the following categories of Personal Information for business purposes: CategoryExamplesA. IdentifiersContact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account nameF. Internet or other similar network activityInteractions with our website, marketing emails, and advertisementsI. Professional or employment-related informationBusiness contact details in order to provide you our Services at a business level or job title, work history, and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with usK. Inferences drawn from other personal informationInferences drawn from any of the collected Personal Information listed above to augment our understanding of your preferences and characteristics### 12.2 Sources of Personal Information We collect the categories of Personal Information in the following ways: – Directly from you when: you contact us about an inquiry; and when you submit a form on our Public Website with your Personal Information or identify yourself to our chatbot – Indirectly from you from your interaction with our Public Website: such as usage data through the use of cookies ### **12.3 Disclosure of Personal Information for a Business Purpose** In the past 12 month, we disclosed the following categories of Personal Information for a business purpose: CategoryPersonal Information Disclosed To a Third Party For a Business PurposeA. IdentifiersYesF. Internet or other similar network activityYesI. Professional or employment-related informationYesK. Inferences drawn from other personal informationYesWe disclosed these categories of Personal Information to the following categories of third parties: Our CRM, our Public Website translation provider, our chatbot service provider, and legal authorities as required by law. Please refer to 4.0 To Whom Do We Disclose/Transfer Your Personal Information? ### **12.4 Use of Personal Information** For more information about how we use your Personal Information, please see 3.0 How Do We Use Your Information? ### **12.5 Sale of Personal Information** Edsby does not sell your Personal Information for money to anyone. However, the definition of “sale” under the CCPA is very broad and it includes sharing information for analytics purposes. You can opt out of this either by contacting us at privacy@edsby.com. ### **12.6 What are your Rights** As a California resident, you have the following rights, subject to certain exceptions and limitations: – Right to know, over the past 12 months, the categories and specific Personal Information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you, the categories of sources from which we collected your Personal Information, our purposes for collecting or selling your Personal Information, the categories of your Personal Information that we have either sold or disclosed for a business purpose, and the categories of third parties with which we have shared Personal Information. – Right to access and portability of Personal Information that we collected over the past 12 months. You also have the right to request we provide you with a copy of the Personal Information we collected in a portable, readily reusable format that allows you to transmit the information to a third party. – Right to delete the Personal Information we have collected from you or maintain about you. California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to . We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. #### Previous Versions - [Public Website Privacy Policy February 3rd, 2023 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy-feb-2023-deprecated/) - [Public Website Privacy Policy September 2nd, 2021 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-policy-sept2021/) --- ### [Services Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Policy that governs how personal information is managed within the Edsby digital platform for K-12 students, teachers and parents. **Content:** **Date of last revision of this policy: April 23, 2025** Edsby is a cloud-based suite of software services that modernizes how educators, students and parents engage with each other electronically. Edsby Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc**. **We believe the foundation of any relationship is based on trust and transparency**. Our clients entrust us with the Personal Information of students, parents and educators. We take that responsibility seriously. The privacy and security of the people we serve is of utmost importance to us. This Services Privacy Policy (“**Policy**”) enables you to better understand how Edsby collects, uses, and discloses information through the use of our Services. ## **1.0 What Does This Policy Apply To?** This Policy applies to the Personal Information we may collect relating to students, parents, and educators (“you” or “your”) through our private browser-based Edsby Services and Edsby applications in the Apple iOS and Google Play stores (“**Services**”). **Please also refer to your Education Organization’s (i.e., your school or school district) privacy policy, which governs its use of your Personal Information.** For privacy practices relating to our public website ([www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/)), as well as those relating to marketing, sales, and support services, please refer to our Edsby [Public Website Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). *Other Links:* Our Services may contain links to other websites and services that we do not own or operate. By clicking on those links, you will leave our Services. Those third-party websites and services are governed by separate and independent privacy policies, which we recommend you read carefully. ## **2.0 Definitions** For the purposes of this Policy, the following definitions apply: **“Personal Information”** is any information provided to us or generated within Edsby that personally identifies an individual, such as name or email address, or other information which could be reasonably linked to such identifying information. Unless otherwise specified, Personal Information referenced in this Policy is interchangeable with Personally Identifiable Information, which is information that, that when used alone or in combination with other information, can identify an individual. **“Education Organization”** refers to various types of organizations that select Edsby as one of their technology solution providers for managing student information aimed at improving student success, equity and well-being. These organizations may include private schools, public school districts, provinces/states, and national ministries of education. Edsby is selected by these Education Organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student user data. Education Organizations pay to use Edsby. Each Education Organization decides what information should be provided to Edsby, and retains ownership of all the information provided to Edsby as well as control over all the information created in Edsby by users within their organization. **“Parents”** refers to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, or grandparents that are identified by the Education Organization as someone with the right to have access to information in Edsby regarding a specific child. ## **3.0 Who Uses Edsby?** Edsby is a broad learning platform purpose-built to support in-classroom and remote learning across the spectrum of kindergarten through grade 12, commonly abbreviated as K-12. It is intended for use by learners of all K-12 age levels, including learners under the age of 13 and between the ages of 13 and 16, for which special handling is required in certain jurisdictions. It is also intended for use by their parents, teachers, school and district administrators and even regional government officials, and facilitates selected data sharing and interactions between these trusted K-12 stakeholders. It is not used in preschool or higher education or by general public, unauthenticated users. ### 3.1 How Are User Accounts Created? Edsby creates a unique service instance for every Education Organization customer, and provisions and disables user accounts in each instance by synchronizing with the organizations’ systems of record, such as its Student Information/Student Management Systems (SIS/SMS), HR systems, official parent databases and government systems. Users cannot create their own accounts. Edsby is only ever deployed as an officially sanctioned system by an Education Organization under its umbrella opt-in and official data governance policies. User consent obligations are the responsibility of the Education Organization customer. When Education Organizations choose to enable Edsby single sign-on through official directory providers, Edsby inherits the features of those systems. Multi-factor account protection is available in Edsby in conjunction with such directory providers when enabled via their internal security controls. User accounts never require additional Personal Information for validation. ### 3.2 What May Users Do In The Services? In the course of using Edsby Services, learners and their parents upload and share information in their private, closed Edsby system. Students and parents have no ability to ever designate anything publicly visible through privacy settings. All Services content and features default to a privacy-on setting. Only district or school level announcements specifically set to be seen by the general public, which are authored and approved with an audit trail by Education Organization officials, can ever be seen by unauthenticated users. Untrusted, unauthenticated users never interact with Edsby users, see any user content publicly, or any Personal Information. The information users are able to access or upload in the Services and the ways they are able to interact with other users in Edsby is governed by their roles and class enrollments defined in the official Education Organization’s systems of record. This ensures teachers can only see information on students they currently teach, or that parents may only access information on their own children, for example. Collaboration between students and teachers, and optionally authenticated parents with teacher invitation, occurs within programmatically created and rosterized classrooms corresponding to real-world classes, or in teacher moderated groups, in which exchanges are limited to the programmatically maintained membership of the class or group. It is not possible for users of any type to contact anyone outside of the trusted, authenticated Edsby user base. Most Education Organizations disable student-to-student messaging in Edsby Services as a matter of policy, and some even disable the ability of parents of different families to message each other within Edsby. No user is obliged to enter any information in a personal profile. Profile information is not required for usage of the Services. Users may easily flag objectionable content across the Services, including anything deemed abusive or cyberbullying-related. ## **4.0 What Personal Information Do We Store and Process?** Each Education Organization determines what information they collect and how it is used. We process a portion of that information in accordance with the specific contractual agreement with that Education Organization. Edsby stores Personal Information with Microsoft on its Azure hosting service. Our cloud service provider was carefully evaluated through the framework of Edsby’s ISO-27001-certified Information Security Management System. We limit the information we share with Microsoft through contractual, administrative and technical means. Our cloud service provider may not use the information disclosed to it for any other purpose other than to provide us with specific services. Certain sub-processors receive information from us. The list of sub-processors is actively maintained on Edsby’s public website at **[Edsby & User Data > Who are Edsby’s sub-processors?](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/)** Education Organizations controls how their users’ Personal Information is used, and manage parent consent to Edsby and their other applications. ***Personal Information Education Organizations provide to us****:* Education Organizations integrate information about you into our Services. The information that is integrated depends on the Services set out in their specific contract with us. This information can include: – **Personal Information about students**, including but not limited to name, date of birth, gender, grade level, school, student number, Ministry or State ID, address information, email address, photos for student profiles, certain health information kept in student records, course information, individual education program (IEP), indigenous status, and community service hours. – **Personal Information about educators and staff**, including but not limited to name, salutation, email address, school, staff number, title, and role. – **Personal Information about parents**, including but not limited to name, address, email, relationship to students, and flags about their access rights to information. Please refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to inform yourself how your Education Organization collects and shares your Personal Information. ## **5.0 What Personal Information Do We Collect?** ***Personal Information collected by us on behalf of Education Organizations:*** Edsby may collect Personal Information directly through your interaction on our Services depending on the Services set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. That Personal Information may include but is not limited to: – **Information about student progress**, such as a student’s attendance status for each school date, a student’s score on an assessment along with comments by the educator, pictures of a student’s work along with observations by the educator, and report card information for each subject a student is taking. – **User-generated digital content**, such as text, images, audio, video, files and web links. This digital content can appear in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, grade books, and postings in the Service. For instance, students may upload assignments, participate in class discussion groups or perform tests within Edsby, while parents may upload photos, video or audio of their child’s homework, or respond to teachers’ comments. Uploaded files may have metadata associated with them, which is preserved by the Service and will be available to anyone that can view or download the file. – **Sensitive data**, such as emotional check in status information if entered by students, absence-related information if entered by parents, or individualized education plans entered by educators. – **Usage information**, such as information about how many students and/or parents at the Education Organization use the Services and how the Services are being used. This information is also collected for security purposes, such as to identify suspicious activity. The information collected may include information such as unique device identifiers, IP addresses, and browser types. Edsby does not collect biometric or geolocation data. We only collect and manage information as users use our Services and do not augment or cross reference it with other data sources. The information above is collected only to fulfill the Services we have contracted to provide for the education organization and is not used for other commercial purposes. ## **6.0 How Do We Use Your Personal Information?** We process your Personal Information on behalf of and under the instructions of your Education Organization. We only use this information in accordance with our agreement with the Education Organization to operate, maintain, and provide various features and functionality of our Services as set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. **The Education Organization determines how your Personal Information is used. Please visit your Education Organization’s privacy policy to see how it uses your Personal Information**. The usage analytics information generated by user activity in Edsby Services is de-identified and aggregated and used for Edsby product improvement. Measurement of seasonal trends in user activity helps us forecast service provisioning requirements through the year, for instance. Knowing the most popular computing platforms of users accessing Edsby Services helps us determine which platforms to focus our engineering on. Internal analytics data also allow us to monitor the security of our Services. Edsby Service usage data is never collected by a third party, hosted elsewhere or shared with other parties or monetized. **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. **We do not subject users to any advertising, contextual, personal or otherwise. There is no marketing to opt-out of, as the company does not send marketing messages to end users**. **Edsby does not make offers to end users like sweepstakes or contests. And we do not sell, rent or otherwise share any Personal Information with any third party that does**. Please see Section 7.0, which describes who we may share your Personal Information with. ## **7.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With?** **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. There are certain circumstances in which we may disclose, transfer or share your Personal Information with third parties, such as under the following circumstances: – ***Your Education Organization***: The information we collect and store about you is accessible to authorized employees of your Education Organization. For example, a school principal may use Edsby to quickly find a Parent’s telephone number to call in the case of an emergency. Your Education Organization controls who has access to this information. We also make usage information available to your Education Organization. – ***Third parties at the request of the Education Organization***: Education Organizations may request that we share your Personal Information with additional parties that also provide processing services to the Education Organization. We only do this when specifically requested and approved in writing by an authorized, verified senior member of the Education Organization. – ***Legal authorities, as required by law****:* The information we process and store may be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may also disclose to them, at our discretion, select information we collect and store where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the Education Organization using our Services, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm, or someone who may be violating the Usage Policy of our Services. In such cases, the Education Organization that is managing this instance of our Service will be informed and will notify affected parties as it sees fit. – ***Business transaction****:* We may transfer our assets and rights to our Services, including information in our Services, in the event of a merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganization, stock sale or other change in control. In such a case, your Education Organization will be provided with notice and will have the option of socializing pending changes to Edsby with its users or of opting out of our Services. We will limit the disclosure of Personal Information to only what is necessary and limit the use of the information to the purpose for which the Personal Information was collected before the transaction and in accordance with applicable laws and honor any data update or deletion requests using the process as detailed in 9.2 How Does Edsby Manage Data Update & Deletion Requests? We limit who we share your Personal Information with. We also limit what information we share and how third parties may use, access, process or store such information in the course of performing their duties for us. When we disclose Personal Information, we minimize the disclosure to only what is necessary in accordance with instructions from our Education Organization customers, de-identifying if appropriate (removing any name and unique identifier) and contractually prohibiting attempts at re-identifying, and in compliance with appropriate privacy, confidentiality, and security measures. We do not combine customers’ data with data from other sources. Should there be a conflict between our Services Privacy Policy and Usage Policy and our contract with an Education Organization, the terms and obligations set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization will prevail. **We do not have control over the Personal Information that Education Organizations themselves may disclose to third parties**. For example, an Education Organization may export certain Personal Information collected in Edsby and make it accessible to others at the Organization’s discretion. ## **8.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?** We are committed to protecting the information we store about you. Edsby employs a variety of physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. We have taken measures to protect the Personal Information on our Services, which include data encryption, firewalls and access controls for staff and vendors, as well as physical access controls to our facilities. Some other security measures we implement include: – Limiting account creation to only those individuals the Education Organization selects. Persons outside the Education Organization cannot create an account. – You may only access Edsby within an Education Organization with your user ID and password. Typically these credentials are provided and managed by the Education Organization. – The ability for Education Organizations to implement role-based access and usage of an account, which limits what you can do and what information you can see. For example, educators have limited access to students they can view on the Services (e.g. only students in their school) and what they can see on the student profile. Parents can only see the profile of their own children and staff at the school(s) that their children attend. – Encrypting all data sent between the Edsby server and Edsby client (web browser, smartphone app, tablet app) in transit and at rest. – Restricting access to Personal Information to those Edsby staff members who need to know that information for the purpose set out in this Policy and ensuring those staff members are trained in the company’s information protection policies. – Ensuring any software libraries used in our application are never sent Personal Information. For example, Edsby uses Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for push notifications, but Edsby Services never send private information in notifications, simply using them to redirect the user to the secure, authenticated Edsby Services. We only use the minimal Firebase messaging toolkit, and do not engage Firebase’s analytics or wider features. Nor does Firebase ever get associated with a user’s Google account. And while Edsby uses Google’s ML Kit for QR code scanning in our mobile apps, processing is fully on-device and we ensure any data available to ML Kit is anonymous and de-identified. – Ensuring optional AI-powered Edsby Services, if adopted by the Education Organization, receive the minimum amount of information needed to perform a task and are not trained on information shared with them by Edsby. Edsby’s optional Teacher AI Assistant, for instance, can be used by teachers for content creation, grading and report card comments. It is never sent personally identifying information, or grades or achievement data from Edsby. – Adhering to a formal standard for Information Security. CoreFour Inc. is ISO 27001 certified. ## **9.0 How Do We Manage Your Information?** Our general practice is to not retain Personal Information any longer than is necessary for educational purposes and legal obligations. Personal Information becomes immediately unavailable in Edsby in the event of account cancelation or termination, triggered by updates from the Education Organization’s systems of record. It becomes fully deleted from the Services per the Education Organization’s policy as described below. ### 9.1 How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information? Edsby retains Personal Information on behalf of Education Organizations pursuant to its specific contractual terms with each Education Organization. The Education Organization defines the parameters for data retention and destruction in Edsby in terms of the number of school years’ worth of data to be held. It may choose to hold 3 years’ worth of data in Edsby, or 7 years, for instance, for access to archived information and/or audit purposes. Edsby does not retain data longer than 7 years unless by special arrangement with a customer. ### 9.2 How Does Edsby Manage Data Update & Deletion Requests? Edsby is best characterized as a [processor](https://pecb.com/article/data-controller-vs-data-processor-and-isoiec-27701) that manages data at the direction of the education organization, the [controller](https://pecb.com/article/data-controller-vs-data-processor-and-isoiec-27701). If an end user sends a request to update or delete their Personal Information, these requests are routed to the Education Organization for their review and potential action. If Edsby receives a specific request from an authorized individual at the Education Organization to destroy specific records, Edsby complies and provides a certificate of data destruction within one week. ## **10.0 What Are Your Rights?** As a user of our Services, you have rights to access, download, correct and/or delete your Personal Information in accordance with applicable laws. Parents may manage their children’s Personal Information, including withdrawing consent, or opting out of any data sharing. Some Education Organizations enable users to access and make changes to their Personal Information through Edsby Services. Where your Education Organization does not enable this access and you seek changes to Personal Information or its general management, make your request directly with your Education Organization. It will update its systems of record from which Edsby inherits, and we will assist the Education Organization however else we can in fulfilling your request in accordance with our legal obligations. Similarly, contact your Education Organization to request information about any third parties it may be sharing data with, or has requested Edsby to share data with. If your Education Organization relies on your consent to process your Personal Information, such as making it available in Edsby Services, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You may withdraw your consent by contacting your Education Organization. Note this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before it’s withdrawn nor when applicable laws allow for continued processing. Users may download data themselves from Edsby Services at any time, such as assessments, progress reports, report cards and online portfolios of their best work. Teachers have broad ability to download data, including class rosters, parent lists, gradebook data and more. ## **11.0 What About Children’s Privacy?** We comply with our obligations outlined in the *Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act* (“FERPA”) and the *Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule* (“COPPA”), U.S. federal laws designed to protect the privacy rights of children. We are a service provider to Education Organizations, which disclose Personal Information to us about students and parents either via existing student records or those developed directly on our Services. The information we collect is limited to what we need to fulfill our obligations as outlined in our contracts with Education Organizations. The disclosures are authorized by FERPA. We do not use your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide our Services to Education Organizations and improve our Services to you. In accordance with COPPA, we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 unless and until an Education Organization has provided us with authority for a student under the age of 13 to use our Services. Further, we do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13 in a manner not permitted by COPPA. If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we have inadvertently collected or stored Personal Information about your child without proper consent, please contact your Education Organization and we will work with them to investigate and delete any such information to the extent required by applicable law. ## **12.0 Where Is Your Information Stored?** Edsby Services are hosted in various regions throughout the world, including in the U.S., Canada and Australia. We store and process your Personal Information in the country in which your Education Organization is located whenever we can. From time to time, your Personal Information may be accessed by Edsby-authorized services or staff in another country where Edsby or authorized third parties operate. We implement measures to protect your information and to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Please also refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to identify where they process and/or store Personal Information and how they protect it. ## **13.0 Cookies and Similar Technologies** Our Services use cookies and similar technologies. “Cookies” are small text files installed on your computer hard drive or web browser when you visit or use our website. Most browsers accept cookies by default. ### 13.1 What Information Do We Collect Using Cookies? We use first-party cookies, such a session cookie, to help us authenticate you. The session cookie is deleted when the browser session is ended. We may also use third-party cookies to help staff file a customer support ticket with us. Other third-party cookies include firewall cookies for security purposes. Most of the cookies on our Services collect information that is not identifiable to you. To learn more about cookies, visit [www.allaboutcookies.org](http://www.allaboutcookies.org/). ### 13.2 How Can You Manage Cookies? Although most browsers accept cookies, you can set your browser to reject cookies. You will need to follow the instructions contained in your browser’s help file (usually located within the “Help,” “Tools,” or “Edit” settings). If you have more than one browser, the opt-out or settings you set will only apply to that specific browser and not the others. If you choose to disable cookies, some Edsby Services might not function properly. ## **14.0 What About Breach Reporting?** We maintain procedures and recordkeeping regarding breach reporting consistent with our [ISO 27001 certification](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/) obligations. We adhere to our obligations in the event of a breach of confidential information as required in the jurisdictions in which we host Edsby Services. For instance, in Canada, laws require we report any breach involving personal information under our control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm (RROSH) to an individual, as defined by Canada’s [*PIPEDA*](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en). In the U.S., each state has its own breach reporting requirements as summarized [here](https://www.foley.com/insights/publications/2024/11/state-data-breach-notification-laws/). ## **15.0 Changes to This Privacy Policy** Edsby reserves the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business and practices. When we change the Policy we will reflect the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. All previous versions remain linked to the bottom of the Privacy Policy on our website for historical reference. Edsby intends no change to the longstanding data collection or handling practices fundamental to its business model. Should we do so, however, we will notify all Education Organization customers and their users in advance of any significant change. ## **16.0 How to Contact Us?** You may contact us at with any questions, concerns or grievances you may have related to your Personal Information. We may also be reached as follows: 68B Leek Crescent, Suite 200 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1 Canada +1 (877) 337-0070 ## **17.0 California Privacy Notice Addendum** If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This Addendum solely applies to consumers who are California residents and supplements the information contained in Edsby’s Services Privacy Policy. The Addendum does not apply to job applicants or employees. We may make changes to the Addendum. Please refer to the Addendum from time to time to keep yourself informed of how we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information. “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked directly or indirectly with a particular California resident. Personal Information does not include publicly available information from government records or de-identified or aggregated consumer information. ### **17.1 Categories of Personal Information** Over the past 12 months, we have stored or collected the following categories of Personal Information for business purposes: **Category****Examples****Collected**A. IdentifiersContact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account nameYESB. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statuteName, contact information, education historyYESC. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal lawGender and date of birthYESD. Commercial informationTransaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment informationYESE. Biometric informationFingerprints and voiceprintsNOF. Internet or other similar network activityInteractions with our Services, applications and systemsYESG. Geolocation dataDevice locationNOH. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar informationImages and audio or video in connection with our business activitiesYESI. Professional or employment-related informationJob title, employer name, identification number for educator and administrator accountsYESJ. Education InformationStudent records and directory informationYESK. Inferences drawn from other personal informationInferences drawn from any of collected information to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristicsNOL. Sensitive Personal InformationAccount login information, contents of email or text messages, emotional state, racial or ethnic originYES Category L information may be used, or disclosed to a service provider or contractor, for additional, specified purposes. You have the right to limit the use or disclosure of your sensitive personal information with your Education Organization. ### **17.2 Sources of Personal Information** We collect the categories of Personal Information in the following ways: Indirectly – (i) Your Education Organization uploads data into Edsby Services about you Directly from you – (i) When you use Edsby Services and voluntarily input information ### 17.3 Disclosure of Personal Information for a Business Purpose In the past 12 months, we disclosed the following categories of Personal Information for a business purpose: **Category****Personal Information Disclosed To a Third Party For a Business Purpose**A. Identifiers Contact details, such as name, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, Internet Protocol address and email address YesB. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute Name, contact information, education history YesC. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law Gender and date of birth YesD. Commercial informationYesF. Internet or other similar network activity Interactions with our Services, applications and systems YesH. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities YesJ. Education Information Student records and directory information YesL. Sensitive Personal Information Account login information, contents of email or text messages, emotional state, racial or ethnic origin Yes We disclosed these categories of Personal Information to the following categories of third parties: your Education Organization, cloud service providers, and in very rare occasions third parties at the request of your Education Organization, and legal authorities as required by law. Please refer to 7.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not sold any Personal Information. ### 17.4 Use of Personal Information For more information about how we use your Personal Information, please see sections 3-6 of this policy. ### 17.5 Sale of Personal Information Edsby does not sell your Personal Information for money to anyone. If you are a user of the platform, you may opt out of your Personal Information management in Edsby Services directly with your Education Organization which will provide us with instructions. ### **17.6 What Are Your Rights?** As a California resident, you have the following rights, subject to certain exceptions and limitations: – **Right to know**, over the past 12 months, the categories and specific Personal Information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you, the categories of sources from which we collected your Personal Information, our purposes for collecting or selling your Personal Information, the categories of your Personal Information that we have either sold or disclosed for a business purpose, and the categories of third parties with which we have shared Personal Information. – **Right to access and portability** of Personal Information that we collected over the past 12 months. You also have the right to request we provide you with a copy of the Personal Information we collected in a portable, readily reusable format that allows you to transmit the information to a third party. – **Right to delete** the Personal Information we have collected from you or maintain about you. If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request the removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request the removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will ensure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.). California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to privacy@edsby.com. Please see section 10.0 What Are Your Rights for more information, including contacting your Education Organization to exercise your rights. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. #### Previous Versions - [Services Privacy Policy August 16th, 2024 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy-aug-2024-deprecated/) - [Services Privacy Policy February 3rd, 2023 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/services-privacy-policy-feb-3-2023-deprecated/) - [Services Privacy Policy September 2nd, 2021 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-sept2021/) - [Privacy Policy January 5th, 2018 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-january-5th-2018-deprecated/) - [Privacy Policy Sept 1st, 2017 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-sept-1st-2017-deprecated/) - [Privacy Policy February 18th, 2016 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-february-18-2016-deprecated/) - [Privacy Policy December 6th, 2015 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-december-6-2015-deprecated/) --- ### [Integrations](https://www.edsby.com/integration/) **Published:** July 22, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** [ ![Harris School Solutions](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Harris.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=67386) [ ![Aeries](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Aeries-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/aeries/) [ ![Bark](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Bark.us_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/bark/) [ ![Blackbaud](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/backbaud-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/blackbaud/) [ ![BrainPOP](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Brainpop_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=10406) [ ![Copyleaks](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Copyleaks_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=10405) [ ![Custom](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Custom.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/custom-sis-sms/) [ ![Edge](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/edge-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/edge/) [ ![Edlio](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/edlio-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=16591) [ ![Edsembli](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/edsembli-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/edsembli/) [ ![Microsoft Entra ID](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Entra-ID.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/entra-id/) [ ![EssayJack](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/EssayJack.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/essayjack/) [ ![eTAP](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/eTaplogo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/etap/) [ ![Follett Aspen](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Follett-Aspen-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/follett-aspen/) [ ![Google Calendar](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/google-calendar-logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-calendar/) [ ![Hangouts](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Google-Hangouts-251x170-1.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-hangouts-meet/) [ ![Google SSO](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GoogleSSO.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-sso/) [ ![Google Workspace for Education logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Google-Workspace-for-Education-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-workspace-for-education/) [ ![parent engagement software](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/helix.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/helix/) [ ![Imagine Everything](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/imagine-everything-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/imagine-everything/) [ ![KAMAR](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KAMAR.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/kamar/) [ ![Maplewood](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Maplewood.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/maplewood/) [ ![Mayet logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mayet-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/mayet/) [ ![Microsoft 365](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-365-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/microsoft-365/) [ ![Outlook](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Outlook_Edsby.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/microsoft-outlook/) [ ![netTrekker](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Nettrekker_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/nettrekker/) [ ![ReDirections NOVA](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NOVA.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/nova/) [ ![OAuth 2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/oauth2.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/oauth/) [ ![OneNote](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/OneNote_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=11115) [ ![OneRoster](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/OneRoster-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/oneroster/) [ ![Paper](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/paper-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/paper/) [ ![PlayPosit](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ZLnaGh7EfZvG-gnbRBL2n4XXXL4j3HpexhjNOf_P3YmryPKwJ94QGRtDb3Sbc6KY.jpeg) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=11256) [ ![PowerSchool](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Powerschool-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/powerschool/) [ ![Proctortrack](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Proctortrack-Logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/proctortrack/) [ ![Ravenna](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ravenna.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/ravenna/) [ ![Safari Montage](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Safari-Montage_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=10427) [ ![Scholastic Classroom Magazines](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/logo-mag@2x.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/scholastic/) [ ![SchoolMessenger](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/logo-schoolmessenger.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/schoolmessenger/) [ ![CSV](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CSV.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=67377) [ ![SQL](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SQL.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=67382) [ ![MSTeams](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/MSTeams-2.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/teams/) [ ![Trevlac logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Trevlac-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/tosm/) [ ![Turnitin](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Turnitin-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/turnitin/) [ ![Twine](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Twine-logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/twine/) [ ![Unicheck](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Unicheck_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=integration&p=10520) [ ![Veracross logo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Veracross-logo-latest.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/veracross/) [ ![Cisco Webex](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cisco-webex-logo251x170.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/webex/) [ ![Websby](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Websby_logo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/websby/) [ ![Xello](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/xello_logo.jpg) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/xello/) [ ![Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/zoomlogo.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/integration/zoom/) Other integrations are possible via the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard. Guidelines [here](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/). Want to become an application integrated with Edsby and be listed here? Learn more about becoming a Product Partner [here](https://www.edsby.com/partners/). --- ### [Edsby And Google](https://www.edsby.com/google/) **Published:** January 22, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby social learning platform augments Google’s apps with a rich set of capabilities tailored for the full needs of K-12 educators, students & parents. --- ### [What Customers Say](https://www.edsby.com/users/what-edsby-customers-say/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** What customers say about how the Edsby digital learning platform for K-12 improves parent engagement, personalized learning, formative summative assessment and more. --- ### [Edsby for IT Professionals](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/itpro/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How Edsby leverages school districts' legacy systems for quick deployment and easy ongoing administration. --- ### [Edsby & User Data](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Measures Edsby takes to manage and protect user data. --- ### [Edsby help](https://www.edsby.com/support/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How to receive help with the Edsby social learning platform for K-12. Options for students, parents, teachers and Edsby site administrators. --- ### [Student Well-Being](https://www.edsby.com/student-well-being-sel/) **Published:** September 30, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How are students’ current social emotional states affecting their ability to learn? Edsby gives educators tools to help students be as ready as possible to succeed. --- ### [MODERNIZE YOUR LMS](https://www.edsby.com/modernize-your-lms/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ![MODERNIZE YOUR LMS](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5Signs-01.jpg) --- ### [Social Emotional Check-Ins](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-check-ins-sel/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Are your students ready to learn today? How do you know? Have you asked how they’re feeling today? --- ### [Edsby for District Leaders](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/district-leaders/) **Published:** April 9, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How K-12 superintendents, directors and their staff can use Edsby to focus their strategic planning, staff for student success and set their policies in motion. --- ### [Classroom Management](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/social-classroom/) **Published:** January 19, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Parental Accounts](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/parental-accounts/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** # How Edsby defines and manages parental relationships Edsby has been designed specifically to solve the vexing problem of managing parental accounts in the world of blended families. The problem is actually much more complex than it sounds, as there are many, many subtleties in making this work correctly in the real world. Edsby works in the following manner: - Each student may have zero or more “parent” accounts associated with their account. - The parent accounts each have a specific relationship assigned (e.g. father, mother, step-father, guardian, uncle, parole officer, etc.). This relationship is typically synchronized from various enterprise data sources in the school/district. - If you don’t currently track this data, Edsby has an interface allowing staff to add parental accounts right in Edsby. In addition, each parent has a set of rights associated with a particular student, as defined in the SIF standard: - This parent is the legal guardian of the student - This parent has pickup rights for the student - This parent lives with the student - This parent has access to records - This parent has custody - This parent is a disciplinary contact - This parent provides primary care - This parent receives email notifications - Emergency contact order (parents will be displayed to the school staff in this order, if set) If the rights are available (e.g. in the SIS), these may be synced from school or district data sources, but may also be set directly using the Edsby interface, based on the policy of the district (e.g. only a principal can change parental access rights). If the rights include the “Access to records” right, the parent will be able to see the student’s upcoming and past work. All of the parental data in Edsby, including the relationship and rights codes, are available for export. This is particularly useful if your school or district wants to use the parental data for other systems. #### Can Edsby help manage parent/student/teacher/principal communication? Edsby provides a secure, non-Internet messaging system between various stakeholders on the system. Furthermore, Edsby provides extensive messaging control, including: - the ability to allow/disallow student-to-student messaging on a school, grade or age basis - the ability for the teacher to allow or disallow messages from parents - the ability to disallow mail in general but still allow replies Edsby messages are fully archived, and the Edsby mailbox for each student may be viewed at any time by the student’s principal and guidance staff. The ability for a parent to also view a student’s mailbox may be optionally enabled based on a school, grade or age basis. In addition to its built-in messaging, Edsby also supports SMTP notification for teachers, staff, and parents, so notification of important messages can be delivered directly to the user’s inbox. [Contact us for more info or a demo](https://forms.edsby.com/contact-sales) --- ### [Data consolidation](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/data-aggregation/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Risky Alternatives](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/risky-alternatives/) **Published:** January 11, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Business solutions are a poor fit in K-12. Consumer solutions aren’t viable because of student privacy needs. Home made solutions are high risk, and “free” edtech can be problematic. **Content:** # Why not other approaches? #### Business solutions and portals are a poor fit in K-12 Sometimes a school district will deploy solutions originally meant for business. Sometimes this is because the district’s IT professionals are used to deploying business solutions. Sometimes this is done because someone feels the district should “run more like a business.” Often these kind of deployments turn out poorly. These sorts of products are designed for businesses first and not for schools, teachers and students. They tend to be expensive, so districts end up paying far more for software, hardware, professional services and IT staff than they need to. They can’t meet the scalability needs of big districts. And they often require constant and expensive development. #### Consumer solutions aren’t a viable alternative The internet is full of free consumer-oriented services like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google. These are great social media tools, but none are suitable for use as the primary social learning or communications environment for a school district. Privacy is problematic. Controlling access is problematic. Enforcing policies is problematic. In consumer-style social media, everyone is a peer. A friend is a friend. But in the education world, there are very defined relationships. Teachers manage classes. Students are responsible to their parents. Principals run schools. Edsby understands the importance of these roles and ensures that appropriate safeguards, permissions and access controls are applied. #### Home made solutions are high risk Sometimes a school district will build a solution in-house because they have found (not surprisingly) that business solutions and consumer solutions don’t work for them. So they choose an open source framework or business framework and start building. But most school districts don’t find it cost-effective or consistent with their mandates to have teams of highly paid software developers on staff. Often, it’s easy to get something basic up and running, but it’s hard, and expensive, to build something complex and state-of-the-art and that will remain state-of-the-art for years to come. And outsourcing development is even more expensive. #### “Free” education solutions can be problematic So, why not choose a “free” education solution? On the surface they sound good. Unfortunately, companies need revenue to survive and continue development. So at some point “free” solutions can suddenly come at a cost. That may be through licensing fees, fees for upgrades, or service fees. Or perhaps it may be through advertising you may not want. If the solution provider doesn’t find some way to make money, they may end up out of business, and that can lead to even bigger headaches that cost even more to fix. Plus, free solutions are also typically free of any integration with your student information system, your identity management system, your attendance database, your report card system, your scheduling system… you get the idea. When you add up the number of hours it takes for teachers and administrators to manage a “free” system, suddenly it’s not so free any more. [Contact us for more info or a demo](https://in25app.com/page/3186/help-get-edsby-into-my-region) --- ### [Public Website Privacy Policy Aug 16th, 2024 - deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy-aug-2024-deprecated/) **Published:** August 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Archived version of a previous Edsby public website privacy policy that is no longer current. The current Edsby public website privacy policy is available at the bottom of any screen in the Edsby platform service. Or the bottom footer of any page of the public Edsby website. **Content:** # **Date of last revision of this policy: August 16th, 2024** Edsby is a cloud-based suite of software services that modernizes how educators, students and parents engage with each other electronically. Edsby Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc**. **We believe the foundation of any relationship is based on trust and transparency**. Our clients entrust us with the Personal Information of students, parents and educators. We take that responsibility seriously. The privacy and security of the people we serve is of utmost importance to us. This Services Privacy Policy (“**Policy**”) enables you to better understand how Edsby collects, uses, and discloses information through the use of our Services. ## **1.0 What Does This Policy Apply To?** This Policy applies to the Personal Information we may collect relating to students, parents, and educators (“you” or “your”) through our private browser-based Edsby Services and Edsby applications in the Apple iOS and Google Play stores (“**Services**”). **Please also refer to your Education Organization’s (i.e., your school or school district) privacy policy, which governs its use of your Personal Information.** For privacy practices relating to our public website ([www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/)), as well as those relating to marketing, sales, and support services, please refer to our Edsby [Public Website Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). *Other Links:* Our Services may contain links to other websites and services that we do not own or operate. By clicking on those links, you will leave our Services. Those third-party websites and services are governed by separate and independent privacy policies, which we recommend you read carefully. ## **2.0 Definitions** For the purposes of this Policy, the following definitions apply: **“Personal Information”** is any information provided to us or generated within Edsby that personally identifies an individual, such as name or email address, or other information which could be reasonably linked to such identifying information. Unless otherwise specified, Personal Information referenced in this Policy is interchangeable with Personally Identifiable Information, which is information that, that when used alone or in combination with other information, can identify an individual. **“Education Organization”** refers to various types of organizations that select Edsby as one of their technology solution providers for managing student information aimed at improving student success, equity and well-being. These organizations may include private schools, public school districts, provinces/states, and national ministries of education. Edsby is selected by these Education Organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student user data. Education Organizations pay to use Edsby. Each Education Organization decides what information should be provided to Edsby, and retains ownership of all the information provided to Edsby as well as control over all the information created in Edsby by users within their organization. **“Parents”** refers to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, or grandparents that are identified by the Education Organization as someone with the right to have access to information in Edsby regarding a specific child. ## **3.0 Who Uses Edsby?** Edsby is a broad learning platform purpose-built to support in-classroom and remote learning across the spectrum of kindergarten through grade 12, commonly abbreviated as K-12. It is intended for use by learners of all K-12 age levels, including learners under the age of 13 and between the ages of 13 and 16, for which special handling is required in certain jurisdictions. It is also intended for use by their parents, teachers, school and district administrators and even regional government officials, and facilitates selected data sharing and interactions between these trusted K-12 stakeholders. It is not used in preschool or higher education or by general public, unauthenticated users. ### 3.1 How Are User Accounts Created? Edsby creates a unique service instance for every Education Organization customer, and provisions and disables user accounts in each instance by synchronizing with the organizations’ systems of record, such as its Student Information/Student Management Systems (SIS/SMS), HR systems, official parent databases and government systems. Users cannot create their own accounts. Edsby is only ever deployed as an officially sanctioned system by an Education Organization under its umbrella opt-in and official data governance policies. User consent obligations are the responsibility of the Education Organization customer. When Education Organizations choose to enable Edsby single sign-on through official directory providers, Edsby inherits the features of those systems. Multi-factor account protection is available in Edsby in conjunction with such directory providers when enabled via their internal security controls. User accounts never require additional Personal Information for validation. ### 3.2 What May Users Do In The Services? In the course of using Edsby Services, learners and their parents upload and share information in their private, closed Edsby system. Students and parents have no ability to ever designate anything publicly visible through privacy settings. All Services content and features default to a privacy-on setting. Only district or school level announcements specifically set to be seen by the general public, which are authored and approved with an audit trail by Education Organization officials, can ever be seen by unauthenticated users. Untrusted, unauthenticated users never interact with Edsby users, see any user content publicly, or any Personal Information. The information users are able to access or upload in the Services and the ways they are able to interact with other users in Edsby is governed by their roles and class enrollments defined in the official Education Organization’s systems of record. This ensures teachers can only see information on students they currently teach, or that parents may only access information on their own children, for example. Collaboration between students and teachers, and optionally authenticated parents with teacher invitation, occurs within programmatically created and rosterized classrooms corresponding to real-world classes, or in teacher moderated groups, in which exchanges are limited to the programmatically maintained membership of the class or group. It is not possible for users of any type to contact anyone outside of the trusted, authenticated Edsby user base. Most Education Organizations disable student-to-student messaging in Edsby Services as a matter of policy, and some even disable the ability of parents of different families to message each other within Edsby. No user is obliged to enter any information in a personal profile. Profile information is not required for usage of the Services. Users may easily flag objectionable content across the Services, including anything deemed abusive or cyberbullying-related. ## **4.0 What Personal Information Do We Store and Process?** Each Education Organization determines what information they collect and how it is used. We process a portion of that information in accordance with the specific contractual agreement with that Education Organization. Edsby stores Personal Information with Microsoft on its Azure hosting service. Our cloud service provider was carefully evaluated through the framework of Edsby’s ISO-27001-certified Information Security Management System. We limit the information we share with Microsoft through contractual, administrative and technical means. Our cloud service provider may not use the information disclosed to it for any other purpose other than to provide us with specific services. Certain sub-processors receive information from us. The list of sub-processors is actively maintained on Edsby’s public website at **[Edsby & User Data > Who are Edsby’s sub-processors?](https://www.edsby.com/about-privacy-data/)** Education Organizations controls how their users’ Personal Information is used, and manage parent consent to Edsby and their other applications. ***Personal Information Education Organizations provide to us****:* Education Organizations integrate information about you into our Services. The information that is integrated depends on the Services set out in their specific contract with us. This information can include: – **Personal Information about students**, including but not limited to name, date of birth, gender, grade level, school, student number, Ministry or State ID, address information, email address, photos for student profiles, certain health information kept in student records, course information, individual education program (IEP), indigenous status, and community service hours. – **Personal Information about educators and staff**, including but not limited to name, salutation, email address, school, staff number, title, and role. – **Personal Information about parents**, including but not limited to name, address, email, relationship to students, and flags about their access rights to information. Please refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to inform yourself how your Education Organization collects and shares your Personal Information. ## **5.0 What Personal Information Do We Collect?** ***Personal Information collected by us on behalf of Education Organizations:*** Edsby may collect Personal Information directly through your interaction on our Services depending on the Services set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. That Personal Information may include but is not limited to: – **Information about student progress**, such as a student’s attendance status for each school date, a student’s score on an assessment along with comments by the educator, pictures of a student’s work along with observations by the educator, and report card information for each subject a student is taking. – **User-generated digital content**, such as text, images, audio, video, files and web links. This digital content can appear in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, grade books, and postings in the Service. For instance, students may upload assignments, participate in class discussion groups or perform tests within Edsby, while parents may upload photos, video or audio of their child’s homework, or respond to teachers’ comments. Uploaded files may have metadata associated with them, which is preserved by the Service and will be available to anyone that can view or download the file. – **Sensitive data**, such as emotional check in status information if entered by students, absence-related information if entered by parents, or individualized education plans entered by educators. – **Usage information**, such as information about how many students and/or parents at the Education Organization use the Services and how the Services are being used. This information is also collected for security purposes, such as to identify suspicious activity. The information collected may include information such as unique device identifiers, IP addresses, and browser types. Edsby does not collect biometric or geolocation data. We only collect and manage information as users use our Services and do not augment or cross reference it with other data sources. The information above is collected only to fulfill the Services we have contracted to provide for the education organization and is not used for other commercial purposes. ## **6.0 How Do We Use Your Personal Information?** We process your Personal Information on behalf of and under the instructions of your Education Organization. We only use this information in accordance with our agreement with the Education Organization to operate, maintain, and provide various features and functionality of our Services as set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. **The Education Organization determines how your Personal Information is used. Please visit your Education Organization’s privacy policy to see how it uses your Personal Information**. The usage analytics information generated by user activity in Edsby Services is de-identified and aggregated and used for Edsby product improvement. Measurement of seasonal trends in user activity helps us forecast service provisioning requirements through the year, for instance. Knowing the most popular computing platforms of users accessing Edsby Services helps us determine which platforms to focus our engineering on. Internal analytics data also allow us to monitor the security of our Services. Edsby Service usage data is never collected by a third party, hosted elsewhere or shared with other parties or monetized. **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. **We do not subject users to any advertising, contextual, personal or otherwise. There is no marketing to opt-out of, as the company does not send marketing messages to end users**. **Edsby does not make offers to end users like sweepstakes or contests. And we do not sell, rent or otherwise share any Personal Information with any third party that does**. Please see Section 7.0, which describes who we may share your Personal Information with. ## **7.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With?** **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. There are certain circumstances in which we may disclose, transfer or share your Personal Information with third parties, such as under the following circumstances: – ***Your Education Organization***: The information we collect and store about you is accessible to authorized employees of your Education Organization. For example, a school principal may use Edsby to quickly find a Parent’s telephone number to call in the case of an emergency. Your Education Organization controls who has access to this information. We also make usage information available to your Education Organization. – ***Third parties at the request of the Education Organization***: Education Organizations may request that we share your Personal Information with additional parties that also provide processing services to the Education Organization. We only do this when specifically requested and approved in writing by an authorized, verified senior member of the Education Organization. – ***Legal authorities, as required by law****:* The information we process and store may be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may also disclose to them, at our discretion, select information we collect and store where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the Education Organization using our Services, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm, or someone who may be violating the Usage Policy of our Services. In such cases, the Education Organization that is managing this instance of our Service will be informed and will notify affected parties as it sees fit. – ***Business transaction****:* We may transfer our assets and rights to our Services, including information in our Services, in the event of a merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganization, stock sale or other change in control. In such a case, your Education Organization will be provided with notice and will have the option of socializing pending changes to Edsby with its users or of opting out of our Services. We will limit the disclosure of Personal Information to only what is necessary and limit the use of the information to the purpose for which the Personal Information was collected before the transaction and in accordance with applicable laws and honor any data update or deletion requests using the process as detailed in 9.2 How Does Edsby Manage Data Update & Deletion Requests? We limit who we share your Personal Information with. We also limit what information we share and how third parties may use, access, process or store such information in the course of performing their duties for us. When we disclose Personal Information, we minimize the disclosure to only what is necessary in accordance with instructions from our Education Organization customers, de-identifying if appropriate (removing any name and unique identifier) and contractually prohibiting attempts at re-identifying, and in compliance with appropriate privacy, confidentiality, and security measures. We do not combine customers’ data with data from other sources. Should there be a conflict between our Services Privacy Policy and Usage Policy and our contract with an Education Organization, the terms and obligations set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization will prevail. **We do not have control over the Personal Information that Education Organizations themselves may disclose to third parties**. For example, an Education Organization may export certain Personal Information collected in Edsby and make it accessible to others at the Organization’s discretion. ## **8.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?** We are committed to protecting the information we store about you. Edsby employs a variety of physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. We have taken measures to protect the Personal Information on our Services, which include data encryption, firewalls and access controls for staff and vendors, as well as physical access controls to our facilities. Some other security measures we implement include: – Limiting account creation to only those individuals the Education Organization selects. Persons outside the Education Organization cannot create an account. – You may only access Edsby within an Education Organization with your user ID and password. Typically these credentials are provided and managed by the Education Organization.- The ability for Education Organizations to implement role-based access and usage of an account, which limits what you can do and what information you can see. For example, educators have limited access to students they can view on the Services (e.g. only students in their school) and what they can see on the student profile. Parents can only see the profile of their own children and staff at the school(s) that their children attend. – Encrypting all data sent between the Edsby server and Edsby client (web browser, smartphone app, tablet app) in transit and at rest. – Restricting access to Personal Information to those Edsby staff members who need to know that information for the purpose set out in this Policy and ensuring those staff members are trained in the company’s information protection policies. – Ensuring any software libraries used in our application are never sent Personal Information. For example, Edsby uses Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for push notifications, but Edsby Services never send private information in notifications, simply using them to redirect the user to the secure, authenticated Edsby Services. We only use the minimal Firebase messaging toolkit, and do not engage Firebase’s analytics or wider features. Nor does Firebase ever get associated with a user’s Google account. And while Edsby uses Google’s ML Kit for QR code scanning in our mobile apps, processing is fully on-device and we ensure any data available to ML Kit is anonymous and de-identified. – Adhering to a formal standard for Information Security. CoreFour Inc. is ISO 27001 certified. ## **9.0 How Do We Manage Your Information?** Our general practice is to not retain Personal Information any longer than is necessary for educational purposes and legal obligations. Personal Information becomes immediately unavailable in Edsby in the event of account cancelation or termination, triggered by updates from the Education Organization’s systems of record. It becomes fully deleted from the Services per the Education Organization’s policy as described below. ### 9.1 How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information? Edsby retains Personal Information on behalf of Education Organizations pursuant to its specific contractual terms with each Education Organization. The Education Organization defines the parameters for data retention and destruction in Edsby in terms of the number of school years’ worth of data to be held. It may choose to hold 3 years’ worth of data in Edsby, or 7 years, for instance, for access to archived information and/or audit purposes. Edsby does not retain data longer than 7 years unless by special arrangement with a customer. ### 9.2 How Does Edsby Manage Data Update & Deletion Requests? Edsby is best characterized as a [processor](https://pecb.com/article/data-controller-vs-data-processor-and-isoiec-27701) that manages data at the direction of the education organization, the [controller](https://pecb.com/article/data-controller-vs-data-processor-and-isoiec-27701). If an end user sends a request to update or delete their Personal Information, these requests are routed to the Education Organization for their review and potential action. If Edsby receives a specific request from an authorized individual at the Education Organization to destroy specific records, Edsby complies and provides a certificate of data destruction within one week. ## **10.0 What Are Your Rights?** As a user of our Services, you have rights to access, download, correct and/or delete your Personal Information in accordance with applicable laws. Parents may manage their children’s Personal Information, including withdrawing consent, or opting out of any data sharing. Some Education Organizations enable users to access and make changes to their Personal Information through Edsby Services. Where your Education Organization does not enable this access and you seek changes to Personal Information or its general management, make your request directly with your Education Organization. It will update its systems of record from which Edsby inherits, and we will assist the Education Organization however else we can in fulfilling your request in accordance with our legal obligations. Similarly, contact your Education Organization to request information about any third parties it may be sharing data with, or has requested Edsby to share data with. If your Education Organization relies on your consent to process your Personal Information, such as making it available in Edsby Services, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You may withdraw your consent by contacting your Education Organization. Note this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before it’s withdrawn nor when applicable laws allow for continued processing. Users may download data themselves from Edsby Services at any time, such as assessments, progress reports, report cards and online portfolios of their best work. Teachers have broad ability to download data, including class rosters, parent lists, gradebook data and more. ## **11.0 What About Children’s Privacy?** We comply with our obligations outlined in the *Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act* (“FERPA”) and the *Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule* (“COPPA”), U.S. federal laws designed to protect the privacy rights of children. We are a service provider to Education Organizations, which disclose Personal Information to us about students and parents either via existing student records or those developed directly on our Services. The information we collect is limited to what we need to fulfill our obligations as outlined in our contracts with Education Organizations. The disclosures are authorized by FERPA. We do not use your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide our Services to Education Organizations and improve our Services to you. In accordance with COPPA, we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 unless and until an Education Organization has provided us with authority for a student under the age of 13 to use our Services. Further, we do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13 in a manner not permitted by COPPA. If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we have inadvertently collected or stored Personal Information about your child without proper consent, please contact your Education Organization and we will work with them to investigate and delete any such information to the extent required by applicable law. ## **12.0 Where Is Your Information Stored?** Edsby Services are hosted in various regions throughout the world, including in the U.S., Canada and Australia. We store and process your Personal Information in the country in which your Education Organization is located whenever we can. From time to time, your Personal Information may be accessed by Edsby-authorized services or staff in another country where Edsby or authorized third parties operate. We implement measures to protect your information and to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Please also refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to identify where they process and/or store Personal Information and how they protect it. ## **13.0 Cookies and Similar Technologies** Our Services use cookies and similar technologies. “Cookies” are small text files installed on your computer hard drive or web browser when you visit or use our website. Most browsers accept cookies by default. ### 13.1 What Information Do We Collect Using Cookies? We use first-party cookies, such a session cookie, to help us authenticate you. The session cookie is deleted when the browser session is ended. We may also use third-party cookies to help staff file a customer support ticket with us. Other third-party cookies include firewall cookies for security purposes. Most of the cookies on our Services collect information that is not identifiable to you. To learn more about cookies, visit [www.allaboutcookies.org](http://www.allaboutcookies.org/). ### 13.2 How Can You Manage Cookies? Although most browsers accept cookies, you can set your browser to reject cookies. You will need to follow the instructions contained in your browser’s help file (usually located within the “Help,” “Tools,” or “Edit” settings). If you have more than one browser, the opt-out or settings you set will only apply to that specific browser and not the others. If you choose to disable cookies, some Edsby Services might not function properly. ## **14.0 What About Breach Reporting?** We maintain procedures and recordkeeping regarding breach reporting consistent with our [ISO 27001 certification](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/) obligations. We adhere to our obligations in the event of a breach of confidential information as required in the jurisdictions in which we host Edsby Services. For instance, in Canada, laws require we report any breach involving personal information under our control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm (RROSH) to an individual, as defined by Canada’s [*PIPEDA*](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en). In the U.S., each state has its own breach reporting requirements as summarized [here](https://www.foley.com/insights/publications/2024/11/state-data-breach-notification-laws/). ## **15.0 Changes to This Privacy Policy** Edsby reserves the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business and practices. When we change the Policy we will reflect the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. All previous versions remain linked to the bottom of the Privacy Policy on our website for historical reference. Edsby intends no change to the longstanding data collection or handling practices fundamental to its business model. Should we do so, however, we will notify all Education Organization customers and their users in advance of any significant change. ## **16.0 How to Contact Us?** You may contact us at with any questions, concerns or grievances you may have related to your Personal Information. We may also be reached as follows: 68B Leek Crescent, Suite 200 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1 Canada +1 (877) 337-0070 ## **17.0 California Privacy Notice Addendum** If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This Addendum solely applies to consumers who are California residents and supplements the information contained in Edsby’s Services Privacy Policy. The Addendum does not apply to job applicants or employees. We may make changes to the Addendum. Please refer to the Addendum from time to time to keep yourself informed of how we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information. “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked directly or indirectly with a particular California resident. Personal Information does not include publicly available information from government records or de-identified or aggregated consumer information. ### **17.1 Categories of Personal Information** Over the past 12 months, we have stored or collected the following categories of Personal Information for business purposes: **Category****Examples****Collected**A. IdentifiersContact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account nameYESB. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statuteName, contact information, education historyYESC. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal lawGender and date of birthYESD. Commercial informationTransaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment informationYESE. Biometric informationFingerprints and voiceprintsNOF. Internet or other similar network activityInteractions with our Services, applications and systemsYESG. Geolocation dataDevice locationNOH. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar informationImages and audio or video in connection with our business activitiesYESI. Professional or employment-related informationJob title, employer name, identification number for educator and administrator accountsYESJ. Education InformationStudent records and directory informationYESK. Inferences drawn from other personal informationInferences drawn from any of collected information to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristicsNOL. Sensitive Personal InformationAccount login information, contents of email or text messages, emotional state, racial or ethnic originYES Category L information may be used, or disclosed to a service provider or contractor, for additional, specified purposes. You have the right to limit the use or disclosure of your sensitive personal information with your Education Organization. ### **17.2 Sources of Personal Information** We collect the categories of Personal Information in the following ways: Indirectly – (i) Your Education Organization uploads data into Edsby Services about you Directly from you – (i) When you use Edsby Services and voluntarily input information ### 17.3 Disclosure of Personal Information for a Business Purpose In the past 12 months, we disclosed the following categories of Personal Information for a business purpose: **Category****Personal Information Disclosed To a Third Party For a Business Purpose**A. Identifiers Contact details, such as name, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, Internet Protocol address and email address YesB. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute Name, contact information, education history YesC. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law Gender and date of birth YesD. Commercial informationYesF. Internet or other similar network activity Interactions with our Services, applications and systems YesH. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities YesJ. Education Information Student records and directory information YesL. Sensitive Personal Information Account login information, contents of email or text messages, emotional state, racial or ethnic origin Yes We disclosed these categories of Personal Information to the following categories of third parties: your Education Organization, cloud service providers, and in very rare occasions third parties at the request of your Education Organization, and legal authorities as required by law. Please refer to 7.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not sold any Personal Information. ### 17.4 Use of Personal Information For more information about how we use your Personal Information, please see sections 3-6 of this policy. ### 17.5 Sale of Personal Information Edsby does not sell your Personal Information for money to anyone. If you are a user of the platform, you may opt out of your Personal Information management in Edsby Services directly with your Education Organization which will provide us with instructions. ### **17.6 What Are Your Rights?** As a California resident, you have the following rights, subject to certain exceptions and limitations: – **Right to know**, over the past 12 months, the categories and specific Personal Information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you, the categories of sources from which we collected your Personal Information, our purposes for collecting or selling your Personal Information, the categories of your Personal Information that we have either sold or disclosed for a business purpose, and the categories of third parties with which we have shared Personal Information. – **Right to access and portability** of Personal Information that we collected over the past 12 months. You also have the right to request we provide you with a copy of the Personal Information we collected in a portable, readily reusable format that allows you to transmit the information to a third party. – **Right to delete** the Personal Information we have collected from you or maintain about you. If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request the removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request the removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will ensure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.). California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to privacy@edsby.com. Please see section 10.0 What Are Your Rights for more information, including contacting your Education Organization to exercise your rights. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. #### Previous Versions - [Services Privacy Policy February 3rd, 2023 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/services-privacy-policy-feb-3-2023-deprecated/) - [Services Privacy Policy September 2nd, 2021 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-sept2021/) - [Privacy Policy January 5th, 2018 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-january-5th-2018-deprecated/) - [Privacy Policy Sept 1st, 2017 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-sept-1st-2017-deprecated/) - [Privacy Policy February 18th, 2016 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-february-18-2016-deprecated/) - [Privacy Policy December 6th, 2015 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy-december-6-2015-deprecated/) --- ### [Features](https://www.edsby.com/features/) **Published:** September 24, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Edsby News](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/school-district-news/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How Edsby is uniquely able to deliver the regional, district, school and class-level news that's critical in K-12. --- ### [Advanced Analytics](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/analytics/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** About Edsby's advanced analytics capabilities. --- ### [Universal Integration](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/universal-integration/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Learning Evidence](https://www.edsby.com/evidence-of-learning/) **Published:** February 2, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** About Edsby's breakthrough assessment, reporting and parent communication optimized for kindergarten and early elementary years of K-12. --- ### [Edsby for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/parent/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The Edsby platform for K-12 lets families see what's happening with their kids at school & enables them to play an active part in their children's education. --- ### [Usage Policy](https://www.edsby.com/usage-policy/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** # **Date of last revision of this policy: September 28, 2021** Welcome to Edsby! Edsby provides a suite of software services (the “Services”) to teachers, students, parents and administrators of a specific Education Organization. The Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc.** (the “Company”)**.** This document contains our Usage Policy governing your access to and use of the Edsby Services. We suggest you read these terms carefully before using the Services. If you do not accept this Usage Policy, you may not use the Services. If you use our Services you agree to this Usage Policy. Respecting and protecting the privacy of information stored within the Edsby Service is very important to us. Please consult our Services Privacy Policy at [**edsby.com/privacy-policy/**](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/) for details on how we do that. ## 1. Overview Edsby is a cloud-based software service that modernizes how teachers, students and parents engage with each other. Edsby is often selected through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student data. Edsby Services are managed by Education Organizations as one part of a suite of technology solutions that every Education Organization requires. Education Organizations pay to use Edsby and own and manage the information stored and collected by Edsby on their behalf. User accounts for a specific Education Organization using Edsby are created by or under the direction/invitation of the administrative staff of that Education Organization. Parents/guardians and students are not allowed to create their own accounts on Edsby; they are only allowed to use authorized accounts set up specifically for them at the direction of the Education Organization they are members of. You are permitted to access a specific customer’s Edsby Services only if you have been directly invited and authorized to do so by the administrative staff within that Education Organization. ## 2. Changes To This Usage Policy The Company may make changes to this Usage Policy from time to time. We suggest you check this Usage Policy periodically for changes. By your continuing use of the Services after changes are posted, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes. Previous versions of our Usage Policy, previously described as Terms of Use, are available on our website for review. ## 3. Scope of Use You are only authorised to view, use, copy for your records and download small portions of the Content (including without limitation text, graphics, software, audio and video files and photos) from the Services for your informational, non-commercial use, provided that you leave all the copyright notices, including copyright management information or other proprietary notices intact. You may not store, modify, reproduce, transmit, reverse engineer or distribute a significant portion of Services Content, or the design or layout of Services in any form or media. The systematic retrieval of data from the Services is also prohibited. You agree not to submit or transmit any content, files, videos, photos, web links or other materials to the Services that: (i) are defamatory, threatening, obscene or harassing, (ii) contain a virus, worm, Trojan horse or any other harmful component, (iii) incorporate copyrighted or other proprietary material of any third party without that party’s permission or (iv) otherwise violate any applicable laws. The Company shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any information or materials that you submit online except as specified in this Usage Policy, or as set forth in any additional terms and conditions relating to specific products or services, or as otherwise specifically agreed or required by law. ## 4. Copyrights and Trademarks The materials on these Services, as well as their organisation and layout, are copyrighted and are protected by international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may access, download and print materials in these Services solely for your personal and non-commercial use. No right, title or interest in any of the materials contained in these Services is transferred to you as a result of accessing, downloading or printing such materials. You may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, publish, license any part of these Services; create derivative works from use on any other website, transfer or sell any information obtained from these Services without the prior written permission of the Company. ## 5. Links For your convenience, we may provide links to various other websites that may be of interest to you and for your convenience only. However, the Company does not control or endorse such websites and is not responsible for their content nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements contained within such websites. Please read the terms and conditions of the Usage Policies of any other company or website you may link to from our Services. This Usage Policy applies only to the Company’s Services. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked from our Services, you do so at your own risk. The Company reserves the right to remove any link at any time. The Company disclaims all warranties, express and implied, as to the accuracy, validity, and legality or otherwise of any materials or information contained on such websites. ## 6. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use As a condition of your use of these Services, you warrant to the Company that you will not use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use the Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Services or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Services. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Services. ## 7. No Commercial Activities Posting or transmitting advertising or other such promotional materials or forms of solicitations to other users of the Services is prohibited unless authorized by the Company or an administrator at your education organization. ## 8. User Accounts and Security You can and should notify your Education Organization of any known or suspected unauthorized use(s) of your account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorised disclosure of your password. You agree you will not access or attempt to access any accounts provided by the Services other than the account(s) assigned to you. If we suspect or detect such inappropriate account access we will inform authorities within your Education Organization. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for the suspension or termination of your account, at the Company’s discretion or by direction of your Education Organization, and you may be reported to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. ## 9. User Provided Content Users will be held directly and solely responsible for the content they post on the Services. You acknowledge that you own, are solely responsible or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post on the Services; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this Usage Policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify the Company or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. For any content that you post on the Services, all rights, including all intellectual property rights, shall remain the exclusive property of the original owner, and the Company will have a limited, nonexclusive license solely for the purpose of performing its commercial obligations to its Education Organization customer you are a member of, including but not limited to storing, using, translating, and displaying the content. The license you grant is still in effect even if you stop using the Services. This is required so that for example, content shared by a teacher to other teachers can continue to be provided by Edsby even after that teacher has retired. The Education Organization through which you are obtaining the Edsby Services has overall control over the disposition of the content you have provided via the Services we operate for it. The Company reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following: – Remove content that is abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fails to conform with this Usage Policy – Terminate a user’s access to any or all portions of the Services upon any breach of this Usage Policy – Monitor and share with your Education Organization any content in any shared area of the Services The Company reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our customers, users, employees or the public. The Company has no liability or responsibility to users of the Services or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities. **Contact us:** If you would like to request additional information regarding this Usage Policy, please contact us at: [**terms\_of\_use@edsby.com**](mailto:terms_of_use@edsby.com) #### Previous Versions - [Terms of Use January 5th, 2018 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use-january-5th-2018-deprecated/uncategorized/) - [Terms of Use May 1st, 2012 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-use-may-1st-2012-deprecated/uncategorized/) --- ### [Case Studies](https://www.edsby.com/case-studies/) **Published:** September 27, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Edsby for Students](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/student/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Unison](https://www.edsby.com/unison/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Seeking technical help?](https://www.edsby.com/seeking-technical-help/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Are you an Edsby user looking for help with your account, or logging into your Edsby system? --- ### [Edsby and Google Classroom](https://www.edsby.com/google-classroom/) **Published:** November 26, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** If your district or region is hitting the limits of what Google Classroom can do, here's how the Edsby platform for K-12 compares. --- ### [Edsby and Veracross](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-and-veracross/) **Published:** November 16, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby and Veracross enable a full-featured, modern learning experience for independent school administrators, educators, students and parents. --- ### [Learning Management](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/learning-management-for-schools/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** The Edsby K-12 digital learning platform excels at learning management for schools in K-12. No other system has these features across the spectrum of K-12. --- ### [Teacher AI Assistant](https://www.edsby.com/artificial-intelligence-ai/) **Published:** June 14, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby Teacher AI Assistant puts the best, most useful capabilities of new generative AI in the hands of teachers in a safe and easy way that doesn't compromise students and their data. --- ### [Edsby for Early Years](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/edsby-for-elementary/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby has special capabilities for early years learning because K-5 children are taught and assessed differently. --- ### [Partners](https://www.edsby.com/partners/) **Published:** September 27, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Edsby & AI](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-ai-roadmap/) **Published:** April 22, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** A product direction brief for Edsby AI that outlines where the company plans to incorporate artificial Intelligence while ensuring the safety of student data. --- ### [Improving Student Outcomes](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/improving-student-outcomes/) **Published:** March 7, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Student engagement and graduation rates increase when their district, region or independent school adopts Edsby. Here's how and why. --- ### [Modern Assessment and Reporting](https://www.edsby.com/solutions/assessment-reporting/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Districts and regions can use their own pedagogical approaches and assessment practices with Edsby's integrated assessment and reporting. --- ### [Thanks for your interest](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/ads/) **Published:** February 25, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan --- ### [Thanks for your referral](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/thanks-for-your-referral/) **Published:** February 13, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan --- ### [Registrations And Workflows](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/approvals-workflows/) **Published:** January 19, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How automated processes in Edsby simplify interactions between students, teachers and parents and save paper and administrative costs. --- ### [Training](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/teacher-success-with-edsby/) **Published:** September 28, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How educators can learn what they need to know about the Edsby platform for K-12 in their own way. --- ### [Management](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/leadership/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Senior management at Edsby. --- ### [Accessibility](https://www.edsby.com/accessibility/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby ensures all K-12 students and their parents and guardians, even those with special needs, are informed, empowered and engaged. --- ### [Services Privacy Policy - Feb 3, 2023 - Deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/services-privacy-policy-feb-3-2023-deprecated/) **Published:** August 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** Archived version of a previous Edsby services privacy policy that is no longer current. The current Edsby services privacy policy is available at the bottom of any screen in the Edsby platform service. Or the bottom footer of any page of the public Edsby website. **Content:** # **Date of last revision of this policy: February 3rd, 2023** Edsby is a cloud-based suite of software services that modernizes how educators, students and parents engage with each other electronically. Edsby Services are owned and operated by **CoreFour Inc**. **We believe the foundation of any relationship is based on trust and transparency**. Our clients entrust us with the Personal Information of students, parents and educators. We take that responsibility seriously. The privacy and security of the people we serve is of utmost importance to us. This Services Privacy Policy (“**Policy**”) enables you to better understand how Edsby collects, uses, and discloses information through the use of our Services. ## **1.0 What Does This Policy Apply To?** This Policy applies to the Personal Information we may collect relating to students, parents, and educators (“you” or “your”) through our private browser-based Edsby Services and Edsby applications in the Apple iOS and Google Play stores (“**Services**”). **Please also refer to your Education Organization’s (i.e., your school or school district) privacy policy, which governs its use of your Personal Information.** For privacy practices relating to our public website ([www.edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/)), as well as those relating to marketing, sales, and support services, please refer to our Edsby [Public Website Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy/). *Other Links:* Our Services may contain links to other websites and services that we do not own or operate. By clicking on those links, you will leave our Services. Those third-party websites and services are governed by separate and independent privacy policies, which we recommend you read carefully. ## **2.0 Definitions** For the purposes of this Policy, the following definitions apply: **“Personal Information”** is any information provided to us or generated within Edsby that personally identifies an individual, such as name or email address, or other information which could be reasonably linked to such identifying information. Unless otherwise specified, Personal Information referenced in this Policy is interchangeable with Personally Identifiable Information, which is information that, that when used alone or in combination with other information, can identify an individual. **“Education Organization”** refers to various types of organizations that select Edsby as one of their technology solution providers for managing student information aimed at improving student success, equity and well-being. These organizations may include private schools, public school districts, provinces/states, and national ministries of education. Edsby is selected by these Education Organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student user data. Education Organizations pay to use Edsby. Each Education Organization decides what information should be provided to Edsby, and retains ownership of all the information provided to Edsby as well as control over all the information created in Edsby by users within their organization. **“Parents”** refers to the parents, guardians, and others such as aunts, uncles, step-parents, or grandparents that are identified by the Education Organization as someone with the right to have access to information in Edsby regarding a specific child. ## **3.0 Who Uses Edsby?** Edsby is a broad learning platform purpose-built to support in-classroom and remote learning across the spectrum of kindergarten through grade 12, commonly abbreviated as K-12. It is intended for use by learners of all K-12 age levels, including learners under the age of 13 and between the ages of 13 and 16, for which special handling is required in certain jurisdictions. It is also intended for use by their parents, teachers, school and district administrators and even regional government officials, and facilitates selected data sharing and interactions between these trusted K-12 stakeholders. It is not used in preschool or higher education or by general public, unauthenticated users. ### 3.1 How Are User Accounts Created? Edsby creates a unique service instance for every Education Organization customer, and provisions and disables user accounts in each instance by synchronizing with the organizations’ systems of record, such as its Student Information/Student Management Systems (SIS/SMS), HR systems, official parent databases and government systems. Users cannot create their own accounts. Edsby is only ever deployed as an officially sanctioned system by an Education Organization under its umbrella opt-in and official data governance policies. User consent obligations are the responsibility of the Education Organization customer. When Education Organizations choose to enable Edsby single sign-on through official directory providers, Edsby inherits the features of those systems. Multi-factor account protection is available in Edsby in conjunction with such directory providers when enabled via their internal security controls. User accounts never require additional Personal Information for validation. ### 3.2 What May Users Do In The Services? In the course of using Edsby Services, learners and their parents upload and share information in their private, closed Edsby system. Students and parents have no ability to ever designate anything publicly visible through privacy settings. All Services content and features default to a privacy-on setting. Only district or school level announcements specifically set to be seen by the general public, which are authored and approved with an audit trail by Education Organization officials, can ever be seen by unauthenticated users. Untrusted, unauthenticated users never interact with Edsby users, see any user content publicly, or any Personal Information. The information users are able to access or upload in the Services and the ways they are able to interact with other users in Edsby is governed by their roles and class enrollments defined in the official Education Organization’s systems of record. This ensures teachers can only see information on students they currently teach, or that parents may only access information on their own children, for example. Collaboration between students and teachers, and optionally authenticated parents with teacher invitation, occurs within programmatically created and rosterized classrooms corresponding to real-world classes, or in teacher moderated groups, in which exchanges are limited to the programmatically maintained membership of the class or group. It is not possible for users of any type to contact anyone outside of the trusted, authenticated Edsby user base. Most Education Organizations disable student-to-student messaging in Edsby Services as a matter of policy, and some even disable the ability of parents of different families to message each other within Edsby. No user is obliged to enter any information in a personal profile. Profile information is not required for usage of the Services. Users may easily flag objectionable content across the Services, including anything deemed abusive or cyberbullying-related. ## **4.0 What Personal Information Do We Store?** Each Education Organization determines what information they collect and how it is used. We process a portion of that information in accordance with the specific contractual agreement with that Education Organization. The Education Organization maintains the master repository of this information and controls how your Personal Information is used, and manages parent consent to Edsby and its other applications. ***Personal Information Education Organizations provide to us****:* Education Organizations integrate information about you into our Services. The information that is integrated depends on the Services set out in their specific contract with us. This information can include: – **Personal Information about students**, including but not limited to name, date of birth, gender, grade level, school, student number, Ministry or State ID, address information, email address, photos for student profiles, certain health information kept in student records, course information, individual education program (IEP), indigenous status, and community service hours. – **Personal Information about educators and staff**, including but not limited to name, salutation, email address, school, staff number, title, and role. – **Personal Information about parents**, including but not limited to name, address, email, relationship to students, and flags about their access rights to information. Please refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to inform yourself how your Education Organization collects and shares your Personal Information. ## **5.0 What Personal Information Do We Collect?** ***Personal Information collected by us on behalf of Education Organizations:*** Edsby may collect Personal Information directly through your interaction on our Services depending on the Services set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. That Personal Information may include but is not limited to: – **Information about student progress**, such as a student’s attendance status for each school date, a student’s score on an assessment along with comments by the educator, pictures of a student’s work along with observations by the educator, and report card information for each subject a student is taking. – **User-generated digital content**, such as text, images, audio, video, files and web links. This digital content can appear in messages, profiles, private notes, calendar events, grade books, and postings in the Service. For instance, students may upload assignments, participate in class discussion groups or perform tests within Edsby, while parents may upload photos, video or audio of their child’s homework, or respond to teachers’ comments. Uploaded files may have metadata associated with them, which is preserved by the Service and will be available to anyone that can view or download the file. – **Sensitive data**, such as emotional check in status information if entered by students, absence-related information if entered by parents, or individualized education plans entered by educators. – **Usage information**, such as information about how many students and/or parents at the Education Organization use the Services and how the Services are being used. This information is also collected for security purposes, such as to identify suspicious activity. The information collected may include information such as unique device identifiers, IP addresses, and browser types. Edsby does not collect biometric or geolocation data. We only collect and manage information as users use our Services and do not augment or cross reference it with other data sources. The information above is collected only to fulfill the Services we have contracted to provide for the education organization and is not used for other commercial purposes. ## **6.0 How Do We Use Your Personal Information?** We process your Personal Information on behalf of and under the instructions of your Education Organization. We only use this information in accordance with our agreement with the Education Organization to operate, maintain, and provide various features and functionality of our Services as set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization. **The Education Organization determines how your Personal Information is used. Please visit your Education Organization’s privacy policy to see how it uses your Personal Information**. The usage analytics information generated by user activity in Edsby Services is de-identified and aggregated and used for Edsby product improvement. Measurement of seasonal trends in user activity helps us forecast service provisioning requirements through the year, for instance. Knowing the most popular computing platforms of users accessing Edsby Services helps us determine which platforms to focus our engineering on. Internal analytics data also allow us to monitor the security of our Services. Edsby Service usage data is never collected by a third party, hosted elsewhere or shared with other parties or monetized. **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. **We do not subject users to any advertising, contextual, personal or otherwise. There is no marketing to opt-out of, as the company does not send marketing messages to end users**. **Edsby does not make offers to end users like sweepstakes or contests. And we do not sell, rent or otherwise share any Personal Information with any third party that does**. Please see Section 7.0, which describes who we may share your Personal Information with. ## **7.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With?** **We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide**. There are certain circumstances in which we may disclose, transfer or share your Personal Information with third parties, such as under the following circumstances: – ***Your Education Organization***: The information we collect and store about you is accessible to authorized employees of your Education Organization. For example, a school principal may use Edsby to quickly find a Parent’s telephone number to call in the case of an emergency. Your Education Organization controls who has access to this information. We also make usage information available to your Education Organization. – ***Third parties at the request of the Education Organization***: Education Organizations may request that we share your Personal Information with additional parties that also provide processing services to the Education Organization. We only do this when specifically requested and approved in writing by an authorized, verified senior member of the Education Organization. – ***Microsoft and Google***: Our Services can be integrated with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for Education if directed to do so by the Education Organization to enhance productivity. For example, when a student writes an essay in Microsoft 365 or Google Docs and submits it to their educator via the Edsby platform, Edsby can make a copy of the selected file and make it available to the educator via the Edsby Services. Also, when Edsby integrates with these systems it provides a way for the End-User to log into Edsby by using Microsoft or Google authentication credentials. – ***Cloud service providers****:* A carefully selected small number of companies provide essential elements of our cloud-based Service. We limit the information we share with these service providers through contractual, administrative and technical means. For example, we store Personal Information with Microsoft, the provider of our Azure hosting service, and protect it with encryption. Our cloud service providers may not use the information disclosed to them for any other purpose other than to provide us with a specific service. – ***Legal authorities, as required by law****:* The information we process and store may be disclosed by us to legal authorities if we are required to do so by law. We may also disclose to them, at our discretion, select information we collect and store where we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing interference with the rights, property or rules of the Education Organization using our Services, or someone who may cause or be at risk of imminent bodily harm, or someone who may be violating the Usage Policy of our Services. In such cases, the Education Organization that is managing this instance of our Service will be informed and will notify affected parties as it sees fit. – ***Business transaction****:* We may transfer our assets and rights to our Services, including information in our Services, in the event of a merger or sale (including any transfers made as part of an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding) involving all or part of our business or as part of a corporate reorganization, stock sale or other change in control. In such a case, your Education Organization will be provided with notice and will have the option of socializing pending changes to Edsby with its users or of opting out of our Services. We will limit the disclosure of Personal Information to only what is necessary and limit the use of the information to the purpose for which the Personal Information was collected before the transaction and in accordance with applicable laws and honor any data update or deletion requests using the process as detailed in 9.2 How Does Edsby Manage Data Update & Deletion Requests? We limit who we share your Personal Information with. We also limit what information we share and how third parties may use, access, process or store such information in the course of performing their duties for us. When we disclose Personal Information, we minimize the disclosure to only what is necessary in accordance with instructions from our Education Organization customers, de-identifying if appropriate (removing any name and unique identifier) and contractually prohibiting attempts at re-identifying, and in compliance with appropriate privacy, confidentiality, and security measures. We do not combine customers’ data with data from other sources. Should there be a conflict between our Services Privacy Policy and Usage Policy and our contract with an Education Organization, the terms and obligations set out in our specific contract with your Education Organization will prevail. **We do not have control over the Personal Information that Education Organizations themselves may disclose to third parties**. For example, an Education Organization may export certain Personal Information collected in Edsby and make it accessible to others at the Organization’s discretion. ## **8.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?** We are committed to protecting the information we store about you. Edsby employs a variety of physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. We have taken measures to protect the Personal Information on our Services, which include data encryption, firewalls and access controls for staff and vendors, as well as physical access controls to our facilities. Some other security measures we implement include: – Limiting account creation to only those individuals the Education Organization selects. Persons outside the Education Organization cannot create an account. – You may only access Edsby within an Education Organization with your user ID and password. Typically these credentials are provided and managed by the Education Organization.- The ability for Education Organizations to implement role-based access and usage of an account, which limits what you can do and what information you can see. For example, educators have limited access to students they can view on the Services (e.g. only students in their school) and what they can see on the student profile. Parents can only see the profile of their own children and staff at the school(s) that their children attend. – Encrypting all data sent between the Edsby server and Edsby client (web browser, smartphone app, tablet app) in transit and at rest. – Restricting access to Personal Information to those Edsby staff members who need to know that information for the purpose set out in this Policy and ensuring those staff members are trained in the company’s information protection policies. – Ensuring any software libraries used in our application are never sent Personal Information. For example, Edsby uses Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for push notifications, but Edsby Services never send private information in notifications, simply using them to redirect the user to the secure, authenticated Edsby Services. We only use the minimal Firebase messaging toolkit, and do not engage Firebase’s analytics or wider features. Nor does Firebase ever get associated with a user’s Google account. And while Edsby uses Google’s ML Kit for QR code scanning in our mobile apps, processing is fully on-device and we ensure any data available to ML Kit is anonymous and de-identified. – Adhering to a formal standard for Information Security. CoreFour Inc. is ISO 27001 certified. ## **9.0 How Do We Manage Your Information?** Our general practice is to not retain Personal Information any longer than is necessary for educational purposes and legal obligations. Personal Information becomes immediately unavailable in Edsby in the event of account cancelation or termination, triggered by updates from the Education Organization’s systems of record. It becomes fully deleted from the Services per the Education Organization’s policy as described below. ### 9.1 How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information? Edsby retains Personal Information on behalf of Education Organizations pursuant to its specific contractual terms with each Education Organization. The Education Organization defines the parameters for data retention and destruction in Edsby in terms of the number of school years’ worth of data to be held. It may choose to hold 3 years’ worth of data in Edsby, or 7 years, for instance, for access to archived information and/or audit purposes. Edsby does not retain data longer than 7 years unless by special arrangement with a customer. ### 9.2 How Does Edsby Manage Data Update & Deletion Requests? Edsby is best characterized as a [processor](https://pecb.com/article/data-controller-vs-data-processor-and-isoiec-27701) that manages data at the direction of the education organization, the [controller](https://pecb.com/article/data-controller-vs-data-processor-and-isoiec-27701). If an end user sends a request to update or delete their Personal Information, these requests are routed to the Education Organization for their review and potential action. If Edsby receives a specific request from an authorized individual at the Education Organization to destroy specific records, Edsby complies and provides a certificate of data destruction within one week. ## **10.0 What Are Your Rights?** As a user of our Services, you have rights to access, download, correct and/or delete your Personal Information in accordance with applicable laws. Parents may manage their children’s Personal Information, including withdrawing consent, or opting out of any data sharing. Some Education Organizations enable users to access and make changes to their Personal Information through Edsby Services. Where your Education Organization does not enable this access and you seek changes to Personal Informationor its general management, make your request directly with your Education Organization. It will update its systems of record from which Edsby inherits, and we will assist the Education Organization however else we can in fulfilling your request in accordance with our legal obligations. Similarly, contact your Education Organization to request information about any third parties it may be sharing data with, or has requested Edsby to share data with. If your Education Organization relies on your consent to process your Personal Information, such as making it available in Edsby Services, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You may withdraw your consent by contacting your Education Organization. Note this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before it’s withdrawn nor when applicable laws allow for continued processing. Users may download data themselves from Edsby Services at any time, such as assessments, progress reports, report cards and online portfolios of their best work. Teachers have broad ability to download data, including class rosters, parent lists, gradebook data and more. ## **11.0 What About Children’s Privacy?** We comply with our obligations outlined in the *Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act* (“FERPA”) and the *Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule* (“COPPA”), U.S. federal laws designed to protect the privacy rights of children. We are a service provider to Education Organizations, which disclose Personal Information to us about students and parents either via existing student records or those developed directly on our Services. The information we collect is limited to what we need to fulfill our obligations as outlined in our contracts with Education Organizations. The disclosures are authorized by FERPA. We do not use your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide our Services to Education Organizations and improve our Services to you. In accordance with COPPA, we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 unless and until an Education Organization has provided us with authority for a student under the age of 13 to use our Services. Further, we do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13 in a manner not permitted by COPPA. If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we have inadvertently collected or stored Personal Information about your child without proper consent, please contact your Education Organization and we will work with them to investigate and delete any such information to the extent required by applicable law. ## **12.0 Where Is Your Information Stored?** Edsby Services are hosted in various regions throughout the world, including in the U.S., Canada and Australia. We store and process your Personal Information in the country in which your Education Organization is located whenever we can. From time to time, your Personal Information may be accessed by Edsby-authorized services or staff in another country where Edsby or authorized third parties operate. We implement measures to protect your information and to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Please also refer to your Education Organization’s privacy policy to identify where they process and/or store Personal Information and how they protect it. ## **13.0 Cookies and Similar Technologies** Our Services use cookies and similar technologies. “Cookies” are small text files installed on your computer hard drive or web browser when you visit or use our website. Most browsers accept cookies by default. ### 13.1 What Information Do We Collect Using Cookies? We use first-party cookies, such a session cookie, to help us authenticate you. The session cookie is deleted when the browser session is ended. We may also use third-party cookies to help staff file a customer support ticket with us. Other third-party cookies include firewall cookies for security purposes. Most of the cookies on our Services collect information that is not identifiable to you. To learn more about cookies, visit [www.allaboutcookies.org](http://www.allaboutcookies.org/). ### 13.2 How Can You Manage Cookies? Although most browsers accept cookies, you can set your browser to reject cookies. You will need to follow the instructions contained in your browser’s help file (usually located within the “Help,” “Tools,” or “Edit” settings). If you have more than one browser, the opt-out or settings you set will only apply to that specific browser and not the others. If you choose to disable cookies, some Edsby Services might not function properly. ## **14.0 What About Breach Reporting?** We maintain procedures and recordkeeping regarding breach reporting consistent with our [ISO 27001 certification](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-iso-27001/) obligations. We adhere to our obligations in the event of a breach of confidential information as required in the jurisdictions in which we host Edsby Services. For instance, in Canada, laws require we report any breach involving personal information under our control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm (RROSH) to an individual, as defined by Canada’s [*PIPEDA*](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en). In the U.S., each state has its own breach reporting requirements as summarized [here](https://info.digitalguardian.com/rs/768-OQW-145/images/the-definitive-guide-to-us-state-data-breach-laws.pdf). ## **15.0 Changes To This Privacy Policy** Edsby reserves the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business and practices. When we change the Policy we will reflect the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. All previous versions remain linked to the bottom of the Privacy Policy on our website for historical reference. Edsby intends no change to the longstanding data collection or handling practices fundamental to its business model. Should we do so, however, we will notify all Education Organization customers and their users in advance of any significant change. ## **16.0 How To Contact Us?** You may contact us at with any questions, concerns or grievances you may have related to your Personal Information. We may also be reached as follows: 68B Leek Crescent, Suite 200 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1 Canada +1 (877) 337-0070 ## **17.0 California Privacy Notice Addendum** If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This Addendum solely applies to consumers who are California residents and supplements the information contained in Edsby’s Services Privacy Policy. The Addendum does not apply to job applicants or employees. We may make changes to the Addendum. Please refer to the Addendum from time to time to keep yourself informed of how we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information. “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked directly or indirectly with a particular California resident. Personal Information does not include publicly available information from government records or de-identified or aggregated consumer information. ### **17.1 Categories of Personal Information** Over the past 12 months, we have stored or collected the following categories of Personal Information for business purposes: **Category****Examples****Collected**A. IdentifiersContact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account nameYESB. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statuteName, contact information, education historyYESC. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal lawGender and date of birthYESD. Commercial informationTransaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment informationYESE. Biometric informationFingerprints and voiceprintsNOF. Internet or other similar network activityInteractions with our Services, applications and systemsYESG. Geolocation dataDevice locationNOH. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar informationImages and audio or video in connection with our business activitiesYESI. Professional or employment-related informationJob title, employer name, identification number for educator and administrator accountsYESJ. Education InformationStudent records and directory informationYESK. Inferences drawn from other personal informationInferences drawn from any of collected information to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristicsNOL. Sensitive Personal InformationAccount login information, contents of email or text messages, emotional state, racial or ethnic originYES Category L information may be used, or disclosed to a service provider or contractor, for additional, specified purposes. You have the right to limit the use or disclosure of your sensitive personal information with your Education Organization. ### **17.2 Sources of Personal Information** We collect the categories of Personal Information in the following ways: Indirectly – (i) Your Education Organization uploads data into Edsby Services about you Directly from you – (i) When you use Edsby Services and voluntarily input information ### 17.3 Disclosure of Personal Information for a Business Purpose In the past 12 months, we disclosed the following categories of Personal Information for a business purpose: **Category****Personal Information Disclosed To a Third Party For a Business Purpose**A. Identifiers Contact details, such as name, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, Internet Protocol address and email address YesB. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute Name, contact information, education history YesC. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law Gender and date of birth YesD. Commercial informationYesF. Internet or other similar network activity Interactions with our Services, applications and systems YesH. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities YesJ. Education Information Student records and directory information YesL. Sensitive Personal Information Account login information, contents of email or text messages, emotional state, racial or ethnic origin Yes We disclosed these categories of Personal Information to the following categories of third parties: your Education Organization, cloud service providers, and in very rare occasions third parties at the request of your Education Organization, and legal authorities as required by law. Please refer to 7.0 Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not sold any Personal Information. ### 17.4 Use of Personal Information For more information about how we use your Personal Information, please see sections 3-6 of this policy. ### 17.5 Sale of Personal Information Edsby does not sell your Personal Information for money to anyone. If you are a user of the platform, you may opt out of your Personal Information management in Edsby Services directly with your Education Organization which will provide us with instructions. ### **17.6 What Are Your Rights?** As a California resident, you have the following rights, subject to certain exceptions and limitations: – **Right to know**, over the past 12 months, the categories and specific Personal Information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you, the categories of sources from which we collected your Personal Information, our purposes for collecting or selling your Personal Information, the categories of your Personal Information that we have either sold or disclosed for a business purpose, and the categories of third parties with which we have shared Personal Information. – **Right to access and portability** of Personal Information that we collected over the past 12 months. You also have the right to request we provide you with a copy of the Personal Information we collected in a portable, readily reusable format that allows you to transmit the information to a third party. – **Right to delete** the Personal Information we have collected from you or maintain about you. If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request the removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request the removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will ensure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.). California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to privacy@edsby.com. Please see section 10.0 What Are Your Rights for more information, including contacting your Education Organization to exercise your rights. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. --- ### [Edsby And Microsoft](https://www.edsby.com/microsoft/) **Published:** January 22, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** The Edsby social learning platform augments Microsoft’s education apps with a rich set of capabilities tailored for the needs of K-12 educators, students & parents. --- ### [Assessment And Reporting](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/assessment-reporting/) **Published:** January 19, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Under the hood with details about Edsby's assessment and reporting capabilities. --- ### [Parent Engagement](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/parent-communication/) **Published:** January 19, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Edsby lets families see what’s happening in all their kids’ classes at school from a single, secure app that teachers don’t have to set up themselves. --- ### [Edsby Awards](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/edsby-awards/) **Published:** September 29, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Standards-Based Assessment & Reporting](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/sbr-sbg-standards-based/) **Published:** March 22, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Excerpt:** How Edsby can assess and report student work against standards, outcomes, expectations or competencies. --- ### [Edsby for School Admins](https://www.edsby.com/how-edsby-helps/administrator/) **Published:** September 26, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How Edsby helps K-12 school administrators excel at attendance, parent communication, report cards and all the routine daily challenges the office faces. --- ### [Group Collaboration](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/group-collaboration/) **Published:** January 19, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Use Edsby's groups for school clubs or teams. And/or for region-wide professional development. Here's what sets them apart. --- ### [Access Management](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/access-control/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** # Edsby access management One of the key underlying concepts in Edsby is that all user access to Edsby is authenticated. In other words, data in Edsby is only shown to specific users, and that data is only shown once the user has proven in some way that they are who they claim to be. The underlying data for performing these operations is the “account”. An Edsby account is the data structure which Edsby uses to manage and save data on who the user of the account is, what data the account should have access to, whether the user is still active on the system, how authentication should be performed, etc. The account is the key data structure in Edsby. Without an account, no access to Edsby is permitted. ### Account Roles Given the fact that Edsby operates in a very hierarchical environment, it is not surprising that different accounts in Edsby will be given vastly different powers. For example, the principal of a school requires much different powers in Edsby than a parent; a teacher requires different powers than a student; etc. Edsby accomplishes this by assigning each account to a role. A role is a collection of permissions and privileges given to each account. ### Account Links Each account in Edsby also contains a set of links. A “link” is a specific relationship between an account and an object or another account in Edsby. These links also have link types which determine what the specific relationship is between the two entities. Let’s see how this works in real life for our example users, and for this example we’ll assume that they are part of the fictional High Prairie School District (HPSD). #### The District Link First, all of these users are clearly linked to the district, so they have links to the District. This is done using the most basic link type, Member. This will already start giving the users data, because when they log in, they will see a link to the district page, they will see district news, and their calendar will display items from the district calendar. The linking of each account to the district is done automatically by Edsby at the time the account is created. #### School Links Second, let’s suppose that our example users are associated with a school, for example the fictional Tecumseh High. In this case, each of our users would also have a link to the school. Again, this link would be done as a member link, the most basic link type. When they log in, they will see a link to the school page, they will see school news, and their calendar will display items from the school calendar. Because users may have any number of links, if a user is associated with multiple schools everything “just works”. For example, if Linda Miller also teachers at Maple Middle School, she would have a link to Maple Middle School, she would see two schools listed, and her news and calendar would include items from both schools. #### Links and Roles The link system and the roles system work together hand-in-hand to deliver the expected behavior. So, while William, Linda, Joey and Sara all have links to Tecumseh High, their role will determine what rights and privileges each of the users have within the school. William, the Principal, has a Senior Administrator role. This gives him much more power than Joey (Student role) or Sara (Parent role). #### Class Links Of course, in most schools, there is a very common type of link, and that is a link to a class. Not surprisingly, in Edsby there is a “Class” object, and all people in that class will have a link to the class. So, in our example case, both Joey and Linda will have a link to the “Grade 9 Math Section B” class. As with the school, Edsby uses the role of the user to decide what rights and privileges the user has in the class. So, obviously, Joey (with the Student role) will have less power than Linda (with the Teacher role). Edsby also includes the ability to override the roles-based permissions, by using an explicit link type. For example, consider the situation where Linda wishes to enroll in a class offered by the Professional Development team at HPSD. Linda has the Teacher role, but for the purpose of that class Linda would be a student. #### Parental Links There is another very important set of links in any school, and that is the set of links between students and parents. So, in the case of Joey, he will have a link to Sara, and that link will be of type “Mother”. Sara will have a corresponding link to Joey, and that will be of type “Son”. If Sara had three children, she would have three parental links. If Joey had two parents and a step-father with access rights, he would have three parental links. #### Contact Links Edsby supports one other very important role: the Contact role. Accounts with only the role of Contact are the only accounts which are not allowed to log in. They are purely informational. #### Indirect Links One important concept in Edsby is the idea of “indirect” links. These are like “friends of friends” on Facebook, and they are very important. For example, suppose the Linda wants to send a message out about an important reminder. She wants to send it not just the students in her class, but also the *parents of the children in her class*. Edsby can do this using the links and roles. It can get more complex. Suppose that Linda has broken her wrist and will be off of school for a week. Mr. Ham wants to send a message to *all of the students in all of the classes that Linda is a teacher of*. In fact, it might be even more involved: *all of the parents of all of the students in all of the classes that Linda is a teacher of*. All of these are performed easily in Edsby because of its understanding of links and roles. ### Passwords and Authentication In order for any user to access the information in Edsby, that user must authenticate by successfully entering their UserID and password. Edsby has two distinct methods of checking to see if the entered password is the correct one: it can employ either internal or external authentication. And in certain situations, Edsby is also able to do mixed authentication. #### Internal Authentication In the case of internal authentication, Edsby maintains a secure, internal database of passwords (actually a salted hash of the passwords). When a user enters their User ID and password, Edsby checks that against the internal database, and if they match the user is able to log in. Edsby also provides a complete suite of password management tools, including the ability for the user to reset their password via email. #### External Authentication In many cases, the preferred authentication method is to use some identity management system already installed at the district, so that users will simply enter the user ID and password which they use to access other district resources. In this case, when a user enters their user ID and password, Edsby passes those credentials of to the external identity management platform for validation, and upon receipt of a positive confirmation the user is allowed to log in. Note that when external authentication has been enabled, the password management tools are disabled, because Edsby has no way of changing or managing a user’s password in the external identity management platform. Instead, the user will be automatically redirected to the password management page on that platform. For a more detailed discussion of the specific platforms and protocols available in Edsby for external authentication, click [here](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/integration-not-duplication/). #### Role-Based Mixed Authentication In many cases, the authentication methods used by Edsby will vary based on the role of the user. For example, staff users may be authenticated against one Active Directory domain, and student users would be authenticated against another AD domain. Another particularly common configuration is for certain roles to use external authentication, while other roles are set to internal authentication. This is particularly common for parental accounts, which are often not provisioned in any of the district identity management systems. Edsby has complete support for this arrangement, including the ability to provision the password management tools for parents only. --- ### [Social learning for Ontario K-12 schools](https://www.edsby.com/ontario-k12/) **Published:** November 16, 2023 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How the made-in Ontario Edsby teaching, learning and analytics platform is optimized for the assessment and reporting requirements of Ontario K-12 school boards. --- ### [Timetable And Calendar](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/timetable-calendar/) **Published:** January 11, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Is it gym clothes or musical instrument day today? Edsby knows, so there’s no more guessing. Edsby talks to the school’s databases and shows everyone where they’re supposed to be, even with the complicated schedules of K-12. --- ### [SECURITY & ADMINISTRATION](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/security/) **Published:** January 11, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** #### Edsby is a true web-based solution Edsby is an advanced, true Web 2.0 application, based purely on the latest standard version of HTML (HTML 5). It runs entirely within the browser and does not require any Java, Flash or ActiveX plugins, nor does it require a particular browser vendor. You can run Edsby on Internet Explore 8 or later, or any modern version of FireFox, Chrome or Safari. #### No local data to back up You don’t need to open any special ports in your firewall, and Edsby doesn’t download any data to the user’s machine. Every byte of data is stored on the Edsby server and not the user’s machine, so worrying about backups is a thing of the past. #### Secure, encrypted communications Edsby is very good at keeping secrets. Edsby uses SSL to encrypt all communications between a user’s browser and the server. This enables Edsby to maintain security and privacy even when running across the public internet. #### State of the art data center [Edsby runs in Microsoft’s Azure cloud](https://www.edsby.com/k12-lms-edsby-microsoft-azure-cloud-analytics/). Microsoft data centers are SSAE 16, CSAE 3416 and ISAE 3402 Type II certified with redundant power (including diesel generator and battery back-up), redundant HVAC, and redundant internet connections. Its data centers have 24/7 on-site security, and access is tightly controlled. Microsoft has undergone independent, in-depth audits of control activities, including management of the hosting and network technologies and services that we use to run Edsby, and renews its certifications annually ensuring its servers are kept to the highest standards. Because Edsby runs in the cloud, you no longer have to worry about hardware purchases, software upgrades or system monitoring. Edsby takes care of that for you around the clock. Wake up to emails that tell when major hardware or software upgrades were completed overnight. What a change from having to do upgrades yourself! #### Timely security updates Operating system and database security updates are a way of life now. We take care to proactively install these updates as they become available to ensure Edsby is as impervious to attack as possible. #### Edsby works on a broad range of mobile devices Your users are going to choose their own mobile device. iPhone or Android? iPad? They’re all fine with Edsby, because [we have apps for all three](https://www.edsby.com/users/download-mobile-apps/). And they’re free. #### District-controlled authentication One of the greatest security risks in any system is the possibility of unauthorized users gaining access using outdated credentials. Edsby mitigates this by supporting external authentication, whereby the Edsby cloud server authenticates all login requests using LDAPS against a District identity management system. Edsby currently supports LDAPS-compatible servers, including Active Directory, Open Directory, FirstClass, etc. #### Comprehensive logging for forensic use Edsby automatically keeps a detailed log of when, how, and where users access the system. While on the system, Edsby logs every single action. This helps you understand how your system is being used, and also helps you track down cases where the system is being mis-used. #### Easy online IT and admin training In addition to a series of videos specifically to help IT admins through the process of deploying and maintaining Edsby, we also offer online training, using Edsby of course. --- ### [Safety & access control](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/permission-access-control/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How the Edsby permissions system was designed for the unique needs of K-12, and why that's important. --- ### [Report Card](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/report-cards/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** Details of the report cards process in Edsby. **Content:** ## How Edsby makes the report card process better, faster and more error-free #### Report Card Forms The Edsby report card system starts by defining a set of report card record forms. These forms represent the set of data to be collected for an individual student in an individual class. A high degree of flexibility is provided, so that different report card forms will be available based on criteria such as - Grade level (e.g. elementary, middle, secondary) - Reporting period (e.g. interim, final) - Subject area (e.g. math, language) - Term rotation style (e.g. full year, semester) - Instructional language (e.g. English, Spanish) Report card record forms also include information about what types of grades are required, whether fields are optional, etc. #### Report Card Sheets Once report card record forms have been created, they’re assigned to teachers in the form of report card sheets. A report card sheet is simply a set of report card records, one for each student in the class. #### Assigning Report Card Sheets to Classes A reporting period is created by selecting a set of classes and then assigning a particular reporting period type (Interim or Final) to that set of classes. Edsby will automatically find the most appropriate report card form, based on type, grade level, etc., create report card sheets, assign them to the classes, and place a link to the report card sheets in each class. At the end of this process, the administrator will see a list of all of the assigned report card sheets, and the status of each one. #### Teachers Fill In Report Card Sheets Upon opening their classes, the teachers will be presented with a new “Report Card” option. Clicking this will bring up the report card sheet for that class, which they will fill in. Interim drafts are automatically saved. When they are finished filling in the sheet, they may submit it. #### Review & Editing When a sheet has been submitted, the administrator may review and edit the contents of the sheet. If extensive editing is required, the administrator may also return the sheet to the original teacher for further work and resubmission. When the administrator is satisfied with the sheet, they mark it as Finalized. #### Export of Report Card Data Once report card sheets have been finalized, the contents of all of the records on all of the sheets may be: - Exported to CSV - Exported to your SIS or database - Printed - Electronically published to students and parents --- ### [Made just for K-12](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/made-for-k12/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Excerpt:** How Edsby has exactly what K-12 districts need, like good elementary assessment & reporting and strong understanding of and support for parents. --- ### [Jobs](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/jobs/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Jobs Edsby has the following positions currently available: - No positions available at this time --- ### [Course Planning](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/course-planning/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Attendance](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/attendance/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Works your way](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/works-your-way/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Investors](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/investors/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Investors ###### Edsby has been largely financed by its co-founders. When you’re spending your own money, it instills a strong sense of financial discipline and focus on success! ###### In early 2014, [we announced we’d raised capital from outside investors](https://www.edsby.com/corefour-announces-investment-round-to-accelerate-growth-of-the-edsby-social-learning-platform/). ###### If you are interested in becoming an investor, contact us at . --- ### [Help Articles](https://www.edsby.com/help-articles/) **Published:** November 18, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Thanks for your interest](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/mail/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Thanks for your interest](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/contact/) **Published:** February 7, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan --- ### [About Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/) **Published:** November 2, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Configuring App Integrations via LTI](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/) **Published:** October 3, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** # Configuring integrations in Edsby using the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form-1024x931.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form.png)LTI app configuration in Edsby is available at a district or school level for use by all teachers and students within a district or school. Or, at an individual teacher level for use by the teacher and students within the teacher’s classes. For setup at a district or school level, navigate to the Manage area of that district or school and create an LTI Tool Provider. This will open the LTI app configuration form. For setup at an individual teacher’s level, the teacher can navigate to their personal folder and create a new LTI Tool which will open the LTI app configuration form. For a Manual (default) configuration, the required details of the form are the name, consumer key, shared secret and launch URL for the app. If the app can be configured via XML or an LTI 2 Registration URL, those options can be selected as well. In addition to the above details, LTI app configuration within Edsby allows you to specify the privacy type for that LTI app. The privacy type will send certain user data to the LTI app provider depending on the option selected. For the best user experience with the LTI app, we recommend Public. You can also specify custom parameters for the LTI app if that app has additional functionality. Lastly, if the LTI app is assessment oriented and you wish to have that data written to the Edsby gradebook you have the option to allow the LTI app to do so. If you do not specify this option, the LTI app cannot be used for assessment purposes (if the app has those capabilities), and is used instead as a link from within Edsby to that LTI app. After the app is saved it is ready for use. Depending on the LTI app type, the app will appear for use in different places within the Edsby classes. If you allowed the app to write to the Edsby gradebook, then the app will appear for use when creating an Assessment. Otherwise, it will appear for use as an Edsby app when creating a Note in a Class Feed. Privacy Settings Anonymous: We send only an obscured numeric identifier. Name only: As above, plust the first and last name and the picture thumbnail. Public: As above, plus the email address. Optional: We also support the following optional parameters, all related to assessment scheduling and scoring title duedate startdate timezone maxpoints [Current products integrated with Edsby >](https://www.edsby.com/integrations/) --- ### [The power of Edsby in your hands](https://www.edsby.com/users/download-mobile-apps/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ![EdsbyIcon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/EdsbyIcon-1.png "EdsbyIcon") ## **Edsby** The main Edsby app. Can be used by any student, teacher, parent or administrator with an Edsby account. Just enter your [Edsby server address](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-login/), obtained from your school, and your Edsby username and password. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AppStore-Apple-300x102.png)](https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814?mt=8) Click to download [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AppStore-Google-300x102.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en) Click to download ![EdsbyCaptureIcon](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/EdsbyCaptureIcon.png "EdsbyCaptureIcon") ## **Edsby Capture** A companion app just for entering images of student work into Edsby. Instantly associates work with the right student when used with QR codes generated by teachers. Intended for shared devices. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AppStore-Apple-300x102.png)](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/edsby-capture/id1395476423?mt=8) Click to download [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AppStore-Google-300x102.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.edsby.capture) Click to download ## Good mobile apps make Edsby… ### Ideal for 1-to-1 or BYOD Whatever tech your students and teachers have, Edsby works on it. [Edsby might even emerge as your “killer app” »](https://www.edsby.com/customers/edsby-at-st-andrews-college/ "Edsby at St. Andrew’s College") ### Key to engaging whole families Not all families have home computers. But virtually all have modern mobile phones. Edsby’s mobile apps get the whole family involved in their children’s education. --- ### [Internal Page](https://www.edsby.com/internal-page/) **Published:** August 31, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Thanks for your interest](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/demo/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Sales](https://www.edsby.com/about-edsby/sales/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Edsby meme contest](https://www.edsby.com/modern-lms/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [technical-details](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/) **Published:** January 25, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Who Are You ?](https://www.edsby.com/who-are-you/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Awards](https://www.edsby.com/awards/) **Published:** October 18, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Sample Edsby Server Address](https://www.edsby.com/example-address/) **Published:** January 11, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Social Emotional Advisory Board](https://www.edsby.com/social-emotional-advisory-board/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Event Registration Confirmed 2P](https://www.edsby.com/event-registration-confirmed-2p/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ![Springing Forward with Edsby & Aspen](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Edsby-Aspen-03.jpg "Springing Forward with Edsby & Aspen") ### An online event for Ontario school boards on synergies between the Edsby digital learning platform and Aspen #### Thanks for registering for Weds, April 28th, at 2p ET. Join the live event at that time at the Microsoft Teams link [here](https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZmQ0OWNhNWItMzQzZC00ODFjLTg5MDUtMTcwNGY4NjcxZjFk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228b535ab5-491b-42a2-a993-9e78f289ac15%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225dae58b8-58ba-4237-9c13-9e873d98b7a3%22%7d). [Add to calendar (.ics)](https://www.edsby.com/email/files/SpringingForward2pET.ics) --- ### [Event Registration Confirmed 10A](https://www.edsby.com/event-registration-confirmed-10a/) **Published:** January 17, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ![Springing Forward with Edsby & Aspen](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Edsby-Aspen-03.jpg "Springing Forward with Edsby & Aspen") ### An online event for Ontario school boards on synergies between the Edsby digital learning platform and Aspen #### Thanks for registering for Weds, April 28th, at 10a ET. Join the live event at that time via Microsoft Teams at this [link](https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MDU4NzkyZDAtNGZlOC00OWRhLTljNTEtZmYxZmU0MzJlMWIw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228b535ab5-491b-42a2-a993-9e78f289ac15%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225dae58b8-58ba-4237-9c13-9e873d98b7a3%22%7d). Add to calendar (.ics) --- ### [Thank You](https://www.edsby.com/thank-you/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Thank You! Your information has been received. --- ### [Edsby Data Store Forensics](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-data-store-forensics/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Edsby stores district data for worst case scenarios Remember the simpler days, where the most subversive ways students could communicate was bathroom graffiti and passing notes in class? These days, those almost quaint forms of communication have given way to dozens of forms of electronic message passing that can be used for good — and bad. The real question is whether your district has a good grasp on the communications flowing through your network. As schools have migrated their systems and services to the web, maintaining good oversight and archiving control over district communication has become more challenging and more important. Does your district have a plan in place for dealing with a worst case scenario, such as a lawsuit or questions from police or the media? How do you investigate issues of cyber bullying, sexting, staff impropriety, and fulfill freedom of information requests? While no one wants to think about these things, not having a plan can be costly. Edsby can serve as an archiving and e-discovery system to enable a district to retain, archive, search, and export critical data consistent with your district’s data retention policy. (This policy varies by state or province, ranging from a set period of time, typically 3-5 years.) All grades, observations, notations, class postings, private messages and files can be retained in Edsby for future reference. ### **Freedom of Information Requests** Edsby can be used to fulfill FOIA requests, allowing the searching of archived data for the entire district or individual user(s). Data is securely stored and cannot be removed by a user. Information can be saved for internal review or exported to be surrendered to an external party. ### **Internal investigation** Edsby provides administrators with access into the account of any user. In the event that a user attempts to remove incriminating evidence prior to the start of an investigation, Edsby still retains copies of all exchanges and postings. Additionally, file attachment data can be searched and reviewed. ### **Data recovery** Edsby can also be used to recover lost data. In the event that a teacher accidentally deletes course content, for example, files can be recovered and re-populated from the Edsby archive. Edsby makes monitoring district communication much easier than figuring out who wrote on the bathroom walls. Whether your primary or secondary backup solution, Edsby can be an essential tool for helping district administrators keep staff and students safe and secure and to ensure compliance with state, provincial and federal regulations. --- ### [Public Website Privacy Policy Sept. - 2021](https://www.edsby.com/public-website-privacy-policy-sept-2021/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** # Public Website Privacy Policy [![Student Privacy Pledge 2020 Signatory](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SPP_Logo_Vertical-112x133.png "SPP_Logo_Vertical")](https://studentprivacypledge.org/signatories/) **Date of last revision of this Policy: September 2nd, 2021** **Edsby believes the foundation of any relationship is based on trust and transparency**. This Public Website Privacy Policy enables you to better understand how Edsby collects, uses, discloses, stores and protects your information via our public Website. Providing appropriate ways to safeguard your personal information is of utmost importance to us as is your privacy. ## **1.0 What Does This Policy Apply To?** This Policy applies to visitors of our public website ([edsby.com](https://www.edsby.com/)) (“**Website**”). **The Public Website Privacy Policy does not apply to Edsby products, services, software or application (collectively, “Services”) used by students, parents, teachers and administrators, which is covered in the** [**Services Privacy Policy**](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/)**.** Edsby’s public Website, operated by CoreFour Inc. (“we”, “us”, or “our”), may collect Website visitor’s Personal Information, including those of clients or prospective clients, all referred to in this Public Website Privacy Policy as “you” or “your”. *Other Links:* Our public Website contains links to other websites and services that we do not own or operate. By clicking on those links, you will leave our Website. Those third-party websites and services are governed by separate and independent privacy policies, which we recommend you read carefully. **“Personal Information”** is any information provided to us or generated within the public Website that personally identifies an individual, such as name or email address, or other information which could be reasonably linked to such identifying information. Personal Information does not include de-identified information (i.e., information that does not identify you) such as usage data. ## **2.0 How We Collect Your Personal Information?** ### Personal Information You Voluntarily Provide To Us You may voluntarily provide us with Personal Information, such as your name, email address, phone number and company name, when you subscribe to our mailing list, fill in a sales lead form, make an inquiry or respond to an offer on our public Website. ### Information We Automatically Collect Like most websites, when you visit our public Website, we may receive information about your visit and interaction with our Website. Although most of the information we collect is non-identifiable and aggregated usage data, such as how many individuals visited our Website, peak hours of visits, and page(s) viewed, we may also collect your Internal Protocol (“IP”) address along with other data from vetted third party tools. We collect this information through the use of cookies, pixel tags and similar technologies. To learn more about how we collect this information, please see Section 9.0 (What Are Cookies?). ## **3.0 How We Use Your Information?** ### To Respond To Your Communications We respond to inquiries, comments, feedback or questions when you fill out an online form on our Website. We may also use your contact information to send you notices about changes to our terms, conditions and policies. ### To Engage In Marketing Or Promotional Activities We may use your contact information to send you promotional or product update materials if we think they would be of interest to you. If your information identifies you as a K-12 school district or other likely educational institution decision maker or influencer for which the Edsby service would be suitable, and your interactions with our marketing materials suggest interest in Edsby, you may receive individualized outreach from us, such as a telephone call or personalized email from a sales representative. Our marketing emails always include an “unsubscribe” link so that you can opt out of receiving marketing emails from Edsby. You can also email us at to opt out of receiving promotional emails. We will obtain your consent before sending you marketing communications if required to do so by applicable laws. ### To Develop And Improve Our Website We collect usage information about how Website visitors enter and navigate our Website that helps inform optimizations to its marketing content. We collect this information through cookies and other similar technologies. See Section 9.0 for more information and details on how to disable cookies. ## **4.0 To Whom Do We Disclose/Transfer Your Personal Information?** We do not sell your Personal Information or the content you provide to us. There are certain circumstances in which we may disclose, transfer or share your Personal Information with third parties, such as: - To perform functions on our behalf; - To assist us in developing our Website; - To assist us in marketing services; - To provide us with analytics and insights; - To subsidiaries or affiliated companies in the event of a merger or acquisition, or a due diligence process as part of a transaction; and - If required to comply with relevant laws or respond to subpoenas or warrants served on us or to protect/defend our company’s rights, clients, or Website visitors. If we need to disclose your Personal Information for any other purpose, other than those listed above, we will first seek your consent to do so. We limit who we share your Personal Information with. We also limit what information we share and how third parties may use, access, process or store such information in the course of performing their duties for us. ## **5.0 How Do We Protect Your Information?** We are committed to protecting your Personal Information. Edsby employs a variety of physical, administrative, and technical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. We also restrict access to Personal Information to Edsby staff who need to know that information for the purpose set out in this Policy and ensuring those staff acknowledge confidentiality. We retain Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, in accordance with contractual terms, or as is permitted or required under applicable laws. ## **6.0 What Are Your Choices?** It is your choice whether you provide us with your Personal Information. However, if you choose not to provide information that is required to process your requests or use features of our Website, we may be unable to process your requests, or you may be unable to use those features that require the information to function. You have rights and choices as it relates to your Personal Information. Those include: - The right to **access** and/or **correct your Personal Information**, which we collected on our Website or via our Services. You may access, update or correct your Personal Information and exercise your rights by emailing us at or using the contact information below. We will consider and respond to all requests per applicable laws. - The right to **opt out of marketing communication** from us either by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link on promotional or sales emails or by contacting us. - The right to **withdraw your consent** for us to use your Personal Information. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted before your withdrawal or the processing of your Personal Information for any other lawful grounds other than consent. - You may **disable cookies** at any time to prevent information collection and tracking. Please see Section 9.0 for more information. When we receive a request from you to exercise your right, we will verify your identity by matching the identifying information you provide to us with the Personal Information we have about you. ## **7.0 Children’s Privacy** We do not knowingly collect information on our public Website from children (as defined in your jurisdiction). If you are a parent or guardian who believes that we have inadvertently collected Personal Information from your child without proper consent, please contact us at and we will immediately investigate and delete any such information. To find out more about how we process children’s Personal Information through our Services, please visit our [Services Privacy Policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy/). ## **8.0 Do We Transfer Your Information Internationally?** We generally store and process your Personal Information in the country in which we collect your Personal Information. From time to time, we may need to transfer your Personal Information to another country where Edsby or authorized third parties operate. These countries may not necessarily have data protection laws as comprehensive or protective as those in your country of residence; however, when we transfer your Personal Information in this manner across country borders, we implement adequate measures for its protection and for compliance with applicable laws. ## **9.0 Cookies and Similar Technologies** Our public Website, like most other websites, uses cookies and similar technologies. “Cookies” are small text files installed on your computer hard drive or web browser when you visit or use our Website. Most browsers accept cookies by default. ### What information do we collect using cookies? Most cookies collect information that is not identifiable to you. They help us collect information so we can better understand how you access our Website and therefore improve the design, layout, and content of our Website. They also remember visitor preferences, such as language preferences, so that the user can have a better experience. Some cookies on our public Website are set by us (i.e., first-party cookies) and some cookies are set by third parties (i.e., third-party cookies), such as Bablic for managing translated versions of our Website, FlowXO for automated user support chats on our public website, and LeadFWD for tracking whether you have filled in one of our Website forms, and if so, what subsequent interactions you have had with our marketing content. We also use Google Analytics to measure traffic or Remarketing with Analytics to deliver Edsby-related ads to you on websites in Google’s Remarketing network. To learn more about how Google Analytics collects and uses data, as well as how you can control information sent to Google, please visit this [Google site](https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites?hl=en-GB&gl=uk). To learn more about cookies, visit [www.allaboutcookies.org](http://www.allaboutcookies.org/). ### How can you manage cookies? Although most browsers accept cookies, you can set your browser to reject cookies. You will need to follow the instructions contained in your browser’s help file (usually located within the “Help,” “Tools,” or “Edit” settings). If you have more than one browser, the opt-out or settings you set will only apply to that specific browser and not the others. If you choose to disable cookies, some of the features and services on our Website might not function properly. ## **10.0 Changes To This Privacy Policy** Edsby reserves the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect the changes in our business and practices. When we change the Policy we will reflect the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. ## **11.0 How To Contact Us?** You may contact us at with any questions or concerns you have related to your Personal Information. We may also be reached as follows: 68B Leek Crescent, Suite 200 Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1 Canada +1 (877) 337-0070 --- ### [Users](https://www.edsby.com/users/) **Published:** November 2, 2023 **Author:** admin --- ### [Terms of Use May 1st, 2012 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use-may-1st-2012-deprecated/) **Published:** October 12, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** #### CoreFour Inc.’s Terms of Use for Edsby **Date of last revision of this policy: May 1st, 2012** PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. This document contains the Terms of Use governing your access to and use of **Edsby** (the “Website” or “Site”). If you do not accept these Terms of Use or you do not meet or comply with their provisions, you may not use the Site. Also, please consult our Privacy Policy at[ https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy](https://www.edsby.com/privacy-policy). If you do not agree to be bound by the terms in our Privacy Policy then do not use this Site. - 1. Overview YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE IS EXPRESSLY CONDITIONED UPON YOUR ACCEPTING AND AGREEING TO THESE TERMS OF USE. IF THESE TERMS OF USE ARE NOT COMPLETELY ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE. **Edsby** has been created by and is managed by **CoreFour Inc.** This Site provides a set of distinct online communities. Each community on Edsby is intended for use by the direct stakeholders of a specific education organization such as a school or school district. Direct stakeholders of an education organization include the teachers, administrative staff, students and their parents/guardians. User accounts for a specific education organization on Edsby are created by or under the direction/invitation of the administrative staff and/or teachers of that education organization. Parents/guardians and students are not allowed to create their own accounts on Edsby; they are only allowed to use authorized accounts set up specifically for them at the direction of the education organization they are participating in. You are permitted to access a specific Edsby education organization community ONLY if you have been specifically and directly invited and authorized to do so by the administrative staff and/or a teacher within that education organization. - 2.Changes to these Terms of Use CoreFour Inc. may, at any time, for any reason and without notice, make changes to this Website, including its look, feel, format, features, content and/or Terms of Use. Any modifications will take effect when posted to the Website. Therefore, each time you access the Website, you need to review the Terms of Use upon which access and use of this Website is conditioned. By your continuing use of the Website after changes are posted, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes. - 3. Scope of Use You are only authorised to view, use, copy for your records and download small portions of the Content (including without limitation text, graphics, software, audio and video files and photos) of this Website for your informational, non-commercial use, provided that you leave all the copyright notices, including copyright management information, or other proprietary notices intact. You may not store, modify, reproduce, transmit, reverse engineer or distribute a significant portion of the Content on this Website, or the design or layout of the Website in any form or media. The systematic retrieval of data from the Website is also prohibited. You agree not to submit or transmit any content, files, videos, photos, web links or other materials to the Website that: (i) are defamatory, threatening, obscene or harassing, (ii) contain a virus, worm, Trojan horse or any other harmful component, (iii) incorporate copyrighted or other proprietary material of any third party without that party’s permission or (iv) otherwise violate any applicable laws. CoreFour Inc. shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any information or materials that you submit online except as specified in these Terms of Use, or as set forth in any additional terms and conditions relating to specific products or services, or as otherwise specifically agreed or required by law. - 4. Copyrights and Trademarks The materials at this Site, as well as the organisation and layout of this site, are copyrighted and are protected by Canadian and international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may access, download and print materials on this Website solely for your personal and non-commercial use. No right, title or interest in any of the materials contained on this Site is transferred to you as a result of accessing, downloading or printing such materials. You may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, publish, license any part of this Site; create derivative works from use on any other website, transfer or sell any information obtained from this Site without the prior written permission of CoreFour Inc. CoreFour Inc. respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of Edsby to do the same. You are not allowed to publish content on this Site that infringes on someone else’s Copyright. The policy of CoreFour Inc. is to terminate the accounts of repeat copyright offenders and other users who infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us at intellectual\_property@corefour.com - 5. Links For your convenience, we may provide links to various other websites that may be of interest to you and for your convenience only. However, CoreFour Inc. does not control or endorse such websites and is not responsible for their content nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements contained within such websites. Please read the terms and conditions or terms of use policies of any other company or website you may link to from our Site. These Terms of Use policy applies only to CoreFour Inc.’s Site. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, you do so at your own risk. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to terminate any link or linking program at any time. CoreFour Inc. disclaims all warranties, express and implied, as to the accuracy, validity, and legality or otherwise of any materials or information contained on such websites. - 6. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use As a condition of your use of this Site, you warrant to CoreFour Inc. that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Site. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site. - 7. Spamming Gathering email addresses from the Site through harvesting or automated means is prohibited. Posting or transmitting advertising or other such promotional materials or forms of solicitations to other users of this Site is prohibited unless authorized by CoreFour Inc. or an administrator at your education organization. - 8. No Warranties THE WEBSITE, AND ANY CONTENT, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, ALL OF WHICH CoreFour Inc**.** EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS. CoreFour Inc. DOES NOT ENDORSE AND MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE CONTENT, AND CoreFour Inc. WILL NOT BE LIABLE OR OTHERWISE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN UPDATING THE WEBSITE OR ANY CONTENT. WE HAVE NO DUTY TO UPDATE THE CONTENT OF THE WEBSITE. CoreFour Inc. MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT USE OF THE CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTS OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF ACCESSING THE WEBSITE AND USING THE CONTENT, AND FOR TAKING ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY ACCESS, DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR ANY OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. - 9. Governing Law, Location and Miscellaneous These Terms of Use shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, without reference to its choice of law rules. If an applicable law is in conflict with any part of the Terms of Use, the Terms of Use will be deemed modified to conform to the law. The other provisions will not be affected by any such modification. - 10. Separate Agreements You may have other agreements with CoreFour Inc. Those agreements are separate and in addition to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use do not modify, revise or amend the terms of any other agreements you may have with CoreFour Inc. - 11. User Disputes You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users on the Site. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other users. - 12. User Submissions and Communications Users will be held directly and solely responsible for the content they post on the Site. You acknowledge that you own, are solely responsible or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post on the Site; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify CoreFour Inc. or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. For any content that you post on the Site you grant CoreFour Inc. a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, publish, translate, distribute, and display the communication or content in any media or medium, or any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed subject to the restrictions of our privacy policy. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following: Examine an allegation that a communication(s) do(es) not conform to the terms of this section and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the communication(s). Remove communications that are abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fail to conform with these Terms of Use. Terminate a user’s access to any or all portions of the Site upon any breach of these Terms of Use. Monitor and share with your education organization any communication in any shared area of the Site Delete any communication(s) posted on the Site, regardless of whether such communication(s) violate these standards. CoreFour Inc. has full discretion to delete communications on the Site. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our customers, users, employees or the public. CoreFour Inc. has no liability or responsibility to users of the Site or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities. - 13. Arbitration Except as regarding any action seeking equitable relief, including without limitation for the purpose of protecting any CoreFour Inc. confidential information and/or intellectual property rights, any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or this Website shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the provisions, in effect at the time the proceedings begin, of the Commercial Arbitration Act. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be held in the province of Ontario. All information relating to or disclosed by any party in connection with the arbitration of any disputes hereunder shall be treated by the parties, their representatives, and the arbitrator as proprietary business information. Such information shall not be disclosed by any party or their respective representatives without the prior written authorisation of the party furnishing such information. Such information shall not be disclosed by the arbitrator without the prior written authorisation of all parties. Each party shall bear the burden of its own counsel fees incurred in connection with any arbitration proceedings. Judgment upon the award returned by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the parties or their assets or application of enforcement, as the case may be. Any award by the arbitrator shall be the sole and exclusive remedy of the parties. The parties hereby waive all rights to judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision and any award contained therein. - 14. Limitation of Liability YOUR USE OF THE CONTENT OF THIS SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CoreFour Inc. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ACCESS TO, USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE CONTENT (EVEN IF CoreFour Inc. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) OR THAT ARISE IN CONNECTION WITH MISTAKES OR OMISSIONS IN, OR DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION OF, INFORMATION TO OR FROM THE USER, ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR FILES, INTERRUPTIONS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS TO THE WEBSITE OR VIRUSES, WHETHER CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY NEGLIGENCE, ACTS OF GOD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OF, OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY BE DIFFERENT IN CONNECTION WITH SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CoreFour Inc. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. - 15. Indemnity You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold CoreFour Inc., its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers, harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use. - 16. User Accounts And Security CoreFour Inc. does not warrant that the functions contained in the service provided by the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected or that this service or the server that makes it available will be free of viruses or other harmful components. You may not: select or use a Login Name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; use a name subject to the rights of any other person without authorisation; use a Login Name that CoreFour Inc., in its sole discretion, deems inappropriate or offensive. You shall notify CoreFour Inc. of any known or suspected unauthorised use(s) of your Account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorised disclosure of your password. You shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for termination of your Account, at CoreFour Inc.’s sole discretion, and you may be reported to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. **Contact us:** If you would like to request additional information regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us at [terms\_of\_use@corefour.com](mailto:terms_of_use@corefour.com) #### Previous Versions - [Terms of Use January 5th, 2018 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use-january-5th-2018-deprecated/) - [Usage Policy](https://www.edsby.com/usage-policy/) --- ### [Terms of Use January 5th, 2018 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use-january-5th-2018-deprecated/) **Published:** October 12, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** ### Date of last revision of this policy: January 5th, 2018 Welcome to Edsby! Edsby includes a public website at edsby.com (the “Site”) and a set of private web domains that each provides a suite of software services (the “Services”) to the teachers, students, parents and administrators of a specific education organization. The Site and the Services are owned and operated by CoreFour Inc. (the “Company”). This document contains the Terms of Use governing your access to and use of the Edsby Site and Edsby Services. We suggest you read these terms carefully before using the Site or Services. If you do not accept these Terms of Use, you may not use the Site or the Services. If you use our Site or Services you agree to these Terms of Use. Respecting and protecting the privacy of information stored within Edsby is very important to us. Please consult our Privacy Policy at edsby.com/privacy-policy/ for details on how we do that. - 1 Overview Edsby is a cloud-based software service that modernizes how teachers, students and parents engage with each other. The types of education organizations which use Edsby include public school districts and private schools. Edsby is selected by these organizations, often through a formal competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation of many factors including privacy and security of student data, and is managed by the education organization as one part of the suite of technology solutions that every education organization requires. Education organizations pay to use Edsby and own and manage the information stored and collected by Edsby on their behalf. User accounts for a specific education organization using Edsby are created by or under the direction/invitation of the administrative staff and/or teachers of that education organization. Parents/guardians and students are not allowed to create their own accounts on Edsby; they are only allowed to use authorized accounts set up specifically for them at the direction of the education organization they are participating in. You are permitted to access a specific education organization’s Edsby Services ONLY if you have been specifically and directly invited and authorized to do so by the administrative staff and/or a teacher within that education organization. - 2 Changes to these Terms of Use CoreFour Inc. may make changes to these Terms of Use from time to time. We suggest you check these Terms of Use periodically for changes. Any modifications will take effect one month after being posted on the Site and in the Services. By your continuing use of the Site and/or Services after changes are posted, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes. Previous versions of our Terms of Use will be available on our website for your review. - 3 Scope of Use You are only authorised to view, use, copy for your records and download small portions of the Content (including without limitation text, graphics, software, audio and video files and photos) from the Site or Services for your informational, non-commercial use, provided that you leave all the copyright notices, including copyright management information, or other proprietary notices intact. You may not store, modify, reproduce, transmit, reverse engineer or distribute a significant portion of the Content on the Site or Services, or the design or layout of the Site or Services in any form or media. The systematic retrieval of data from the Site or Services is also prohibited. You agree not to submit or transmit any content, files, videos, photos, web links or other materials to the Site or Services that: (i) are defamatory, threatening, obscene or harassing, (ii) contain a virus, worm, Trojan horse or any other harmful component, (iii) incorporate copyrighted or other proprietary material of any third party without that party’s permission or (iv) otherwise violate any applicable laws. CoreFour Inc. shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any information or materials that you submit online except as specified in these Terms of Use, or as set forth in any additional terms and conditions relating to specific products or services, or as otherwise specifically agreed or required by law. - 4 Copyrights and Trademarks The materials at this Site and Services, as well as their organisation and layout, are copyrighted and are protected by Canadian and international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may access, download and print materials on this Site or Services solely for your personal and non-commercial use. No right, title or interest in any of the materials contained on this Site or Services is transferred to you as a result of accessing, downloading or printing such materials. You may not copy, modify, distribute, transmit, display, reproduce, publish, license any part of this Site or Services; create derivative works from use on any other website, transfer or sell any information obtained from this Site or Services without the prior written permission of CoreFour Inc. - 5 Links For your convenience, we may provide links to various other websites that may be of interest to you and for your convenience only. However, CoreFour Inc. does not control or endorse such websites and is not responsible for their content nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, data, opinions, advice, or statements contained within such websites. Please read the terms and conditions or terms of use policies of any other company or website you may link to from our Site or Services. This Terms of Use policy applies only to CoreFour Inc.’s Site and Services. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site or to the Services, you do so at your own risk. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to remove any link at any time. CoreFour Inc. disclaims all warranties, express and implied, as to the accuracy, validity, and legality or otherwise of any materials or information contained on such websites. - 6 No Unlawful or Prohibited Use As a condition of your use of this Site, you warrant to CoreFour Inc. that you will not use the Site or Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices. You may not use the Site or Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or Services or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Site or Services. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site or Services. - 7 Spamming Gathering email addresses from the Site or Services through harvesting or automated means is prohibited. Posting or transmitting advertising or other such promotional materials or forms of solicitations to other users of this Site or Services is prohibited unless authorized by CoreFour Inc. or an administrator at your education organization. - 8 Warranties and Disclaimers The Edsby Site and Services have been professionally designed and are professionally managed. However CoreFour Inc. does not warrant that the functions provided by the Site and the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, that content is accurate or that the Site or Services will be free of viruses or other harmful components. THE SITE AND THE SERVICES, AND ANY CONTENT, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, ALL OF WHICH CoreFour Inc. EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS. CoreFour Inc. DOES NOT ENDORSE AND MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE CONTENT, AND CoreFour Inc. WILL NOT BE LIABLE OR OTHERWISE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN UPDATING THE SITE OR SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT. WE HAVE NO DUTY TO UPDATE THE CONTENT OF THE WEBSITE. CoreFour Inc. MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT USE OF THE CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTS OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF ACCESSING THE SITE AND SERVICES AND USING THE CONTENT, AND FOR TAKING ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT YOU MAY ACCESS, DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR ANY OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. - 9 Governing Law, Location and Miscellaneous These Terms of Use shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, without reference to its choice of law rules. If an applicable law is in conflict with any part of the Terms of Use, the Terms of Use will be deemed modified to conform to the law. The other provisions will not be affected by any such modification. - 10 Separate Agreements You may have other agreements with CoreFour Inc. Those agreements are separate and in addition to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use do not modify, revise or amend the terms of any other agreements you may have with CoreFour Inc. - 11 User Disputes You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users on the Site and Services. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other users. - 12 User Provided Content Users will be held directly and solely responsible for the content they post on the Site and through the Services. You acknowledge that you own, are solely responsible or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post on the Site; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify CoreFour Inc. or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. For any content that you post on the Site or through the Services you retain ownership of that content and whatever intellectual property rights you hold for that content. By posting that content on the Site or through the Services you grant CoreFour Inc. a limited royalty-free, perpetual, world-wide non-exclusive license to store, use, reproduce, publish, translate, distribute, and display the content in any media or medium, or any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed subject to the restrictions of our privacy policy. This license is required for Edsby to be able to provide its rich set of Services. For example a teacher may post content about tonight’s homework through a laptop computer in Toronto. A student may read this content via a smartphone in Mexico, and a parent may listen to a translated version of this content via text-to-speech technology while in China. The license you grant is still in effect even if you stop using the Site or the Services. This is required so that for example, content shared by a teacher to other teachers can continue to be provided by Edsby even after that teacher has retired. The education organization through which you are obtaining the Edsby Services has overall control over the disposition of the content you have provided via the Services we operate for it. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right (but is not obligated) to do any or all of the following: - Remove content that is abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fails to conform with these Terms of Use. - Terminate a user’s access to any or all portions of the Site or Services upon any breach of these Terms of Use. - Monitor and share with your education organization any content in any shared area of the Site or Services. CoreFour Inc. reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of our customers, users, employees or the public. CoreFour Inc. has no liability or responsibility to users of the Site or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities. - 13 Arbitration Except as regarding any action seeking equitable relief, including without limitation for the purpose of protecting any CoreFour Inc. confidential information and/or intellectual property rights, any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or this Site or Services shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the provisions, in effect at the time the proceedings begin, of the Commercial Arbitration Act. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be held in the province of Ontario. All information relating to or disclosed by any party in connection with the arbitration of any disputes hereunder shall be treated by the parties, their representatives, and the arbitrator as proprietary business information. Such information shall not be disclosed by any party or their respective representatives without the prior written authorisation of the party furnishing such information. Such information shall not be disclosed by the arbitrator without the prior written authorisation of all parties. Each party shall bear the burden of its own counsel fees incurred in connection with any arbitration proceedings. Judgment upon the award returned by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction over the parties or their assets or application of enforcement, as the case may be. Any award by the arbitrator shall be the sole and exclusive remedy of the parties. The parties hereby waive all rights to judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision and any award contained therein. - 14 Limitation of Liability YOUR USE OF THE CONTENT OF THIS SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CoreFour Inc. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ACCESS TO, USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE CONTENT (EVEN IF CoreFour Inc. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) OR THAT ARISE IN CONNECTION WITH MISTAKES OR OMISSIONS IN, OR DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION OF, INFORMATION TO OR FROM THE USER, ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF, OR USE OF RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR FILES, INTERRUPTIONS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS TO THE WEBSITE OR VIRUSES, WHETHER CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY NEGLIGENCE, ACTS OF GOD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OF, OR UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY BE DIFFERENT IN CONNECTION WITH SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CoreFour Inc. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. - 15 Indemnity You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold CoreFour Inc., its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers, harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your violation of these Terms of Use. - 16 User Accounts And Security Access to your account with the Services is controlled by password. You should choose a password that is difficult for others to learn by simply watching you log in. You should not write your password down. You can and should notify your education organization or CoreFour Inc. of any known or suspected unauthorised use(s) of your account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorised disclosure of your password. You agree you will not access or attempt to access any accounts provided by the Site or the Services other than the account(s) assigned to you. If we suspect or detect such inappropriate account access we will inform authorities within your education organization. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for the suspension or termination of your account, at CoreFour Inc.’s discretion or by direction of your education organization, and you may be reported to appropriate law-enforcement agencies. Contact us: If you would like to request additional information regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us at: terms\_of\_use@edsby.com Views: 49 September 28, 2021/ Uncategorized #### Previous Versions - [Usage Policy](https://www.edsby.com/usage-policy/) - [Terms of Use May 1st, 2012 – deprecated](https://www.edsby.com/terms-of-use-may-1st-2012-deprecated/) --- ## Help Articles ### [Edsby Workflows for the Office](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-workflows-for-the-office/) **Published:** August 4, 2026 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Edsby Workflows enable office heads to create, distribute, and manage field trip workflows in Edsby. Navigate to Workflows using the Workflows Zoom. The Office Head can create a new workflow here or manage existing requests from teachers. Click the + icon to create a new workflow. Custom workflows are created by the district and determine what options are available. If a workflow is not visible, it has not been made available for use. ![Left navigation shows 'Mesa Elementary' with 'Workflows' highlighted; main pane has 'Workflows' title and a plus button next to it.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Teacher-navigate-to-workflows.png) When a teacher submits a request for a field trip, it must be approved by the office head. To manage a workflow, select it from the list. Office heads can view the form by clicking Review & Decide. ![Dashboard showing a 'Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip' workflow with a blue In Progress badge and a timeline of steps; current step is 'Review & Decide' with a blue button and an orange arrow pointing at it.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/principal-review-and-decide.png) To approve the request, sign the form and click Submit Decision. To deny the request, simply click deny and then provide a reason for denying the trip. Office heads may also include comments or attach files if needed. ![Trip approval form for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 ski trip to Blue Mountain, showing dates, destination, purpose, and signatures](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/principal-sign-and-submit.png) ![Deny workflow dialog for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip, showing trip details (Blue Mountain, 2026-05-29, 12:00 AM) and a denial explanation textbox.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/denying-trip.png) Once the trip has been approved, office heads can distribute permission forms to parents by clicking Distribute. ![Timeline of Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip showing milestones and a highlighted Distribute button.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Principal-distribute.png) Forms can be distributed by class, by group, or by student. This trip is for grade 4 students, so click on grade 4 classes, select all, and Send to Recipients. ![Modal to distribute a form: choose recipients by class, group, or student; shows class list with checkboxes and a 'Select All (24)' option; bottom buttons Cancel, Save Draft, Send to Recipients.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/principal-distribute-forms-2.png) Click Preview Recipients to preview the selected list of students and their guardians. Any students without a guardian on file will be flagged here. ![List of 24 students with guardian counts; red alert indicates 3 students have no guardians on file.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/distribute-preview.png) Office heads can edit the list of recipients and view a list of responses, including any students who need a resolution. In this case, Lorraine Santos and John Hall do not have any guardians on file. ![Responses dashboard titled 'Responses' with a Needs Resolution section listing two names and NO_GUARDIAN badges (Lorraine Santos, John Hall) awaiting action](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/office-head-responses.png) Once the guardians have been contacted, they can come to the office and fill the form out by hand, or the office head can submit the form on their behalf. Click the three dots and select Resolve. To print the form for a parent or guardian, click the printer icon. To submit a form on behalf of a parent or guardian, fill out the form with the guardian’s information and sign the form. Click Amend Submission to grant permission on behalf of the guardian, click Deny to deny the request. ![School trip consent form for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip, with student/parent details and emergency contacts.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/principal-resolve.png) Office heads can open a table view of parent responses that includes information from the permission form. ![Data table titled 'Parent Permission Collection' showing Recipient, Student, Decision, Submitted date, and Comments with sample rows of names and statuses.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/principal-table-view.png) The progress bar indicates how many responses have been received, and the status flag indicates which stage the workflow is currently in. ![Collage of ski trip cards labeled Ski Trip, showing Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip with statuses In Progress, Check-in, Returned, Not Yet Sent, Cancelled, and Awaiting Responses.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/trip-in-progress.png) When it is time to stop accepting responses, the office head can close the distribution stage by clicking ‘Stop accepting responses’. ![Course-style project page for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip with a timeline progress: Submit Request, Principal Review, High Risk Check, Superintendent Review, Parent Permission Collection (Stop accepting responses) and Trip Check-ins.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/stop-accepting-responses.png) Once the distribution stage has been closed, office heads can create check-ins for the trip and print passes on behalf of the teacher. The students will travel by bus to the ski resort for this trip. Mrs. Thomas would like to create a check-in for students when they board the bus in the morning and another when they board the bus in the afternoon, so she will click New Check-in and create 2 check-ins. Check-ins can be named. ![Check-in modal on a student list screen showing 'AM Bus Check-in' in the input and a 'Create Check-in' button](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/creating-new-check-in.png) Once check-ins have been created, they can be activated when it is time to check students in for the trip. Office heads can create as many check-ins as they need. Passes can also be printed for students in the form of a QR code by clicking ‘Print Passes’. ![Check-in progress dashboard showing 24 students with individual QR codes for attendance.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/print-passes.png) Once the check-in has been activated, either scan the QR codes of the students present on the bus or select them manually from the list. Students can be selected individually, and notes can be added to students here. ![Mobile check-in screen showing AM Bus Check-in in Active state with a Rico Diaz card and a note field plus tag chips (Driven by Parent, Allergies, Sick).](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_1965-534x1024.png) Once all students present have been checked in, close the check-in by clicking ‘Close Check-in’ at the bottom of the student list. Mrs. Thomas is going to repeat this process for the afternoon bus ride back to the school. Check-ins can be reactivated at any time by selecting them and clicking ‘Open Check-in’. ![List of attendees with blue checkmarks showing they are checked in: Maura Troy; Michal Campbell; Shiela Parris; Thomas Hansen; Thomas Scarlett. Footer reads 'Checked In 24 / 24'. A red rounded 'Close Check-in' button is highlighted with an orange glow.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/close-check-in.png) When the trip is complete and all check-ins have been closed, office heads can close the check-in stage of the workflow. ![Ski trip check-in panel for Mrs. Thompson with a vertical timeline of Submit Request, Principal Review, High Risk Check, Superintendent Review, and Close check-in button.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/close-check-in-stage.png) Once the trip is complete, the trip status will change to ‘Completed’. Information about the trip can still be viewed by clicking on the blue text or the review button. ![Trip planning dashboard for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip, showing a Completed badge and a timeline of six completed steps with Review buttons in the left column and dates on the right.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/completed-trip.png) Teachers can cancel a trip at any stage. The trip will be flagged as cancelled, and the Workflow will show which stage the trip was cancelled at. The office will see that the trip has been cancelled by the teacher. The office cannot cancel a trip; it must be done by the teacher. ![Event card for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip with a Cancel Ski Trip button and a timeline of approvals.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/cancel-trip.png) --- ### [Edsby Workflows for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-workflows-for-teachers/) **Published:** August 4, 2026 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Edsby Workflows enable teachers to create, distribute, and manage field trip workflows in Edsby. Teachers can create a new field trip by navigating to the Workflows Zoom. Teachers can select a form type from one of the options listed below. This list is created by the district administrator. ![Left navigation shows 'Mesa Elementary' with 'Workflows' highlighted; main pane has 'Workflows' title and a plus button next to it.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Teacher-navigate-to-workflows.png) For a field trip, teachers select the appropriate form and complete the required information. All fields on the form must be filled out before the workflow can be started. For this field trip, Mrs. Thompson is going to take her grade 4 students on a ski trip. She will select the Ski Trip form and fill it out. ![Submit Request modal for Principal/Superintendent trip: date, supervisor, destination, trip type, purpose, days, and rationale; Start Workflow button](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/teacher-filling-form.png) Once the form has been signed, click Start Workflow. The request for the field trip will be sent to the office for review. All field trips must be approved by the office head. Field trips that are more than one day must also go through a high-risk check by the superintendent. ![Dashboard showing a Ski Trip workflow titled Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip with a timeline and progress status.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/sent-for-principal-review.png) If the trip has been denied, teachers will see who denied it and why it was denied under ‘Submit Request’. ![Trip request screen for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip; status shown as Returned with an orange denial message about date conflict (This trip falls on the same day as another school event).](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/denied-trip.png) Once the trip has been approved, permission forms can be distributed by the office head to parents. Teachers can view parent responses and open a table view, including information from the permission form. ![Responses dashboard titled 'Responses' with a Needs Resolution section listing two names and NO_GUARDIAN badges (Lorraine Santos, John Hall) awaiting action](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/office-head-responses.png) ![Data table titled 'Parent Permission Collection' showing Recipient, Student, Decision, Submitted date, and Comments with sample rows of names and statuses.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/principal-table-view.png) The progress bar indicates how many responses have been received, and the status flag indicates which stage the workflow is currently in. ![Collage of ski trip cards labeled Ski Trip, showing Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip with statuses In Progress, Check-in, Returned, Not Yet Sent, Cancelled, and Awaiting Responses.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/trip-in-progress.png) If teachers have notifications enabled, they will receive updates about their trip. Teachers will also receive notifications in their Edsby mailbox when the trip’s status has changed. ![Notifications panel showing two messages from Ms. Gillian Thomas about Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip, 10 seconds ago, with a gear icon for settings and profile avatars GT.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/notifications.png) Once the distribution stage has been closed by the office, teachers can create check-ins for the trip and print passes. The students will travel by bus to the ski resort for this trip. Mrs. Thompson would like to create a check-in for students when they board the bus in the morning and another when they board the bus in the afternoon, so she will click New Check-in and create 2 check-ins. Check-ins can be named. ![Check-in modal on a student list screen showing 'AM Bus Check-in' in the input and a 'Create Check-in' button](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/creating-new-check-in.png) Once check-ins have been created, they can be activated when it is time to check students in for the trip. Teachers can create as many check-ins as they want. Passes can also be printed for students in the form of a QR code by clicking ‘Print Passes’. ![Check-in progress dashboard showing 24 students with individual QR codes for attendance.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/print-passes.png) Once the check-in has been activated, teachers can either scan the QR codes of the students present on the bus or select them manually from the list. Students can be selected individually, and notes can be added to students here. ![Mobile check-in screen showing AM Bus Check-in in Active state with a Rico Diaz card and a note field plus tag chips (Driven by Parent, Allergies, Sick).](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_1965-534x1024.png) Once all students present have been checked in, teachers can close the check-in by clicking ‘Close Check-in’ at the bottom of the student list. Mrs. Thompson is going to repeat this process for the afternoon bus ride back to the school. Teachers can reactivate any check-in by selecting it and clicking ‘Open Check-in’. ![List of attendees with blue checkmarks showing they are checked in: Maura Troy; Michal Campbell; Shiela Parris; Thomas Hansen; Thomas Scarlett. Footer reads 'Checked In 24 / 24'. A red rounded 'Close Check-in' button is highlighted with an orange glow.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/close-check-in.png) When the trip is complete and all check-ins have been closed, teachers can close the check-in stage of the workflow. ![Ski trip check-in panel for Mrs. Thompson with a vertical timeline of Submit Request, Principal Review, High Risk Check, Superintendent Review, and Close check-in button.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/close-check-in-stage.png) Once the trip is complete, teachers will see the trip status change to ‘Completed’. Information about the trip can still be viewed by clicking on the blue text or the review button. ![Trip planning dashboard for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip, showing a Completed badge and a timeline of six completed steps with Review buttons in the left column and dates on the right.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/completed-trip.png) Teachers can cancel a trip at any stage. The trip will be flagged as cancelled, and the Workflow will show which stage the trip was cancelled at. The office will see that the trip has been cancelled by the teacher. The office cannot cancel a trip; it must be done by the teacher. ![Event card for Mrs. Thompson's Grade 4 Ski Trip with a Cancel Ski Trip button and a timeline of approvals.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/cancel-trip.png) --- ### [Edsby Workflows for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-workflows-for-parents/) **Published:** August 4, 2026 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Edsby Workflows enable parents to receive and respond to school field trip information and permission forms electronically. When a student is invited on a field trip, the parent or guardian receives the permission form in their Edsby Mailbox. Parents can review the details, complete the form, provide a digital signature, and submit it directly through Edsby, or deny permission for the trip if needed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/parent-navigate-to-permission-form.png) If required information is missing, the form will highlight the fields that need to be completed before submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/parent-required-field-notice.png) If a student has multiple guardians on file, each guardian will receive a copy of the permission form in their Edsby Mailbox. The first completed form submitted to the school will be recorded as the official response. If a correction is needed or the form was submitted in error, please contact the school office for assistance. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/parent-contact-office.png) Some field trips may require a payment from parents. All electronic payments are currently managed separately through the school. --- ### [Student Browser Quickstart](https://www.edsby.com/help/student-browser-quickstart/) **Published:** July 20, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is designed to meet the needs of K-12 students with tools that are purpose-built to help students keep up-to-date with their school life. Edsby fosters student-teacher communication, group collaboration, and classroom participation. ## Jump to a Section [Logging In](#studentbrowserlogin) [Setting Up Notifications](#studentbrowsernotification) [Home Screen](#studentbrowserhome) [News](#studentbrowsernews) [Personal Calendar](#studentbrowsercalendar) [Recent Activity](#studentbrowserrecent) [Classes](#studentbrowserclasses) [Submitting Assignments Online](#studentbrowsersubmit) [Class Content](#studentbrowsercontent) [Viewing Grades and Assignments – My Work](#studentbrowsermywork) [Switching Between Classes](#studentbrowserswitch) [Communicating with Your Teacher](#studentbrowsercommunicate) [Portfolio](#studentbrowserportfolio) [Learning Story](#studentbrowserlearningstory) [Edsby Capture](#studentbrowsercapture) [Edsby Groups](#studentbrowsergroups) ## Getting Started ### Optional Edsby App In addition to accessing Edsby through a desktop browser or mobile browser, students can keep up-to-date with their schooling on their mobile device by using the Edsby Mobile App freely available on Google Play and the App Store. [Click here for information on using Edsby via mobile app](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-edsby-app-students/). ### Logging In Every Edsby system has a unique URL, or Edsby server address, like https://your-server.edsby.com, where your-server is unique to the school or district. Students may ask their school for their system’s Edsby server address. Consider bookmarking it for easy access. This server address is also required for logging into the Edsby Mobile App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/browser-login-screen.jpg) Students may ask their school for their Edsby username and password. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-login-basics-explained/) for information on logging into Edsby. ### Setting up Notifications With so many things happening inside Edsby, it is important to stay organized and up-to-date. Edsby makes this easy by enabling various notifications to ensure students are notified of the important things happening within their School, Classes, Calendars, and Groups. Students can access Notification Settings by clicking the drop-down arrow next to their name in Edsby. Click Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-settings.png) Select Notifications from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-notification-click.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-notification-click.png) This provides a form to select and update Notifications regarding their: 1. Messages 2. Edsby Activity Digest 3. Personal Calendar 4. Organization 5. Classes 6. Groups 7. Portfolio [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-notification-overview.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-notification-overview.png) Students can choose to receive notifications through Email, Edsby, or straight to their mobile device. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/notifications-students-teachers/) for more information on setting up Notifications. ## Home Screen The Home Screen is the hub of a student’s Edsby experience. From here, students can check their upcoming assignments, events, the school news, and new posts in classes or groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/home-screen.png) The Home Screen includes: 1. Access to the School and District pages 2. The News River 3. Personal Calendar 4. Classes Panel 5. Recent Activity 6. Access to your Portfolio and Learning Story 7. Groups you are a member of Additionally, the Navigation Bar is located at the top of every page in Edsby with access to Messages, the calendar, the Launchpad, and Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-navigation-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-navigation-bar.png) ### News The News River at the top of a student’s Home Screen combines the news from your school and district. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/news-river.png) To submit an article to the News River, navigate to the School Page, and click Submit an article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-an-article-button-on-school-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-an-article-button-on-school-page.png) For more information about submitting articles, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/news-river-for-students/) ### Personal Calendar Each student has their own personalized Edsby Calendar. A triangle symbol in the schedule indicates the class, event, or assessment is in progress. The Personal Calendar on your Home Screen includes: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-personal-calendar.jpg) 1. Add a new event to your Personal Calendar. 2. Scheduled Classes 3. Assessments from Classes 4. Class Events 5. Group Events 6. Personal Events you have created 7. School Events Students’ Personal Calendars collate all calendar items from their classes, groups, and schools. Other Calendars, for example, a Class Calendar, will only show events relevant to that class. Each colour in an Edsby Calendar indicates specific events, assessments, or classes: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/orange-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/orange-circle.png)Scheduled Classes[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/green-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/green-circle.png)Assessments or Class Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/blue-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/blue-circle.png)Group Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/purple-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/purple-circle.png)School Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-circle.png)Personal Events### Recent Activity The Recent Activity feed in the middle of the Home Screen displays any notes, journal entries, or assignments posted in classes by your teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-recent-activity.png) ## Classes On the left side of the student’s Home Screen is the Classes Panel. This panel provides a brief overview of students’ current classes, including: 1. Name of Class 2. New assessment grades that have been shared 3. Unread Counter indicating the number of new posts in the class 4. Course Code 5. Teacher’s name (Hover over their picture with the cursor) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Home-Page-Classes.jpg) Access all Class Journals by clicking the Classes pop-out. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-classes-popout-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-classes-popout-1.png) Any upcoming classes can also be navigated to and viewed by clicking the Classes pop-out. Enter a Class by clicking its name. ### Inside a Class The class is the heart of how Edsby helps students. Every class includes an effective way for students to engage with teachers and classmates, view class information, and submit assignments. Each class includes: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-breakdown-of-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-breakdown-of-class.png) 1. A Teachers Panel 2. Pinned Items 3. Students Panel, a list of students in the class – students can see the names of their classmates in this class by hovering over or clicking students in the student panel 4. Content Panel containing all of the content for the course 5. A field to post a note (if enabled by the teacher) 6. Class Feed – where posts from the teacher, and, if enabled by the teacher, posts and discussions among students in the class can also appear 7. Class Calendar 8. Journal Panel displaying the most recent journal entries 9. Class Library for uploaded media #### Contributing to the Shared Classroom In the Edsby Classroom, students can have a conversation with their teacher and classmates. A student may consider posting if they are having trouble with homework and want to ask for help, or if they want to help another classmate. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-discussion.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-discussion.png) Anything posted in the class feed is visible to the teacher and students are unable to delete a post. #### Submitting Assignments Online Edsby enables teachers the ability to create assignments that can be handed in online. There are multiple places an assignment can be submitted in Edsby, but for the teacher to receive the assignment, it only needs to be submitted one time in one place within Edsby. To submit an assignment online through Edsby, view it in My Work, Personal Calendar, Recent Activity feed, or the feed of the class where the assignment is due. A Submit button will appear next to the assignment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-buttons.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-buttons.png) In the form that opens, use the icons to attach a file, photo, video, or link. Add a comment with a submission. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submitting-assignment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submitting-assignment.png) You will receive a confirmation of submission screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/browser-confirmation-of-submission.png) The assignment will move to Ungraded Assessments in My Work until the teacher has reviewed it and assigned a grade. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ungraded-2.jpg) #### Navigating the Class Content On the left side of a class is the Content Panel. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-content-panel-breakdown-1140x339.jpg) 1. Underneath Content, each student has a progress bar that tracks their progression through the content. 2. Any items of content a student has marked complete will be indicated by a green check mark. 3. Click Content to open the panel and click on any item in the list to view the content. 4. Use the Next and Previous arrows to navigate through the content. 5. When an item is completed, mark it complete by clicking Mark Complete. This will display a green check mark next to the item and update the progress bar. 6. Students can also set the state of their learning on a particular item of content by clicking the emoji at the top left. Let your teacher know if you understand the content, find it confusing, or already know it! Students can submit assignments, contribute to Discussions, and participate in Polls from the Content Panel. For more information on using the Content Panel, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/content-panel-students/) ## Viewing Grades and Assignments through My Work Every class has a grades and assignment report called My Work. Students can access it by hovering over the class name and clicking My Work or from within a class by clicking the My Work link at the top of the page. The My Work Report has 5 tabs: Graph, Assessments, Standards/Expectations, Attendance, and Previous Report Cards. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/My-Work-Panel.jpg) #### Graph The My Work report initially opens to a graph of the student’s grades in the class, depicting their academic progression. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-graph-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-graph-my-work.png) #### Assessments The Assessments tab provides a detailed breakdown of incomplete, upcoming, and graded assessments as well as the results of any the teacher has chosen to share. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-assessments-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-assessments-my-work.png) If a teacher comments or changes grades on an assessment, a blue chat bubble will appear on it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/chat-bubble-in-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/chat-bubble-in-my-work.png) Use this to ask any questions about how to complete the assignment or if there are any concerns about how it was marked. #### Standards/Expectations Students can see how they’re doing on each specific expectation/standard for a class in the Standards/Expectations tab. These are a checklist of skills that teachers use to assess student performance in class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/expectations-studny-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/expectations-studny-my-work.png) Students can see the performance indicator when their teachers make an observation on an expectation for them. The performance indicators from lowest to highest are: red, yellow, green, blue. #### Attendance The Attendance tab lists the attendance incidents – lates and absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-student-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-student-my-work.png) #### Previous Report Cards The Previous Report Cards tab displays any previous report cards that have been published through Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/previous-report-cards-student-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/previous-report-cards-student-my-work.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/how-did-you-do-on-that-english-project-2/) for more information about the My Work Report. ### Switching Between Classes Easily switch between classes by using the Class picker at the top left of any class screen in Edsby. Click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the class to reveal a list of the other classes a student is enrolled in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-picker.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-picker.png) Select one from the list to enter it. It’ll jump to the same screen of the new class as the one students were in when they picked a new class. For example, if they’re in their My Work Report from one class, using the Class picker to navigate to a new class will bring them to their My Work Report for the new class. ## Communicating with Your Teacher Students can communicate with their teachers through My Work, Class posts, or through Edsby Messages. If they have any questions or concerns about their upcoming or graded assessments, navigate to the Assessments tab of My Work. They can hover over the assessment they would like to ask their teacher a question about and click Ask Private Question. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ask-private-question.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ask-private-question.png) Students can access any comments or responses their teacher has made by clicking the blue chat bubble next to the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/seeing-teacher-response.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/seeing-teacher-response.png) Consider posting in the class feed to ask a question other students in the class might also have. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/posting-in-class-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/posting-in-class-feed.png) This provides a great way for students to collaborate with their classmates and for teachers to contribute as necessary. If teachers have not enabled students to post in the class, ask them! Opening up the class for students to post fosters greater engagement in Edsby and the class. It also facilitates learning opportunities and encourages healthy communication between students. If My Work or posting in a class is not best for the message a student would like to send to their teacher, use Edsby Messages. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-using-browser-messages-1140x279.jpg) 1. Access the mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in the top Navigation Bar. 2. Create a new message by clicking the Compose Message button and typing a teacher’s name as the recipient. ## Creating Your Portfolio Each student has their own Edsby Portfolio, similar to a personal blog. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio-1.png) In the Portfolio, students can create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular success. Access the Portfolio on the Home Screen below the Classes Panel or students can click the drop-down arrow next to their name at the top right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-portfolio-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-portfolio-access.png) Create posts that display learning goals, proud accomplishments, or future plans. Click the blue plus to create a post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-portfolio-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-portfolio-post.png) Portfolios are also a great tool for enhancing [student-led conferences.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/using-portfolios-for-student-led-conferences/) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/portfolio/) for more information on creating your Portfolio. ## Viewing Your Learning Story Edsby enables teachers to capture evidence regarding student learning. Once captured, teachers can share the evidence with students and their parents in the student’s Learning Story. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-learning-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-learning-story.png) View the evidence teachers have shared by clicking Learning Story below the Classes Panel on the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/access-learning-story-student-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/access-learning-story-student-browser.png) If a student has captured evidence using Edsby Capture, their teacher may also choose to share this in their Learning Story. Students can add evidence in their Learning Story to their Portfolio by clicking the blue plus icon attached to the piece of evidence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portfolio-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portfolio-button-1.png) For more information on the Learning Story, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/learning-story-for-students/) ### Capturing Evidence with Edsby Capture The Edsby Capture App, available via the App Store and Google Play, enables students to record evidence of their own learning. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/open-edsby-capture-app.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/open-edsby-capture-app.png) Once downloaded, open the app. Students will see a screen where they are asked to scan their QR Code. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scan-qr-code.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scan-qr-code.png) Students should ask their teacher for their unique QR Code or access it through their own Edsby account if their teachers have chosen to share it with them. If a teacher has shared the code, navigate to the Learning Story, and click Print QR Codes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-print-qr-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-print-qr-codes.png) Use the camera on a device to scan the unique QR Code and take a picture or video of the evidence the student wishes to capture. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/taking-picture-of-evidence-151x300.png) Switch between front and back cameras and set the flash settings using the icons. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/camera-and-flash-icons-164x300.png) The app will then bring students to a new screen where they can review and add to their submission. Click Add More to attach additional items to their submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/add-more-to-capture-150x300.png) Click Reflect and type a description of the work. This will be seen by teachers. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/reflect-on-capture-252x300.png) When students are finished, click Upload. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/upload-capture-150x300.png) Once uploaded, they will be brought to the scan QR code screen where they can capture more evidence, if desired. Once captured, the evidence will automatically flow into their teacher’s Evidence system. Once reviewed, teachers can share the evidence students captured in their Learning Story. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-capture-for-students/) for more information about Edsby Capture. ## Edsby Groups Edsby Groups provide a great space for discussion and updates on clubs, sports teams, or other school groups. Each group has at least one teacher assigned as a moderator. Students can access the groups they are a member of in their My Groups Panel at the bottom left corner of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-groups-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-groups-panel.png) Click Find More to browse more groups in the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups-student-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups-student-browser.png) 1. Search for a club you’re interested in or a day of the week you are available. If the group description outlines when the group meets, the group will appear in your search. 2. Groups can be open or closed, as indicated by a lock icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/groups-panel-breakdown-1140x485.jpg) Students can freely jump in and out of open groups. However, students will only be notified of new posts in the groups if joined as a member. Click Join in the top right of an open group to join it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-join-open-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-join-open-group.png) To join a closed group, click the group and fill out the request. A moderator of the group will review and confirm requests before students can officially join the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/closed-group-request-invite.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/closed-group-request-invite.png) Review the status of requests made in the Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-request-in-student-mailbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-request-in-student-mailbox.png) If invited to a group, students are provided with options to Accept or Decline. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/accept-or-decline-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/accept-or-decline-group.png) There are some instances when a student may be automatically added to a group like All Students, a study group for a specific class they are enrolled in, or a Lost and Found group. Students cannot unsubscribe from groups they have been automatically subscribed to. Groups include: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-group-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-group-breakdown.png) 1. Moderators 2. Important Pinned Items 3. Knowledge Base 4. Group Feed 5. Active group Members – if enabled by the moderator, you can view all members of the group by clicking ‘View All Members’ 6. Group Calendar 7. Library [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/groups-for-students/) for more information on Edsby Groups. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [How to log into your Edsby system](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-login/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** ![Young woman outdoors in a black jacket holds up a smartphone showing an app interface on the screen.](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/iphone-xs-mockup-woman-activewearII.webp "iphone-xs-mockup-woman-activewearII") **If you have an account on an Edsby system, log in at the Edsby URL provided by your school or district.** **You might find it on your school or district’s website, or may have to ask your school for it. It will resemble https://your-server.edsby.com, where “your-server” is a name unique to your system.** **You do not log in on the Edsby website.** Whether you’re a student, staff member, or parent, you can use Edsby on your browser and the Edsby mobile app. Follow the instructions below to access your account. If you any questions about which login methods to use or run into difficulties, contact your school for assistance. ### **Students & Staff** #### **Log in on your browser** 1. Follow the Edsby URL provided by your school or district (for example: your-server.edsby.com). ![light bulb](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/light-bulb-icon-free-vector.jpg "light-bulb-icon-free-vector") **Tip:** For easy access, bookmark this page in your browser. ##### **Log in with your Edsby credentials** 1. Enter the username assigned to you by your school or district. 2. Enter your password. - If it’s your first time accessing your account, you will need to create a password before proceeding. ##### **Authenticate with Google or Office 365** 1. Some schools and districts choose to have users log in to Edsby with their Google or Microsoft accounts. If your Edsby system offers it, select the Google, or Office365 login option. Select an alternative login option (Google, Office365, etc.). You will be redirected to their login page. 2. Enter your credentials. #### **Log in with the mobile app** 1. Download the Edsby mobile app. 2. Tap “Get Started” and enter your school or district’s server address. This is the first part of your Edsby URL (for example: your-server.edsby.com). ##### **Log in with your Edsby credentials** 1. Enter the username assigned to you by your school or district. 2. Enter your password. - If it’s your first time accessing your account, you will need to create a password before proceeding. ##### **Authenticate with Google or Office 365** 1. If your schools or district requires you to log in to Edsby with your Google or Microsoft account, select the Google, or Office365 login option. You will be redirected to their login page. 2. Enter your credentials. ![light bulb](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/light-bulb-icon-free-vector.jpg "light-bulb-icon-free-vector") Check “Remember Me” to keep your login information saved. **Remember**, never save your login information on shared devices. ### **Parents & Guardians** #### **Activate your account** 1. Open the email with your invitation to Edsby. 2. Click the “Activate or Connect your Edsby Account” button. This will bring you to the registration form. 3. Create a new account by clicking “Activate my account”. 4. Fill in your information. 5. Click “Activate my account”. ![light bulb](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/light-bulb-icon-free-vector.jpg "light-bulb-icon-free-vector") For more information, watch [this video](https://vimeopro.com/edsby/edsby-help-videos-for-school-administrators/video/144798060). #### **Connect to an existing account** 1. Open the email with your invitation to Edsby. 2. Click the “Activate or Connect your Edsby Account” button. This will bring you to the registration form. 3. Click “Connect to an existing account”. 4. Fill in your information. 5. Click “Connect to my account”. #### **Log in on your browser** 1. Follow the Edsby URL provided by your school or district (for example: your-server.edsby.com). 2. Enter the username assigned to you by your school or district. 3. Enter your password. #### **Log in with the mobile app** 1. Download the Edsby mobile app. 2. Tap “Get Started” and enter your school or district’s server address. This is the first part of your Edsby URL (for example: your-server.edsby.com). 3. Enter the username assigned to you by your school or district. 4. Enter your password. ### **What do you need to log in?** - The **Edsby URL** provided by your school or district. Find it on your school or district’s website, or ask your school directly. It will resemble https://your-server.edsby.com, where “your-server” is a name unique to your school or district. The server address will be requested by the Edsby app when you first log in. - A **username**. Your school or district will assign you a username. This is a unique identifier that could be a staff or student number, an email address, your name, or something else. Every school or district sets up usernames differently, so make sure to ask your school if you don’t know yours. - A **password**. Ask your school if you’ve already been assigned a password. If you haven’t you will be prompted to create a password the first time you log in. Access to your Edsby system is controlled by your school or district. If you forgot your login credentials or have been locked out of your account for using an incorrect password, contact your school. Some aggressive access control systems disable accounts after a number of unsuccessful tries. Even if you remember what your correct credentials are, you might still be denied access to Edsby and your other computer systems until your account is reset by a tech resource at your school. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [Configuring App Integrations for a District or School Using the LTI Standard](https://www.edsby.com/help/configuring-app-integrations-for-a-district-or-school-using-the-lti-standard/) **Published:** July 15, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is designed to connect tightly with many different school district systems. Edsby offers API-level integrations with other popular applications, or through open standards such as the IMS Global Learning Consortium’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). LTI app configuration in Edsby is available at a district or school level for use by all teachers and students within a district or school. Or, at an individual teacher level for use by the teacher and students within the class. Configuring an LTI tool at the district or school level enables all teachers in the district or school to have access to it. Logged in as a District or School IT Admin, navigate to the District or School page to configure an LTI Tool. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/clicking-district-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/clicking-district-name.png) On the District or School Page, click Manage in the top right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/click-manage.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/click-manage.png) Scroll on the Manage Page to the LTI Tool Providers panel on the right. Click New. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/new-LTI-tool-provider.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/new-LTI-tool-provider.png) Select to create a new LTI tool. A form will open enabling administrators to configure the way Edsby uses the LTI tool. Personalize based on specific tools. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form-1024x931.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form.png) [Click here for more information on how teachers can set up their own LTI tools.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/configuring-app-integrations-for-single-teacher-use-using-the-lti-standard/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Configuring App Integrations for Single Teacher Use Using the LTI Standard](https://www.edsby.com/help/configuring-app-integrations-for-single-teacher-use-using-the-lti-standard/) **Published:** July 15, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is designed to connect tightly with many different school district systems. Edsby offers API-level integrations with other popular applications, or through open standards such as the IMS Global Learning Consortium’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). LTI app configuration in Edsby is available at an individual teacher level for use by the teacher and students within the class. Teachers can add LTI tools for use in their own Classes through their Personal Folder or the Class Content Builder. ## Personal Folder Logged in as a Teacher, navigate to the Personal Folder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/clicking-personal-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/clicking-personal-folder.png) Once in the Personal Folder, click + New. Select LTI Tool from the drop-down. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/new-lti-tool-in-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/new-lti-tool-in-folder.png) Once teachers have selected to create a new LTI tool, a form will open enabling them to configure the way Edsby uses the LTI tool. Personalize based on the specific tool they are adding. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form-1024x931.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form.png) From here, they can copy and paste the tool into Classes they teach or Groups they are a member of for easy sharing. ## In the Content Builder Logged in as a Teacher, navigate to the Content Builder of the Class they want to add the LTI tool in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/click-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/click-content.png) Once in the Content Builder, click Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/click-edit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/click-edit.png) Click the + icon where teachers would like to add the LTI tool below and select External Tool. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/select-external-tool.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/select-external-tool.png) A form will open enabling them to configure the way Edsby uses the LTI tool. Personalize based on the specific tool they are adding. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form-1024x931.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LTI-form.png) When adding an LTI tool directly inside a Class, only the students of that specific class will have access to it. Copy and paste the tool into other classes if preferred all students to have access to it. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Teaching Your Parents About Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/teaching-your-parents-about-edsby/) **Published:** July 21, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Parents care about their child’s education and want to support them through their learning journey. Edsby enables parents to keep up-to-date with their child’s school life, grades, and assignments. Why not show them the ropes and help them get the most out of Edsby? ## Logging In Parents need their own Edsby accounts. They should not be logging in to a student account. Schools will issue an invitation email to parents at their email address that enables them to set up their own parent account on the Edsby system. In addition to accessing Edsby through a desktop browser or mobile browser, parents can keep up-to-date with their child’s schooling on their mobile device by using the Edsby Mobile App. Show them how to download the app by directing them to either Google Play or the App Store. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1024px-Google_Play_Store_badge_EN.svg.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en_CA)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/app-store-logo.png)](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814) Just like when students log into Edsby, their parents need to type in the correct Edsby server address for the school or district. Consider telling them to bookmark the Edsby login page for easier access. Or, if they are using the mobile app, remind them the same server address is required there too. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-login-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-login-screen.png) ## Notifications With so many things happening inside Edsby, it is important to stay organized and up-to-date. Edsby makes this easy by enabling various notifications to ensure parents are notified of the important things happening within their child’s school, classes, and calendars, as well as their own groups. Parents can access their Notification Settings by clicking Settings on their mobile Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-home-click-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-home-click-settings.png) Or, if they are using a browser, they can access them by clicking the drop-down arrow next to their name and selecting Settings from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-browser-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-browser-settings.png) Select Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-click-notifications-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-click-notifications-1.png) This will provide parents with a form to select and update Notifications regarding their own Personal Calendar, their child’s School, all of their enrolled children, and parent’s own Groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-notifications-overview-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-notifications-overview-1.png) Parents can choose to receive notifications through Email, Edsby itself, or straight to their mobile device. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/mobile-where-you-receive-these-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/mobile-where-you-receive-these-notifications.png) [Click here for a helpful resource on Notifications for Parents.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en) ## Checking the News River The News River at the top of the Edsby Home Screen provides parents with the news regarding the school district and each school they have children at. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-news-river.png) Clicking an article from the News River opens the full article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-article-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-article-parent-mobile.png) This is a great way for parents to stay informed about everything happening at their child’s school! ## Managing Multiple Students If parents have multiple children, they will all be merged onto the parent’s single Edsby account. On their Home Screen, they are provided with a list of their children. Show them how to scroll through each of their children and view the various options they have for each. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-children-optiona.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-children-optiona.png) For each child, parents can Plan an Absence, view their Portfolio and Learning Story, view their Classes, Recent Activity, and Calendar events. These quick links are the best ways to stay up-to-date on each of their children. ### Student Calendars Students can click Calendar under their name on their parent’s account will display the Personal Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-calendar-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-calendar-1.png) Here they can see each of the classes you have in the day and if you have any upcoming assessments or events. Parents can also schedule an absence for their children from this screen. ### Viewing Grades and Assignments with My Work If parents want to see a detailed list of their child’s upcoming assessments and any grades their teacher has shared, they can do so through My Work, available both on mobile and a browser. On mobile, My Work is available by clicking Classes under students names, selecting a class, and clicking My Work in the header. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-my-work.png) Here, parents can see a list of class assessments and any grades that have been assigned. My Work Report is available to parents on a browser by hovering over the class name in their child’s Classes Panel and clicking the My Work button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button-1.png) ## Messaging a Teacher There may be times when parents want to message one of teachers. Edsby makes this easy with Edsby Messages. Parents each have a mailbox available by clicking the envelope icon in their mobile Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-messages-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-messages-mobile.png) Here they can view previous conversations as well as compose a new message by clicking the icon in the top right. Show them how to type in your teacher’s name in the recipient box and how to attach any files, if desired. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-typing-mobile-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-typing-mobile-message.png) ## Language Settings Edsby is available in over 50 languages. By default, Edsby inherits the language of the web browser it is being accessed on. Additionally, Edsby supports Microsoft Translator and Google Translate browser extensions to enable parents to translate any content within Edsby. This enables parents, if they don’t speak English, to use Edsby to gain insights into their child’s progress at school in the language they prefer. Language settings can be changed both in the browser as well as the Edsby mobile app. On a browser, show your parents how to click the drop-down arrow next to their name and select Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-browser-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-browser-settings.png) On mobile, parents just click Settings on their Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-home-click-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-home-click-settings.png) Select Other Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-other-settings-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-other-settings-1.png) Parents can change their preferred language in Edsby by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting one of the languages listed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-language-preferences.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-language-preferences.png) Ensure parents click Save to update their settings. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/#:~:text=By%20default%2C%20Edsby%20inherits%20the,translate%20any%20content%20within%20Edsby.) for more information on using Google Translate or Microsoft Translator with Edsby. If parents ever have any additional Edsby questions, direct them to the parent support section of the Edsby website available at . **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Edsby Destinations](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-destinations/) **Published:** October 14, 2025 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Learning is a journey for both students and teachers. Edsby’s Destinations allows for both students and teachers to visually see the journey and the destination of where their learning will take them. Destinations allow for students to have autonomy in their learning by permitting them to self-assess their learning and reflect. Teachers can also create a shared sense of learning and understanding with their students by co-creating the learning destinations with their students. **Enabling Destinations** At the class level, Destinations is enabled by clicking the hamburger icon and selecting Setup. On the Assessment page, check the *Enable Learning Destinations for this class* box. Click Save. Destinations are then accessible to the teachers of this class, students, and their families. If content has been created within Destinations and then subsequently disabled, all data is retained and is accessible again by re-enabling the checkbox. **Accessing Destinations** To access Destinations, first navigate to a class, then click on the Destinations tab in the top right of the class. The Destinations will already be pre-loaded from the curriculum that has been loaded into the class. Destinations can also be accessed from the shortcut in the classes panel. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/accessing-destinations.gif) **Modifying Destinations** When teachers first open Destinations, they will see the dashboard which includes: *Destination Cards* At the top of the table are tiles representing specific learning goals or expectations under subject strands. Once you have put the expectations into student-friendly language, it will appear as you have written it. *Student List* On the left-hand side of the table, you will the list of your student roster. For each student, you will see a corresponding cell for each learning destination. Once a student has begun to work on a destination, a numerical value or progress bar will appear in the cell. What appears in the cell of the student is dependent on what is selected in the ‘Show’ option: either Progress or Count. *Progress* At the bottom of the page you will see a row titled ‘Total Progress’. This is a tracker that shows the progress for students for each destination. For example, in the image above, we can see that currently, 0 out of 19 students have attained the learning destination so far. However, as students continue to complete their learning destinations, the number of students for attainment will change. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/destinations-dashboard.png) To edit a Destination and put it into student-friendly language, simply click on the Learning Destination and click the text “Write a Learning Destination in a student-friendly language”. Input the student-friendly Learning Destination in this space. Once teachers have created their Learning Destination, they can proceed to creating Success Criteria. Success Criteria helps students to be able to track their progress as they work on each Destination. Typically, the Success Criteria is best written as “I Can” statements for the students. Teachers can add as many Success Criteria as they see fit. To add an additional Success Criteria, click the “Include Success Criteria to help students track their progress” text. Once the Learning Destination and Success Criteria have been written, simply click away or hit ‘Enter’ and the edits will be saved. Both Destinations and Success Criteria can be modified by the teacher if needed. Below the Success Criteria, you will find the Standards associated with the Learning Destination. These Standards are automatically loaded and cannot be changed by teachers. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/add-success-criteria.png) If text is not inputted for the Learning Destination, the Strand/Outcome will show in italics as it appears in the curriculum. The Destination card will initially appear as the Strand name and then the Standard text in italics. *Hiding Learning Destinations* To hide a Destination, click on it and click the 3 dots, select the ‘Hide’ button. Once a destination is hidden, teachers will see the eye icon with a line through it, indicating that the destination is hidden from students. Destinations can also be hidden by hovering over the right-hand corner of the Destination and clicking the eye icon. To unhide it, click on the eye icon again. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/hiding-destinations.png) *Adding Learning Destinations From Other Subjects* Teachers can add destinations from other courses by scrolling to the very end of Destinations and clicking ‘+ Create a Destination’. When creating a new destination, teachers will be prompted to tie the Destination to a curricular expectation/outcome from another course. The Learning Destination can then be created in student-friendly language, and teachers can add their Success Criteria. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/create-destination.png) **\*Note:** When creating a new learning destination, you cannot pick a standard that is already being used in an existing destination. *Re-ordering Learning Destinations* To re-order or re-organize Learning Destinations, simply click and drag the Destination card to the desired location. It may be a good idea to organize destination cards in chronological order so that students know what is upcoming. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/reorder-destinations.gif) *Copying/Pasting Destinations* To copy a Learning Destination, open the card of the destination you wish to copy and click the copy icon which can be found next to the hide icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/copy-paste-destination.png) When a Learning Destination is pasted in groups and messages, the Learning Destination is displayed as a thumbnail. Clicking on it will open a read-only details view of the destination in a lightbox. *Printing Destinations* Teachers can also print their Destinations by clicking the printer button. Then, teachers can choose a background and font. Images can be uploaded as a background. Then click print. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/print-destinations.png) **Creating Activities and Assessments in a Destination** To create an activity, click the ‘+’ button that can be found when opening an individual destination card. Teachers will then be able to select one of the 2 options: New Activity or New Assessment. The activities and assessments created in the destination card will automatically be tagged with the corresponding standards. Once an activity has been created, it can be opened in the All Evidence feed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/add-activity.png) Teachers can create an Assessment for students that is tied to a specific destination by clicking the ‘+’ button and then selecting ‘New Assessment’. Since this assessment is being created in the destination card, the assessment will also be automatically tied to the same curricular standards. Once the assessment is created, it can be viewed in the Gradebook as well. When marking the assessment, teachers are able to share feedback with the students, and it will be shared in the feed of the destination. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/add-assessment.png) Any graded activity or assessment created in Gradebook or Evidence will appear in the student’s Destination feed if it is linked to curricular standards. **Mobile View of Learning Destinations** To access Learning Destinations on mobile, teachers will follow the same steps previously mentioned. To edit a Destination or the Success Criteria, tap on a Destination, tap on the arrows to scroll to other Destinations. Teachers can edit both the Destination and Success Criteria simultaneously. Tap on the three dots to access the ‘Hide’, ‘Copy’, ‘New Activity’, ‘New Assessment’, and ‘Print’ options. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Mobile-Destinations-1.gif) **Assessing a Student’s Learning Destination** When clicking on a cell beside the student’s name, the student card is opened. Teachers can do the following: 1. Write a Note 2. Capture Evidence 3. Assess Success Criteria 4. Respond to student questions 5. View evidence that relates to the Destination 6. View shared assessments that related to the Destination *Write a Note* When writing a note for a student, teachers can write information about how the student has been progressing. Notes that are written by the teacher can also be viewed by the student. Files can also be attached with a note. This space can be used to communicate with students by providing comments on their work or by asking clarifying questions to the student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/write-a-note.png) To share a note with the student, click Share, and the note will be shared with the student. Once a note has been shared, teachers have the option to edit and delete the note. Students can interact with the note by liking or responding to it. *Capture Evidence* Clicking on ‘Capture Evidence’ allows you to submit Evidence on behalf of the student. Clicking this button will bring up the Evidence form. Fill out the form to submit Evidence for the student. The Evidence captured here will still appear in the student’s Learning Story. The Evidence must still be shared in order for parents to see the Evidence. To share the student’s Evidence to their Learning Story, click the ‘Share to Learning Story’ button that can be found at the bottom of the Evidence form. The expectations/standards part of the form will be pre-selected based on the standard that is in the learning destination. Evidence created here can only be created for the selected student and the relevant class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/create-evidence.png) *Assess Success Criteria* Once success criteria have been created for each destination, teachers have the ability to assess their students on each success criteria that they have created for them. To do this, click on the ‘Assess Success Critieria’ button. The Success Criteria are listed with a star beside each one. To mark a success criteria as attained, click on the star beside the success criteria. Click on the star again to change the success criteria to incomplete. When marking a success criteria as attained, teachers have the option to include a comment for the student. Once the comment is shared, students can like or reply back. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/assess-success-criteria.png) When students claim that they have completed the success criteria, the student’s profile picture will appear where the stars typically appear, as shown below. In this example, we can see that the student has claimed that they have achieved the success criteria that says “I can use a 24-hour clock to show and record times like schedules or flight times”. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/student-assess-success-criteria.png) *Success criteria marked as Completed* Success criteria that has been previously marked as “Complete” appears pre-selected with a time stamp of when it was first marked complete. When editing a destination, teachers can click to remove the completed status of a success criteria. If the student had previously claimed that criteria as complete, the status will change from “Completed” to “Claimed”. If the student placed no previous claim on that criteria, it will change from “Completed” to showing as not completed (the star with no colour). Criteria that has been claimed by the student will show a time stamp of when it was first claimed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/time-stamp-of-claims.png) Removing a success criteria’s ‘complete’ status and re-applying it at a different date will change the attainment date to the most recent one. Teachers also have the ability to remove previously set attainments on any criteria. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/success-criteria-attained-gif-1.gif) *Learning Destination as Attained* To mark a Learning Destination as Attained, click the ‘Mark as Attained’ button that can be found on the right-hand side of the Destination card. Once a destination has been marked as attained, the success criteria will be locked. To unlock the success criteria, remove the attainment. When clicking the ‘Mark as Attained’ button for a specific destination, teachers will need to select the level that the student has achieved. That level of attainment selected will only be applicable to the specific learning destination currently being assessed. Destinations can only be marked as attained from the actual destination. The options to select from when marking a student’s destination as attained are typically set by your school’s district. When marking a destination as attained, teachers also have the option to add a comment to support their decision; however, this is optional. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/mark-as-attained.png) Once the destination is attained, a time stamp will appear at the bottom of the destination card, beside the time stamp of when the student started working on the destination. The success criteria become locked once the student has attained the destination. To unlock the success criteria, teachers will need to remove the attainment. This can be done by clicking the attainment. When teachers have marked a Destination as attained for a student, this attainment will appear in the student’s Panorama. Anyone who has access to a student’s Panorama will be able to see the class, curriculum strand/outcome, and the attainment level for each Destination. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/attainment-in-panorama.png) **Providing and Receiving Student Feedback** In the Destination feed, students can ask a question, reflect on their learning, capture learning, and self-assess based on the success criteria. *Capture Learning* **\*Note: In order for students to be able to capture their learning, students must have the permission to capture evidence. This can be turned on in the class settings.** *(Settings → Setup → Students and Parents → Check off ‘Allow Students and Parents to Capture Learning Evidence’. Don’t forget to save!)* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/enable-capture-1.png) To capture learning for a destination, the student must click the ‘+ Capture Learning’ button. This will permit the student to submit a form of media, whether it be a photo, video, voice note, a file, a link, or an artboard. When capturing learning, students will have to add a reflection to their learning before they can submit. This can be a short description of what they are submitting or something else related to what they are submitting. The class section of the capture learning category will be automatically selected based on the class they are currently logged into. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/student-capture-evidence.png) When a student submits Evidence, teachers can like the post or comment on the evidence. *Ask a Question* Students can ask a question by clicking on the ‘Ask a Question’ button, and their question will be posted to the learning feed of the specific learning destination. When a student asks a question, teachers can respond to the question in the feed, and students will be able to like the response or respond. *Reflect* Students can use the Reflect option to reflect on their learning and expand on how they have been working towards the specific learning destination. If teachers ask students to reflect on the learning destination, and they are unsure of what to write, they can direct students to the ‘Get a hint’ button, which will provide students with a prompt that they can use to write their reflection. Teachers will have the option to like and respond to the student’s reflection, as with all other options. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/get-a-hint-1.png) *Self-Assess* Students can assess themselves on the success criteria for the learning destination. Clicking on the ‘Self Assess’ button will populate the success criteria for the learning destination. Students can then mark then assess themselves on each specific criteria, putting a checkmark beside the criteria they believe they’ve mastered. Before a student can share their self-assessment, they will need to provide a comment and/or an image/video/voice note/document/link, supporting and proving why they believe they’ve mastered the specific success criteria. Teachers can then comment and like the student’s self-assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/student-assing-success-criteria.png) **Destinations for Students** The student view of the Learning Destinations dashboard in Edsby provides a clear, organized snapshot of their learning journey. The dashboard is divided into three main sections: **“What I’m Learning,” “Upcoming Destinations,” and “What I’ve Learned.”** The **“What I’m Learning”** section shows the learning destinations the student is currently working on, along with progress bars to track their advancement visually. The **“Upcoming Destinations”** section outlines upcoming learning goals, helping students understand what they will focus on in the future. The **“What I’ve Learned”** section highlights completed learning destinations, giving students a sense of accomplishment and a record of their growth. Each learning destination is grouped by subject strands and written in student-friendly language, making it easy for students to monitor their progress and plan their next steps in learning. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/student-dashboard.png) **Viewing Destinations for the first time as a Student** For students accessing Learning Destinations for the first time, they will need to select the ‘Destinations’ tab in the class. This will bring them to the Destinations dashboard. When a student views Destinations for the first time, they will see the Destinations Dashboard with the Upcoming Destinations, where they will find the learning cards. As opposed to the screenshot above, students will not see the ‘What I’m Learning’ until they start working on a specific learning destination. At the beginning, students will see the category ‘Upcoming Destinations’ with all the destination cards, as shown below. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/student-new-destinations-1.png) If destinations are not written in student-friendly language, the destinations will appear as the strand name, as in the curriculum. *When Destinations are in Progress* When students are working on a Learning Destination, the progress bar will track their progress with regards to the completion of their Success Criteria. There are 3 colours that will appear on the student’s progress bar: Dark green, which means attained criteria, light green, which means claimed criteria, and white, which means unclaimed and unattained criteria. However, the progress bar will not appear if there is no success criteria. The overall progress bar tracks the student’s progress across all Destinations. Students can continue to work on their in-progress destinations by clicking on the appropriate card and they will be able to view the work they have done thus far. If a student would like to start a new destination, they can navigate below to the ‘Upcoming Destinations’ section and select the destination card they wish to work on next. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/what-im-learning.png) *Attained Destinations* When a student has attained a Learning Destination, they will see the attainment level at the top right of their learning destination card. They will also see a time stamp for the start date and attainment date of the destination. Once a student has attained the destination, the destination card will move from the ‘What I’m Learning’ category to the ‘What I’ve Learned’ category, as shown down below. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/what-ive-learned.png) **Hidden Destinations for Students** When a destination is hidden from students it will not appear until you unhide the destination. If all destinations are hidden, students will see an empty state of Destinations, as pictured below. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/all-destinations-hidden.png) **Completed Destinations** When a student has completed all destinations, they will see a completed message, along with the attained destinations below. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/destinations-complete.png) **What can Parents see?** When Parents open the Destinations Dashboard for their child, they will have a similar view as a student. Parents will see the three main sections: **“What I’m Learning,” “Upcoming Destinations,” and “What I’ve Learned.”** The **“What I’m Learning”** section shows the destinations their child is currently working on, along with progress bars to track their advancement visually. The **“Upcoming Destinations”** section outlines upcoming learning goals, helping students understand what they will focus on in the future. The **“What I’ve Learned”** section highlights completed learning destinations, enabling parents to see a record of their child’s growth. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/destination-parent-view-1-scaled.png) Parents have view only access to Destinations, they can see any Evidence, Assessments, notes, or self-assessments linked by clicking on a Destination. Parents cannot edit or add to a Destination. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/parent-view.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Teacher Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/teacher-overview/) **Published:** November 10, 2025 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** **Sections:** Videos --- ### [Filling out Edsby Report Card sheets](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/filling-report-card-fields/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** For school districts using Edsby for report cards, [report card sheets are generated for teachers every reporting period](https://www.edsby.com/help/where-is-my-report-card/), pre-populated with Edsby gradebook and attendance data to make completing them easier. Usually, these report card forms are made available to teachers near the end of a reporting period at a time chosen by a district administrator. Once the time has come, teachers will see links to the report card forms on their Edsby homepages and within the classes. ## Using Report Card Fill Edsby provides a powerful report card fill feature. The Field picker enables teachers to select any data-fillable field on the report card sheet, including drop-downs such as Learning Skills, and quickly fill it with the required information. Fill can target selected students and also supports replacing cell contents. ## *![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-report-card-fill-and-close-1.png)* ## How to Use Edsby’s Field Picker to Fill Report Card Fields Teachers can choose to fill the comment fields of students with blank cells, all students, or cells for selected students. In this example, James Harris has selected a comment from the comment library for one of his students and would like to use the same comment for all Level 4 students in the class. With the cursor in the comment box, Click Fill. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Report-Card-Fill-6.png) To use a part of a comment, highlight the comment that will be used. Click Fill. The Field drop-down will automatically be set to comment and the comment will be translated into standard Edsby comment mechanisms. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Report-Card-Fill-7.png) To use a different comment or add more comments from the comment library, click on the comment library search bar. The comment library will drop down with options to filter comments by grade, subject, course code, tags, and more. To remove unwanted filters, such as tags or subjects, click the tag or subject again, or select reset all filters to remove all selected filters. Select the desired comment and click the X to close the comment library. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Report-Card-Fill-8.png) Choose the students to apply the existing comment by either selecting them individually from the list or selecting Level 4, and clicking Fill & Close. To continue filling report card fields, just click Fill. The comment will be added to all of the Level 4 students on the report card sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-report-card-fill-and-close-2.png) Teachers can follow this same procedure to fill All Cells or Blank Cells with an existing comment from the report card by highlighting the desired comment and selecting the appropriate option in the Fill window. ## *![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-report-card-fill-and-close-3.png)* When using the fill feature, make sure to be aware of whether the “Replace cell Contents” is checked. - If this checkbox is not checked – especially for filling comments – then **any comment filled will add-on to already existing comments** that the teacher has already entered. - If this checkbox is checked – especially for filling comments – then **any comment filled will replace** any already existing comments that the teacher has already entered. ## ![Edsby report card fill and close](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Edsby-report-card-fill-and-close-6.webp) ## Filling Grade Field Teachers can choose to fill the Grade fields of blank cells, all cells, or cells for selected students. In this example, James Harris would like to assign a grade of 85 to multiple students in his class. He will fill the grade field of one of his students with 85, highlight the grade and click Fill. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Report-Card-Fill-2.png) The Field drop-down will automatically be set to Grade. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-report-card-fill-and-close-4.png) Select the students for which to apply the same grade and click Fill & Close. Selecting Fill enables teachers to continue filling report card fields. The grades will be added to the report card sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Report-Card-Fill-4.png) Teachers can choose to apply the same grade to any blank grade cells in the report card by choosing Select Blanks. If desired, teachers can also choose to apply the same grade to all students in the class by choosing Select All. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-report-card-fill-and-close-5.png) ## Other Edsby Report Card resources Consult these other Edsby report card resources to learn more about report card sheets: [Report Card Find and Replace](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/report-cards/report-card-find-and-replace/) [Using Evidence in Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/using-evidence-in-report-cards/) ## Final Report Card tips ### How report card activity is saved Any data that teachers enter in report card sheets is automatically saved into the report card template after 3 seconds. Report Card comments are also automatically saved after 30 seconds of continuous typing, or after navigating away from a comment. ‘Navigating away’ from a comment includes logging off, switching sheets, or clicking on another field in the report card sheet. Note teachers are automatically logged out of Edsby after 60 minutes of inactivity. ### Do not use Edsby in multiple browser tabs when entering report card data If a teacher has more than one instance of their Edsby report card sheet open in their browser, and is only entering comments or data on one of the tabs, this can impact the auto-save function on report card sheets. ### Ensure only one teacher is entering report card data in one class at a time When a class has multiple teachers, ensure that only one teacher at a time is working on the report card sheet. Similarly to the problem above with multiple tabs, if there are 2 instances of the Edsby report card sheet open in different tabs/ browsers, this can impact the auto-save function on report card sheets. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Assessments and Turnitin](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assessments-and-turnitin/) **Published:** May 31, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** If your organization has integrated Turnitin as an LTI tool within Edsby, teachers can create assessments within Edsby, enabling students to submit files through the Turnitin environment. To create a Turnitin assignment, follow these steps: 1. Create a LTI link from the Content panel menu. 2. Choose Turnitin from the list of available LTI tools and then click the Launch button. This will log the teacher into the organization’s Turnitin account. 3. In the Turnitin environment, the teacher creates the assignment. Clicking the Submit button returns the teacher to Edsby. 4. A hidden assessment is created. The teacher can toggle the assessment to visible to enable the students to be able to submit their assignments via Turnitin. ![Assessments and Turnitin Step 1](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LTI-step-1.png) ![Assessments and Turnitin Step2](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/step-2.png) ![Assessments and Turnitin Step 3](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LTI-step-3.png) ![Assessments and Turnitin Step 4](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LTI-step-4.png) ### Student workflow When accessing the Class environment, Recent Activity, or the Calendar, students see the Launch button. By clicking this button, Turnitin is opened, allowing students to conveniently submit their files through the Turnitin platform. ![Student workflow](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/turnitin-student-combo.png) ### Gradebook When the teacher enters a grade in Turnitin it will be visible in the teacher’s Edsby Gradebook. Note: Your organization may choose not to enable this feature. ![Gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/June-Turnitin-Gradebook.png) ### Sample text to share with your students Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that you can easily access Turnitin through Edsby. It’s super convenient! All you have to do is look for the Launch button next to an Edsby Assessment. Just give it a click, and Turnitin will open. From there, you can easily submit your assessments. It’s a seamless process that makes submitting your work a breeze. Happy submitting! ![turnitin student combo](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/turnitin-student-combo.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Schools Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/district-administrator-quickstart/schools-zoom-3/) **Published:** June 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Schools Zoom provides district administrators with a list of all schools in the district and information pertaining to them. District administrators can access the Schools Zoom from the right side of their Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen-1.png) The Schools Zoom provides the following information for each school: - Name - School ID - School Level (Elementary, Middle, or High) - The number of staff members at the school - The number of students at the school - The number of parents at the school - The number of Classes taught at the school - The number of Groups created at the school - Who the Senior Admins of the school are - The area/city the school is located in [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom.png) ## Creating News Articles The Filters in the Schools Zoom can be used to narrow down to a specific subset of schools based on School Level or City. This can be used to create a news article that pertains to a few schools in the district. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-filters.png) In this example, Scott Beasley, District Superintendent of High Prairie School District, wishes to broadcast an article reminding the elementary school teachers, students, and parents of an upcoming PA day. To submit an article that will be displayed on the News River of the elementary schools in the district, filter the list to Elementary. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-elementary.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-elementary.png) If only specific Elementary schools are being broadcasted to, click the gear icon and select which schools to post the article to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selectes-schools-to-create-news-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selectes-schools-to-create-news-article.png) Click Create News Article. The selected schools will be pre-filled in the form. Fill out the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/prefilled-schools.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/prefilled-schools.png) For more information on creating district-level News Articles, including how to broadcast an article to the entire district, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/creating-district-level-news-articles/) ## Creating District Reporting Periods District administrators can create district reporting periods from the Schools Zoom. Click District Reporting Period and fill out the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-reporting-period-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-reporting-period-button-1.png) For information on creating and managing district reporting periods, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/district-report-cards/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Attendance](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/attendance-2/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Jump to a section [Taking attendance](#attend) [Changing a student’s attendance state](#chstate) [Attendance for a student who leaves class early](#lvearly) [Accidentally marking a student present](#acdent) [Planned absence for an entire class](#planclass) [Confirming late arrivals on the attendance sheet](#confirm) [Taking attendance for another teacher](#another) ## Taking attendance Attendance is accessed from the teacher’s home screen during class hours. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/take-attendance-button-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/take-attendance-button-home-screen.png) The Class also has an Attendance link in the upper right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/attendance-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/attendance-link.png) Identify the late or absent students by clicking A or L. The remaining students can be marked Present by clicking the title of the Present column. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/how-to-mark-the-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/how-to-mark-the-attendance.png) Click Share with office. Teachers are reminded of the state of their class attendance on their Home Screen Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/all-present-vs-has-incidents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/all-present-vs-has-incidents.png) All Present indicates each student in the class was marked as Present on the attendance sheet. Has Incidents indicates some students have been marked as either Late or Absent on the attendance sheet. ## Changing a student’s attendance state After the teacher has submitted the attendance state, they can still edit the attendance state of their students. Sometimes a teacher may have accidentally marked a student present who is absent (or vise-versa). In other cases, a student may leave class early, becoming absent. Edsby attendance is equipped to handle either case. ### Attendance for a student who leaves class early Changing a student from present to absent when a student leaves class: 1. Click the Absent (A) button beside the student’s name. 2. Set the Selected Time to the time the student left class. 3. Click on the drop-down box beneath Reason to select a reason for the students’ absence. 4. Click Save. The student’s updated attendance status is sent to the office, including the time the student became absent. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/attendance-for-a-student-who-leaves-class-early.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/attendance-for-a-student-who-leaves-class-early.png) ### Accidentally marking a student present If a student was accidentally marked as present in a submitted attendance sheet: 1. Click the Absent (A) button beside the student’s name 2. Select Start of Class in the Attendance Change box 3. Click Save to send the student’s updated attendance status to the office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accidentally-marking-student-present.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accidentally-marking-student-present.png) Note: If the attendance sheet is submitted to the office with a student **accidentally marked absent** when they should have been marked present, simply click P beside their name to change their attendance status to present. ## Planned absence for an entire class Teachers can create a planned absence for their entire class. This is a useful tool for reporting an entire class’ absence due to a school trip to the office. Access the Attendance sheet by clicking Attendance in the upper right corner of the class. Click Create Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-planned-absence.png) The date will automatically be set to the current date. Click the calendar button to select a new date for the planned absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/picking-a-calendar-date.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/picking-a-calendar-date.png) Set the start (From) and end (To) dates of the planned absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planned-absence-form-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planned-absence-form-filled-out.png) Set a suitable reason for the planned absence. Click Save. All students will be set to absent on the date of the planned absence and the school office will be notified. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/entire-class-absent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/entire-class-absent.png) ## Confirming late arrivals on the attendance sheet Some schools do not use Late Slips, and teachers are required to update the attendance sheet. When a student arrives late to class with Late Slip in hand, the teacher can confirm the student’s arrival time by clicking L. In this example, the Office has entered a comment that the student was issued a Late Slip at 10:25. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clicking-late.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clicking-late.png) As a result of clicking L, the student is listed as late at the start of the class, and currently present. To adjust arrival time, click on the Present chiclet and change the time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/confirmed-late-now-present.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/confirmed-late-now-present.png) To record a student’s departure from class, do this: 1. Open the attendance sheet and click A. 2. The Attendance Change form appears. 3. Click Save. If school policy dictates, select a reason. The comment is optional and will be seen by the Office, student, and parent. ## Taking attendance for another teacher To take attendance for any class: 1. Select Home. 2. Select the link to Classes under the school name. The Classes Zoom link includes a count of the classes at the school, the example shows a school with 248 classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/all-school-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/all-school-classes.png) Teachers can locate the name of the class in several ways, including: - Entering the name of the class or teacher in Search. - Selecting a teacher’s name. - Filtering the list to In Session and Attendance not submitted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-another-teacher-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-another-teacher-attendance.png) After locating the class name, click Take Attendance. Identify the late or absent students. Click the Present column title and click Share with office. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Notifications](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/) **Published:** August 9, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** With so many things happening inside Edsby, it is important to stay organized and up-to-date. Edsby makes this easy by enabling various notifications to ensure teachers, students, and parents using Edsby are notified of the important things happening within school, Classes, Calendars, and Groups. ## Jump to a Section [Changing Notification Settings](#changenotif) [Email Notifications](#emailnotif) [Instant Notifications](#instantnotif) ##### [Teacher and Student Notifications](#tsnotif) [Calendar](#tscalendarnotif) [Organization](#tsorganizationnotif) [Class](#classnotif) [Group](#tsgroupnotif) [Portfolio](#portfolionotif) ##### [Parent Notifications](#parentnotif) [Calendar](#pcalendarnotif) [Organization](#porganizationnotif) [Children](#childrennotif) [Group](#pgroupnotif) ## Setting Up Notifications Upon Logging In Teachers first logging in to their Edsby accounts will be prompted with the option to turn Notifications on for their account right away. Parents see a similar prompt for different notifications. Click Turn On Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/teacher-setup-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/teacher-setup-notifications.png) By turning these on, teachers and parents will be notified of: - Replies and Likes on your posts (both Group and Class) - Grades commented on - Assignments due soon - Class Calendar Reminder - Upcoming Tests These settings can be changed at any time. Students have to enable their own notifications. As well, notifications need to be reset every time a student has new classes – every semester or school year depending on when the classes run. Notifications for parents carry over for their children when their child is enrolled in new classes – no additional steps are required by the parent. ## Changing Notification Settings To update or change Notification Settings, access the Settings. This can be done by clicking the drop-down arrow next to your name in Edsby and selecting Settings from the menu. From here parents can add, delete, enable, disable, stop, turn off or modify notifications and notification methods as desired. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-clicking-settings-in-drop-down.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-clicking-settings-in-drop-down.png) Or, if they are using a mobile device, click The pop-out at the top left of the Home Screen. Select Settings from the menu, then select Notifications. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-Mobile-Notification-Settings-Access.png) This will provide a form to select and update Notifications regarding their: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-Notification-Types.png) 1. Activity Digest 2. Personal 3. Organization 4. Classes 5. Groups Parents have the option to turn on Notifications regarding their children and their Classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/parent-child-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/parent-child-notifications.png) Notifications regarding a specific Organization, Group, or Class can also be updated by clicking the bell icon directly from within a School, Class, or Group Feed. ## Email Notifications Edsby enables teachers, students, and parents to receive Email notifications when there are new Messages in their Edsby Mailbox. Click Personal, then select the boxes for Email and Mailbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-Personal-Notifications.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-Messages-Notifications.png) Edsby also enables a daily digest of activity to be emailed to teachers, students and parents who wish to receive it. This daily digest provides a summary of any new items in Groups or Classes that happened on a specific day, assessments that were due the current and following days, as well as any events happening the next day – all indicated by a red bubble counter. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edsby-digest.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edsby-digest.png) The information provided in the digest can be viewed by clicking the link that says *‘Click here to view this information in Edsby’.* Teachers, students, and parents can also unsubscribe to Edsby digests by clicking the link that says *‘Click here to unsubscribe’*. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-Activity-Digest.png) ## Instant Notifications Instant Notifications provide notifications as soon as the selected event occurs. Teachers and students can choose how they would like to receive their Instant Notifications, if at all. These choices include being notified by Email, through Edsby itself, or through Mobile notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/where-you-receive-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/where-you-receive-notifications.png) More than one mode of notifying can be used. ### Edsby Notifications Edsby Notifications are notifications that occur directly in the Edsby interface. New notifications are visible as a red bubble counter next to the bell icon in the Navigation bar of both the web browser and Edsby app. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notifications-in-nav-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notifications-in-nav-bar.png) Click the bell icon to reveal a list of new notifications specific to the notification settings chosen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-notifications.png) Click the X next to each notification to remove it from the list. The number of new items on the page will also appear in the tab of the browser Edsby is being accessed on. ### Email Notifications Email notifications are notifications sent to the email associated with a specific Edsby account. [For more information on Email Notifications and receiving daily Digest Emails, click here.](#emailnotif) ### Mobile Notifications Mobile Notifications are notifications that are sent to mobile devices. These can be sent at any time and teachers, students, or parents with these turned on do not need to be in the Edsby App or on their device to receive them. Ensure Mobile Notifications are enabled for the Edsby App by enabling them in the Settings of the mobile device being used to access Edsby on. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/iphone-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/iphone-settings.png) Mobile Notifications can show up as red bubble counters next to the app on a device. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/red-bubble-notification-on-app.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/red-bubble-notification-on-app.png) In the device’s settings, enable Badge Notifications to see this red bubble counter on the Edsby App. Note in the current iOS version of the Edsby app, the badge will only indicate the number 1 when there are one or more notifications waiting. This is a known limitation and will be addressed in the future. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/badges.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/badges.png) Banners that show up along the top of the device’s screen when the device is currently being used [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notification-from-top-of-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notification-from-top-of-screen.png) Banners that are visible on the lock screen of the device when not in use. These will remain on the screen until the device is opened. # [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/multiple-notifications-on-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/multiple-notifications-on-mobile.png) **Note:** If notifications are set on the browser, they will carry over onto a mobile device providing push notifications have been enabled for the Edsby App in the phone settings. # Teacher and Student Notifications Teachers and students have similar notification setting options. ## Personal Calendar Teachers and students can be notified of reminders attached to events in their Personal Calendar. Click Personal from the Notifications overview in Settings. Choose a mode of notification – Edsby, Email, or Mobile – by selecting the boxes under *Where you receive these notifications.* Click the box next to Personal Calendar Reminders. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-Personal-Calendar-Notifications.png) In this example, Beth Archer would like to receive Edsby and Mobile Notifications on her phone to remind her of events that she has entered into her Personal Calendar. ## Organization Teachers and students can be notified of new News Item postings in their specific School Feed by selecting Notifications from Settings or by selecting Notifications directly from the School Feed. ### From Settings To receive notifications regarding school-level News postings at a particular school, click the name of the school under Notifications in Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/selecting-organization-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/selecting-organization-in-notifications.png) Choose a mode of notification. Click the box next to News Item Posted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/organization-news-item-posted-notify.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/organization-news-item-posted-notify.png) If teachers teach at more than one school or students are associated with more than one school, they can apply the notification settings to each of their schools by clicking the box next to ‘*Apply changes to all my schools’*. In this example, Ethel Mullins would like to receive Edsby, Email, and Mobile notifications whenever a new article has been posted to the News River of all the schools she teaches at. ### From the School Feed Teachers and students can also update their Organization notification settings directly from the School Feed. Navigate to the feed of the school and click the bell icon at the top right corner of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notification-from-school-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notification-from-school-feed.png) Here, users can choose to be notified about News Items being posted in the School Feed. ## Class Teachers and students also have the option to customize notifications for their Classes. These notifications can be updated by selecting Notifications from Settings or directly from the feed of a specific class. ### From Settings Click the name of a class under Notifications in Settings to select notification settings for it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clicking-class-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clicking-class-in-notifications.png) Choose a mode of notification. Edsby can notify teachers and students of nine different activities regarding their Classes. Selecting *Feed Activity, Posts, Replies,* will provide notifications regarding teacher posts as well as replies and likes on students own posts, so these options are greyed out. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/feed-activity-posts-replies-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/feed-activity-posts-replies-notifications.png) However, if a user only wanted to be notified of certain aspects of the feed, specify using the other options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-posts-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-posts-notifications.png) Boxes with check marks indicate the activities students will receive notifications for. If a teacher teaches multiple Classes or a student is enrolled in multiple Classes, the notification settings for one Class can be copied to all other Classes by clicking the box next to ‘*Apply changes to all my classes’*. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/apply-changes-to-all-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/apply-changes-to-all-classes.png) ### From the Class Feed Teachers and students can also update their Class notification settings directly from the feed of one of their Classes. In the feed, click the bell icon at the top right corner of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/bell-from-class-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/bell-from-class-feed.png) ### Feed Activity, Posts, Replies Teachers and students can choose to receive notifications regarding the Class Feed by clicking the box next to ‘*Feed Activity, Posts, Replies, Likes’*. When this is selected, *‘Teacher Posts’* and *‘Replies and likes on my posts’* are automatically included. So, they are greyed out and do not need to be clicked. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/smaller-greyed-out-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/smaller-greyed-out-settings.png) When a post is made in the Class Feed or a post was liked or replied to, users will be notified in whichever way is specified in the Notification settings. If selecting Email, an email will be issued that looks similar to this: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/unnamed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/unnamed.png) Users have the option to view the post that was made liked, or replied to in Edsby by clicking on the link that says ‘*Click here to view this notification in Edsby’*. Users can also choose to unsubscribe to Email Notifications by clicking the link that says ‘*Click here to unsubscribe’*. If selected to receive Edsby Notifications, a new post, like, or reply in the Class Feed will cause the red bubble counter next to the bell icon to increase in number. Click the icon to receive an overview of the notification. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-posts-replies-and-likes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-posts-replies-and-likes.png) Click the X next to the notification to remove it from the list. If mobile notifications are selected, a new post in the Class Feed will trigger a notification to be sent to any connected device. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/made-new-post-replyed-class-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/made-new-post-replyed-class-activity.png) In these examples, students in Ethel Mullins’ Geography Class were interacting with the Class Feed by posting, replying, and liking. ### Replies and Likes on my posts Teachers and students can choose to receive notifications from the Class Feed regarding Replies and Likes on only their posts by clicking the box next to ‘*Replies & Likes on my posts’*. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/replies-and-likes-on-my-posts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/replies-and-likes-on-my-posts.png) These notifications work just the same as being notified of Likes and Replies on other posts except the notification will specify that the Like or Reply was made on posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/your-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/your-post.png) ### Upcoming Tests, Assignments Due Soon, and Assignments Overdue Edsby is working to enable teachers with quality Professional Development programs. While these notifications already work effectively for students, *Upcoming Tests, Assignments Due Soon,* and *Assignments Overdue* notification options will become shortly available for teachers who are participating in Professional Development course programs through Edsby. More details on these to come. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/upcoming-tests-assignments-due-soon-and-overdue.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/upcoming-tests-assignments-due-soon-and-overdue.png) When a test is added to a Class, students will be notified in whichever way is specified in their Notification Settings. The notification will include the name of the test and how long until it occurs. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/upcoming-test.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/upcoming-test.png) When an assignment is due soon, students will be notified in whichever way is specified in their Notification Settings. The notification will include the name of the assignment, when it is due, and the lass in which it belongs to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assignments-due-soon-reminder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assignments-due-soon-reminder.png) The same occurs for assignments that are overdue. ### Grades Published, Updated, or Commented If more than one teacher teaches a Class, they all have the ability to add and update grades in the Gradebook. Teachers can choose to receive notifications whenever a grade is added or updated in the Gradebook from another teacher by clicking the box next to *Grades published, updated, or commented.* Students can also choose to receive notifications when a teacher has shared, updated, or commented on grades within a class regarding an assignment by selecting this option as well. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grades-published-updated-or-commented.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grades-published-updated-or-commented.png) When a teacher shares or updates grades, users will be notified in whichever way is specified in their Notification Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grades-published-and-updated.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grades-published-and-updated.png) ### Class Calendar Reminder Similar to notifications regarding the Personal Calendar, teachers and students can be notified of reminders attached to events in their Class Calendar by selecting this notification option. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/class-reminder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/class-reminder.png) ### Class Enrolments Teaches have the option to be notified whenever a new student is enrolled in the Classes they teach. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/class-enrolments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/class-enrolments.png) Students do not have this notification option. ## Group Teachers and students have the option to customize notifications for their Groups. These notifications can be altered by selecting Notifications from Settings or by selecting Notifications directly from the feed of a specific Group. ### From Settings Click the name of a Group in Settings to select notification settings for it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clicking-group-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clicking-group-in-notifications.png) Choose a mode of notification. Edsby can notify teachers and students of four different activities regarding their groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/group-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/group-notifications.png) Boxes with check marks indicate the activities notifications will be received for. A member of multiple groups can go to their Notification Settings for one group and can be copied to all other groups by clicking the box next to *Apply changes to all my groups.* ### From the Group Feed Teachers and students can also update their Group Notification Settings directly from the feed of one of their groups. Navigate to the feed of a selected group and click the bell icon at the top right corner of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/from-group-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/from-group-feed.png) Here, they can choose to be notified about various activities being posted in the Group Feed. ### Feed Activity, Posts, Replies Teachers and students can choose to receive notifications regarding the Group Feed by clicking the box next to *Feed Activity, Posts, Replies, Likes.* When this is selected, *Moderator posts* and *Replies and Likes on my posts* are automatically included, so they are greyed out and do not need to be clicked. When a post is made in the Group Feed or a post was liked or replied to, users will be notified in whichever way is specified in their Notification Settings. These notifications look very similar to those they would receive for selecting this option in a Class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-new-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-new-post.png) In this example, a teacher in the school, Ethel Mullins, has made a post in the Library group that involves all members of the school. ### Replies & Likes on my posts Teachers and students can choose to receive notifications from the Group Feed regarding Replies and Likes on only their posts by clicking the box next to *Replies & Likes on my posts.* These notifications work just the same as when notified of Likes and Replies on other posts except the notification will specify that the Like or Reply was made on a post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/like-your-post-in-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/like-your-post-in-group.png) ### Group Calendar Reminder Similar to notifications regarding the Personal Calendar, users can be notified of reminders attached to events in a Group Calendar by selecting this notification option. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-calendar-reminder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-calendar-reminder.png) The notification will provide the name of the person who posted it (Mr. William Ham), how long until the event is occurring (2 hours from now), the name of the event (Library Charges Due), and the group in which the post was made (Library). ## Portfolio Students have the additional option of choosing to be notified of whenever an item in their Portfolio has been added or updated. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/portfolio-notification.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/portfolio-notification.png) Click Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/click-portfolio-in-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/click-portfolio-in-settings.png) Click the box next to *Document added or updated.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/portfolio-document-added-or-updated-notification.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/portfolio-document-added-or-updated-notification.png) # Parent Notifications Parents have similar notification options to teachers and students, however, they can choose to be notified about their children in addition to their Personal Calendar, the school, and their Groups. When first logging in to an Edsby account, users will be prompted with the opportunity to turn on Notifications for their account. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/parent-setup-notifications-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/parent-setup-notifications-copy.png) By turning these on, users will be notified of: - Replies and Likes on posts in a Group - Teachers commenting on or updating a child’s grades (if the teacher has chosen to share them) - New assignments and assignments due soon for your child - Upcoming tests - Class Calendar reminders for a child’s Classes These settings can be changed at any time and additional notifications can be enabled as outlined below. **Note:** If parents set their notifications on the browser, they will carry over onto their mobile device providing they have enabled push notifications for the Edsby App in the phone settings. [Click here for more information on enabling push notifications in your phone settings.](#mobilenotif) ## Personal Calendar Parents can be notified of reminders attached to events in their Personal Calendar. Click Personal Calendar from the Notifications overview in Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/selecting-calendar-from-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/selecting-calendar-from-notifications.png) Choose a mode of notification by clicking the drop-down menu under Notify Activity Via. More than one mode can be used. Click the box next to Personal Calendar Reminder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-personal-calendar-reminder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-personal-calendar-reminder.png) In this example, Sara Lee would like to receive Mobile Notifications on her phone to remind her of events that she has entered into her Personal Calendar. ## Organization Parents can be notified of new News Item postings at the schools their children attend by selecting Notifications from Settings or by selecting Notifications directly from the School Feed. ### From Settings To receive notifications regarding school-level News postings at a particular school, click the name of the school under Notifications in Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/selecting-organization-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/selecting-organization-in-notifications.png) Choose a mode of notification. Click the box next to *News Item Posted*. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-news-item-notification.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-news-item-notification.png) If parents have children at multiple schools, they can apply the Notification Settings to each of the schools their children attend by clicking the box next to *Apply changes to all my schools.* In this example, Pam Coughlan has children that attend both Elementary and High School and would like to receive notifications within Edsby whenever a new article has been posted to the school News River of any of the schools her children attend. ## Children Parents have the option to customize notifications regarding their children. Click the name of a child from the Notifications overview in Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/click-children-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/click-children-in-notifications.png) Parents can be notified about Attendance Incidents and Class Activity regarding their children. Click the box next to the options they want to be notified of. If they have multiple children, they can apply the Notification Settings to all of them by clicking the box next to *Apply changes to all my children*. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/child-notification-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/child-notification-options.png) In this example, Sara Lee would like to receive notifications concerning attendance incidents and class activity for all of her children. If Class Notifications are enabled on their account, parents will receive notifications when teachers post within a Class. This is part of the standard set of notifications enabled when permitted Edsby to send Notifications. Notifications for parents carry over for their children when their child is enrolled in new classes – no additional steps are required by the parent. ### Attendance Incident Notifications If a child is marked Late or Absent by any of their teachers and there is no Planned Absence listed for them, the Attendance Office may choose to notify their parents through Edsby. In order for parents to receive these notifications, they must enable them in their Notification Settings. Ensure the box next to *Attendance Incidents* is selected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/attendance-incidents-box-selectd.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/attendance-incidents-box-selectd.png) If the Attendance Office notifies a parent of their child’s Late or Absence, they will receive an Edsby Notification in the Navigation Bar. Here, parents will be provided with 2 options to reply back to the Office. If parents are aware of their child’s Late or Absence, click *I Know About This*. Parents will then be asked to provide a reason for their child’s absence and send it to the School Office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-know-about-this.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-know-about-this.png) If parents are unaware of their child’s Late or Absence, click *I Don’t Know About This.* The Office will be notified that their child is unaccounted for. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-dont-know-about-this.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-dont-know-about-this.png) ## Group Parents have the option to customize notifications for their Groups. These notifications can be altered by selecting Notifications from Settings or by selecting Notifications directly from the feed of a specific Group. ### From Settings Click the name of a group from Settings to select Notification Settings for it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clicking-group-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clicking-group-in-notifications.png) Edsby can notify users of four different activities regarding their groups. Selecting *Feed Activity, Posts, Replies* will provide notifications regarding moderator posts as well as replies and likes on parents’ own posts, so these options are greyed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-group-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-group-notifications.png) However, to specify which aspects of the feed to be notified of, specify using the other options. Boxes with check marks indicate the activities that the parent will receive notifications for. If the parent is a member of multiple groups, the Notification Settings for one group can be copied to all other groups by clicking the box next to *Apply changes to all my groups*. ### Feed Activity, Posts, Replies Parents can choose to receive notifications regarding the Group Feed by clicking the box next to *Feed Activity, Posts, Replies*. When this is selected, *Moderator posts* and *Replies and Likes on my posts* are automatically included, so they are greyed out and do not need to be clicked. When a post is made in the Group Feed or a post was liked or replied to, they will be notified in whichever way they specify in the Notification Settings. If parents select Email, an Email is issued that looks similar to this: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-the-email-looks-like.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-the-email-looks-like.png) Parents have the option to view the post that was made, liked, or replied to in Edsby by clicking on the link that says *Click here to view this notification in Edsby. They* can also choose to unsubscribe to email notifications by clicking the link that says *Click here to unsubscribe.* If parents selected to receive Edsby Notifications, a new post, like, or reply in a Group Feed will cause the red bubble counter next to the bell icon to increase in number. Click the icon to receive an overview of the notification. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/replies-likes-new-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/replies-likes-new-post.png) If parents choose to receive Mobile Notifications, a new post in the Class Feed will cause a notification to be sent to any mobile device they have their Edsby account connected to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-new-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-new-post.png) ### Replies & Likes on my posts Parents can choose to receive notifications from the Group Feed regarding replies and likes on their posts by clicking the box next to *Replies and Likes on my posts.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/parents-your-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/parents-your-post.png) ### Group Calendar Reminder Like notifications regarding the Personal Calendar, users can be notified of reminders attached to events in a Group Calendar by selecting this notification option. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents, Students, Teachers --- ### [Utilizing the Gradebook for outcome-based assessment: A comprehensive guide](https://www.edsby.com/help/utilizing-the-gradebook-for-outcome-based-assessment-a-comprehensive-guide/) **Published:** August 14, 2024 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Outcome-based grading is an approach that focuses on assessing student performance against specific standards or outcomes rather than calculating an average score. Each assessment is aligned with one or more defined standards (also known as outcomes or expectations in some regions). For example, a standard might be “Identify positive and negative impacts that animals have on humans (society) and the environment, form an opinion about one of them, and suggest ways in which the impact can be minimized or enhanced.” In outcome-based grading, the teacher tracks student progress on each individual standard. Instead of averaging scores, the teacher might be interested in knowing the most recent assessment of a standard or the highest level of achievement demonstrated by the student. The focus is on ensuring that students meet or exceed the expectations for each standard, allowing the teacher to provide more targeted feedback and support. The following example illustrates how curriculum standards are broken down in Edsby. ENG1D is the name of the course, ENG1D:A is the Strand name, ENG1D:A.1 is the General Learning Outcome or General Learning Standard, and ENG1D:A.1.1 is the Specific Learning Outcome or Specific Learning Standard. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/curriculum-breakdown.png) Different regions will have different names for these terms. In this article, we will be using the terms strand, standard, or outcome to describe the levels of curriculum. # Jump To a Section [Connecting Analyze, Evidence, and the Gradebook](#connectinganalyzeoutcome) [Creating Assessments](#creatingassessmentsoutcome) [Grading Assessments](#gradingassessmentsoutcome) [Rubrics](#rubricsoutcome) [Online Tests](#onlinetestsoutcome) [Progress Reports](#progressreportoutcome) [Gradebook Settings](#gradebooksettingsoutcome) ### Connecting Analyze, Evidence, and the Gradebook Edsby’s Gradebook and Perspective enable teachers to document student achievements, encompassing grades, Learning Evidence, and average calculations. The Gradebook provides data to be analyzed by Edsby’s Perspective Analyze tool. Analyze takes the information from the Gradebook and Evidence and enables teachers to see the results of both types of assessments in one place. Analyze empowers the teacher to look at the assessment data in multiple ways to spot trends or areas of concern and act on the information. For more information on how to use the Perspective Analyze, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective-analyze/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/analyze-gradebook-evidence.png) This illustration shows an example of the 4th grade math class. The teacher assesses at the general standards level and is interested in the student’s latest achievement. Clicking on the cell lists all the assessments that are linked to the N.54. In addition to the grades, the teacher can also see the description of the standard. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Analyze-GLO-math-1024x503-1.png) To provide Analyze with information teachers can create Learning Evidence and assessments for their students. To create an assessment for a class, navigate to the class. Assessments can be created from the class feed, the Content Builder, or the Gradebook itself. No matter where an assessment is created, it will appear in the Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/assessment-add-locations.png) ### Creating Assessments When the assessment form is open, teachers can fill in the form with any relevant information for the assessment. Not every field must be filled out, however, some fields are mandatory. Teachers can include: 1. The name of the assessment \* 2. The unit which the assessment falls under \* 3. The type of assessment 4. Any Standards attached to the assessment 5. Whether or not the assessment includes an online submission 6. The due date 7. Which students the assessment is assigned to 8. Grading details \* 9. Any instructions or files for students \*Denotes mandatory fields ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/assessment-form.png) The weighting box in the assessment form is used for average calculations. Teachers who are not interested in averages can use one of the following options to fill in the box. If teachers are using a symbolic grading scheme, such as 4 Level or Mastery and they are interested in seeing the highest or latest grade, use the same value for each assessment. For example, many teachers use 1 for each assessment. If teachers are using Out of points and are not interested in averages, leave the weighting box the same as the Out Of field. If teachers are using both symbolic and Out of grading schemes, the points can be left as is. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/weighting-points.png) Teachers can create individualized assessments to support a modified curriculum, or IEPs, or to provide students with a choice of assessments. In the assessment form, the Assign To field enables teachers to choose between assigning all students or a subset of students. By default, assignments are assigned to all students. To assign a subset of students, click Change. The student list appears, and the teacher chooses which students to include in the assignment. The Gradebook disables the cells for students who are not included in the assessment and in the Content Builder and Planner the assessment will have an Individualized label. For more information on Individualized Assessments, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/individualized-assessments/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/individualized-assessments.png) ### **Grading Assessments** To fill in grades in the Gradebook, click the cell and fill in the grade. Teachers can quickly give multiple students the same grade by clicking and dragging the blue square down the list of students. To grade online submissions such as documents or online tests, click the file icon. This will open the Grader. The Grader can be used to annotate a student’s submissions. The Grader tools include a rectangle, pen, or highlighter. Teachers can choose the desired color and mark up the submission. Teachers can leave comments for each markup they make on the submission. The Grader includes a discussion box that can be used to provide students with feedback on their work and to answer any private questions the student has asked about the assessment. When a teacher has finished annotating a student’s assessment, they can choose to share the annotations without sharing a grade. This enables students to correct their work before a final submission. When teachers have graded an assessment, they can choose to share just the grade and comment with students, or they can share the grade along with any final annotations. Students can view these annotations and any comments in their My Work. For more information about the Grader, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/annotating-student-submissions-with-the-gradebooks-grader/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Grader.png) In addition to the Grader, teachers can use the Details mode to grade assessments. The Details mode can be accessed by clicking details at the bottom right of the screen, or by clicking the name of an assessment from the list. The Details mode enables teachers to focus on one assessment at a time. Teachers can have discussions with students, set an assessment status, fill in grades, and add comments. Teachers can also edit, share, or print assessments here. To return to regular mode, click the arrow or click the details button again. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/detail-mode.png) ### Rubrics Teachers have the option to create or import rubrics within Edsby. To create a new rubric, navigate to the Personal Folder, click New, and choose Rubric. Type a name for the rubric and choose a grading scheme. Teachers who are assessing based on Strands should choose one of the Stranded options, Teachers assessing based on Outcomes should choose one of the Outcomes options. Teachers can attach either strands or outcomes to the Rubric. Type the category name for each row and then type the rubric information in each box. Click Add Category to create new rows and click Save when the rubric is complete. Teachers can also import existing rubrics by clicking Browse after they have selected a grading scheme. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/creating-rubric.png) To grade an assessment with a rubric, create a new assessment. In the Grading Scheme field, choose Rubric, then click Choose Existing. Once the assessment has been created, navigate to the Gradebook and select the assessment. Teachers can grade with the Rubric in the Grader or in the Details mode. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/grading-with-rubric.png) ### **Online Tests** Teachers can also create Online Tests with Edsby. To create a new Online Test navigate to the Content Builder or the Personal Folder and select Question Sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/creating-question-sheet.png) Teachers who are grading based on standards or strands can link these to the Question Sheet. Choose the correct Scheme from the list and select the relevant standards or strands from the list. From here, each new question will have a column selection. Choose the applicable selection from the list. When teachers are done creating their Question Sheet, click Save. To use the Question Sheet as an Online Test, navigate to a class and create an assessment. In the Online Submission field, choose Online Quiz and click ‘Choose a Question Sheet’. Teachers can choose the time limit and number of attempts for the Online Test and they can choose whether or not to randomize the questions and answers. Teachers can also open the test, leave it closed, or schedule when the test will open and close. Students are unable to take the test when it is closed. Click Save. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing/) for more information on Question Sheets. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/creating-online-test.png) Students can take the test when the teacher has opened it, most question types are automatically graded for an online test so teachers do not have to grade every question manually. However, Paragraph questions need to be manually graded, so navigate to the Gradebook and choose the online test. Teachers can grade an ungraded question and can change the grade for any automatically graded questions by clicking the lock and typing the new grade in. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/grading-online-test.png) ### Gradebook Filters When teachers open their Gradebook, they see their assessments listed. Teachers can choose how they want to view their assessments by using the Gradebook filters. Teachers can choose to view assessments by reporting periods or by Units and they can choose which assessments to include. Teachers can also create additional tabs in the Gradebook to view different information quickly. For example, this teacher wants to view each reporting period separately, so they will create a tab for term 1 work and a tab for term 2 work. Another teacher wants to view their assessments by formative and summative, so they will create one tab with only formative assessments and another tab for only summative assessments. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gradebook-filters.png) ### Progress Reports Teachers have the option to create a Progress Report for their students. The Progress Report tools enable teachers to create a printed report of their students’ progress to distribute to parents and students. The Progress Report can be used as a helpful tool during parent-teacher interviews, as an indicator of student progress, or even as a report card substitute for private schools. Teachers have many options within the Progress Report. Teachers can print a report for all students, select specific students to include in the Progress Report, or they can choose to include dropped students. Teachers can select the dates for the Progress Report. Choosing ‘Any date’ will include data from the entire Gradebook, choosing ‘In a reporting period’ enables teachers to select a reporting period and will only include data from that reporting period, and choosing ‘Date Range’ enables teachers to select specific dates and will only include data from within that date range. Teachers can choose what to show in the Progress Report. Teachers can choose which, if any, assessments to include in the Progress Report. The list of assessments can be any selection of incomplete, shared, ungraded, and unshared. If shared assessments are included in the printed report, a graph can be included by checking the Graph checkbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/included-in-progress-report.png) When teachers include summaries, more options will appear on the form. The list will include Overall Average, General Learning Outcomes, and Specific Learning Outcomes. However, the choice of Summary columns is dependent on the curriculum. The Assessments, Evidence, and Include Unshared checkboxes control what data the summary columns will use to pre-calculate the grades. If these fields are left blank, the summary columns will be blank and the teacher can use professional judgment to enter grades. For example, if the teacher has chosen to summarize by Strand, using the mean, and showing as a percentage, any grades from the Gradebook that include Strands will be averaged using the mean and will show in the Progress Report as a percentage. If no assessments have been created using Strands, no grades will appear in the Progress Report. Grades can also be filled in manually and overridden in the Progress Report. For a Progress Report that has multiple fields or strands included, the report will only show what fields have been filled in. If teachers do not wish to fill in each field, they don’t have to. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/summaries-pt-1.png) For more information about Progress Reports, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebooks-class-specific-progress-alerts/) ### Gradebook Settings The Gradebook settings enable teachers to add additional summary columns to their Gradebook. Teachers can also choose how to display Gradebook results, select a grading scheme to create new assessments with, whether or not to show averages in the Gradebook and Perspective, and whether or not to include the Evidence button in the classes panel. Selecting a scheme to create new assessments will automatically select that grading scheme in the assessment form every time a new assessment is created. Teachers can still change the grading scheme when creating an assessment if desired. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/gradebook-settings.png) To create additional summary columns in the Gradebook, click the drop-down arrow and select the desired column type. For teachers using outcome-based assessments, it may be helpful to create summary columns for the different outcomes in the class. Once the type of column is chosen, teachers can choose the summary method and how to show the results in the summary column. Teachers can add as many columns as they would like and can choose whether or not to show each of these columns to their students. Columns can be removed from the Gradebook by clicking the x. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/summary-columns-1.png) The Gradebook enables teachers to summarize their grades in a variety of ways. For teachers employing outcome-based assessments, opting for the most recent or highest score associated with a specific outcome could offer the most comprehensive understanding of a student’s advancement. Additionally, teachers have the option to utilize a decaying average to gain a clear view of a student’s performance. Decaying average is most suitable for assessment when teachers want to place more weight on recently scored materials, thereby rewarding students’ progress without penalizing them for their starting point. This method considers the most recent scores as more representative of a student’s current mastery level and puts more emphasis on those scores compared to older ones. Assessment practices that emphasize outcomes-based learning and track student progress throughout the term, rather than one overall grade, find decaying average to be a suitable grading approach. The Class Setup form includes the option to set the weight of the most recent score. The default setting is 65%. The option will apply to Perspective Analyze and the report card’s Graph view but has no impact on Gradebook calculations unless a summary column is added to the Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decaying-average-calculation-percent.png)![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decaying-average-numbers.png) The class setup form enables teachers to personalize their class settings, however, classes are usually set up by the district, so consult them before making changes. Report cards depend on the weighting buckets to be set up accurately, so many districts will preset the weighting buckets on behalf of the teachers. If these are not set up already, ask the district how to set them up so they will match Report Cards. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/weighting-buckets.png) Teachers should ask their school district about how they are required to complete their report cards. This enables teachers to set up and summarize their Gradebook based on the information they will need for their Report Cards. This will make it easier for teachers when report card season arrives, as the grades in their Gradebook will match the template of the report card. For example, if the district reports on outcomes at the Stranded level, teachers may want to use a grading scheme that grades based on Strands. If the district reports on Outcomes, teachers may want to use a grading scheme that reports on individual outcomes. Teachers have the option to create summary columns in their Gradebook based on their needs, however, Perspective Analyze enables teachers to view detailed information without setting up these columns. For teachers grading based on Strands, filter Analyze to show Strands. Teachers grading based on individual outcomes can filter Analyze to show these by selecting General Standard. Teachers can choose how to summarize the grades and what grading scheme to view the results in, and teachers can also choose whether or not to include Evidence in these calculations. Perspective Analyze takes the data that teachers have just added to their Gradebook and enables them to view and analyze the information to spot trends or areas of concern. The Perspective Analyze tool works with the Gradebook and Learning Evidence to create a powerful tool to view and assess student progress. For more information on Perspective Analyze, click here. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/analyze-popout-1536x699-2.png) For example, this grade 4 math teacher is assessing students based on strands and uses a 4-level grading scheme for any assessments. All assessments in the Gradebook are weighted equally. The teacher does not want to view any averages in their Gradebook, the Gradebook will only be used to enter the data. The teacher also collects Evidence to keep track of their students’ progress. The teacher will filter their Analyze page to include strands and either the latest or highest grade as well as including Evidence. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/outcomes-example-1.png) Additionally, this teacher assesses based on outcomes but reports based on strands and they are using a symbolic grade scheme. Because they are reporting on Strands, their Gradebook includes summary columns for each strand, despite the fact that they are assessing on outcomes. This way, looking at their Gradebook they can access the information they will need for Report Cards. Additionally, they will use the Perspective to view their students’ progress on the outcomes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/outcomes-example-2.0.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Monitor Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/monitor-groups/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby Monitor Groups are used to monitor a list of students. Monitor Groups are Edsby groups that students and their parents never see they are a member of, but appear as a normal group for administrators and teachers if they are a member of the group. Monitor Groups provide administrators and teachers with access to the Student Zoom information for a particular group of students and can be used for various monitoring purposes such as identifying at risk students based on attendance incidents or grades, or to monitor specific students as a mentor. ## Creating a Monitor Group To create a Monitor Group, click the pop-out in the My Groups panel or click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-1.png) Set the group type to Monitor Group. Name the group and provide a description of the group, if desired. Select moderators, permissions, and membership for the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Monitor-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Monitor-group-type.png) Monitor groups are initially set to be private and have closed membership. This is recommended, as monitor groups are not intended to be seen by students or parents. In this example, William Ham, principal of Tecumseh High, is creating a Monitor Group for a handful of 9th grade students with an average in the range of 50-60% who may be at risk of failing a course. He would like to be able to monitor them throughout the rest of the semester and discuss with student success staff in order to provide the students with the necessary tools to succeed. The group will be private with closed membership as Mr. Ham does not want the academic information of the at-risk students to be available to anyone except select staff members he will invite to the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/monitor-group-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/monitor-group-setup.png) When the setup form is complete, click Create Group. This will add the group to Mr. Ham’s My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/monitor-group-in-groups-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/monitor-group-in-groups-panel.png) ### Adding Staff and Students to the Group To identify the students who will be added to the group, it may be useful to use the Student Zoom first. Search for the students you wish to add to the Monitor Group. Use the filters to access the target students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/searching-for-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/searching-for-students.png) In this example, Mr. Ham is filtering the students to grade 9 with an average between 50 and 60%. These will be the students he will add to the group. Navigate back to the Monitor Group, click Add Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-students-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-students-1.png) Type in the names of the identified students. Click Add Student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-student.png) The students will automatically be added to the group; however, they will not see the group in their My Groups panel and they will not know they are a member of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/students-added-to-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/students-added-to-group.png) To add staff members, click Add Staff. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-staff-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-staff-2.png) Type the name of the staff members who will be added to the group. Mr. Ham is adding Ms. Barling, a student success teacher, to help monitor the at-risk students. Click Invite Members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-staff-member-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-staff-member-1.png) This will send an invitation to the staff member for them to Accept or Decline in their My Groups panel. Upon accepting, staff can enter the group and view the academic information regarding the students in the group. Only staff members who have been invited to the group will have access to student academic information. ## Inside a Monitor Group There are two different views within a Monitor Group: Tabular and Feed View. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/tabular-and-feed-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/tabular-and-feed-view.png) ### Tabular View Tabular View provides essentially a Student Zoom view of the students in the Monitor Group. 1. There are filters on the left side of the group that can be used to narrow the list of students down. 2. From this view, moderators of the group can click the drop-down arrow and select from a menu of options including to message the parents, create a planned absence, or invite to a group. 3. Students can also be removed from the Monitor Group by clicking the X in their row. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/breaking-down-monitor-group-850x344.jpg) ### Feed View Feed View provides a classic group feed of the Monitor Group. Here, moderators and other staff members in the group can collaborate and discuss the students who are being monitored. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/feed-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/feed-view.png) ## Creating a Planned Absence for a Monitor Group Moderators of a Monitor group can create planned absences for members of the group. For example, the students in Mr. Ham’s grade 9 monitor group are attending a seminar on developing healthy study habits and he wishes to create an absence for them. To do this, navigate to the Tabular view of the group. To create a planned absence for all members of the group, click the drop-down arrow and select Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-planned-absence.png) If only a few of the students in the group were attending the seminar, Mr. Ham would create an absence for just them. To create a planned absence for selected members of the group, click the gear icon, select the students who will be absent, click the drop-down arrow and select Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/planned-absence-for-select-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/planned-absence-for-select-students.png) Fill out the Planned Absence form and submit it. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Classes Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-classes/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Classes Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all classes being taught in the school as well as various types of information regarding them. Administrators can access the Classes Zoom from the right side of their home screen in the panel below the name of the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-zoom-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-zoom-location.png) The Classes Zoom provides the the following information regarding each class being offered: - The class short name (SNC1D\_A) - The class full name (Science) - Grade level of the class - Subject of the class - Current teacher or teachers of the class - Number of posts made in the class - Attendance statistics for the term - The number of students in the class - Who can access the class (students or parents) - The class schedule in the day cycle (day/period pairs) - Option to take Attendance if the class is in session [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-classes-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-classes-zoom.png) The Classes Zoom facets are used to select a subset of classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-zoom-filters.png) This subset can be used to create a message addressed to all the selected: - Teachers - Students - Teachers and students - Parents of students - Students and their parents [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/different-messaging-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/different-messaging-options.png) The Classes Zoom facets can also be used to select a subset of classes and then define a Reporting Period for each of the selected classes. See the [Report Card help ](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/?help=report-card-creation-and-management#createreportingclasses)for further information. ## Viewing Classes before the School Year Begins By default, the Classes Zoom shows current classes. Before the first day of school, the Classes Zoom will be empty. To view future classes, click the drop-down arrow and select *Show completed/upcoming classes.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/show-completedupcoming-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/show-completedupcoming-classes.png) To view upcoming classes, select the *Future* filter. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/future-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/future-filter.png) ## Adding Staff to Multiple Classes The Classes Zoom provides administrators with a convenient way to add a staff member to multiple classes at once. Filter the Classes list to the desired subset – for example, all Physical Education classes or all classes taught by a specific teacher. In this example, Kevin Scholts is the head of the Health and Physical Education department at Tecumseh High. William Ham, the Principal of Tecumseh High would like to add Kevin to all of the grade 12 Health and Physical Education classes. Filter to grade 12 and select Health and Physical Education under Subject. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/filtering-classes-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/filtering-classes-zoom.png) Click the drop-down arrow in the upper right corner of the screen. Select Add Staff to Classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-staff-to-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-staff-to-classes.png) A form opens. Enter the teacher’s name to add to the classes and provide the role they will have within the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/name-and-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/name-and-role.png) [For more information on what each of the roles are enabled to do and see, click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assigning-teacher-roles/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Rooms Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-rooms/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Rooms Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all rooms in the school and information about their occupancy. Administrators can access the Rooms Zoom from the right side of their home screen in the panel below the name of the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/room-zoom-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/room-zoom-location.png) The Rooms Zoom provides the following information for each room defined at the school: - The name of the room - The room number - The capacity of the room - The prime contact(s) for the room - The room type - The current status of the room (in-use or free) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-room-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-room-zoom.png) Need to find a free room right now for an impromptu meeting? Administrators can quickly create a list of all rooms that are currently free using the filters in the Rooms Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/not-in-use.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/not-in-use.png) Looking for a free music room? Administrators can quickly create a list of all rooms of a certain type by using the filters in the Rooms Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/music-room-not-in-use.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/music-room-not-in-use.png) There is a handy “Message Contacts” button in the Rooms Zoom to enable easy messaging to the prime contact(s) of the selected rooms. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-contacts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-contacts.png) Administrators can also export a CSV file of all the rooms in the school by clicking Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/export.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/export.png) ## Editing Room Information Administrators can easily update information regarding any of the rooms in the school. Navigate to the room that needs to have its information updated. The filters on the left can be used to narrow down the correct room. Click on the room. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/locating-room.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/locating-room.png) This opens the room information form. Make any changes or additions to the form. Add any contacts for the room. These contacts can be easily messaged through Edsby in order to check room availability. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edit-room-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edit-room-form.png) An image can be uploaded of the room if desired. Add any additional notes necessary. When the room information has been correctly filled in and updated, click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edit-room-info-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edit-room-info-filled-out.png) The room is updated in the Room Zoom. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Suggestions for teachers using Edsby for online learning](https://www.edsby.com/help/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Published:** March 23, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby provides many great ways for teachers, students and families to stay connected even if schools are closed. Teachers Edsby Classes can help promote student wellbeing by helping students connect, move, learn, and share while they are at home. ## Enabling student participation The Edsby Class is a secure and equitable place for students to connect online. Edsby has been approved by your district for student and parent engagement. Using Edsby Classes makes sure no one is left out of the conversation. To give students a place to connect, set the Class Settings on each class to enable students to enter classes and participate. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-changing-so-students-can-enter-1024x506.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-changing-so-students-can-enter.png) ## Ideas for connecting with your students The Class Note is the fastest way to connect with students and families. Sharing a note in the Class at a predictable time will give students a sense of structure. Start each day with a greeting. Teachers can use text, paste in a link to a website or video. Ask students to Like the morning greetings to encourage a connection with teachers and their classmates. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-telling-students-to-like-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-telling-students-to-like-post.png) Provide students with the opportunity to keep their connection with each other flourishing by posting a question to start the day. Liking the student posts is a quick way to encourage the students to participate. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/conversing-with-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/conversing-with-students.png) Elementary Homeroom teachers may wish to set up repeating events to add structure to the students’ day. For example, morning chat, exercise time, reading time, explore and learn, math time, or creativity time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/create-morning-chat-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/create-morning-chat-event.png) Students will see the event on the Class Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/student-view-of-event-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/student-view-of-event-calendar.png) To transition students from school time to home time, end the school day by posting a closing message to the students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/transition-school-to-home-time.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/transition-school-to-home-time.png) ## Engage students in creating content Ask students to help create class content! Create a poll to ask them what they would like to do, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/poll-so-students-can-pick.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/poll-so-students-can-pick.png) Create a formative assessment where students can submit questions to discuss during class-time, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/formative-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/formative-assessment.png) Or the class feed is always a great place to ask students to contribute! ## Set goals for the day with a Poll Polls can help students set their own goals for the day. Ask students to set reading goals, exercise goals, or use polls to gather daily reflections. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-view-of-poll.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-view-of-poll.png) Make the Polls private by unchecking Show Results before sharing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/uncheck-show-results-to-all.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/uncheck-show-results-to-all.png) Students won’t be able to see the results of other students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/results-of-poll-are-private.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/results-of-poll-are-private.png) ## Sharing learning goals and supporting materials Use Journals to share learning goals and supporting materials. Parents who can spend time during the day helping their child with schoolwork will appreciate knowing what learning resources have their teacher’s stamp of approval. Students can use the information to learn independently. Younger students may have an older sibling that can help with schoolwork. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/browser-and-mobile-journal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/browser-and-mobile-journal.png) Why use Journals rather than Notes? Journals are dated and appear in the Class on the date set in the form and this enables teachers to work ahead, if they wish. Journals are also listed separately within a Class. Students and their parents will learn to check the Journal panel for information about learning expectations and support materials. Notes can be used for discussions and keeping everyone connected. ## Existing Assessments and student calendars Assessments appear on student’s calendars automatically. Until the school can welcome students back to school, teachers may wish to remove future assessments from their students’ calendars in order to reduce the number of questions about assessment due dates. Go to the gradebook. Click on the date to open the Assessment form. At the bottom of the form, set the Status field to Hidden from Students and Save. This will remove the assessment from the calendar while retaining all other settings. Share a Note to inform students about the change in due dates. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hidden-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hidden-assessment.png) ## Online learning tools For teachers who want to begin to explore online learning during the school closure the Content Builder is a great place to start. The Content Builder provides teachers with tools to share a variety of content. Share course content by creating a Page. Share videos by creating a link. Upload files or import ePub or SCORM files. For more information about the Content Builder, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/). [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/content-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/content-item.png) Adding links to Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts virtual meeting spaces can provide teachers with the ability to meet online with their students. Click [here](https://www.edsby.com/integrations/) for step-by-step instructions to add one or more of these services to your Edsby Classes and Groups. ### Using Class Lists for Online Teaching Print a class roster to keep track of who has participated in the class. Teachers may find it useful to copy or export a list of your students for use in an external program. For example, try copying the names of students into a website like classroomscreen.com to quickly make groups of students for breakout discussions in class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/classroom-screen-1024x859.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/classroom-screen.png) Set the roster to one column. This creates a simple list of names. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1-column-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1-column-roster.png) Move the cursor to highlight the list and click Ctrl+C to copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/highlight-roster-names.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/highlight-roster-names.png) Navigate to a program that makes groups out of a list of names and paste the list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pasting-names-in-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pasting-names-in-list.png) Teachers can also easily export their student list to use as a csv file by clicking Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/export-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/export-roster.png) ### Suggestions for Online Testing While it is common to use a standard quiz on material at the end of a lesson, unit, or block of material, try using Edsby’s Online Testing feature throughout all stages of learning information! Consider creating a study quiz or guided practice quiz for students to complete during a lesson, unit, or block of material. Allow the students with unlimited time so they can work through the questions as they learn the material to solidify their understanding. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/self-guided-quiz.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/self-guided-quiz.png) Or, teachers can try creating a quiz before a class discussion to assess whether or not their students worked through any supplementary material provided outside of class time. This is a great way to encourage students to be accountable for the asynchronous work assigned. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/check-if-students-did-work-quiz.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/check-if-students-did-work-quiz.png) ## Maximizing use of the Gradebook ### Creating a Missing Homework Tracker Try creating a missing homework tracker in the class Gradebook. Use the Out Of field in the assessment form to determine how many homework items students can miss before the Gradebook sets a flag. For example, if teachers allow students to miss 2 homework items throughout the semester, set the Out Of to 2. If they enter anything greater than 2, meaning the student has missed more than 2 homework items, the Gradebook will flag the cell with a yellow exclamation point. Place the Tracker at the beginning of the Gradebook and update it if students miss any homework. Easily see at a glance which students have missed too many. ### Gathering Student Reflection If teachers are teaching online, they are likely providing students with materials for them to view on their own time outside of regular class meetings. Follow up with students by setting up an assessment where they can provide a reflection on the material given to them. This not only shows teachers how the students are managing the material, it also encourages the students to work through all supplementary materials as they know their teachers will follow up with them about it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/set-up-reflection.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/set-up-reflection.png) Teachers can also enable File Upload on the assessment to have students quickly upload a picture of the work they have done. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-file-upload.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-file-upload.png) Keep track of which students have submitted their homework by looking at the file icon next to each student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/file-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/file-icon.png) ## Private messages For some students and their families, the school closures will increase stress levels at home and students may need to talk to a trusted adult privately. Share information with students on how to send a private Edsby message. Here’s a sample message teachers can share: When posting to this class, teachers’ messages are seen by teachers and students’ classmates. If students need to talk to their teachers or another teacher privately, search for the name, click on the name, then choose Send Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/send-message-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/send-message-student-mobile.png) ## Edsby parent resources Collaborating with and having productive relationships with the parents of students is key to their academic success. Teachers can introduce themselves to the parents by posting about themselves in the class. Parents will see this in the Recent Activity of the child teachers teach. This is also a good time to set boundaries so parents know the expectations their child’s teachers have moving forward. Manage parent and student expectations by sharing what hours the teachers are available and what support teachers and the school is providing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/introducing-to-parents-and-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/introducing-to-parents-and-students.png) Or, consider sending a welcome letter to parents at the beginning of the year via email or an Edsby Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/welcome-message-to-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/welcome-message-to-parents.png) If teachers are new to Edsby, their student’s families will be new to Edsby too. Leave the Edsby training to us by sharing this link. [edsby.com/help/parents/](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/) ## Take care of yourself Be patient with yourself. Even in the best of times, learning to use new tools or learning new aspects of familiar tools takes a while. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Content Builder](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby Content Builder enables teachers to create rich course content with embedded Edsby objects in both classes and Professional Development groups. The use of the Content Builder can vary from a few pages added into the usual mix of assignments and lessons to full online learning courses complete with online testing and automated grading. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Content-builder-overview.png) ## **Jump to a section** [About the Content Builder](#aboutcontentbuilder) [Content Visibility](#contentvisibility) [Embedding Items in the Content Builder](#embedding) [Copying Content](#copyingcontent) [Student View](#studentviewofcontent) **About the Content Builder** The Content Builder is accessed within a class by clicking the Course Content panel on the left side of the screen underneath the Students panel. From here, the Course Content can be edited by clicking Edit in the top left. Clicking the + next to an item in the Course Content provides the teacher with a list of additional content items that can be added to the course underneath the selected item: SectionOptional. Divides a unit into smaller segments.UnitOrganizes the Class Content. Only available by clicking the + next to the Class name. The Gradebook can be sorted by units as well. If units do not apply to the class, consider creating one unit named Term Work.PageStores content. Includes a rich text editor. Pages can include images, equations, and multiple links.AssessmentThe same workflow applies no matter where the Assessment is created. Fill out the Assessment Form with a title, type, and grading scheme. Additional options are available on the form. The Assessment will be cross-posted to the Planner and Gradebook. [Click here to learn more about the Assessment Form.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/the-assessment-form/?locale=en)Question SheetCreate Question Sheets with a variety of question types directly in the Class for use in Online Tests or sharing with other teachers.LessonA rich text editor for teachers to create lesson plans with notes for both students and themselves.PollPolls the class on a question. Can be exported if created in the Content Builder.VideoRecords and/or uploads a video from your device, or embeds a Web Video.FileUploads one or more files to the class.Google Drive DocumentUploads a Live Document from Google Drive. Any changes made to the document in Google Drive will be updated and reflected inside of Edsby. [Click here to learn more about Live Documents.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/live-documents/)Microsoft OneDrive DocumentUploads a Live Document from Microsoft OneDrive. Any changes made to the document in Microsoft OneDrive will be updated and reflected inside of Edsby. [Click here to learn more about Live Documents.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/live-documents/)Live DocumentUploads a Live Document from a URL. Any changes made to the document will be updated and reflected inside of Edsby. LinkProvides a link to a web page or a video.LTI LinkAdd an LTI tool integrating applications into Edsby for use in the class.ImportImport course materials from a variety of sources including: IMS Common Cartridge, ePub (eBook, digital textbooks, etc.), SCORM and websites. Once imported, the content can be copied in part or whole and edited as required by the teacher.Note: only units and the course name have the + next to them. Assessments, pages, links, polls, and files cannot have additional items associated with them. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Content-builder-content-types.png) Content Builder pages include a history tracker so older content can still be viewed. Clicking the drop-down arrow next to an item in the Course Content Editor enables the teacher three additional options regarding a specific item: Cut, Copy, and Delete. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/content-builder-additional-options.png) **Show Deleted** Teachers can view items that have been deleted from their course content by clicking Edit in the content panel, clicking the drop-down arrow next to Options in the left panel, and clicking Show Deleted. Any deleted items will be visible in red. To restore deleted items, click the drop-down arrow next to a previously deleted item. Select Restore from the menu. Deleted items can be hidden again by clicking options and selecting Hide Deleted. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/content-builder-deleted-content.png) **Reordering Content** Content can easily be reordered within the Content Builder by clicking the three horizontal lines to the left of the item’s name and dragging it to the desired location. Items being moved from one unit to another will be updated with the new unit name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/content-builder-moving-content.png) **Content Visibility** Teachers can change the visibility of the content at any time. Once the Content Builder’s editor is opened, a green toggle appears next to each item in the Content Builder. When the toggle is green, the content is visible to students. When the toggle is black and white, the content is not visible to students. Clicking the toggle will change the visibility. Content can be turned off at the item, unit, or class level. If an entire unit is turned off, all content items in that unit will not be visible. If the entire class is turned off, no content will be visible. Turning off content items in the Content Builder also turns it off in the Feed, Calendar, and Planner for students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/content-builder-hiding-content.png) In the example above, the teacher wanted to hide the entire Chemistry unit from students in her class. By switching the Unit (Chemistry) toggle off, the toggles of all assessments, pages, links, and other items in the unit are also switched off. When the toggles are set like this, students are unable to view the content in the Chemistry unit. To hide all course content, switch the Course name toggle off. This will hide all items in the course content. If you switch on a bottom level item (for example, an assignment or page), then all of the higher-level items containing the bottom-level item will also be switched on. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/content-builder-unhiding-content.png) In the example above, the teacher wants to hide all course content except for the page about Drawing Bohr-Rutherford Diagrams. Since the page is a lower-level item, turning its toggle on also turns on the unit it has been created under – Chemistry. Since the unit has been created under the course Science, the toggle for the course name is also turned on. This toggling enables teachers to easily make bulk changes to course content. **Smart Release** Teachers can also choose what content is available for students through Smart Release. Smart Release enables students to work through the Class Content at their own pace. To support this type of learning, assessments are not added to the Feed or Calendar. Instead, they are created directly in the Content Builder. Smart Release is enabled by navigating to the Class Setup Form. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the class and select Setup from the menu. Under Conditional Release, select Smart Release. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/navigating-to-class-setup-1024x629.png)![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/selecting-smart-release-1024x529.png) When set to Smart Release, a student must open and complete each item in the Content panel before revealing the next item of Content. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/student-seeing-next-item-of-content-1536x612-1-1024x408.png) If an item or section is not visible to the student through hiding it, as mentioned above, it is not in Smart Release. In this illustration, students would not see the Chemical Compound Online Quiz, nor would the students see the upcoming Biology unit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/hidden-content-items.png) **Embedding Live Documents in the Content Builder** Live Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive files can be linked to the Content Builder in Classes and Groups. To add a live link to a document in the Content Builder, click the + and select one of *Google Drive Document, Microsoft OneDrive Document,* or *Live Document.* The contents of your account will appear in the Content Builder. Select the document you wish to link. In this illustration, the teacher is linking the class syllabus for her students to view. Click Save. The document is embedded within the Content Builder. As always, if you make changes to the document in its original location, the updated content is available within Edsby. Linked documents will display a Google or Microsoft icon accordingly in the Content Panel. You can jump directly to the document by selecting Edit Mode and clicking *Open in Google Drive.* *![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/selecting-document-to-link.png)* [Click here for more information about Live Documents.](https://www.edsby.com/help/live-documents/) **Embedding Videos in the Content Builder** Teachers can embed content directly into a section, unit, page, lesson, video, or link. Videos and documents can be embedded from YouTube, Google Drive, or Microsoft Office 365/SharePoint/OneDrive. To embed a video, open the Content Builder, select edit, add the type of content to be created, add a title and any text, and then select media. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-content-builder-embed-2-1-1.png) When the window opens, navigate to the Embed tab. Now Edsby needs the embed code for the video or document. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-media-button.png) To get the embed code from a Google Drive video, follow the steps below: 1. Using a browser, open Google Drive. 2. Find the video file you want and double-click on it. 3. From the three-dot menu, choose “Open In New Window”. 4. From that new window, from the three-dot menu, choose “Embed item…”. 5. Copy that embed code. 6. Paste the embed code from Google Drive into Edsby and save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-embed-google-drive-video.png) To get the embed code from a YouTube video, follow the steps below: 1. Go to YouTube and open a video. 2. Click Share button, click Embed. 3. Copy the embed code. 4. Paste in the embed code from YouTube into Edsby and save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-embed-youtube-video.png) To get the embed code from O365/SharePoint, follow the steps below: **Note: Before adding or viewing embedded O365 videos or documents, you must enable Third Party Cookies in your browser.** **O365/SharePoint will not display embedded content unless your browser has this enabled.** 1. Using a browser, open O365 / Sharepoint / OneDrive. 2. Find the video file you want and click on it. 3. From the new window, choose Share->Manage Access. 4. At the top of the new window, choose Grant Access. 5. Type in Everyone except external users and click Grant Access. 6. Choose Share->Embed. 7. From that new window, click “Copy embed code”. 8. Paste the embed code from O365 into Edsby and save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-content-builder-embed-3-1.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-embed-O365-video.png) Once the embed code has been pasted into the box, click save. The video can now be resized and moved around within the content. Save the page in the Edsby Content Builder. Now the video is embedded into the content and can be viewed in the Content Builder. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edsby-embedded-content.png) **Connecting the Content Builder with the Planner and Gradebook** The Edsby Content Builder works effectively with both the Planner and Gradebook to keep all assessments and units neatly organized. If a unit or assessment is created in the Course Content Builder, it will be cross-posted to both the Planner and Gradebook. The same goes for creating assessments or units elsewhere in Edsby. Regardless of where assessments or units are created from in a class, they will be visible in the Course Content, the Planner, and the Gradebook to ensure they are kept consistent. **Copying Content** Content can be copied and pasted into other classes, Professional Development Groups, and the Personal Folder. Individual items, Units, or even the whole course can be copied. To copy an individual item, click the drop-down arrow next to that item and select copy. To copy a unit, click the arrow next to the unit name. To copy the whole course, click the arrow next to the course name. Once the content has been copied, navigate to the personal folder, class, or group the content will be pasted in. In a class or group, navigate Content Builder or Knowledge Base and click edit. Click the drop-down arrow of the course, unit, or item and select paste before to paste the content above the item. Click paste after to paste the content below the item. Content can be copied from a previous class and pasted directly into a current class. In the Personal Folder, click New and select Course, type the name of the course, and click Create. Find the course in the Personal Folder and click on it. Click edit, select the drop-down arrow next to the course name, then click paste. Pasting content into the Personal Folder streamlines the process for teachers to locate and utilize it in upcoming classes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pasting-content.png) **Student Interaction** When students view the course content, they can mark the content as complete. Students can also react to the content based on their understanding of it. Teachers can view their student’s progress and reactions in the Content Builder by clicking Show Progress. Teachers can view the progress for each item in the Content Builder or for the whole course. Teachers can use the reactions to track their students’ understanding of the course material. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/show-progress.png) **Student View of Content** Students can view any content that teachers have made visible in the Content Builder. Any hidden or deleted items are not visible to students. When students mark items in the content builder complete, a checkmark will appear next to the item. Students will see a progress bar at the top of the Content Builder, this enables students to see how much of the course content they have completed. Students can choose to react to the content by clicking the React button. This lets teachers know how well their students are understanding the course content. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/student-view-of-content.png) When Smart Release is enabled, students must mark each item as complete before they can view the next item in the Content Builder. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Seating Plan](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/seating-plan/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Seating Plan is only available to the teachers of a class. To access the Seating Plan, select Seating Plan from the top menu of an Edsby class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-seating-plan-snap-1.png) Click Edit and drag student photos from the right panel to the grid on the left. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Edsby-seating-plan-snap-2.png) To make changes to the Seating Plan, click Edit. Then click Save. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edsby Groups Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-groups-overview/) **Published:** August 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ### [Portfolio](https://www.edsby.com/help/portfolio/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Each student has their own Edsby portfolio, which is similar to a personal blog. In the Portfolio, students can create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular successes. Each submission is posted to a board, along with all previous posts. The board makes it easy for the student, along with teachers and parents, to quickly glance an overview of their work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-full-portfolio.jpg) ## Accessing the Portfolio Students can quickly access their Portfolio from anywhere in Edsby using the Navigation Bar or by clicking Portfolio from their home screen underneath Classes. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/how-to-access-portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/how-to-access-portfolio.png) Students can also access their Portfolios by clicking Portfolio on the Home Screen of the Edsby Mobile App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-portfolio.jpg) Teachers can access a student’s Portfolio by hovering over the student’s photo in Edsby and clicking ‘View More’. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/teacher-clicking-view-more-to-see-student-portfolio-1024x390.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/teacher-clicking-view-more-to-see-student-portfolio.png) Teachers can also access a student’s Portfolio by clicking the name or photo of the student in Edsby and clicking Portfolio at the top right of the student’s Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/clicking-portfolio-in-student-perspective-1024x248.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/clicking-portfolio-in-student-perspective.png) ## Creating a new Portfolio post From the Portfolio, students can draft or publish new posts. Students can create posts that display a favourite piece of artwork, a learning goal or area to grow in, a future occupational plan, a success story, a time they showed leadership, or an award to show off. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/portfolio-ideas.jpg) Edsby Portfolios are a great way to capture all of a student’s proud moments and learning development. To create a new Portfolio post, students click the plus button in the top right of the mobile header or browser Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portolio-mobile-or-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portolio-mobile-or-browser.png) From here, students can craft their portfolio post. It may include a combination of images, text and uploaded files. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/blank-portfolio-template.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/blank-portfolio-template.png) A picture is worth a thousand words! Sometimes it’s easiest to upload an image of a project instead of trying to describe it. Students can easily upload an image to their portfolio post by dragging it from their desktop and dropping it into Edsby. For more information on creating Portfolio posts from mobile, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-the-edsby-app/mobile-posting-to-portfolio/) ### Tagging the post Once the portfolio post has been crafted, students must set the Subject and Grade and have the option to create Tags. The more information students input, the easier the post will be to search later. To create a tag, students enter the title of the tag and press the enter key to input the tag. Clicking anywhere on the screen will also input the tag. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/tagging-portfolio-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/tagging-portfolio-post.png) Edsby automatically saves tags that have been previously used by a student. Consequently, students can quickly input tag titles they’ve used frequently. ### Limiting who can see a portfolio post Students can limit who sees a post in their Edsby Portfolio. By default, portfolio posts are visible to both the parents and teachers of the student. Post visibility can only be changed when **creating or editing** a portfolio post. To change who can see a portfolio post, click the Show To… drop-down menu at the top of the post form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/portfolio-show-to-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/portfolio-show-to-options.png) ### Publishing or saving a portfolio post Once the portfolio post is ready, click Save and Publish. It’s also possible to save the post as a draft to finish later. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/save-draft-and-save-and-publish.jpg) Posts saved as drafts are visible to others (e.g. parents and teachers) who view the Portfolio. However, drafts are labeled. #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/saved-as-draft.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/saved-as-draft.png) ## Editing a portfolio post Students can navigate to the Portfolio and click the post to edit. An edit button will be located at the top right of the screen. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-portfolio-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-portfolio-post.png) ## Adding Learning Story items to the Portfolio Students can add an item shared in their Learning Story to their Portfolio. To do so, click the blue Plus icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-to-portfolio-learnign-story-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-to-portfolio-learnign-story-item.png) This adds the Learning Story item to the student’s Portfolio. To remove it from the Portfolio, click the icon again. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/remove-from-portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/remove-from-portfolio.png) ## Creating an About Me Each student has an About Me section on their Portfolio. Students can use this space to share about their hobbies and interests. Students can add new information to the About Me section by clicking Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/about-me.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/about-me.png) Everyone who can access a student’s mini-profile will also be able to see their About Me, assuming they navigate to the student’s profile. Users who can access a student’s About Me include: - School staff - Other students who are in the same class as the student - Other students who are in the same group as the student - Parents who are in the same group as the student **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers, Students --- ### [Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/panorama/) **Published:** July 6, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Panorama gives teachers and administrators the information they need to plan for student success. The Panorama is a secure area, available only to teachers and administrators. As faculty members, teachers and administrators can see everything Edsby knows about the student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Panorama-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Panorama-breakdown.png) 1. Link to the student’s Portfolio 2. Parent information 3. Student’s classes panel and grades with links to view the student’s Progress Report and Learning Story. Teachers can access the Panorama for any student in the school but can only see the classes panel for the students they are currently teaching. Senior Admins, Office Head, and Guidance roles can see the classes panel for all students at the school 4. Student’s About Me: This section is populated from the student’s Portfolio 5. Account Details with option to reset the student’s password 6. Groups the student is a member of 7. A field to write an observation as well as any that have been recorded 8. Options to Plan an Absence and Message 9. Alerts 10. Student’s amalgamated personal schedule 11. Student’s information To access a student’s Panorama, enter the student’s name in Search. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Searching-for-student-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Searching-for-student-name.png) The Panorama can also be accessed by hovering over a student’s photo in a class or group and clicking View Panorama in the mini profile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/access-panorama-from-mini-profile-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/access-panorama-from-mini-profile-1.png) The Mini-Profile also provides teachers and administrators with options to send the student a message or view their Perspective and Portfolio. Teachers and administrators can also view the student’s current class, their last activity on Edsby, and the last time a student’s parent or guardian accessed Edsby. ## Professional Dialogue In The Panorama, Faculty can make observations about a student’s learning progress or share private files relevant for the student. Teachers can reply to another teacher’s observation by hovering over the item and clicking reply. Observations are only visible to teachers and administrators. The student’s other teachers will see the new observation in their home screen’s recent activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/professional-dialog.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/professional-dialog.png) From Recent Activity, teachers can click on the student name and go directly to the Panorama. ## About the student [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-panel-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-panel-1.png) Teachers of the student can observe the student’s progress through the calculated averages shown beside each of the classes. While each teacher chooses whether to show the student’s average in their class to the student, calculated averages are always visible to teachers of the student and administrators on the Panorama. The student’s Classes panel and their grades in each class will not be visible to teachers who are not currently teaching them. The Attendance Summary Report of the student is also available from the Panorama. Click on the late or absent link at the bottom of the Classes Panel to view the Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/panorama-attendance-totals.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/panorama-attendance-totals.png) To understand a student’s current workload, review the student’s class schedule, assessments, and events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-schedule.png) ## Planned Absence and Late Slips If required, teachers can enter a planned absence. The planned absence will be seen by other teachers on the attendance sheets and the office. Click Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planned-absence-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planned-absence-button.png) Fill in date, time, reason, and comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filled-out-planned-absence-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filled-out-planned-absence-form.png) ## Adding or Changing Alerts The panorama will list any alerts regarding the student. These alerts could be attendance, medical, discipline, or educational related and are available at a glance to teachers and administrators to ensure everyone is informed regarding the needs of the student. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alerts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alerts.png) To add an Alert for the student, click Alerts. If the student already has alerts, they will be listed in the Manage Alerts window with their type, details, severity, and status listed. If there are many alerts, they can be searched through. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manage-alerts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manage-alerts.png) To add a new alert, click Add an Alert. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-an-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-an-alert.png) In this example, Lisa has poor eyesight and will need to sit near the front of the room in all of her classes. 1. Select the Type that best fits the alert from the drop-down. 2. Select the Severity of the alert 3. Set the Status as being either Inactive or Active 4. Provide any details regarding the alert in the Text box ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filling-out-alert-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filling-out-alert-form.png) When the details of the Alert are complete, click Save. The Alert is added to the Panorama. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alert-added-to-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alert-added-to-panorama.png) To delete an Alert, click the X next to the row. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/delete-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/delete-alert.png) Alternatively, the status of the alert can be changed to Inactive. As soon as the Status is set to Inactive, it will not be visible on the Panorama page. However, it will still be visible in the Manage Alerts window. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inactive-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inactive-alert.png) To edit an Alert, click its row in the Manage Alerts window and update the details accordingly. Click Save and the Alert will be updated. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/editing-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/editing-alert.png) ## Resetting a student password Teachers can easily remedy the forgotten password excuse by resetting the password here. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/account-settings-4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/account-settings-4.png) #### About the Parent The Parent panel lists the parents or guardians. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-panel.png) Hover over the parent photo to access the mini profile. The mini profile can be accessed from anywhere in Edsby where the name or photo of the parent exists. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-mini-profile.png) Clicking on a parent’s name opens the parent Details. The Details page is only available to teachers and administrators. The Details page includes more demographic information and also provides a place for parent observations and file storage. Teachers and administrators can reset parent passwords. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Parent-information.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Parent-information.png) The Details page can also be accessed by entering the name into Search. Hovering over the parent name in the mini profile will show a list of which children are associated with this parent. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/children-the-parent-has.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/children-the-parent-has.png) ## Communicating with the student and parent Teachers can communicate privately with the student and parents. Click the Message button to create a pre-addressed private message to just the student, just the parents, or to both student and parents. Recipients only see his or her own name in the To field. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-options.png) Remove any name from the To list by clicking the X beside the name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/remove-contact-from-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/remove-contact-from-message.png) ## Viewing and Printing Progress Reports Teachers can view a detailed progress report which displays a student’s averages, attendance history, and grades for individual assessments by clicking on the button in the classes panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-progress-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-progress-report.png) From the Progress Report page, teachers can select and deselect which information they wish to include and then print a hard copy using the template menu at the top. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/progress-report-print-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/progress-report-print-options.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Assessment Form](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/the-assessment-form/) **Published:** July 6, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers can use Edsby to create assessments that are automatically linked to the Edsby Gradebook. Edsby helps teachers organize everything connected to an assessment in one convenient place such as learning goals, success criteria, relevant documents, and even learning standards (ex. Common Core standards or ministry expectations). ## Accessing the Assessment Form Teachers can create assessments from multiple places in their Edsby account. Adding an assessment will add it to the class feed, the class and home screen calendar of the student and parents associated with the class, the Planner, the Content Panel, and to the Gradebook. Teachers can create assessments in the Class Feed, the Content Builder, the Gradebook, and in the Planner. In the Class Feed: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/clicking-assessment-from-class-feed.png) In the Content Builder: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/add-assessent-in-content-builder.png) In the Gradebook: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/add-assessment-in-gradebook.png) In the Planner: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/add-assessment-in-planner.png) ## Creating Assessments in the Class Feed or Gradebook When creating an assessment in the Class feed or Gradebook, Edsby requires: - The name of the assessment - The unit the assessment is part of - The due date of the assessment - The grading scheme associated with the assessment All other fields in the form are optional. Additionally, all information can be changed even after the Assessment has been posted. ### Creating Units in the Assessment Form Units are required when creating an assessment in the Class feed or Gradebook. New units can be created directly from the assessment form. To create a new unit, click the drop-down arrow under Unit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/add-new-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/add-new-unit.png) Select Add New Unit from the menu and enter the new unit’s name in the text box. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/enter-unit-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/enter-unit-name.png) This new unit will be added to the Gradebook, Course Plan, and Planner. Note: If the class if not divided into units, create a unit named Term Work, for example, to fill the Unit field. ### Creating Assessments from the Class feed If an assessment being created is due soon, teachers may find it fastest to create the assessment from the class feed. To create an assessment from the class feed, navigate to the desired class. Click Assessment from the options at the top of the class screen. The assessment form will open. Fill out the form with a name, unit, due date, and grading scheme. Customize it using the additional fields, if desired. When the form is complete, click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/creating-assessment-from-class-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/creating-assessment-from-class-feed.png) The Assessment will be posted to the class feed, the Planner, the Course Plan, Calendars, the Gradebook, and will be visible to the teacher as well as students and parents associated with the class if their visibility is enabled. ### Creating Assessments from the Gradebook To create an assessment from the Gradebook, navigate to the desired class and select Gradebook from the options on the top right of the class screen. At the top right of the gradebook, click the drop-down arrow beside Add Assessment and choose an Assessment type. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-from-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-from-gradebook.png) The Assessment form opens. Fill out the form with a name, unit, due date, and grading scheme. Customize it using the additional fields, if desired. When the form is complete, click Save. A new column will be added to the Gradebook for the new Assessment. The assessment will be posted to the Class feed, the Course Plan, Calendars, and will be visible to the teacher as well as students and parents associated with the class if their visibility is enabled. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-added-to-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-added-to-gradebook.png) ### Creating Assessments in the Planner Teachers who are planning assessment dates for an entire semester should consider using the Planner. When creating an assessment in the Planner, Edsby requires: - The name of the assessment - The due date of the assessment All information can be changed even after the Assessment has been posted. To create an Assessment from the Planner, navigate to the desired class and select Planner from the options on the top right of the class screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/making-assessment-in-the-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/making-assessment-in-the-planner.png) When in the planner, hover over the date the assessment will be due. Click the drop-down arrow that appears next to Assessment and select an Assessment type. Type in the name of the Assessment. Click Edit to open the full Assessment form and select a grading scheme. The form automatically assigns the Assessment to the unit in which the due date occurs. Click save when the form is complete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-to-open-full-assessment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-to-open-full-assessment-form.png) The Assessment will be added to the Planner, the Class feed, the Course Plan, Calendars, the Gradebook, and will be visible to the teacher as well as students and parents associated with the class if their visibility is enabled. ## Editing Assessments Assessment forms can be edited even after the assessment has been published in the class. Assessments can be edited from the class feed, the Gradebook, or the Planner. In the class feed, click on the name of the assessment to open its editing form. Make any necessary corrections and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/clicking-assessment-in-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/clicking-assessment-in-feed.png) In the Gradebook, click on the name of the assessment in the column headers to open the detailed view of the assessment. Click Edit at the top of the screen beside the name to open its editing form. Make any necessary corrections and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-assessment-in-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-assessment-in-gradebook.png) In the Planner, click on the name of the assessment to open its editing form. Make any necessary corrections and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-in-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-in-planner.png) If an assessment has been cross-posted to other classes a teacher teaches, any changes made to one can be applied to all of the cross-posted versions as well. When the assessment form is reopened for edits, there are two options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/save-or-save-in-this-class-only.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/save-or-save-in-this-class-only.png) If the teacher makes changes to the assessment and wishes for the changes to apply only to the selected class, click Save in this Class Only. If the teacher makes changes to the assessment and wishes for the changes to apply to all classes the assessment was cross-posted in, click Save. ## Deleting Assessments Assessments can also be deleted from a class by accessing their assessment forms from either the class feed, the Gradebook, or the Planner. Once the form is open, click Delete at the bottom left of the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete.png) If an assessment has been cross-posted to other classes a teacher teaches, deleting the assessment in one class will not delete the assessment in the other classes. Teachers must manually delete the assessment from each class it has been posted to. ## Adding Standards, Expectations, or Outcomes to an assessment Expectations, Standards, or Outcomes can easily be added to an assessment through the assessment form. These can be done by searching for a word or phrase in the Standards text box, entering codes into the text box, or using the Standards pop-out to use the Standards picker form. ### Searching for a word or phrase If a teacher wants to add Standards to an assessment but does not know the exact code, they can easily search for a word or phrase in the specific Standard they are looking for. To do this, use the text box under Standards and type in a word or phrase that a Standard covers. Edsby will automatically generate a list of Standards that contain the entered word or phrase. Select standards from the list to add them to the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/searching-for-standard.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/searching-for-standard.png) ### Entering Standards codes If a teacher wants to add Expectations to an assessment and knows the exact code or part of a code, they can easily add the specific expectation to the assessment. To do this, use the text box under Expectations and type the known code or part of a code in. Edsby will automatically search through all of the expectations to find the codes that correspond to what is typed. Click the Expectation from the list to add it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/searching-standard-code.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/searching-standard-code.png) ### Using the standards picker form To access the full standards picker form, click the pop-out beside Expectations. This form can either be used by Topic View or All Codes View. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/all-codes-or-topic-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/all-codes-or-topic-view.png) #### Topic View Topic View is the default view of the standards picker when the pop-out is first clicked. The standards that correspond to the course that the assessment is being created in are automatically added to the picker. Select an area of standards to view the specific expectations in each area. This will provide a list of specific standards in a specific area of the course. Select the correct standards for the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/using-topic-view-picker.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/using-topic-view-picker.png) If a particular assessment falls under more than one course (this would happen more often in Elementary schools), expectations from all applicable classes can be accessed. To do this, click + choose a new course from the top of the picker form and search for the class using the search bar. The standards for the additional course can be added to the assessment as well. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choose-a-new-course.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choose-a-new-course.png) When all standards have been selected, click Done. They will be added to the assessment form. #### All Codes View All Codes View is another view of the standards picker form that can be accessed by selecting this option at the top right of the picker. This shows a detailed view of all the areas of standards and the specific expectations under each area. Hover over an expectation to view its description. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/all-codes-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/all-codes-view.png) Select expectations to add to the assessment by clicking them. Green checkmarks indicate that the standard has been covered in the class already by another assessment. When all standards have been selected, click Done. They will be added to the assessment form. ## About the Assessment Form The Assessment Form can be customized in many ways. Edsby requires certain fields in the form to be filled out while others are optional. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/full-assessment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/full-assessment-form.png) NameThe name of the assessment. This is a required field.UnitThe unit the assessment belongs to. This is a required field.TypeThe type of assessment – test, essay, presentation, etc. This field is optional and enables teachers to compare assessment types in the Perspective as well as customize the weighting in a Class.StandardsThe standards associated with the assessment. This field is optional. Type, search, or use the pop-out to see a list of standards.Online SubmissionsNone – the default of the assessment unless otherwise specified by the teacher. Does not allow for any online submissions. File Upload – enables students to upload files or submit text. Uploads are viewed in the Gradebook and the Gradebook counter notifies teachers of new files. Online Test – enables teachers to select an online question sheet. (link to online testing) Edsby App – enables teachers to select LTI tools. ScheduleThe due date of the assessment. This is a required field and provides a picker for the teacher to select a date. Blue dots on the calendar indicate the class is taught on that day. Times can be selected manually or using the period the class is taught.Check for ConflictsSearches the calendars of the students in the class for any events, assessments, or planned absences that would conflict with the assessment due date. Teachers can hover over each item for more information and navigate between days.SummativeNo (Formative) – help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling with and using this information to improve their instruction. This type of assessment is not included in a student’s calculated average. Yes, contribute to average – summative assessments evaluate student learning and academic achievement. They are included in a student’s calculated average. Bonus – only contribute to a student’s average in a positive way. SchemeThe way the assessment will be assessed – percentage, letter grade, learning skills, four level rubrics, strands, etc. This is a required field and options differ by organization. [Learn about strands here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/using-strands-2/)Instructions for StudentsThis is an optional field. Teachers often include the purpose of the assessment or the learning goals associated with the assessment.Files for StudentsThis is an optional field. Teachers can Add Resources for the students that may aid them in completing the assessment.Files for TeachersThis is an optional field. Teachers can Add Resources for themselves that connect to the assessment. These are not visible to students.StatusVisible to Students – adds the assessment to the feed, calendar, and planner for students as well as the Gradebook for the teacher. Hidden from Students – adds to the planner and Gradebook only for the teacher. Teachers often create formative or diagnostic assessments as hidden. Cross-PostingTeachers can choose to post the same assessment to any other classes they teach. Post in this class only – posts the assessment only to the class the teacher creates the assessment in. Select All Current – selects and posts the assessment to all classes the teacher teaches. Select specific classes – teachers select which classes the assessment will be posted to. ## Creating Assessments for Online Teaching Try creating a formative assignment just to gather student questions. In the Assessment Form, enable File Upload. Your students can submit any questions they have to you by uploading a file. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-file-upload.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-file-upload.png) You’ll be able to see which students have submitted questions at a glance by looking at the file icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/file-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/file-icon.png) You can also set up an assignment like this to have students respond to asynchronous material you give them outside of your regular class time. [Click here for more suggestions on using Edsby for online learning.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Groups for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups-for-students/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Introduction Groups provide a great space for discussion and updates on clubs, sports teams, or other school groups. Groups are similar to Classes, with a less-academic focus. Each group has at least one teacher assigned as a moderator. Members can access the Groups they are a part of by clicking the Groups icon in the Navigation bar of the mobile app. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-groups-screen-1.jpg) On a browser, the My Groups Panel is located on the bottom left corner of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups-student-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups-student-browser.png) Click Find More to browse more groups in the school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/groups-panel-breakdown.jpg) 1. Students can search for a club they’re interested in or a day of the week they are available. If the group description outlines when the group meets, the group will appear in their search. 2. Groups can be open or closed, as indicated by a lock icon. Students can join groups by accessing Edsby from a browser. **Note:** Only staff members can create groups. If students are part of a club, team, or other group of students and they would like a dedicated Edsby Group created, talk to the teachers or principal! Edsby Groups provide a great space for discussion, collaboration, and updates to keep each club or team organized and up-to-date. ### Open Groups Students can freely jump in and out of open groups. However, they will only be notified of new posts in the groups if they join as a member. Click Join in the top right of an open group to join it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-join-open-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-join-open-group.png) Members are notified of unread posts in a group through a red bubble counter appearing next to the group icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/red-bubble-counter-group-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/red-bubble-counter-group-icon.png) ### Closed Groups Closed groups have a lock beside their name. To join a closed group, click the group and fill out the request. A moderator of the group will review and confirm requests before students can officially join the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/closed-group-request-invite.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/closed-group-request-invite.png) Review the status of a request in the Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/view-group-request-in-mobile-mail.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/view-group-request-in-mobile-mail.png) When the group moderator approves or rejects the request, students will receive a notification in their mailbox and the request status will change accordingly. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/status-of-request-mobile-mail.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/status-of-request-mobile-mail.png) The group will appear in the My Groups panel immediately once a request has been approved. ## Invitations and Automatic Membership Moderators can quickly add students to groups. If they are invited to a group, they are provided with options to Accept or Decline in the My Groups Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-accept-or-decline.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-accept-or-decline.png) However, sometimes moderators automatically add students into a group, in which case students do not have to respond to a request. Students may have noticed the first time they logged into Edsby, they were already a member of a few groups. This is because students are automatically added to major school groups at the beginning of the year. ## Using Groups Groups include a group Feed, a group Calendar, Group Members with those Recently Active listed first, a Knowledge Base, important Pinned Items, and a Group Library. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/components-of-mobile-group.jpg) The group screen on a browser looks like the picture below, with the same functionality as groups on mobile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-screen.png) 1. If the group moderator has enabled students to post, post a note or poll in the group by clicking the Compose icon in the top right of the group. 2. Like, Reply, or report posts as inappropriate in the feed by clicking the plus icon beside the post. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/posting-in-mobile-group.jpg) Hover over the post on a browser to reveal these same options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hover-group-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hover-group-post.png) ## Leaving a Group Students have the option to leave groups, except those they have been automatically added to. To leave a group and delete it from a desktop, open the group page when logged in with a browser and click Unsubscribe. Students cannot unsubscribe from or leave a group from the Edsby app at this time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/unsubscribe-from-group-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/unsubscribe-from-group-button.png) **Note:** Students automatically enrolled in groups will only be unsubscribed if they no longer meet the criteria for automated membership. If they click the Unsubscribe button from within a group they’ve been automatically added to, the group will temporarily be removed from the My Groups Panel. However, the group will be added to the My Groups Panel again the next day. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/report-cards/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Report Card application appears in your classes prior to a report card deadline. The report card includes marked summative assessments for the dates listed at the top of the form. The due date for report card submission is displayed next to the reporting period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-report-card.png) ## Review Assessments To see which summative assessments are included in the reporting period, click Show Assessments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-assessments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-assessments.png) Initially, the list includes any summative assessment that has a date within the reporting date range. To exclude any assessment from this report card, hover over the date and click Exclude. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessments-included.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessments-included.png) Edsby will inform you of any summative assessments that do not have a Due Date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessments-not-in-any-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessments-not-in-any-reporting-period.png) Click Edit Assessment List. To include an assessment in the report card, hover over the date area and click Include. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/include.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/include.png) If you have created assessments without a due date for future units, you will see those assessments in the list. You do not have to clear this list or enter due dates. When you are satisfied the report card includes the correct set of assessments you can begin entering the student information. ## Adding or Removing Students from the Report Card You can add or remove students from the Report Card by clicking the *Add/Remove Students* button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/addremove-students-button.png) A list of students associated with the Class appears. Current students enrolled in the Class are listed first. Dropped students are found at the bottom of the list. By default, all current students are included in the Report Card while dropped students are not. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/list-of-students-in-the-report-card.png) To remove a current student from the Report Card, uncheck the checkbox beside their name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/remove-student-from-report-card.png) To include a dropped student in the Report Card, check the checkbox beside their name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/add-dropped-student-to-report-card.png) When you are finished, click *Save.* The Report Card Sheet will reflect the changes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/save-addremove-report-card.png) ## Entering student grades and comments When you first open a report card sheet, Edsby will show each student’s calculated average, dim, in the Grade column. However, as a teacher, you can use your professional judgement to assign a different grade other than the calculated gradebook average. If you want to use the calculated average and round to the nearest whole number, press the spacebbar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rounding-calculated-average.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rounding-calculated-average.png) In the example above, Emma’s calculated average is 85.4%. Pressing the spacebar will round it to the nearest whole number – in this case, 85%. Hovering over the grade entered shows the original calculated average. The number that is entered in the Grade column is the number that will appear on the student’s report card. The calculated average will only appear on the report card if the teacher has kept it as the student’s final grade and entered it accordingly. Green arrows indicate the grade is more than the calculated average. Red arrows indicate the grade is less than the calculated average. The arrow appears when the Calculated Average and Grade differ by more than 1%. The yellow exclamation point indicates the grade differs by 5% or more. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/arrows-and-exclamation-marks.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/arrows-and-exclamation-marks.png) To complete the report, enter the learning skill evaluations and a comment. Within a row, you can tab through the columns. In the learning skills columns you can either click or tap in the cell to access a drop down list, or type E, G, S, N. If you enter the wrong letter, just type another letter. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/entering-learning-skills-and-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/entering-learning-skills-and-comment.png) Tab into the comment field and hit space to activate the field. Once you’ve entered the comment, click tab to move to the next line. Edsby comment entry support is enhanced to enable a teacher to enter text beyond the configured character count limit. When teachers exceed the limit, the character counter turns red and shows how many characters over the limit the comment currently is. The teacher can then edit further to ultimately adjust the comment to be within the limits. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/over-character-limit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/over-character-limit.png) Note: comments in red can be saved, but not submitted. Click for more information on various report card functions including [filling report card fields in quickly](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards/filling-report-card-fields/) and using the [Find and Replace](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards/report-card-find-and-replace/) button. You can open the student’s Perspective by clicking on the student name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/perspective-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/perspective-2.png) ### Your work is always saved While you cannot submit the report card to the office until all the fields have been completed, the report card will save all entries so you can leave the report card at any time. ## Print Preview At any time while filling out the report card sheet, teachers can easily see how the data they’ve entered on the sheet will look on the printed report card. To do this, click the Preview button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/preview-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/preview-button.png) If multiple print template options are available, a menu drop-down will enable the teacher to choose which print template they wish to use. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/multiple-print-templates.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/multiple-print-templates.png) The Print Preview will be visible. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/print-preview-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/print-preview-1.png) ## Submit to office Once you complete the report card, click Submit to office. You cannot submit the report until every cell has an entry. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/submit-to-office.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/submit-to-office.png) Until the due date, you can make changes to the report card by clicking Unlock for Editing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unlock-for-editing.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unlock-for-editing.png) Once you’ve completed your changes, click Resubmit to office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/resubmit-to-office.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/resubmit-to-office.png) Submitting to office does not share report card information with students or parents. The report card information goes through your school’s existing vetting, printing, and mailing processes. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Rubrics](https://www.edsby.com/help/rubrics/) **Published:** August 15, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Annotating student submissions with the Gradebook's Grader](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/annotating-student-submissions-with-the-gradebooks-grader/) **Published:** February 22, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Gradebook’s Grader provides teachers with a unified framework for viewing submitted files and online tests. In addition, the Grader also enables a teacher to give feedback by adding annotations to a student’s PDF document or image file. ## Jump to a Section [Accessing the Grader](#accessgrader) [Adding Annotations and Comments](#addannotations) [Sharing Annotations](#shareannotations) [Navigating to other Assessments in the Grader](#navigateotherassessments) [Student View of Annotations](#studentviewannotations) ## Accessing the Grader Teachers may access the Grader within their Gradebooks by any one of the following 3 methods: 1. Double clicking the submission icon in the Gradebook cell 2. Choosing Grader from the Status menu, or 3. Clicking the file name from the Gradebook’s Assessment Inbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-Access-1024x458.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-Access.jpg) From the Class conversation and activity feed, the Grader can be accessed from the chevron. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-feed-access-1024x325.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-feed-access.png) #### Adding Annotations and Comments The Grader lists all students’ submissions starting with the first submission. Clicking the file name will display the submission. Teachers can use the rectangle, pen, and highlighter tools to annotate and comment on the student’s submission. Comments can be changed or deleted by clicking on the comment field. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-overview-1024x531.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-overview.png) To maximize screen space for the Grader, collapse the student list by clicking the chevron arrow to the left of the student’s name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/clicking-arrow-to-collapse-student-list-1.png) #### Sharing Annotations If the teacher wishes to share the annotations, they can be shared student by student or all at once. To share an annotation with a selected student, click Share Annotations below the file name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/share-annotations-button.png) To privately share all annotations for each student in the Class at once, click the Share button at the top right of the Grader. The teacher can choose to share both the annotations and grade or just the grade. Students will only see their own annotations and grade. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/share-all-annotations.png) Once the annotation is shared, any changes or deletions made to the markup or comments are immediately viewable by the student. #### Student list When in the Grader, the student list provides the teacher with an overview of submissions, questions, discussions, and shared annotations. Hovering over the icon will display the help text. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-student-list-legend.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-student-list-legend.png) #### Navigating to other assessments within the Grader To navigate to other assessments within the Grader use the drop-down arrow at the top left of the Grader. Clicking on the arrow lists the assessments in the Gradebook, organized by unit. # [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-Navigation-1024x313.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Grader-Navigation.jpg) #### Student view of annotated assessments Students will receive a notification that assessment results, annotations or discussion notes have been shared with them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Notifications-Annotations-1-1024x242.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Notifications-Annotations-1.png) Clicking on the button under the class name or the notification will open the My Work Report where the new items are highlighted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/My-Work-new-annotation-1024x524.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/My-Work-new-annotation.png) Students view the annotations by clicking on the file name. Students can also view and reply to messages from this window. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/My-Work-Annotation-view-1024x611.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/My-Work-Annotation-view.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [How your parent account is set up and how to attach multiple children to your account](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/parent-invitation-email/) **Published:** October 21, 2015 **Author:** admin **Content:** If Edsby has been chosen by the child’s school or district, an email from the school or district will be received to set up an account and/or attach an existing account to each student. Parents only need one Edsby parent account but, will receive a separate email invitation from each school their children attend. Parents can click the link(s) in the email(s) they were sent, and a browser will send them to a screen like the one below on the left: ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/register-a-parent-account.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/register-a-parent-account.png) ## If Parents need to create an account If parents don’t already have an Edsby parent account, click the **I don’t have an Edsby account** button in the email. They’ll then be prompted on a second screen to enter and confirm a password. Their email address and username will already be entered. Click Create Edsby Account. They’ll be logged into their Edsby Account and a “Welcome to Edsby” message will be sent to their email address. The information for at least one of their children/students will be immediately visible to them. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dont-have-account.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dont-have-account.png) ## Add additional children to an existing Edsby account Parents can find Edsby invitation email(s) for their additional children(s). Click the link in the email, and then choose the **Login to your existing Edsby account** button in the screen above. Parents can enter their Edsby username and password. Their existing Edsby account will now include an additional child. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-additional-children.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-additional-children.png)** **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Student Calendars](https://www.edsby.com/help/schedule-4/) **Published:** August 13, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Schools are busy places. As a student, there is so much to keep track of – class timetables, tests, assignments, team practices and games, club events, and student council meetings. Fortunately, Edsby provides great tools for helping you keep track of all of it! ## Accessing the Calendar of a School, Class, or Group Within Edsby, every school, class, and group has its own calendar. When an event is placed on a calendar in a class, for example, every member of the class can see the event. ### School Calendar Students find the School Calendar on the School Page. Access the School Page on a browser by clicking the school name in the top left of your Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/click-school-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/click-school-name.png) The School Calendar is displayed on the right side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar-location.png) On mobile, click the gear icon on the Home Screen and select the school name. Click Calendar to view school-specific events. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-navigate-to-school-calendar.jpg) ### Class Calendar Class Calendars allow students to view class-specific events. Select the class from the Home Screen and click Calendar in the header on mobile. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-navigate-to-class-calendar.jpg) The Class Calendar is displayed on the right side of the class on a browser. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/browser-class-calendar.jpg) ### Group Calendar Access a Group Calendar to view group-specific events by selecting a group from the My Groups Panel or clicking Calendar in the header on mobile. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-group-calendar.jpg) The Group Calendar is displayed on the right side of the group on a browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-calendar-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-calendar-location.png) ## Calendar Colour Guide Each colour in Edsby Calendars signifies an event, assessment, or class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/orange-scheduled-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/orange-scheduled-classes.png)Scheduled Classes[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Green-icon-assessments-or-class-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Green-icon-assessments-or-class-events.png)Assessments or Class Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Blue-icon-group-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Blue-icon-group-events.png)Group Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Purple-icon-school-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Purple-icon-school-events.png)School Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Black-icon-personal-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Black-icon-personal-events.png)Personal Events## Personal Calendar Each student within Edsby has their own Personal Calendar. This powerful Calendar shows all calendar events in the calendars of all classes, groups, and schools a student is a member of. Edsby merges them all together so students can tell at a glance what students have coming up today, tomorrow, and later this week or next. Access the Personal Calendar by clicking the calendar icon in the mobile Navigation Bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-personal-calendar.jpg) On a browser, the Personal Calendar is displayed on the right side of students’ Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/personal-calendar-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/personal-calendar-location.png) ### Monthly Personal Calendar - Clicking on today’s date in the Personal Calendar opens a small monthly view of the Personal Calendar. Dates shaded with light blue indicate you have something scheduled for that day. Dates with a straight blue line under the number indicates school is in session that day. - Clicking on a date in the monthly Calendar displays any events for that day in the Personal Calendar underneath. - Click the arrow buttons to jump to previous and future months. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-monthly-calendar-breakdown.jpg) Collapse the monthly view by clicking the month name. ### Seeing the Bigger Picture If students are looking to check events further in the future, the pop-out Calendar is the best tool. Access this by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the Personal Calendar or by clicking the Calendar icon in the Navigation bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fullscreen-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fullscreen-calendar.png) If using a browser, you may use the arrows to navigate between full month views. Click Today to jump to today’s date. ### Customizing Your Personal Calendar If the Personal Calendar is becoming too cluttered with events from certain groups or classes, users can customize which groups, classes, or schools to show events from. Click the gear icon at the top right of the Personal Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-calendar-settings-1.jpg) Use the checkboxes to streamline which calendars will appear in the Personal Calendar. Checked boxes indicate the calendars that will appear on the Personal Calendar, while unchecked boxes indicate the calendar has been unsubscribed from. **Note:** Customizations to the Personal Calendar are saved and do not reset when students exit the Calendar or log out of Edsby. If they would like to resubscribe to a calendar again, they must do it manually through the Personal Calendar. ### Creating Events Students can create personal events on their Personal Calendar easily. Click the blue plus icon in the top right of the Personal Calendar to open the Create Event form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-create-calendar-event-1.jpg) Fill out the form. Events can be set for a specific time or span the entire day. Edsby even enables repeat schedules for events that occur on a regular basis. If students create an event on the Personal Calendar, it is a personal event and only those students can see it. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Student Contacts Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/student-contacts-zoom-4/) **Published:** June 12, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Student Contacts Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all contacts associated with students in the school. Student contacts may include parents and guardians as well as doctors or babysitters. However, only parents and guardians will receive an Edsby account. The Student Contacts Zoom displays up-to-date information about: - Who has not been invited - Who has been invited and when - Who has accepted the invitation and are active - Who has accepted the invitation but are inactive - Who has declined the invitation - The contact and student relationship - Which contacts do not have Edsby Access (indicated by a red prohibited icon) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-contacts-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-contacts-zoom.png) The filters on the left side of the Zoom can be used to narrow down the list of contacts based on their account status or their access to Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/contacts-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/contacts-zoom-filters.png) ## Inviting Student Contacts to Join Edsby To invite parents or other student contacts to create an Edsby account, click the blue drop-down arrow at the top right of the Student Contacts Zoom and select Invite to Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-edsby.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-edsby.png) A form will appear listing the names of the student contacts. Click Send Invitations. School administrators can also choose to resend invitations to contacts who last received an invitation since some specified period of time. Click the calendar icon to select a time since. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-users-to-join-edsby.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-users-to-join-edsby.png) ## Resending Invitations When a new family enrolls at a school, the contacts will synchronize overnight and appear in the Student Contacts Zoom the next morning. To resend invitations, filter the list of parents to those that need another invitation. The list can be filtered by typing a name in the Search box or by clicking the gear icon and selecting names. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-those-to-invite-to-edsby.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-those-to-invite-to-edsby.png) Click the drop-down arrow and select Invite to Edsby. When the list of names appears, click Send. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/send.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/send.png) To resend an invitation to just one contact, click their name in the Student Contacts Zoom to open their Details page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/resend-invitation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/resend-invitation.png) Click Resend Invitation. ## Canceling Pending Invitations Invitations to Edsby can be canceled if required. In the Student Contacts Zoom, click the name of the contact to open their Details page. Click Revoke Invitation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/revoke-invitation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/revoke-invitation.png) While the contact will still have an email invitation in their Inbox, the link is no longer valid, and clicking the link will produce an error. ## Generating an Invitation Link Often parents may report they did not receive an invitation email or they do not have access to the email address that the invitation was sent to anymore. If after resending the invitation, the parent still does not receive it, the invitation link can be copied into an external email message. Find the contact in the Student Contacts Zoom and click their name to go to their Details page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/get-invite-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/get-invite-link.png) Click Get Invite Link and copy and paste the link into an external email message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/generate-invitation-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/generate-invitation-link.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Perspective Analyze](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective-analyze/) **Published:** May 11, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** Inside an Edsby Class, the teacher has access to the Perspective. The Perspective’s Analyze page takes data from Evidence and Gradebook and enables teachers to see the results of both types of assessments in one place. Analyze empowers the teacher to look at the assessment data in multiple ways to spot trends or areas of concern and act on the information. A teacher can choose to analyse the data by strands, standards, evidence tags, assessment types, units, weeks, or months. The results can be summarized by a variety of methods and the teacher can choose what to include in the data. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/analyze-popout.png) Clicking on the cell displays all the assessments and evidence items that are contributing to the grade. In addition, the standard/expectation/outcome description is also included. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Analyze-cell-contents.png) This illustration shows an Ontario class that is focused on knowledge, thinking, communication, and application. The assignments in the Gradebook used the KTCA grading schemes. If the assessments include the Ontario expectations, the teacher will also be able to see how students are progressing at the expectations level by changing the Analyze by field to General Standards or General Expectations. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/KTCA-Analyze-example.png) This illustration shows an example of the 4th grade math class. The teacher assesses at the general standards level (general outcomes in some jurisdictions) and is interested in the student’s latest achievement. Clicking on the cell lists all the assessments that are linked to the N.54. In addition, to the grades, the teacher can also see the description of the outcome. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Analyze-GLO-math.png) In Kindergarten, the teacher uses learning evidence exclusively and wants to know how many observations have been tagged as potential report card comments. The teacher has set the color scheme to gray scale. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Analyze-kindergarten-example.png) The assessments in this gradebook include assessment types (e.g. projects, tests) and each of the assessments belongs to a unit. The teacher can view the assessment data in several different ways. The Trend color scheme fits the students scores to Robert J. Marzano’s Power Law and uses the slope and correlation to determine the output. The formula puts more weight on recent assignments, so students aren’t penalized for low grades early in the school year when they were beginning to learn new concepts. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Analyze-combo.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Viewing Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/viewing-report-cards/) **Published:** June 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** If an educational organization has chosen to share Report Cards online through Edsby, parents can view their children’s Report Cards through their Edsby account. If the organization is sharing its Report Cards online, a button will become available at the bottom of the Classes panel of each child. Click the View Report Cards button. This will bring up a list of all previous report cards for that child. Select a Report Card to view. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-parent-report-card-view.png) To download and save a local copy of a report card, view the report card from an Edsby desktop browser login. Use the print to PDF feature available in most mainstream browsers to save the report card to a PDF file on a device. Depending on the report card format, best results may be obtained by toggling off margins and headers and/or selecting portrait vs. landscape orientation. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/help/panorama/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Panorama gives teachers and administrators the information they need to plan for student success. The Panorama is a secure area, available only to teachers and administrators. As faculty members, teachers and administrators can see everything Edsby knows about the student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-breakdown.png) 1. Options to plan an absence and message the student, their parents, or their teachers 2. Parent information 3. Student’s classes panel and grades with links to view the student’s Progress Report, Learning Story, and Report Cards. Teachers can access the Panorama for any student in the school but can only see the classes panel for the students they are currently teaching. Senior Admins, Office Head, and Guidance roles can see the classes panel for all students at the school 4. Student’s About Me: This section is populated from the student’s Portfolio 5. Account Details with options to suspend the student’s account or reset the student’s password 6. Groups the student is a member of 7. A field to write an observation as well as any that have been recorded 8. Links to the student’s Portfolio and Student Admin page to view/edit student information, the student’s caregivers, and history of actions regarding the student 9. Alerts 10. Student’s amalgamated personal schedule 11. Student’s information To access a student’s Panorama, enter the student’s name in Search. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Searching-for-student-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Searching-for-student-name.png) The Panorama can also be accessed by hovering over a student’s photo in a class or group and clicking View Panorama in the mini profile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/access-panorama-from-mini-profile-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/access-panorama-from-mini-profile-1.png) The Mini-Profile also provides teachers and administrators with options to send the student a message or view their Perspective and Portfolio. Teachers and administrators can also view the student’s current class, their last activity on Edsby, and the last time a student’s parent or guardian accessed Edsby. ## Professional Dialogue In The Panorama, faculty can make observations about a student’s learning progress or share private files relevant for the student. Teachers can reply to another teacher’s observation by hovering over the item and clicking reply. Observations are only visible to teachers and administrators. The student’s other teachers will see the new observation in their home screen’s recent activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/professional-dialog.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/professional-dialog.png) From Recent Activity, teachers can click on the student name and go directly to the Panorama. ## About the student Teachers of the student can observe the student’s progress through the calculated averages shown beside each of the classes. While each teacher chooses whether to show the student’s average in their class to the student, calculated averages are always visible to teachers of the student and administrators on the Panorama. The student’s Classes panel and their grades in each class will not be visible to teachers who are not currently teaching them. The Attendance Summary Report of the student is also available from the Panorama. Click on the late or absent link at the bottom of the Classes Panel to view the Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png) To understand a student’s current workload, review the student’s class schedule, assessments, and events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-schedule.png) ## Planned Absence and Late Slips If required, teachers can enter a planned absence. The planned absence will be seen by other teachers on the attendance sheets and the office. Click Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-planned-absence.png) Fill in date, time, reason, and comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filled-out-planned-absence-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filled-out-planned-absence-form.png) ## Adding or Changing Alerts The Panorama will list any alerts regarding the student. These alerts could be attendance, medical, discipline, or educational related and are available at a glance to teachers and administrators to ensure everyone is informed regarding the needs of the student. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alerts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alerts.png) To add an Alert for the student, click Alerts. If the student already has alerts, they will be listed in the Manage Alerts window with their type, details, severity, and status listed. If there are many alerts, they can be searched through. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manage-alerts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manage-alerts.png) To add a new alert, click Add an Alert. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-an-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-an-alert.png) In this example, Lisa has poor eyesight and will need to sit near the front of the room in all of her classes. 1. Select the Type that best fits the alert from the drop-down. 2. Select the Severity of the alert 3. Set the Status as being either Inactive or Active 4. Provide any details regarding the alert in the Text box ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filling-out-alert-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filling-out-alert-form.png) When the details of the Alert are complete, click Save. The Alert is added to the Panorama. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alert-added-to-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/alert-added-to-panorama.png) To delete an Alert, click the X next to the row. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/delete-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/delete-alert.png) Alternatively, the status of the alert can be changed to Inactive. As soon as the Status is set to Inactive, it will not be visible on the Panorama page. However, it will still be visible in the Manage Alerts window. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inactive-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inactive-alert.png) To edit an Alert, click its row in the Manage Alerts window and update the details accordingly. Click Save and the Alert will be updated. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/editing-alert.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/editing-alert.png) ## Resetting a student password Teachers can easily remedy the forgotten password excuse by resetting the password here. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/account-settings-4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/account-settings-4.png) The student’s account can also be suspended from here. ## Parent admin The Parent panel lists the student’s parents or guardians as defined in the school or district’s official systems. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-panel.png) Hover over the parent photo to access the mini profile. The mini profile can be accessed from anywhere in Edsby where the name or photo of the parent exists. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-mini-profile.png) Educators may click on a parent’s name to open the parent’s Profile. To access additional parent information, click Student Admin at the top right of the Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png) Click Caregivers. Here educators can see the student’s parents and contacts, their relationship to the student, contact order, if they have access to Edsby, additional information, and the time of their last activity on Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png) Administrators may click the parent’s name to open their Parent Information page. Here administrators can change much of the parent’s information, suspend their account, or reset their password. Information that cannot be changed here comes from the school or district’s other official sources, such as its Student Information System, and must be changed there. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/parent-details-page.png) Parent details can also be accessed by entering a parent name into Search. Hovering over the parent name in the mini profile will show a list of which children are associated with this parent. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/children-the-parent-has.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/children-the-parent-has.png) ## Student admin In addition to viewing Caregivers in the Student Admin, administrators can make changes to the student’s information by clicking the arrow. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-student-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-student-info.png) Any changes made are visible in History along with any planned absences or group invites regarding the student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-history.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-history.png) ## Communicating with the student and parent Teachers can communicate privately with the student and parents. Click the Message button to create a pre-addressed private message to just the student, just the parents, or to both student and parents. Recipients only see his or her own name in the To field. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-message.png) Remove any name from the To list by clicking the X beside the name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/remove-contact-from-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/remove-contact-from-message.png) ## Viewing and Printing Progress Reports Teachers can view a detailed progress report which displays a student’s averages, attendance history, and grades for individual assessments by clicking on the button in the classes panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-progress-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-progress-report.png) From the Progress Report page, teachers can select and deselect which information they wish to include and then print a hard copy using the template menu at the top. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/progress-report-print-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/progress-report-print-options.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Zooms](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/zooms-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/zooms-1.png)Zooms are a powerful data analysis tools, designed to help school administrators manage the school by providing information about people, classes, rooms, and groups. Each Zoom provides a list view of data. These lists can be sorted by clicking on the column headers. Each Zoom also provides a set of filters on the left that enable you to create a specific subset and then perform operations on that subset (like send messages). For example, administrators could create a list of all grade 9 parents who have students on the Basketball Team and quickly send a mass message reminding them to sign permission forms. The filters are based on the columns being displayed. The general Zoom panel is available to staff members with a role of Principal, Office Head, Office Staff, IT Administrator, and Guidance. ## Zoom Data Exports Each of the Zooms provides a way to export the information in the Zoom to a CSV (comma-separated values) file. This CSV file can then be opened with a variety of spreadsheet, database, or word processing software. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Activities](https://www.edsby.com/help/activities/) **Published:** September 11, 2025 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** ## Activities Overview Activities combine structure and creativity, giving teachers a smarter way to engage students and capture learning. Activities guide students as they submit evidence of their learning, making expectations clear and easy to follow. Teachers can assign Activities to the whole class or tailor them for individual students to support differentiated instruction. Every Activity can be linked to the curriculum and pre-tagged. Student submissions automatically retain these connections—saving time and keeping everything organized. An Activity can be as simple as a written or recorded instruction, or as dynamic as an interactive worksheet using an Artboard. With Artboards, students can draw, label, and create—unlocking new ways to demonstrate their understanding. Activities bring structure and creativity together, giving teachers a smarter way to engage students and capture learning. Teachers create Activities within Evidence through the New Activity button. For the students, the Activities appear in their Learning Story, in the Activities panel. ![Activities 1](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Activities%201.png?width=670&height=322&name=Activities%201.png) To create an activity, navigate to All Evidence and click New Activity. Enter the Title of the activity and add media files or create an Artboard by clicking the brush and pen icon. Students will receive a personal copy of the Artboard and will be able to edit their copy. Provide instructions for students and add a tag for organization. Teachers can add Expectations which they will see on all student submissions. If updates are required, click Save as Draft. To post to the students’ Learning Story, click Save and Share. *Note: Tags are never visible to students or families. Expectations are only visible to students and families once the teacher shares the completed activity and confirms the evidence meets them.* ![new activities form](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/new%20activities%20form.png?width=670&height=398&name=new%20activities%20form.png) To complete an activity, students navigate to the Learning Story and select an activity from the Activities panel and follow the teacher’s instructions. Students can complete and submit the activity or save it as a draft for later submission. ![student activity 1](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/student%20activity%201.png?width=670&height=395&name=student%20activity%201.png) ## Activity Examples In this illustration, the teacher has created an activity for every student in the class. The teacher has provided the students with instructions on how to complete the activity. The teacher has also added a tag and linked relevant expectations/outcomes. All submitted Activities will retain the tag and linked expectations. ![example activity 1](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/example%20activity%201.png?width=670&height=391&name=example%20activity%201.png) When a student opens the activity, the student sees the title and instructions but not the tags. The student can submit photos, PDFs, or use an Artboard. The work can be saved as a draft until it is ready for submission. ![student example 1](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/student%20example%201.png?width=670&height=565&name=student%20example%201.png) In this example, the activity is shared with selected students, and the teacher has elected to create an Artboard for the students. ![activity example 2](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/activity%20example%202.png?width=670&height=418&name=activity%20example%202.png) When a student selects the Artboard, the student can edit their copy of the Artboard. The student selects the Draw tool to complete the worksheet. ![student example 2a](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/student%20example%202a.png?width=670&height=513&name=student%20example%202a.png) The submitted Activities appear in the All Evidence feed. When the submission is opened by the teacher, the teacher can add observations and select a performance level. The evidence has a thumbnail of the Artboard. Clicking on the Artboard opens it in full size. Note that the tag and expectations/outcomes are automatically included. ![example 2 submitted](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/example%202%20submitted.png?width=670&height=564&name=example%202%20submitted.png) In the All Evidence feed, the teacher can Return for Resubmission with feedback. The student can resubmit the work. ![return for submission](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/return%20for%20submission.png?width=670&height=174&name=return%20for%20submission.png) Organize can be used to select multiple items and return them all by clicking Return for Resubmission. All submissions can be viewed by selecting All Students and the name of the Activity. ![all submissions](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/all%20submissions.png?width=670&height=357&name=all%20submissions.png) ## Edsby Capture and Activities Edsby Capture supports both Activity and Artboard submissions. After scanning the QR code, students are able to submit media (photos and videos), or create and submit an Artboard. Students can only submit media or Artboards in classes where the teacher has enabled the Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence option. At least one class must have this option enabled for students to use Capture. Activities can be created in any class, and teachers do not need to enable Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence option in all the classes. For example, if a teacher enables the Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence option in Art Class, students can submit media or an Artboard to the Art class. However, students can complete an Activity from any class. ![Capture screen shots](https://service.edsby.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Capture%20screen%20shots.png?width=670&height=565&name=Capture%20screen%20shots.png) *Note: Teachers enable the Allow Students and Parents to Capture Evidence by navigating to Evidence and clicking QR Code.* --- ### [Utilizing Learning Evidence: A comprehensive guide](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) **Published:** October 13, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** The focus of Edsby’s learning evidence system is to support the assessment, evaluation, and reporting practices of K-12 teachers. The Perspective Analyze tool works together with Evidence and the Gradebook to enable teachers to see the results of both types of assessments in one place. Analyze empowers the teacher to look at the assessment data in multiple ways to spot trends or areas of concern and act on the information. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/analyze-popout-1536x699-1.png) Edsby provides teachers with purpose-built tools to capture evidence. Once captured, Edsby provides innovative tools to organize and analyze the evidence. Teachers can create learning stories to share with parents. When report card time arrives, teachers can use the evidence to build formal learning communication. Evidence can be gathered from a web browser or mobile device. New Evidence can be gathered directly on the home screen of a teacher’s Edsby account or from within a specific class. Teachers can add New Evidence by clicking or tapping the New Evidence button in the Classes panel. If teachers are already in a class, they can access learning evidence by clicking Evidence in the top menu bar of the class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-1.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-31-1024x822.png) Evidence can also be captured using the Edsby Capture App. For more information on Edsby Capture, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-teachers/) # **Jump to a Section** [New Evidence Form](#newevidenceform) [Activities](#activities) [All Evidence](#allevidence) [QR Codes](#qrcodes) [Organize](#organize) [Analysis Notes](#analysisnotes) [Learning Story](#learningstory) [Parent View of Learning Story](#parentviewlearningstory) [Evidence in Report Cards](#evidencereportcards) # **About the New Evidence Form** After a teacher has clicked New Evidence, they can choose which students the evidence applies to by clicking their pictures and clicking Select Student. When the Evidence Form appears, the teacher has the option to add media, document the student’s voice, set the collection date, write an observation, add a tag, add expectations or standards, and score the student’s performance. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-2.png) To add any media, choose one of the icons. Teachers may also have access to additional icons. Available options will depend on the device. For example, the video and camera options won’t be available on a laptop without a camera. Teachers can also upload files from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. To record a student’s reflection on his or her learning, click Student Voice. To record an observation about a student, select Write an Observation. Tagging the evidence helps teachers to organize the evidence based on their own criteria. To add a tag, select one from the tags list, or write a new one in the text box. Select Expectations to link expectations, standards, or outcomes to the piece of Evidence. Teachers can also choose the date that the evidence was collected. To add or remove students, click Change. To share the evidence with the student and their parents or guardians, select Share to Learning Story. Once the Share button has been selected, the Create button will change to Create and Share. Students and parents are able to view this shared evidence by navigating to the student’s Learning Story. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-3.png) ## **Optional Formative Scoring** Teachers may want to score evidence items on a quantitative scale. In Edsby, a simple 4-level option is available when gathering new Evidence or editing previously documented Evidence. The 4-level scoring scheme is found under Score Performance in the New Evidence form. The scale features levels of different colors indicating the level of performance – Level 1 being red and Level 4 being blue. Click the X to remove the selected level if the Evidence does not require quantitative scoring. The level assigned to a specific piece of Evidence is visible in the Organize tab under the Evidence it corresponds to. Evidence scores are never shared with students and parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-optional-performance-scoring.png) # **Activities** Activities combine structure and creativity, giving teachers a smarter way to engage students and capture learning. Activities guide students as they submit evidence of their learning, making expectations clear and easy to follow. Teachers can assign Activities to the whole class or tailor them for individual students to support differentiated instruction and every Activity can be linked to the curriculum and pre-tagged. Student submissions automatically retain these connections—saving time and keeping everything organized. An Activity can be as simple as a written or recorded instruction, or as dynamic as an interactive worksheet using an Artboard. With Artboards, students can draw, label, and create—unlocking new ways to demonstrate their understanding. Teachers create Activities within Evidence through the New Activity button. For the students, the Activities appear in their Learning Story, in the Activities panel. ![Edsby Activities](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Activities-1.png.webp) To create an activity, navigate to All Evidence and click New Activity. Enter the Title of the activity and add media files or create an Artboard by clicking the brush and pen icon. Students will receive a personal copy of the Artboard and will be able to edit their copy. Provide instructions for students. Add a tag for organization and add Expectations. The teacher will see the expectation/outcome on all student submissions. If updates are required, click Save as Draft. To post to the students’ Learning Story, click Save and Share. ![New Edsby activity form](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/new-activities-form.png.webp) *Note: Tags are never visible to students or families. Expectations are only visible to students and families once the teacher shares the completed activity and confirms the evidence meets them.* To complete an activity, a student first navigates to their Learning Story. Then they select an activity from the Activities panel and follow the teacher’s instructions. The student can complete and submit the activity or save it as a draft for later submission. ![Edsby student activity](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/student-activity-1.png.webp) For more information about activities, click here. # **Organizing and Viewing Evidence** Edsby’s Evidence system enables teachers to organize and view their Evidence in multiple places with multiple filters. ## **All Evidence** The All Evidence tab enables teachers to view all Evidence that has been collected for all of the students in that class, including Activities and Evidence submitted by the students. The newest Evidence is listed at the top of the feed, but teachers can filter the feed by students, what’s included in the Evidence, whether or not it has been shared to the student’s Learning Story, performance scoring, expectations, and tags. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-4.png) Teachers can select single or multiple students or the entire class by clicking on the drop-down arrow and choosing All Students, Single or Multi-select, or selecting specific students from the list. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-45.png) All Evidence displays all of the information for each piece of Evidence including: 1. Who created the Evidence 2. Which student or students the Evidence was created for 3. The performance score assigned to that Evidence 4. Any tags associated with the Evidence 5. Whether or not it has been shared to the student’s Learning Story Teachers can also Share, Unshare, and Edit Learning Evidence here. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-6.png) Teachers can also communicate with parents, students, and other co-teachers about a piece of Evidence using the comment or like buttons. Selecting Share to Learning Story enables parents and students to view the comment in the student’s Learning Story. Leaving this box unselected makes the comment visible only to other co-teachers. If the Share to Learning Story button is disabled, it indicates that the Evidence item has not been shared. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-13.png) When parents and students reply to a piece of Evidence, it is included in the All Evidence feed. For example, Mr. Bishop noted that Andrew has been working hard to catch up on his science project and would benefit from more time to work on it at home. Andrew’s parent wants to let Mr. Bishop know that he has been working hard at home too and . When the parent replies to the Evidence, the reply can be seen both in the All Evidence feed and in the student’s Learning Story. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-14.png) When teachers create and share Evidence for multiple students, the Evidence is shared with all of the students and parents listed on the Evidence. When a parent comments on the Evidence, that comment is only visible to that parent, their child, and the teacher. Other students and parents will not see any comments that are not from the teacher or their own child. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-15.png) ### ***QR Codes*** Teachers can easily print a class list of QR codes that can be used with the Edsby Capture App to quickly create new evidence items. To print the list, click QR Codes. Teachers can also allow students and their parents to access their unique QR Codes from home. This is done by selecting ‘Allow students and parents to Capture Learning Evidence’ in the Class Setup form under Students and Parents, the student panel, or from the All Evidence Page. Students and their Parents access their QR Codes from the student’s Learning Story. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-9.png) Students and parents only have access to the QR Codes associated with them – the QR Codes of other students are not accessible. When teachers enable students and parents to capture Learning Evidence, they might want to provide instructions on how to do so, or on how to find Evidence that the teacher has shared. The following are examples that teachers can share in their classes to guide and assist students and parents. For families: “I will be sharing student progress to their Learning Story. Navigate to your child’s Learning Story from the Home Screen on the Edsby mobile app.” For students and their families to submit Evidence: “I’ve enabled students to submit their own Learning Evidence. To accomplish this, go to your Learning Story, click on “Capture Learning,” and you can upload a picture or video while providing insights about your work. Additionally, you can utilize the Edsby Capture app by scanning your unique QR code.” For families of younger students: “I’ve enabled families to contribute their child’s learning evidence. Access their Learning Story, select “Capture Learning,” and include a photo or video with comments about their work. Alternatively, utilize the Edsby Capture app by scanning the QR code.” ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-30-859x1024.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-28.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-29-1024x982.png) ## **Organize** The Organize section enables teachers to focus on either one student or a selection of students and review and analyze the evidence. Teachers can view their collected evidence for these students by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting the students from the list. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-16.png) The teacher has gathered several pieces of Evidence for her students. The Evidence includes the teacher’s observations and most items include Expectations. Some of the Evidence has been shared. A few of the items included the student’s voice and some items have teacher-generated tags. The *Organize by* selection enables teachers to sort the evidence based on teacher-generated tags, expectations, frames, and dates. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-17.png) Items that have been linked to an expectation are sorted by the encompassing frame. When evidence is linked to more than one frame, the evidence will appear in each frame. Items not linked to an expectation will be listed under “Other Evidence”. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-18.png) The filters enable teachers to focus on items that match their choice. In this example, the evidence is organized by Date but is filtered to show only evidence that includes the student’s voice and has been scored. To see all the evidence, remove the filters. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-19.png) Underneath each piece of learning evidence is the date the evidence was captured along with the name of the person who captured the Evidence and the student or students whom the Evidence was created for. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-20.png) The Scrapbook view enables the teacher to visually organize the evidence. Initially, all the evidence is stacked neatly in one corner. Begin to organize by dragging the evidence into groups In the Scrapbook organizational view, teachers can create Sticky Notes. The Sticky Notes are only visible in the Scrapbook view. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-32.png) ### ***Applying Tags*** To add additional tags, select one or more items, then click Apply tags. The tag will be applied to all selected evidence. Evidence can also be shared or unshared to the students’ Learning Story this way. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-21.png) To edit any piece of Evidence, double-click the Evidence. ### ***Viewing Evidence for Dropped or Transferred Students*** Teachers can review the Evidence of students who were previously in their Class and have been dropped or transferred. Dropped students are found at the bottom of the student picker list with the label *Dropped.* Click the student’s name to view any previously collected Evidence. When students are transferred to a different class, their Evidence follows them. The new teacher will be able to see any Evidence collected by the old teacher and will include the old Teacher’s name under ‘Collected by’. ### **Analyze Evidence** The Organize section enables a teacher to analyze the collected evidence. ### **Creating a New Analysis** Select one or more items then click New Analysis. Analysis Notes within the Evidence system can include other analysis notes as well as Evidence items. The form will be prefilled with existing Frames and expectations and tags. To add additional expectations, click Frames & Expectations. To add additional tags, click tags. In the Analysis box, add the analysis of the evidence. Consider a range of possible meanings and perspectives and make connections to the overall expectations. To include key learning, growth in learning, or next steps in learning, click on the text to reveal an additional entry box. Edsby enables teachers to have the option to score an Analysis note with a performance indicator in the same way they can score individual Evidence items. As with Evidence items, teachers can score each expectation individually, and scoring is optional. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-22.png) ## **Learning Story** The Learning Story section provides the teacher(s) of the class a feed of which evidence items have been shared with the student and parents/guardians of the student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-23.png) When adding New Evidence, teachers have the option to share it with students and parents. Clicking this shares the Evidence with both students and their parents in the student’s Learning Story. The Organize section also enables teachers to select one or more items to share with parents after a piece of evidence has been collected. Selected items are highlighted in blue. Click the share button to share the Evidence with students and parents, or click the Unshare button to unshare Evidence with students and parents. The All Evidence and Organize tabs provide an arrow indicator for Evidence items that have been shared with students and parents. The arrow is visible in the top right corner of the shared Evidence. This enables teachers to quickly see which pieces of Evidence have been shared and which haven’t. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-24.png) ### **Parent View of Learning Story** Parents can view their child’s Learning Stories by clicking the button under the child’s classes. Here, any evidence items the teacher has chosen to share in the student’s Learning Story will be visible. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-25.png) Information for Kindergarten Families can be found [here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-kindergarten-families/) For more information on capturing mobile evidence, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) # **Evidence in Report Cards** ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Evidence-in-Report-Card.gif) Teachers utilizing Evidence and Analysis Notes can effortlessly transfer text from these notes directly into report card sheets through a convenient drag-and-drop process. This makes it extremely easy for teachers to leverage the work they’ve done through the year and make communicating the learning faster and more effective. To add Analysis Notes or Evidence items to report cards, navigate to the Report Card. A list of the students in the class will appear with options to add their averages and comments to the report card. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-26.png) Click the name of a student from the list. This brings up options to view the student’s Perspective through the Graph, Analyze, Assessments, Standards, Evidence of Learning, Attendance, or Previous Report Cards. Selecting Evidence of Learning will show the teacher all items of Evidence a specific student has. The filters enable teachers to filter and find the Evidence they are looking for. Click the Analysis Note Text or piece of Evidence that will be added to the report card and drag it into the comment box of the selected student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Edsby-2024-Evidence-27.png) Teachers can add additional Analysis Notes or other pieces of Evidence by dragging and dropping them from the student’s perspective to the comment box in the report cards. Teachers can still manually type comments in once Analysis Notes and Evidence have been added. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Syncing Edsby calendars with Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook](https://www.edsby.com/help/sync-edsby-calendars-outlook-google-calendar/) **Published:** December 17, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Calendars are a core aspect of Edsby. Edsby maintains many separate calendars within each user’s account: calendars for groups, classes, school news, etc. Users can synchronize the contents of any of their Edsby calendars with popular calendar software, including Outlook’s calendar, Google Calendar, or virtually any other calendar program that can pull information from external calendars using the iCal, or iCalendar, protocol supported by Edsby for calendar export. And if a mobile device is synchronized to one of these calendar programs, Edsby events will appear on mobile, too. Here’s how to set up calendar syncing from Edsby: 1\. On a desktop computer with a web browser, navigate to the specific Edsby class, group or other calendar you want to synchronize. Once you’ve found the calendar you want, in the calendar pane at the the top right of the screen, click the “Open full page calendar” button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/calendar-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/calendar-popout.png) 2\. In the full page calendar view, click the Sync button [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/inport.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/inport.png) 3\. Edsby will generate a URL for your selected calendar in a pop-up window. Copy and paste the URL to your computer’s clipboard. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copying-the-url.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copying-the-url.png) 4\. In your other calendar program, find its calendar import feature and paste your Edsby calendar URL, such as described below for Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Repeat the process for other calendars you may want from Edsby. Note you cannot change any Edsby calendar information yourself; the synchronization is one-way only. ### In Google Calendar Click the + next to ‘Other Calendars’ on the left side of the screen to add another calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-other-calendars.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-other-calendars.png) Select “From URL.” [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/from-url.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/from-url.png) Paste in the Edsby URL and click the “Add calendar” button. The calendar events will be loaded. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-google-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-google-calendar.png) Then, from your Google Calendar desktop, hover over the newly-added calendar in the calendar list, choose “Options” > “Settings” and give your new calendar a more useful name than the one it defaults to. Google Calendar users, note that Google will only update calendar information from external calendars once every 24 hours, randomly. This means any additions or changes to Edsby calendar events could take as long as a whole day to appear in your Google Calendar. This is a limitation of Google Calendar, not of Edsby. ### In Outlook In the Outlook calendar, click ‘Import Calendar’ on the left side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-calendar.png) Select “From Web.” [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/from-web.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/from-web.png) Paste in the Edsby URL and name your calendar. The calendar events will be loaded. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-outlook-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-outlook-calendar.png) ### Mobile Calendar Sync To sync your Edsby Calendar to your mobile calendar, copy the Edsby Calendar URL from your browser and send it to your mobile device. On an IOS device, copying the URL to your clipboard will allow you to paste from your mobile device. For android users, you can email the link to yourself and copy it from your mobile device. Once you have the link copied on your mobile device, navigate to your calendar and and tap Add Calendar. Choose Add Subscription Calendar and paste the URL, tap Add. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/adding-new-calendar-mobile-resized.png) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [Classes Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Jump to a Section [Class Conversation and Activity Feed](#classfeedoverview) [Class Calendar](#classcalendaroverview) [Library](#classlibraryoverview) [Pinned Items](#pinneditemsoverview) [Class Setup](#classsetupoverview) [Students Panel and Class Groups](#studentpaneloverview) [Maximizing your Class for Online Teaching](#onlineteachoverview) Teachers and their students share an Edsby class. Everyone sees the same conversation, Pinned Items, Course Plan, Students, Calendar, Journal and Library. In addition, teachers have access to a set of applications to support classroom management, student evaluation, and course plan creation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/inside-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/inside-class.png) 1. Teacher(s) of the class 2. Pinned items 3. Panel of Students in the class 4. Course Content 5. Class feed activity 6. Class links to various tools like Evidence of Learning, the Gradebook, Attendance, and Report Cards 7. Class Schedule 8. Class Journal 9. Library containing various documents the teacher has shared with students ## Class conversation and activity feed Each Edsby Class is centered on the conversation that is taking place in the class. As teachers share notes, create assignments, journals, polls and events these items will be shown in the conversation. Students can easily ask questions and post information in the class conversation, facilitating open sharing of information. Edsby conversations allow even shy students to learn from the questions of others. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/class-activity-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/class-activity-feed.png) Teachers can delete Notes and remove the notifications of Assessments, Journals, and Events from the conversation and activity feed without deleting the items from the structured areas. Videos, Files, or Links added to Notes will be embedded in the Class Feed, meaning they can be accessed directly in the feed without having to go to the external resource. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/embedded-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/embedded-content.png) ### Polls Polls are useful because they are a quick, convenient tool to find out how your students feel about a particular topic. Polls can be used to ask simple questions to a class or group. They are useful for collecting anonymous responses from students, colleagues, or parents. Polls can be posted in any class or group and will only be able to be accessed by its members. To post a poll, click on the poll icon on the main page of a class or group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/poll.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/poll.png) Viewing and participation depend on the rules of the class or group. Anyone with permission to contribute to a particular class or group will also have permission to vote in polls. Those who only have permission to view will not be able to participate but, will have access to the results of the poll if the results are public. #### Creating a poll 1\. Click on the **Poll icon.** 2\. Enter a question. 3\. Enter potential answers. 4\. To include additional answers click the **+** button. 5\. Click Share to post the poll to the class or group [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/creating-a-poll.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/creating-a-poll.png) #### Attaching files Files can be attached to the poll from your computer, Microsoft SkyDrive, or Google Docs by clicking on the appropriate icon and selecting document(s) to attach. The attachment will be posted along with the poll and may be a useful resource to answering the poll. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-attachments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-attachments.png) Note: The availability of Microsoft OneDrive, or Google Docs is determined by your school or district. #### Posting to multiple classes Click on the drop down box and select other classes to allow them to participate in the poll. Each class has an individual copy of the poll – the results of one class will not affect another classes’ poll results. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/posting-to-multiple-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/posting-to-multiple-classes.png) #### Private results This function is useful for collecting the opinions of a class or group without revealing the result to the class. Unchecking the “Show Results to All” box will make the results private and accessible only to the creator of the poll. Enabling Show Results checkbox permits class or group members to view the results. However, whether or not the box is checked, the poll will always be anonymous as contributors names cannot be viewed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/uncheck-show-results-to-all.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/uncheck-show-results-to-all.png) ### Like Members of a class or group can like a post by hovering over the item and clicking Like. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/like-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/like-post.png) Members of the class or group can see the people who like a post. Clicking Unlike removes your name from the list of people who like the post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unlike-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unlike-post.png) ### Deleting an item from the feed Hover over an item and click X. Students cannot delete feed items, or anything else, in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-item.png) ### Add to Evidence from Class Feed Teachers are enabled to use items students have posted in classroom feeds and add them directly as a piece of Evidence in Edsby’s Evidence of Learning system. To do this, hover over the post the student has made and click Add to Evidence from the options that appear. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-to-evidence-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-to-evidence-button.png) This opens the New Evidence form with the student’s post automatically filling the Conversational Evidence field. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/post-in-conversational-evidence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/post-in-conversational-evidence.png) Fill out the form and click Save to add the piece of Evidence. ## Class Calendar You and your students share the same view of the Class Calendar. The Class Calendar displays any assessment that has both a due date and a status of Visible to Students. Assessments and Events from the Class Calendar are automatically added to the teachers’ and the students’ home screen Calendars. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/class-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/class-schedule.png) To see more of the Calendar click on the date. ## Library Teachers can upload files to a class Library. The Library can be used to share files that curriculum-related, a place to collect and share class pictures, or anything else the teacher deems relevant. If a Note includes attachments, teachers can choose to add the attachment by choosing Add to Library from the chevron. To preserve context, the original Note and any replies is presented alongside the file. Additional replies can be posted from the Library light box. The Content panel also provides teacher with a method of sharing files and includes the ability the order the files and control their visibility. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/library.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/library.png) When a teacher adds multiple files to a Note, and then shares them to the library, the files are grouped together in the Library. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/multiple-files-in-library.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/multiple-files-in-library.png) ### Library Folders To create a folder in the Library, teachers can click Library, and choose New Folder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-folder-in-library.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-folder-in-library.png) To add files to a folder, click the folder then click Upload. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-files-to-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-files-to-folder.png) Teachers can remove items from the Library by hovering over the thumbnail and clicking X. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-library-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-library-item.png) ## **Pinned Items** Both teachers and students see Pinned Items, but the teacher controls what information appears in Pinned Items. Teachers can pin any item from the conversation and activity feed. To add an item to Pinned Items hover over the item in the conversation and activity feed and select Pin. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/pinning-an-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/pinning-an-item.png) To unpin an item, click the pin or the X. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unpinning-an-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unpinning-an-item.png) ## Setup Classes are provisioned with the recommended configuration, so you may not need to adjust the class Setup. Class and Gradebook Settings are located in an easy-to-use menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-class-setup-menu-1024x413.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-class-setup-menu.png) ### Students and Parents [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/students-and-parents-class-options-1024x421.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/students-and-parents-class-options.png) **Students***Can enter class and participate* enables students to create Notes and Replies, participate in Polls, and Like feed items.*Can view class but cannot contribute* enables students to enter the Class and see the same Content as the teacher, but cannot share Notes, Reply, or participate in Polls. However, students can still submit online assessments and take online tests. *Cannot enter the class* prevents students from entering the Class. Notes, assessments, journals are posted in a student’s Recent Activity. It enables teachers to keep the Class closed if the Class is not in use. **Parents**If students cannot read or type, the teacher can decide to use the Edsby Class to communicate with the parents as a group. Parents can Like posts within a Class or from the Home Screen’s Recent Activity feed.*Can open class but only see teacher posts* enables parents to see teacher-created content, while student names and content are hidden. *Can not enter the class* prevents parents from opening the Class. This is the default option. **Show Averages to Students and Parents**When set to *Show as percent, Show as level,* or *Show as letter grade,* each student sees their own class average in My Work. Individual assessment grades are still seen in My Work.**Subjective Performance Indicator***Show to students and parents* enables students and parents to view the student’s Subjective Performance Indicator in their My Work report.**Mark Content Complete***Manual* requires students to click *Mark Complete* on each item of Content in the Class Content Panel upon their completion of it.*Automatic* does not require students to click anything to mark the Class Content complete. As soon as students click an item of Content and navigate to the next item, the item will be marked as complete. **Conditional Release**When set to *Can view all visible items* students can view all visible items in the Class Content panel. When set to *Smart Release,* students are required to view and complete each item of Content before the next item of Content is revealed. **Show Assessment Weightings to Students and Parents**When this is selected, students and parents can view.### Teachers and Assistants [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-teachers-and-assistants-1024x272.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-teachers-and-assistants.png) **Teachers**A list of the Class’ teachers. Teachers can add other teachers to the Class by selecting the field and entering the name of another teacher. Every teacher in this list has the same access and privileges.### Class Names and Visibility [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-class-names-and-visibility-1024x272.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-class-names-and-visibility.png) **Formal Name**The name of the Class is provided by the school or district’s Student Information System. Parents see the Formal Name. Report Cards will also use the Formal Name.**Personalized Name**The Personalized Name. This name is only visible to the teacher and students.**Formal Short Name**The Class Code. This code is also provided by the Student Information System.**Personalized Short Name**The Personalized Short Name is visible to teachers and students. Parents see the information provided by the Student Information System.**Show in Classes Panel**When this is selected, the class will be displayed on the teacher’s Home Screen Classes Panel.### Assessments [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-assessments-1024x494.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-assessments.png) **Display Results in this Grade Scheme**A drop-down list of grade schemes is provided. The grade scheme selected is what Edsby will use to display student results to the teacher.**Create New Assessments with this Grade Scheme**A drop-down list of grade schemes is provided. The grade scheme selected is the default Edsby will use when a teacher is creating new assessments. An assessment’s grade scheme can always be altered from this.**Show Averages in Gradebook and Perspective**Teachers can choose to hide the Gradebook’s overall average. Elementary teachers who are not focused on a numerical grade may wish to set this field to *Don’t Show.* If the teacher of students in early grades does not want to see averages in the Gradebook, then they likely do not want to see averages in the Perspective either. Teachers of students in higher grades generally want to see averages within the Edsby Gradebook. However, sometimes they wish to review the Edsby Perspective with a student and/or the parent(s) of the student directly from Edsby and do not wish to have the average displayed (for example, at a parent-teacher conference). This new change enables the teacher to disable the display of an overall average, if desired for this sort of teacher-student or teacher-parent dialogue, and then re-set when meetings end. **Show Evidence Button for this Class on the Classes Panel**Selecting this will add a New Evidence button to the Class on the teacher’s Home Screen Classes Panel for easy Evidence capturing.**Gradebook Summary Columns**Gradebook Summary Columns enable teachers to flexibly create Gradebook columns in addition to the average as a percent including mode, median, latest, range, and standard deviation.### Weighting [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-weighting-1024x480.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-weighting.png) **Weighting Buckets**Weighting Buckets display the Class assessments and their weighting points in a compact way and enable teachers to adjust the weighting points without opening multiple assessment forms. Additionally, they enable teachers to group assessments into a bucket and assign a weight to the bucket.### Additional Options [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-additional-options-1024x493.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-additional-options.png) **Additional Info**Displays information about the Class including timetable information.## Students The Students area displays the photos of all the students participating in the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/students-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/students-panel.png) Hover over a student’s photo to view their mini profile. The mini profile includes the student’s current class. An A indicates the student is absent. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/mini-profile.png) Teachers can expand the Student panel by clicking Students. In the expanded view, teachers can send a private message to parents only or parents and children. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/message-parents-only.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/message-parents-only.png) The message is pre-addressed with all the names, however, the BCC label indicates that each recipient only sees his or her own name. Teachers can remove a name by clicking the X beside the name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/message-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/message-filled-out.png) ## Class Groups Class Groups are special groups within a class that support student collaboration. The teacher can create groups that allow student participation or provide targeted resources to a group of students. Through the assessment form, the teacher can enable a submission on behalf of the group. Class Groups are accessed from the Students panel and are created through a form. Permissions are easily managed through the form, giving educators full control over group access and visibility. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/class-groups-panel.png) To create a Class Group, click New Group Category. After naming the group category, the following form appears. The teacher sets the student visibility by selecting one of the following options: Students see all the groupsThe students can see the name of thegroups in this category and see the names of which students are in the groups. Students only see the groups they are in The students can only see the name of thegroups they are a member of. The students can see the names of the other members. Hide groups from students Only the teachers of the class can see the groups and the membership list. The groups can be used to create individualized assessments.The teacher sets the student participation level by selecting one of the following options: Students in group may open and participateStudents see the group listed in their Groups panel. Students can post messages, create events, and contribute to the Knowledge base.Students in group may open but not participateStudents see the group listed in their Groups panel, but can only read content created by the teacher.Students cannot open the groupStudents see the group listed in their Groups panel but cannot open the group. This setting can be used to temporarily block access to the groups. The group can be removed from the students’ home screen by changing the visibility option.The teacher can select which group or groups the student is a member of by clicking the radio button. The teacher can also randomly put the students into groups by clicking “Randomly put students in the group”. Once the form is saved, the groups are created, and the visibility and participation options are set. Teachers can make changes by clicking on the gear icon and making adjustments to the form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/class-group-form.png) For more information about Class Groups, [click here. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/class-groups/) ## Maximizing Your Class for Online Teaching Making sure students feel supported, cared for, and noticed is essential for creating an effective online class community. Teachers can create a daily check-in Poll asking students how they are doing, if they have any questions, and how you can better support them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/poll-check-in.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/poll-check-in.png) Teachers can hide the results so students can’t see how each other voted. Only you will see the results. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/uncheck-show-results-to-all-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/uncheck-show-results-to-all-1.png) Teachers should make sure to keep the Class Calendar up-to-date to let students know when assignments are due, when the class is meeting, and when they are available to answer any questions students may have. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/important-class-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/important-class-events.png) Teachers, encourage your students to contact you regarding any assignment-related questions in their My Work Report. They can send you a question by clicking Ask Private Question. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ask-private-question-student-mobile-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ask-private-question-student-mobile-1.png) They may be unsure of what to say, so try giving them a phrase they can use to contact you. We have provided an example below. *Hi Mr. Harris, I have a question regarding the Romeo and Juliet Themes assignment. Do we have to use references from each Act in the play? I am also unsure of the formatting and am wondering if there is a time I could meet with you to discuss that. Thank you.* Teachers can ask their students to help them create class content! Create a poll to ask them what they would like to do. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/poll-so-students-can-pick.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/poll-so-students-can-pick.png) Teachers can create a formative assessment where students can submit questions to discuss during class-time, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/formative-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/formative-assessment.png) Or the class feed is always a great place to ask students to contribute! [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/conversing-with-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/conversing-with-students.png) [Click here for more suggestions on using Edsby for online learning.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Class Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/class-groups/) **Published:** August 15, 2025 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Class Groups are special groups within a class that support student collaboration. The teacher can create groups that allow student participation or provide targeted resources to a group of students. Through the assessment form, the teacher can enable a submission on behalf of the group. The teacher can also create Class Groups that are only visible to the teachers of the class. These hidden groups can be used to create individualized assessments. Class Groups are accessed from the Students panel and are created through a form. Permissions are easily managed through the form, giving educators full control over group access and visibility. In this example, the teacher has created Class Groups to enable students to collaborate on a group presentation. The teacher can access the groups by clicking on the group name. Additionally, the teacher has created Class Groups based on the courses the students are enrolled in. These groups will be used to speed up the creation of assessments. The teacher can choose to keep these hidden from students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/class-groups-panel.png) To create a Class Group, click New Group Category. After naming the group category, the following form appears. The teacher sets the student visibility by selecting one of the following options: Students see all the groupsThe students can see the name of thegroups in this category and see the names of which students are in the groups. Students only see the groups they are in The students can only see the name of thegroups they are a member of. The students can see the names of the other members. Hide groups from students Only the teachers of the class can see the groups and the membership list. The groups can be used to create individualized assessments.The teacher sets the student participation level by selecting one of the following options: Students in group may open and participateStudents see the group listed in their Groups panel. Students can post messages, create events, and contribute to the Knowledge base.Students in group may open but not participateStudents see the group listed in their Groups panel, but can only read content created by the teacher.Students cannot open the groupStudents see the group listed in their Groups panel but cannot open the group. This setting can be used to temporarily block access to the groups. The group can be removed from the students’ home screen by changing the visibility option.The teacher can select which group or groups the student is a member of by clicking the radio button. The teacher can also randomly put the students into groups by clicking “Randomly put students in the group”. Once the form is saved, the groups are created, and the visibility and participation options are set. Teachers can make changes by clicking on the gear icon and making adjustments to the form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/class-group-form.png) ### Using Class Groups in Assessments The assessment form gives the teacher the option of selecting a subset of students. If the teacher has created Class Groups, they will have the option to select one or more of the groups. If the assignment enables the students to submit a file, the teacher can choose to have one submission per group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/class-group-assessment.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-overview/) **Published:** August 28, 2015 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Managing the News River](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-news-river/) **Published:** July 13, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Getting ready for the new school year](https://www.edsby.com/help/getting-starting-again-2018/) **Published:** August 9, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Capturing and Editing Evidence](https://www.edsby.com/help/capturing-and-editing-evidence/) **Published:** August 27, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edsby Mobile App for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/mobile-edsby-app-for-teachers/) **Published:** September 4, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edsby Mobile App for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-mobile-app-for-parents/) **Published:** August 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Edsby Mobile App for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-mobile-app-for-students/) **Published:** August 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Students --- ### [Sending messages with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/sending-messages-edsby/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** When students want to communicate with a teacher but don’t want to post in the class, they can send a private message. Messages can normally only be read by the recipients and the sender. But be aware: school and district administrators can see Edsby inboxes. Messages in Edsby are never archived or deleted because of the student safety and compliance policies unique to K-12. Nor can students unsend or erase messages. Click the mail icon in the navigation bar to access the inbox and view all past messages. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Message-icon-from-nav-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Message-icon-from-nav-bar.png) New messages are created by clicking the compose icon in the inbox. Students can take pictures through a device’s camera, attach existing pictures or photos, videos, Internet links and other files to messages using the icons at the bottom of the message compose window. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Compose-message-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Compose-message-button.png) Note: most schools and districts intentionally disable Edsby messaging between students. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Students --- ### [Sending messages with Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/sending-messages-with-edsby/) **Published:** May 7, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables teachers to send private messages to parents, students, and other staff members. Messages can normally only be read by the recipients and the sender. But be aware: administrators can see Edsby inboxes. Messages in Edsby are never deleted because of the student safety and compliance policies unique to K-12. Edsby messages, sent or received, cannot be archived or deleted by end users. Teachers are able to un-send Edsby messages they send, but students and parents cannot. Click the mail icon in the navigation bar to access the inbox and view all past messages. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Edsby-messages-inbox.png) New messages are created by clicking the compose icon in the inbox. Search for the name of the recipient(s) to message. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Edsby-compose-message.png) Teachers can add any number of recipients when creating a conversation, however, this cannot be changed afterwards. Think of Edsby Messages as a chat room rather than a chain of emails. To help teachers keep a specific conversation focused on its original intent, teachers can close a conversation by clicking the lock icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Edsby-lock-conversation.png) Senders of private messages in Edsby see in their mailboxes when recipients have opened and read their private messages. This means a teacher can see when individual parents, for example, read the private or group messages they send. It also means parents, in turn, can also see when teachers read their messages. This is intended to promote transparency in communications. Teachers should avoid creating private messages to all students in a class. It’s more work. Teachers should just post a note in the relevant Edsby class instead. It’s quick and easy, and students will see it because they get notifications of new notes in their classes and have learned the Edsby class is where important information is posted. Note most schools and districts intentionally disable Edsby messaging between students. When they do, students cannot send messages, or chats, to their friends in Edsby. usually because their school or district is concerned about what students might exchange. Most Edsby customers encourage student-to-student messages in other official systems if they allow it at all. Some Edsby sites even disable Edsby messaging between parents and teachers. When they do, it is often to encourage parents to use other official channels for teacher communication or because they don’t want to add to teacher workload. If messaging between parents and teachers is enabled, Edsby enables teachers to choose whether or not parents can send them unsolicited messages. Navigate to Settings and click Other Settings. Select the box to enable unsolicited messages and deselect the box to disable them. This can be changed at any time. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Edsby-unsolicited-messages.png) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Language support in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-support-in-edsby/) **Published:** July 25, 2025 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby interface is available at this time in 57 languages. Edsby can display in the following: - Afrikaans - Arabic - Bengali - Chinese (Simplified) - Chinese (Traditional) - Croatian - Czech - Danish - Dutch - English - English (Australian) - English (Canadian) - English (New Zealand) - English (United Kingdom) - English (United States) - Finnish - French - German - Greek - Gujarati - Hebrew - Hindi - Hmong - Hungarian - Igbo - Indonesian - Italian - Japanese - Kazakh - Khmer - Korean - Kurdish (Kurmanji) - Lao - Latvian - Lithuanian - Malay - Nepali - Norwegian - Pashto - Persian - Polish - Portuguese - Portuguese (Brazil) - Punjabi - Romanian - Russian - Somali - Spanish - Swedish - Tamil - Thai - Turkish - Ukrainian - Urdu - Vietnamese - Xhosa - Zulu ## How to see Edsby in these languages By default, Edsby inherits the language of the user’s web browser or device’s operating system. However, if users would like to override the default language used by Edsby, they can do so within Edsby in Settings > Other Settings > Preferred Language. They can set this in the web browser view of Edsby or the Edsby mobile apps. ## Translating content itself within Edsby Most contemporary browsers can automatically translate on-page content. So parents who don’t read the default language of their Edsby system can read the content within Edsby in the language they prefer. For browsers that don’t natively support translation, Edsby supports [Microsoft Translator](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/search/result.aspx?q=translator) and [Google Translate](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-translate/aapbdbdomjkkjkaonfhkkikfgjllcleb?hl=en-GB) browser extensions. Read more details about configuring languages in Edsby [here](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/). **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [Language settings and translating in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/) **Published:** June 11, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** By default, Edsby inherits the language of the web browser it is being accessed on or the language of the device’s operating system. Additionally, Edsby supports Microsoft Translator and Google Translate browser extensions to enable a student or parent to translate any content within Edsby. This enables parents who don’t speak English to use Edsby to gain insights into their child’s progress at school in the language they prefer. For more information on the languages Edsby can currently support, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-support-in-edsby/) ## Changing Language Settings Language settings can be changed both in the web browser view of Edsby as well as the Edsby mobile apps. To override the default language used by Edsby, navigate to Settings by clicking either the drop-down menu beside the name of the account holder in the web browser and selecting Settings or clicking Settings directly from the mobile Home Screen. Web browser: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/student-clicking-browser-settings-1024x190.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/student-clicking-browser-settings.png) Mobile: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-navigating-to-other-settings.jpg) In the menu that opens, select *Other Settings*. This will provide you with the option to change your preferred language. You can change your preferred language in Edsby by clicking the drop-down menu and selecting one of the languages listed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/select-from-language-dropdown-1024x515.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/select-from-language-dropdown.png) Click Save and exit the Settings menu. The language used by Edsby will now be changed. If parts of the screen are still presented in the former language, try logging out and logging back in. Follow these same steps when changing Language Settings through the mobile app. ## Using Google Translate or Microsoft Translator When a new language has been selected, Edsby will change the following to the new selected language: 1. Search boxes 2. Main headings 3. Buttons 4. Dates 5. Drop-down menu options [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-edsby-translates.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-edsby-translates.png) However, any posts, events or groups made by others in Edsby will remain in the language they were created in. To override this and translate these posts, events or groups into a language other than what they were created in, a browser extension is required. Edsby supports both Microsoft Translator and Google Translate browser extensions to enable a student or parent to translate any content within Edsby. ### Google Translate [Google Translate](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-translate/aapbdbdomjkkjkaonfhkkikfgjllcleb?hl=en) can be installed through Google Chrome browsers. Search for Google Translate in the Chrome Web Store and install the extension into the browser. The Google Translate icon will now be available to the right of the search bar in the Chrome browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/google-translate-in-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/google-translate-in-bar.png) Click the icon and select Translate This Page on the page that requires translating. The page can be translated into an extensive selection of languages. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/google-translate-this-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/google-translate-this-page.png) Translating the entire page through Google Translate will allow news articles (1), groups (2), posts (3) and events (4) made by others in Edsby to be translated to a language other than what they were created in. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-google-translate-translates.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-google-translate-translates.png) ### Microsoft Translator [Microsoft Translator](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/translator-for-microsoft-edge/9nblggh4n4n3?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab) can be installed in Microsoft Edge browsers. Click the 3 dots at the top right corner of the browser and navigate to Extensions. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/extensions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/extensions.png) Click Extensions to access the Store. Once in the Microsoft Store, search for Translator. Select Translator for Microsoft Edge and download. Launch the extension. Once the extension is turned on, the icon will be available at the right of the browser search bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/see-extension-in-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/see-extension-in-browser.png) Click the icon to translate the page that requires translating. The page can be translated into an extensive selection of languages. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/translating-using-microsoft-translator.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/translating-using-microsoft-translator.png) Selecting Always Translate means that anytime a new page is loaded, the browser will automatically translate it to the selected language. If this is not selected, the browser will only translate the current page. Translating the entire page through Microsoft Translator will allow posts, events, or groups made by others in Edsby to be translated to a language other than what they were created in. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students, Administrators, Teachers, Parents --- ### [Credit Recovery](https://www.edsby.com/help/credit-recovery-2/) **Published:** July 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Many high schools support a process known as Credit Recovery. This process focuses on students who did not achieve a passing grade in a course for credits. Credit Recovery typically identifies which failing students would be good candidates for a focused one-on-one teaching experience to address key areas where the student’s achievements in the class fell short in order to improve their final grade enough to earn a credit in the course. In addition to the powerful and convenient way Edsby has provided teachers to submit reporting information, Edsby enables a workflow for managing all aspects of the Credit Recovery process. ## Initial Credit Recovery Recommendation When the Credit Recovery application is turned on for a school, teachers will receive a workflow in their Edsby mailbox each time they submit a report card sheet with one or more students who obtained a failing grade in the class. As well, teachers will receive an Edsby notification informing them a Credit Recovery Report is required for each failed student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edsby-notification-credit-recovery-report-required.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edsby-notification-credit-recovery-report-required.png) Navigate to the mailbox and click on the Credit Recovery message. When the teacher opens a credit recovery workflow notification, the message includes the details of all of the students on the submitted report card sheet that received a failing grade. The information in the message will update as the status of each student’s credit recovery changes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/accessing-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/accessing-message.png) Before students can begin their credit recovery process, teachers must submit a recommendation form on their behalf. To access the recommendation form, click on one of the students listed in the message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/clicking-danes-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/clicking-danes-name.png) This brings up the Credit Recovery recommendation form. The form enables the teacher to indicate whether they feel the student is a candidate for credit recovery. Select an option under Recommended Course Placement. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/credit-recovery-report-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/credit-recovery-report-form.png) In this example, towards the end of the semester, Dane Wiersum was diagnosed with a concussion and was unable to complete a few assignments at the end of the semester – including the final exam. As a result, Dane did not pass the course and his teacher, Mr. Harishan, would like to recommend him for credit recovery. The teacher can indicate which areas of the student’s performance were problematic through specific checkboxes and through a comment box. When Mr. Harishan fills out the report, he will indicate that the culminating Biology final exam was not submitted or completed, and that Dane’s concussion was the contributing factor in his inability to successfully complete the Biology class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filled-out-recovery-report-dane.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filled-out-recovery-report-dane.png) When the form is completed, click Save. This makes it available for administrative staff to review the form and decide whether the student should proceed with the recovery process. The status of the report changes from Unsubmitted to Awaiting Approval until further action has been taken by administrative staff. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/awaiting-approval.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/awaiting-approval.png) ## Being Assigned as a Credit Recovery Teacher Once teachers have submitted the credit recovery recommendation form, administrators must review it and decide if the student should proceed with the recovery process. In addition, administrators will assign a credit recovery teacher to assist the student in earning credits for the given course. The Office approved Mr. Harishan’s recommendation for Dane Wiersum to complete a credit recovery for his Biology course and assigned Mr. Isaac Powell, another Biology teacher, to assist in the recovery. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/approved-recommendation-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/approved-recommendation-1.png) When a credit recovery task is assigned to a teacher, they will receive a message in their Edsby mailbox regarding the assignment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/teacher-viewing-assignment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/teacher-viewing-assignment.png) This message includes a summary of the assignment including the name of the student, their course, subject, and grade, as well as their final mark in the course. Additionally, it provides the name of the teacher who originally taught the student, the reporting period the assignment belongs to, and the status of the recovery. The assigned teacher will also see a new class in their Classes panel with the name of the Recovery class. This will be used to manage the credit recovery process for the particular assignment. On Isaac Powell’s home screen, the recovery class is visible. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/recovery-class-in-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/recovery-class-in-panel.png) If a teacher has been assigned multiple credit recovery students, they will be provided with a separate class in their Classes panel for each student assigned to them. Assigned teachers can access a summary of all of their assignments by clicking Credit Recovery under Applications on the left side of their home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/teacher-viewing-summary.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/teacher-viewing-summary.png) Note: once a credit recovery has been reviewed and assigned to a teacher, the original teacher of the class, unless they were assigned the recovery, will not be able to see which teacher has been assigned. ## Inside a Credit Recovery Class When the teacher opens a credit recovery class, it looks very similar to a standard Edsby class. However, there is only one student in the class – the student requiring credit recovery. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-credit-recovery-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-credit-recovery-class.png) All assessment information for the particular student from their initial class is available in the gradebook for the credit recovery teacher to work with. This includes the particular assessments from the original class and the student’s original grade on each. In the gradebook, Isaac Powell can see all of the assessments in the Biology course and Dane’s original performance on them. It is clear Dane was unable to complete an assignment at the end of the semester as well as the final exam due to his concussion. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-CR-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-CR-gradebook.png) Mr. Isaac Powell will work with Dane to help him earn credit for his Biology course. ## Completing a Credit Recovery When the teacher has completed their efforts on a credit recovery assignment, they must indicate the student has successfully completed it. To do this, go back to the corresponding Edsby message regarding the student’s recovery, and click on the summary information in the message. This brings up the credit recovery report form where the teacher can indicate whether the student has successfully achieved the credit recovery or not. Click on the appropriate Credit Recovery Status. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/credit-recovery-complete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/credit-recovery-complete.png) Once a credit recovery has been completed, the credit recovery class will be removed from the assigned teacher’s classes panel. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [AI Teacher Assisant](https://www.edsby.com/help/ai-assistant-for-teachers/) **Published:** February 18, 2025 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** The AI Teacher Assistant is a set of tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of educators in their daily tasks. These tools are available exclusively to staff; students and parents do not have access. The AI Teacher Assistant can be useful to teachers in a variety of ways, like creating question sheets, writing report card comments, critiquing student PDF submissions, summarizing threads, and composing notes for classes and groups. ### **Make Question Sheet tool** The AI Teacher Assistant has the ability to create question sheets for online tests based on content that has been placed in the Content Builder. For example, the teacher below has created a page that focuses on the social and political cooperation. If he wants to quiz students on this material, he can do so by using the ‘Make Question Sheet’ tool. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Teacher-Assistant-Question-Sheet-1.png) Clicking on Make Question Sheet will display the Make a Question Sheet form. Fill this form out to create the question sheet that best fits the needs of the class. Teachers can tie the question sheet to a specific standards from the curriculum. They can also choose the number of questions per question type. There are 4 question types to choose from: Multiple Choice, True/False, Choose all that apply, and Paragraph. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/make-question-sheet-form.png) When ‘Create Question Sheet’ is clicked, the generated question sheet will open in the Personal Folder. The Question Sheet will include questions and answer stems. While AI is a powerful tool, teachers should review the question sheet before using it with their students. When the question sheet is generated from the Unit, it will include the pages within the unit. In this illustration, if the teacher selected Make Question Sheet with the Unit name selected (1), the question sheet would be based on all associated pages, including the pages that are hidden (3) from the students. The inclusion of the hidden items, enables the teacher to create the unit test in advance of completing the unit. If the teacher selected Make Question Sheet with a page selected (2), the question sheet would be based on selected page only. If the teacher added curriculum standards to the Make Question Sheet form, the text of the standard would be used as part of data set for creating the question stems and answers. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Question-sheet-2.png) Overall, the ‘Make Question Sheet’ tool can be useful for teachers who wish to save time in their day by having the AI Teacher Assistant make the question sheet for them, based on their own content or curriculum standards. ### **Report Card Comment Assistant tool** The Comment Assistant tool is available in comment fields within a report card sheet. The comment assistant can be used in a variety of ways: - Writing a paragraph based on point form. - Creating a more detailed comment based on the existing comment. - Creating asset-based comments. - Shortening a comment to meet character limits. - Changing tone. - Fixing grammar and spelling errors. In this illustration, the teacher has added three statements about the student. One of the statements has a typo (builing) and an incorrect word (texting). In the Comment Assistant, the teacher has selected the Professional prompt. The suggested comment is in paragraph form and both the typo and incorrect word have been fixed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/report-card-comment-2-1006x1024.png) In this example, the teacher has added points that lists ways in which the student is struggling. Selecting the Asset based prompt will write a comment that emphasizes learning and growth. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/comment-assistant-3.png) ### **Critique Writing tool** The Critique Writing tool can significantly streamline the grading process for teachers. It allows for quick and efficient assessment of student PDF submissions. Using the “General Critique” and “Provide a detailed summary of spelling and grammar errors” prompts, the teachers can instantly receive valuable insights into a student’s work. This automated analysis can help teachers identify common errors across submissions, pinpoint areas where students need additional support, and focus their attention on more complex aspects of the assessment, such as critical thinking and analysis. Ultimately, the AI Teacher Assistant tool empowers teachers to grade more efficiently, provide more targeted feedback, and improve the overall quality of student work. By leveraging the AI Teacher Assistant tool, teachers can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their grading practices, ultimately leading to improved student learning outcomes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Teacher-Assistant-Critique-2.png) ### **Summarize Thread tool** The Summarize Thread tool helps teachers save time by grasping essential information without reading the entire conversations and reduces the cognitive overload from long discussions. The tool is available in classes and groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Teacher-Assistant-Summarize-2.png) These are the following prompts teachers can choose from when using the Summarize Thread tool: **Narrative:** Provides a flowing, story-like summary of the text. **Points:** Presents a bullet-point list of key takeaways and arguments. **Provide a bullet-point summary of the key takeaways:** Similar to “Points,” this option focuses on extracting the core ideas. **What are the action items?** Identifies any specific actions or steps suggested in the text. **What are the arguments presented?** Highlights the different perspectives or viewpoints expressed. **What is the outcome?** Summarizes the conclusion or result of the discussion or event. ### **Text Composer tool** The Text Composer tool is a valuable resource for teachers, offering a range of prompts that can significantly enhance their effectiveness in communicating with students. Teachers can leverage the “Brainstorm” prompt to generate ideas and expand on initial thoughts, transforming basic lesson outlines into detailed plans or engaging assignments. The Text Composer can be used to refine existing written content, ensuring accuracy and clarity through prompts like “Fix Spelling and Grammar” and “Clear.” The “Translate” prompt facilitates communication with multilingual learners and parents, breaking down language barriers and fostering inclusivity. The Text Composer empowers teachers to streamline their workflow, improve their communication, and create more enriching learning experiences for their students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Teacher-Assistant-Text-Composer-2.png) To see what each prompt does, hover over the text and a description will appear, for example: **A Paragraph:** Converts text into a concise paragraph. **Brainstorm:** Brain storms on a particular topic that teachers enter. **Clear:** Improves the clarity of the text. **Detailed:** Attempts to improve the text by expanding on the orginal text. **Fix grammar and spelling:** Fixes all grammar and spelling errors. **Friendly:** Gives a friendly tone to the text. **Fun:** Displays multiple prompts for teachers to choose from, including a prompt to write the text in the style of an author with ‘Change voice’. **Point form:** Converts the text to a set of bullet points. **Primary student:** Rewrites the text in primary student friendly language. **Professional:** Improves the professionalism of the text. **Shorter:** Makes the text shorter. **Student Friendly:** Rewrites the text with student-friendly language. **Translate:** Translate the text into another language. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/funify-and-translate.png) ### AI Usage Limits in Edsby Edsby includes AI usage limits to ensure fair access and prevent excessive use. These limits help balance individual and district-wide needs while providing clear notifications when usage approaches critical levels. There are four types of limits: soft and hard limits for both individual teachers and entire districts. Individual limits apply to a teacher’s personal AI usage. A soft limit serves as a warning when usage is high, but AI features continue to function normally. If a teacher surpasses their hard limit, AI features will be disabled until usage resets at the start of the next month. Similarly, districts have soft limits that notify teachers when overall AI usage is approaching its maximum. If a district exceeds its hard limit, AI access is disabled for all teachers, even those who have not reached their personal limits. By implementing these limits, Edsby ensures that AI resources are distributed fairly across all teachers. Edsby has four types of AI usage limits, designed to ensure fair access for all users while preventing excessive usage. These limits apply both to individual users and to School Districts. Here’s how they work: #### **Individual Soft Limit** This is a warning limit for a teacher’s AI usage. AI features will continue to function as usual. If a teacher’s AI usage exceeds this limit, they will receive a notice such as: *“You have used 80% of your AI usage limit. Your access will reset on December 1, 2025.”* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/841da551-07c5-4fb8-ac43-4027a6a87f4c-blobid0.png) #### **Individual Hard Limit** This is the maximum AI usage allowed per teacher. At this point, AI features will be disabled until next month. If a teacher surpasses this limit, they will see a message such as: *“You have reached 100% of your AI usage limit. Your access will reset on December 1, 2025.”* #### **District-Wide Soft Limit** This is a warning limit for the entire district’s AI usage. AI features will continue to work. If the district collectively exceeds this limit, all teachers who have not reached their individual limits will see a message such as: *“You have used 80% of the district’s AI limit. Your access will reset on December 1, 2025.”* #### **District-Wide Hard Limit** This is the maximum AI usage allowed for the entire district. AI features will be disabled across the district until the next month. If the district surpasses this limit, all teachers who have not reached their personal limits will see this message: *“You have reached 100% of your AI usage limit. Your access will reset on December 1, 2025.”* These limits help ensure fair access to AI tools in Edsby while keeping the system running smoothly for all teachers and districts. --- ### [About Classes - Mobile](https://www.edsby.com/help/about-classes-mobile/) **Published:** July 20, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Classes are the heart of how Edsby helps students. Every class includes an effective way for students to engage with teachers and classmates, view class information, and submit assignments. ## The Classes Panel On the students’ Edsby app Home Screen is the Classes Panel. This panel provides a brief overview of a students’ current classes, including: 1. Unread Counter indicating the number of new posts or My Work updates in the Class 2. Name of Class 3. Course Code 4. Teacher’s name ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Classes-panel-overview-1-475x1024.png) A Report Cards button showing current and past report cards will appear at the bottom of Class lists in the mobile app if the school or district is electing to share report cards via Edsby. Enter a Class by clicking its name. Students seeking to review future classes that are not yet in session can click the Classes header and select > Upcoming. They will see their upcoming classes if their school or district has published them to their Edsby system. ## Inside a Class The Class Feed is first visible, providing information about posts from both the teacher and students, if teachers have enabled students to post. 1. If teachers have enabled students to post in the class feed, this can be done by clicking the New Note icon in the top right corner of the screen. 2. Reply, Like, or report posts as inappropriate by clicking the plus next to the post in the feed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-Feed-edit.png) If teachers have not enabled students to post, ask them! Opening up the class for students to post fosters greater engagement in Edsby and the class. It also facilitates learning opportunities and encourages healthy communication between students. Students will be notified each time a new post is made in the class feed. ### Viewing Grades and Assignments through My Work Every class has a grades and assignment report called My Work. 1. Students can access it by clicking My Work in the header. The My Work feed lists all assignments in a class as well as the results of any the teacher has chosen to share. 2. If students have any questions or concerns about their upcoming or graded assessments, click the speech bubble icon. 3. Students can access any comments, responses, or changes to grades their teacher has made by clicking the assignment and viewing the details. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-My-Work-edit.png) #### Submitting Assignments Online Edsby enables teachers the ability to create assignments that can be handed in online. There are multiple places an assignment can be submitted in Edsby, but for the teacher to receive the assignment, it only needs to be submitted one time in one place within Edsby. To submit an assignment online through Edsby, view it in My Work, Personal Calendar, Recent Activity feed, or the feed of the class where the assignment is due. A Submit button will appear next to the assignment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Submit-assignment-button-edit.png) In the form that opens, use the icons to attach a file, photo, video, or link. Add a comment with a submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Submit-Assignment-edit.png) ### Class Calendar The Class Calendar, found by clicking Calendar in the header, lists all events and assignment dates relevant to the specific class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-Calendar-edit.png) The events of each Class Calendar are merged on the Personal Calendar found by clicking the calendar icon in the bottom Navigation Bar. ### Class Content Under Content in the header is the Content Panel. 1. Underneath Content, each student has a progress bar that tracks their progression through the content. 2. Any items of content a student has marked complete will be indicated by a green check mark. Click the name of an item to view its content. 3. Use the Next and Previous arrows to navigate through the Content. 4. When having completed an item, click Mark Complete. This will display a green check mark next to the item and update the progress bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-Content-edit.png) Students can submit assignments, contribute to Discussions, and participate in Polls from the Content Panel. ### Pinned Items Access any important items teachers have pinned by clicking Pinned in the header. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-Pinned-Items-edit.png) ### Class Journal In Classes, teachers may use the Journal to communicate learning objectives and student expectations. View the most recent Journal entry teachers have made by clicking Journal in the header. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-Journal-edit.png) Click View All to view all Journal entries for the specific class. Students can use Journals to remind themselves of what they are learning in each class as well as keep up-to-date on homework and learning goals. ### Library Any media that has been uploaded by teachers or students in the class can be found in the Class Library by clicking Library in the header. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-Library-edit.png) ### People View teachers and classmates by clicking People. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Class-People-List-edit.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Mobile Online Testing - Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/about-classes-mobile/mobile-online-testing-students/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby features a simple and easy way to take tests online. Whether it’s a traditional quiz, an exit ticket, or a student reflection, online tests with Edsby are convenient for both students and teachers. With the Edsby mobile app, students can also take online tests straight from their mobile device. ## Taking an Online Test When teachers create an online assessment, students are notified of the upcoming test in the Classes Panel of their Home Screen and in their Notifications if the student has enabled them. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mobile-Classes-panel-475x1024.png) Students can view the assessment from Recent Activity, Class feed, Class Calendar, Class Content, My Work, and from the student’s Personal Calendar by clicking Calendar in the Navigation Bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/places-student-sees-mobile-test.jpg) Students can begin an Online Test anywhere they see the assessment name. Students will see the start time, end time, and duration of the test everywhere the assessment is visible. If it is out of the test’s scheduled time, the Take Test button is not available to students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-test-not-open.jpg) When an online assessment is available, students will see a Take Test button. After clicking the Take Test button, students can view the test duration and are able to start the test. Click Start Test Now to begin completing the test. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/take-test-and-start-test-now-mobile.jpg) 1. When the student is completing the test, the time remaining is shown in the top right corner. 2. Select answers for each of the questions. 3. The scores for each question can be seen on the left side of the question. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-test-breakdown.jpg) If the browser window is accidentally closed or the test is navigated away from during the test, the test is still available. Navigate back to Edsby and click Continue Test to return to the testing sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/continue-mobile-test-button.jpg) The time begins to count down as soon as the test is started and will continue to count down even if the testing sheet isn’t on the screen. When all answers have been selected, click Submit at the bottom of the test to submit the test and close the testing sheet. If a student submits a test with unanswered questions, Edsby will provide a warning and indicate which have been left blank for the student to answer. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/submitting-unfinished-test.jpg) After submitting, the student is provided with the following confirmation: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/confirmation-of-mobile-test-completion.jpg) If a student does not complete the test within its specified duration, the test will be automatically submitted and the student will be given this prompt. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-test-timed-out.jpg) ***Note:** The time an online test is set to open and close as well as an assessment’s due date is based on the time zone the teacher creates the assessment in, not the student’s time zone, if it differs from the teacher.* ## Retaking an Online Test If the teacher has set the number of attempts greater than 1, an option will be available for students to retake the test. Navigate back to the assessment and click Retake Test. A page opens to show the student the time limit and the number of attempts remaining. Click Retake Test Now to complete the test again. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/retaking-mobile-test.jpg) ## Viewing grades for an Online Test When the teacher shares the grades for the test, they will be visible in a student’s My Work. Click the class and select My Work from the top menu bar. The quiz will be at the top of the student’s My Work with a grade and an opportunity for the student to ask a private question. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/grade-for-mobile-test-in-my-work.jpg) ## Viewing the correct answers for an Online Test When the teacher shares the grades for the test, the student can view their answers and the correct answers. Students can view their submissions by clicking the submission link anywhere the assessment is visible – including from My Work, the Class feed or Calendar. The student will be provided with a list of their submissions. Click View Submission to see the correct answer and scores. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/viewing-grades-and-submissions-for-mobile-online-test.jpg) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Mobile - Submitting Assignments through Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/about-classes-mobile/mobile-submitting-assignments-through-edsby/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Students can easily submit assignments from their mobile device through Edsby if teachers have chosen to enable online submissions. On the Home Screen is the Classes Panel. Click the class that contains the assignment requiring submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mobile-Classes-panel-475x1024.png) In the top menu bar, click My Work. If the teacher has enabled online submissions, the assignment will have a Submit button. Click Submit. The assignment will be visible with any instructions the teacher has provided. There are various tools to allow students to submit a picture or video, other files, or links. Provide a message to the teacher. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-submit-assignment-1140x1027.jpg) Once submitted, students will receive a confirmation of submission screen. Now, if students access the assignment again, they will see a Resubmit button instead of the Submit button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-resubmit-button.jpg) When the assignment has been graded and if the teacher has chosen to publish the grade, students can view their achievement in My Work. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Class and Gradebook Setup](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/class-and-gradebook-setup/) **Published:** April 26, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** Each organization configures the Class and Gradebook Settings with the recommended configuration to save teachers’ time, so teachers may not need to adjust them. However, these Settings can be accessed by teachers by clicking the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Class and selecting Setup. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-class-setup-dropdown-1024x355.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-class-setup-dropdown.png) Teachers can also access the Class and Gradebook Settings menu from inside the Gradebook by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the gear icon and selecting Gradebook Setup. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-gradebook-setup-dropdown-1024x245.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-gradebook-setup-dropdown.png) ## Students and Parents The Students and Parents section enables teachers to control how students and parents interact with their class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-students-and-parents-1024x314.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-students-and-parents.png) ### Students The Students field lets the teacher controls what students can do within a Class. When the teacher sets it to *Can Enter Class and Participate,* students can create Notes and Replies, participate in Polls, and Like items in the Class Feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/students-can-enter-and-contribute-to-class-1024x644.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/students-can-enter-and-contribute-to-class.png) When the teacher set the field to *Can View Class but Cannot Contribute,* students can enter the Class and see the same content as the teacher. In this case, students can like teachers’ posts, but cannot share Notes, Reply, or participate in Polls. With this setting selected, students can still submit online assessments and take online tests. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/students-can-enter-class-but-not-contribute-1024x644.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/students-can-enter-class-but-not-contribute.png) When the teacher sets the field to *Cannot Enter the Class,* students are prevented from entering the Class. Notes, Polls, Assessments, and journals can be seen in the student’s My Work report and their Home Screen Recent Activity feed. This option enables the teacher to keep the Class closed if it is not in use. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/students-cannot-enter-class-1024x641.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/students-cannot-enter-class.png) ### Parents The Parents field lets the teacher control if parents can view teachers’ posts in the organized context of a Class or just in the Home Screen Recent Activity feed. If the teacher sets this field to *Can Open Class but Only See Teacher Posts,* parents can see teachers’ posts, but will not see the Students Panel, student posts, or teachers’ Replies to students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-view-of-teacher-posts-in-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-view-of-teacher-posts-in-class.png) In this case, parents can Like posts from within a Class or from the Recent Activity feed. Teachers can see Likes from both parents and students. If this field is set by the teacher to *Can Not Enter the Class,* parents are prevented from opening the Class. Teachers’ posts are seen in the parent’s Home Screen Recent Activity feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-recent-activity.png) ### Show Averages to Students and Parents When set to *Don’t Show* by the teacher*,* students and parents will not see the calculated average beside the Class Name and in the My Work Report. Setting this field to a grade scheme, for example as a percentage, will enable the student and parent to see the calculated average beside the Class Name and in the My Work Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-sees-student-average-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-sees-student-average-mobile.png) ### Subjective Performance Indicator The Edsby Gradebook includes Subjective Performance Indicators. The SPI enables teachers to convey student progress independent of calculated averages. Teachers can choose if they would like to make this indicator visible to students and their parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-setting-spi-in-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-setting-spi-in-gradebook.png) If this field is set to *Show to Students and Parents,* the SPI will be visible in the student’s My Work Report and Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/spis-in-classes-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/spis-in-classes-panel.png) If this field is set to *Don’t Show to Students and Parents,* only teachers will see the SPI in the Gradebook and can use it as a personal organization tool. The SPI is also visible to teachers when completing a Report Card, however, this information is never shared as part of the Report Card Submission. ### Mark Content Complete When this field is set to automatic, students will see a check mark as soon as they open an item in the Content Panel. When this field is set to manual, students have the option to mark items complete themselves. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/manual-vs-automatic-content-complete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/manual-vs-automatic-content-complete.png) Teachers can see student progress by clicking Show Progress in the Content Builder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-looking-at-content-progress-1024x529.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-looking-at-content-progress.png) ### Conditional Release Teachers can also choose what content is available for students through Smart Release. Smart Release enables students to work through the Class Content at their own pace. To support this type of learning, assessments are not added to the Feed or Calendar. Instead, they are created directly in the Content Builder. Teachers enable Smart Release by navigating to the Class Setup Form. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the class and select Setup from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/navigating-to-class-setup-1024x629.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/navigating-to-class-setup.png) Under *Conditional Release,* select *Smart Release.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/selecting-smart-release-1024x529.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/selecting-smart-release.png) When a teacher has set Smart Release, a student must open and complete each item in the Content panel before they will see the next item of Content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/student-seeing-next-item-of-content-1024x408.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/student-seeing-next-item-of-content.png) If an item or section is not visible to the student through hiding it, as mentioned above, it is not in Smart Release. In this illustration, students would not see the *Chemical Compound Online Quiz*, nor would the students see the upcoming *Biology* unit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/hidden-content-items.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/hidden-content-items.png) When the student views and completes all visible items, the Show Progress tab will indicate to the teacher which students have completed all items in the Content panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/showing-progress-1024x505.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/showing-progress.png) ### Show Assessment Weightings to Students and Parents When the teacher enables this field, students and parents can view the weight assigned to assessments in the My Work Report on the desktop browser. When this field is disabled, students and parents cannot see the weight assigned to assessments in the My Work Report on the desktop browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-my-work-weights-and-grades-1024x472.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-my-work-weights-and-grades.png) Teachers can always see the weight assigned to assessments in the Perspective. Weights can be adjusted by clicking on the Weighting tab. ## Teachers and Assistants Teacher assignments are supplied by the organization’s Student Information System. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teachers-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teachers-panel.png) The assigned teacher can add additional teachers by searching for another teacher’s name. School administrators can also assign additional teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/searching-for-teacher-in-settings-1024x327.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/searching-for-teacher-in-settings.png) Additional teachers can be assigned a group of permissions based on their responsibilities within the Class. Anyone assigned as a Teacher has full access to all Class Content and tools. The Teacher role is the only role that can assess the Report Card Sheets and the Class Setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-role.png) Teachers assigned the Support role can view all aspects of the Class, add Notes, Events, and Journal Entries, view Evidence within the Class, take Attendance, and update the Gradebook. However, the Support Role does not have access to Report Card Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/support-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/support-role.png) Teachers assigned the Substitute Role can view the Class Feed and the Seating Plan but are unable to make any changes to them. The Substitute Role has the same view of the Planner as students and they do not have access to Evidence, the Gradebook, Report Card Sheets, or the Perspective. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/substitute-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/substitute-role.png) The Class’ Teachers Panel will first list *Teachers* in the order they appear in the form. Teachers listed as *Support* will appear after the *Teachers* in the order they appear in the form. *Substitutes* do not appear in the Class’ Teachers Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-settings-to-teacher-panel-1024x237.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-settings-to-teacher-panel.png) To reorder the list, click on the name and drag the name to the new location. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reordering-teacher-list-1024x263.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reordering-teacher-list.png) To remove a teacher from the list, click the trash can. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/delete-teacher-from-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/delete-teacher-from-list.png) Note that the Student Information System will add the teacher of record back to the Class every night. If the teacher of record needs to be changed permanently, it should be done in the Student Information System. ## Class Names and Visibility [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-names-and-visibility-1024x245.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-names-and-visibility.png) ### Formal Name The name of the Class is provided by the Student Information System. Parents see the Formal Class Name. Report Cards also use the Formal Name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-view-of-formal-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-view-of-formal-name.png) ### Formal Short Name The Class code is provided by the Student Information System. ### Personalized Name The Personalized Name is visible to the teacher, students and parents on the Home Screen Classes Panel. ### Personalized Short Name The Personalized Short Name is visible to the teacher, students, and parents on the Home Screen Classes Panel. ### Show in Classes Panel When this box is selected, the Class will be displayed on teachers’ Home Screen Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/show-in-classes-panel-1024x268.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/show-in-classes-panel.png) Teacher may unselect the box to remove the Class from their Classes Panel. To add a Class back to the Classes Panel, click Classes to open the pop-out. Hidden Classes are labelled. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/see-hidden-class-in-popout-1024x765.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/see-hidden-class-in-popout.png) Click on the Class Name. Open the Setup form and select the *Show in Classes Panel* box. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/click-show-in-classes-panel-box-1024x316.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/click-show-in-classes-panel-box.png) ## Assessments [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-assessments-1024x494.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-assessments.png) ### Display Results in this Grade Scheme This field sets the grade scheme of the teacher’s Perspective and student’s and parent’s My Work Graph. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/display-results-in-this-grade-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/display-results-in-this-grade-scheme.png) If the field is not set, the Perspective/My Work Graph displays percentages along the y-axis. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grade-scheme-on-perspective-graph-1024x426.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grade-scheme-on-perspective-graph.png) In the above example, teacher James Harris has set the Grade Scheme to *Four Level.* This field also sets the grade scheme for teachers’ Gradebook Summary Columns. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grade-scheme-in-gradebook-summary-columns.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grade-scheme-in-gradebook-summary-columns.png) ### Create New Assessments with this Grade Scheme New assessments will default to the grade scheme set in this field. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/create-new-assessments-with-this-grade-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/create-new-assessments-with-this-grade-scheme.png) The grade scheme can always be changed on the assessment form by the teacher until grades are entered into the Gradebook by the teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/default-assessment-grade-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/default-assessment-grade-scheme.png) ### Show Averages in Gradebook and Perspective Teachers can choose to hide the Gradebook’s averages. Elementary teachers who are not focused on a numerical grade may wish to set this field to *Don’t Show.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/show-averages-in-gradebook-and-perspective.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/show-averages-in-gradebook-and-perspective.png) Teachers of students in higher grades generally want to see averages within the Edsby Gradebook. However, sometimes teachers wish to review the Edsby Perspective with a student and/or the parent(s) of the student directly from Edsby and do not wish to have the average displayed, for example, at a parent-teacher conference. This change enables the teacher to disable the display of an overall average, if desired for this sort of teacher-student or teacher-parent dialogue, and then re-set when meetings end. ### Gradebook Summary Columns The Gradebook enables teachers to choose from a wide range of summary columns. This provides teachers with great flexibility in how they can view assessment data and what information is shared with students and parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gradebook-summary-columns.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gradebook-summary-columns.png) Teachers can create summary columns based on: - Strands, if available - General level outcomes, if available - Overall average - Student number - \# Evidence/Observations [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/type-of-summary-column.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/type-of-summary-column.png) Teachers can create summary columns that display results as a: - Average (Arithmetic mean) – the sum of a set of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the set - Mode – most common number in a data set - Median – middle of the set of numbers - Latest – the last entry for a strand our outcome - Highest – the highest value - Decaying Average – a weighted moving average where more recent data is given greater weight - Range – the lowest and highest numbers - Count – the number of non-blank assessments - Standard Deviation – a way of describing the variability or spread in a set of data ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/summarize-as-column.png) Teachers can select the *Show to Students* box if they wish to have the values of a particular column made available to each student and their parents via the My Work Report on the desktop browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/summary-column-show-to-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/summary-column-show-to-students.png) The columns can be reordered by grabbing the three horizontal lines icon and dragging to reorder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reorder-gradebook-summary-columns-1024x233.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reorder-gradebook-summary-columns.png) Click X to remove a column. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/remove-gradebook-summary-column.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/remove-gradebook-summary-column.png) If teachers are using Decaying Average, they can set the calculations at the bottom of the Assessments page. This method considers the most recent scores as more representative of a student’s current mastery level and puts more emphasis on those scores compared to older ones. The default setting is 65%. The option will apply to Perspective Analyze and the report card’s Graph view but has no impact on Gradebook calculations unless a summary column is added to the Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decaying-average-calculation-percent.png) Here’s an example of how Decaying Average calculations work. Student A has been assessed on outcome A.1. four times during the term. The student’s grades are: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decaying-average-numbers.png) The gradebook summary columns display averages to one decimal place. The decaying average does not take the assessment weight into account. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decaying-average-gradebook.png) The benefit of using a decaying average for this student is that it provides a more accurate reflection of their current performance by giving more weight to recent assessments. For instance, with a decaying average, the student’s grade improves from 70.75% to 77.86% after their most recent assessment, showing their progress more effectively compared to a traditional mean average. With symbolic grades schemes such as 4 levels, the decaying average will be based on the percentage equivalent as defined in the grade mapping scheme. ## Weighting Edit Weighting displays the assessments and their weighting points in a compact way and enables teachers to adjust the weighting points without opening multiple assessment forms. When teachers change an assignment’s weighting points on the Edit Weighting form, the assessment form is updated. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-weighting-1024x480.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-weighting.png) In addition, Weighting enables teachers to group assessments into a bucket and assign a weight to the bucket. The weighting of assessments can be done at any time during the school year. Teachers can create buckets based on: - The assessments type - Unit - Strands - Standards, Outcomes, or Expectations - Grading Schemes [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choose-whats-in-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choose-whats-in-bucket.png) Existing and future assessments are placed into the bucket. For example, tests and quizzes can be put in the same bucket and given a weight of 30%. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/quiz-and-test-in-weighting-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/quiz-and-test-in-weighting-bucket.png) Teachers may click the blue triangle to see a list of the assessment type, name, unit, weighting points, and the percentage the assignment contributes to the overall average. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/weighting-bucket-dropdown-1024x611.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/weighting-bucket-dropdown.png) ### Creating a Bucket Teachers can click *Choose What’s in This Bucket* and select from the available options. Then enter the weighting points. The weighting points entered are deducted from Everything Else. The assessments are moved from the Everything Else bucket into the new bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/setting-up-weighting-buckets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/setting-up-weighting-buckets.png) Teachers may remove an assessment type from a bucket by clicking X. Assessments of that type are removed from the bucket and automatically moved to the Everything Else bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/remove-type-from-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/remove-type-from-bucket.png) ## Additional Options The additional options page lists the information Edsby receives from the Student Information System for the teacher. This includes the Class Name, Course Code, Strands, Outcomes, Standards, Expectations, and Scheduling/Timetable information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-additional-options-1024x493.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/class-setup-additional-options.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [About My Work - Grades and Assignment Report](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/how-did-you-do-on-that-english-project-2/) **Published:** October 22, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** Every class has a My Work report. Students can access the My Work Report by clicking the My Work button in the Classes Panel. Students can also view the My Work report from within a class by selecting the My Work link at the top of the page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/accessing-My-Work.png) ## Assessments The Assessments page of the My Work Report enables students to see a breakdown of their assessment results and upcoming assessments. The top of the page indicates how many assessments are overdue, incomplete, upcoming, ungraded, and graded. Clicking on these buttons will filter the assessments page to include only those assessments. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Assessment-status.png) The Assessment page enables students to see all of the information that teachers have shared about an assessment: 1. The name of the assessment along with any instructions or relevant files. 2. The status of the assessment. 3. Any standards or expectations linked to the assessment. 4. The grade the student has received (if shared by the teacher). 5. The discussion with the teacher about the assessment, including any comments or annotations the teacher has left the student. 6. The option to submit or resubmit an assessment (if enabled by the teacher) or take an online test. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/assessment-details.png) ## Graph Students can view a graph of their grades for each class depicting their academic progression. To access the graph, click the drop-down arrow and select Graph. Students can zoom, pan, and view specific areas of the graph. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/my-work-graph.png) ## Standards (Expectations) Students can see how they’re doing on each specific expectation for a class by accessing the Standards page. This tab may also be labeled as Expectations. Standards are like a checklist of skills that teachers use to assess their student’s performance in class. Typically, they are standardized for a class across a state or province. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/expectations-my-work.png) Students can not see any comments their teacher has made on expectations for the class, however, they can see the performance indicator when the teacher makes an observation on an expectation. The performance indicators from highest to lowest are: - Blue - Green - Yellow - Red If there are no performance indicators beside any expectations, it’s likely the teacher has chosen to assess those expectations through means other than observation (e.g. assignments, tests, projects, etc.). ## Other sections of My Work ### Attendance Students can also access their attendance incidents (lates and absences) by accessing the Attendance Page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/my-work-attendance.png) ### Previous Report Cards Additionally, if the school publishes Report Cards on Edsby, they can also access Previous Report Cards. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-work-previous-report-cards-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-work-previous-report-cards-tab.png) ## What can parents see in My Work? Parents have the exact same view of their children’s My Work page as the student does. This means parents can see a graph of their child’s grades, along with the breakdown of their marks. They can also see performance indicators beside expectations and any attendance incidents. It goes without saying then, that parents can see their child’s previous report cards too! For more information about what parents can see in other aspects of Edsby, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/parents-can-see-edsby/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Copying content from previous classes](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/copying-content-previous-classes/) **Published:** August 16, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Class Planner enables teachers to copy content from completed classes to new classes. Teachers have access to classes completed in the current school year and completed in the previous year. To access completed classes: 1\. Click on the Classes panel title. 2\. From the drop-down menu, choose a previous school year. 3\. Click on the Class name to open the class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/accessing-previous-classes.png) To copy content, navigate to the Planner and select the gear icon. Select the content, and click copy. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Navigate-to-planner-select-unit.png) Navigate to the target class. Hover over the date and click paste. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Paste.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Adding Additional Teachers to Classes](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/adding-additional-teachers-to-classes/) **Published:** August 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** To support team-teaching, teachers and school administrators can add additional teachers to Classes. To add another teacher to a class, navigate to the Class Setup form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/access-to-class-setup.png) Under Teachers and Assistants, search for the name of the teacher to add. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Adding-teacher.png) Select the role they will have in the class by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting a role – either Teacher, Support, Assistant, or Substitute. Each of these roles have varying levels of access to the class and its content. Click the trash icon to remove the teacher from the class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Chose-role-remove.png) ### Teacher The Teacher is the default role assigned to those specified as teachers from the SIS. Teachers have full access to all classroom content. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Teacher-Role-1.png) This is the only role that can access the class Report Card or the Class Setup form. ### Support The Support Teacher has similar access as the main Teacher of the class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Support-Role-1.png) They can view all aspects of the class, add notes, events, and journal entries, view evidence within the class, take attendance, and update the Gradebook. However, Support Teachers do not have access to Report Cards in the Class. Think of the Support Teacher as an assistant to the main Teacher. Both the Teacher and Support are listed in the Teachers panel of the Class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Teacher-panel.png) ### Assistant The Assistant Teacher has the most minimal Class access of any of the teacher roles. The main role of the Assistant is to take attendance. They are able to open the attendance sheet, mark students as absent, late, or present, and can change any attendance states. They can view the class feed and the seating plan, but are unable to make any changes. While they have the same view of the Planner as students, Assistant teachers do not have access to Evidence, the Gradebook, or the Perspective. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Assistant-Role.png) ### Substitute The Substitute Teacher also has minimal Class access. The main role of the Substitute is to take attendance. They are able to open the attendance sheet, mark students as absent, late, or present, and can change any attendance states. They have the same access as an Assistant Teacher does. However, Substitute teachers also have the ability to contribute to the class feed using notes and can reply to posts in the class. Assistant and Substitute Teachers are not listed in the Teachers panel. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Substitute-Role-1.png) ## Adding a Teacher to Multiple Classes Senior Administrators can add a teacher to multiple classes at once through the Classes Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classes-zoom-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classes-zoom-location.png) Filter the Classes list to the desired subset – for example, all Physical Education classes or all classes taught by a specific teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/filtering-classes-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/filtering-classes-zoom.png) Click the gear icon to select the specific classes or, to add a teacher to all filtered classes, just click the drop-down arrow in the upper right corner of the screen. Select Add Staff to Classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-staff-to-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-staff-to-classes.png) A form opens. Enter the teacher’s name to add to the classes and provide the role they will have within the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/name-and-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/name-and-role.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Edsby Capture for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/) **Published:** July 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Looking to capture a picture of schoolwork to show the teacher or document some learning? Students can use the main Edsby app to capture evidence of their learning to share to their teacher. Optionally, the separate Edsby Capture App, available via the App Store and Google Play, gives students a way to record evidence of their own learning, optimized for shared devices, if their teacher chooses to use it. Teachers need to supply students with a special QR code in order to use Edsby Capture. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edsby-capture-app-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edsby-capture-app-copy.png) If the teacher chooses to recommend it, Edsby Capture gives students the ability to easily capture photographs of their work and create evidence items within the Edsby platform. After a capture is uploaded, it is automatically added to the teacher’s Edsby evidence stream. Capturing evidence through Edsby is made easy with Edsby Capture. With just a few taps of their smartphone or tablet, students can quickly add pieces of evidence regarding their own learning. ## Downloading the App The Edsby Capture App is available via the App Store and Google Play. Click the links below to download the App. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/app-store-logo.png)](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/google-play-icon.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en_CA) ## Using the App Open the Edsby Capture App. Students will see a screen where they are asked to scan their QR code. Teachers will provide students with it. Students can use the camera to scan their unique QR code. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/scan-qr-code-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/scan-qr-code-copy.png) Take a picture or video of the desired piece of evidence. Switch between photo and video or front and back cameras and set the flash settings using the icons. Students can also upload a photo or video from their device. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/camera-and-flash-icons.png) The app will then bring students to a new screen where they can review and add to their submission. Tap Add More to attach additional items to the submission. Type in the comment box to add a reflection of the work, this will be seen by the teacher. When finished, tap the upload arrow. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/upload-capture.png) Once uploaded, students will be brought to the scan QR code screen where they can capture more evidence, if desired. Once captured, the evidence will automatically flow into the teacher’s Evidence system. After the student has submitted a piece of evidence regarding their own work, teachers can review the evidence and choose to share it. Students can view Evidence that they have submitted immediately, but parents will only see this Evidence if the teacher has chosen to share it with them. If the teacher has chosen to share the evidence, it will become visible in the student’s Learning Story to both the student and their parents, if not, only students will see it in their Learning Story. It is not shared back to the Edsby Capture app. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/learning-story-for-students/) to learn more about Learning Stories. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Parent-Teacher Interview Schedules](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/parent-teacher-interview-schedules/) **Published:** March 20, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Jump to a section [Overview](#over) [Creating a schedule](#createsched) [Creating slots](#createslot) [Deleting Slots](#delslot) [Adding classes and groups to the schedule](#addclass) [Open to teachers](#openteach) [Printing a main list by teacher](#teachprint) [Open to parents](#openparent) [Example of parent’s view](#exparent) [Parents’ appointment summary](#parentsum) [Managing bookings on behalf of a parent](#bookparent) [Printing a list of parent appointments](#parentprint) [Completing the registration period](#complete) ## Overview Edsby knows about every class in the school including who the teacher is, who the students are, and who their parents are. Edsby Parent-Teacher Scheduling considers the needs of all school administrators, teachers, and parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1.png) The process is in four key steps: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/4-steps-of-pti.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/4-steps-of-pti.png) 1. **Create a schedule/Edit:** A school administrator creates a Parent-Teacher Interview schedule by choosing dates, times, and the length of the slot. After choosing which classes are part of the schedule, the administrator opens the Parent-Teacher Interview schedule to teachers when ready. 2. **Open to Teachers:** Teachers block off slots they want to reserve for parents who may need additional time. 3. **Open to Parents:** The administrator provides access to the parents. Parents receive an Edsby message alerting them that slots can now be booked. Parents can make their bookings and print out a summary list. If they have more than one child at the school, all students will appear on the same booking screen to assist with time management. Once open to parents, teachers and administrators can book appointments on behalf of parents. 4. **Complete:** When the school is ready to print the main list or complete other preparations, the administrator can close the schedule to parents. School Administrators and teachers can continue to book appointments for parents. ## Roles Senior Administrator, Office (Head), Guidance, and School IT can create and manage parent-teacher interview schedules. ## Classes and Groups Classes currently in progress can be added to a schedule. Groups that include students as members can be added to a schedule. Note that students are not members of Monitor or List groups and therefore cannot be used to book appointments. ## Preparation checklist Parents need an Edsby account in order to receive the schedule in their Edsby Messages. Consider inviting parents to create their Edsby account well in advance of creating your first schedule. As soon as parents validate their accounts, they can book appointments through the Parent-Teacher Interview Schedule form found in the Edsby Messages. The following information is required to create a Parent-Teacher Interview schedule. - Name of the schedule. - The dates of the schedule. - Starting times of the interviews. - The length of the interview slot. - The number of concurrent bookings per teacher. - Which classes are part of the schedule. ## Creating a schedule 1. From the home screen, click Parent-Teacher Interviews. 2. Click Create Parent-Teacher Interview. 3. Enter the name of schedule, the start date, and the end date. 4. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Create-parent-teacher-interview.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Create-parent-teacher-interview.png) If Parent-Teacher Interviews are conducted on non-consecutive days, create the schedule to include the first and last day. Days without slots won’t appear on the teacher or parent schedule. A new schedule is added to this list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/interview-added-to-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/interview-added-to-list.png) ### Creating slots Select the name of the schedule from the list. On each day of the schedule, click on the cell that corresponds to the starting time. 1. Set Maximum concurrent bookings per teacher 2. Set the length of the slots. This field is available when the first slots are defined. The length of the slots will be the same for every day of the schedule. 3. Set the time and day of the first slot. 4. Set the time and day of the last slot. 5. Repeat for each day of the schedule. Dates without slots will not appear on the schedule for parents or teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-more-slots.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-more-slots.png) #### Example of slot creation The Parent-Teacher Interviews are conducted over 2 days. On the first day, the interviews begin at 4:00 pm, continue for four hours and each interview is 20 minutes long. Each slot can only be booked by one parent. The form has the following configuration. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Create-more-slots-example-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Create-more-slots-example-1.png) The second day, the interviews begin at 4:00 pm and end at 8:00 pm. The form has the following configuration. The length of the slots does not need to be defined because the interview time was set the first time slots were created (15 minutes). [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-more-slots-example-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-more-slots-example-2.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/slots-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/slots-tab.png) ### Slot tab ### Deleting slots To delete a slot, click X and confirm the deletion. Prior to opening the schedule to teachers, any slot can be deleted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-time-slot.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-time-slot.png) ## Adding Classes and Groups to the schedule - Click Classes and Groups tab - Click the Classes drop-down list. A list of classes will appear. - To select all classes, click the checkbox in the title bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-classes.png) - Or filter the list by using the filters or search, then click the checkbox in the title bar. - Click Select. The list of classes will be selected. - Click Add. The selected classes are added to the list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-classes.png) **Note:** Although List and Monitor Groups show up in the Group picker, they are not schedulable in the parent-teacher interview schedule as they are not intended to be exposed to students and parents. ### Examples of adding classes For grades 1 to 5, parents only meet with the homeroom teacher. For grades 6 to 8, parents meet with all teachers. After clicking the Classes drop down list 1. Use the Grade filter to select grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 2. Use the Subject Filter to select Homeroom. 3. Click the checkbox in the title bar. 4. Click Select. The list of classes will be selected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-grades-12345.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-grades-12345.png) After clicking the Classes drop-down list click Reset to display all classes. Click Clear to reset any previous selections. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clearing-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clearing-filter.png) 1. Use the Grade filter to select grades 6, 7, 8. 2. Click the checkbox in the title bar to select all 6,7, 8 classes. 3. Click Select. The list of classes will be selected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-678.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-678.png) Click the Add button. The selected classes are added to the list. ## Open to teachers After the slots have been defined and the classes and groups added to the schedule, the schedule can be opened to the teachers. To do this, click on the Open to Teachers option on the progress bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/open-to-teachers.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/open-to-teachers.png) Once clicked, every teacher of the classes included in the schedule will receive a Parent-Teacher Interview Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-message-in-mailbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-message-in-mailbox.png) Teachers may block slots for when they will not be available due to prior engagements, pre-booked meetings with specific parents, or desired breaks. A teacher hovers over a slot, and clicks block to remove the slot from their schedules. ### Example of Teacher’s Parent-Teacher Interview Schedule 1. Teachers enter the room number for each day of the schedule. School administrators can also enter the room number by clicking a teacher’s name in the Progress tab. To facilitate online meetings, URLs of meeting links can be used instead of a room number by copying and pasting the link. 2. Hover and click to block or unblock a slot. 3. Click *Add Note* to add a note to a blocked or booked appointment slot. 4. Hover and click to book for a parent. **Note:** Teachers cannot book for parents until the PTI Schedule has been opened to parents. 5. Name of parent, student, and class scheduled for the slot. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/example-of-teachers-PTI-schedule.png) Teachers and administrators can also add notes to blocked and booked appointment slots. The note could include information about why the slot is blocked or relevant information the teacher may need to know for a given booked appointment. These notes are only visible to teachers and administrators. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/note-in-pti-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/note-in-pti-schedule.png) To include these notes in the schedule printout, select the box next to *Include Notes,* then click the printer icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/include-notes-in-printout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/include-notes-in-printout.png) The online help for teachers can be found [here.](https://www.edsby.com/?help=parent-teacher-interview-teachers) The online help for parents can be found [here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-teacher-interviews/) ## Teachers tab The Teachers tab is available after the schedule has been opened to teachers. The progress tab lists the current count of blocked, booked, and free classes for all of the teachers included in the interview period. As parents book appointments, the counts are updated. Click on the teacher name to enter room numbers or block slots. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teachers-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teachers-tab.png) Administrators can enter the room numbers on behalf of teachers. Click the Teachers tab, then click on the teacher’s name. Teachers can be searched for by name using the search bar. Enter the room numbers and click Done. If the schedule is set up for concurrent bookings, teacher’s will see the “book for parent” link until all slots have been filled. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/booking-parent-for-teacher.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/booking-parent-for-teacher.png) Administrators can book an appointment on behalf of a parent through the Teachers tab or the Parents tab. However, the Parents tab provides access to a parent’s schedule which enables the School Office to book appointments with multiple teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/editing-parent-schedules.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/editing-parent-schedules.png) ### Printing a main list by teacher Click the Teachers tab and click the printer icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-progress.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-progress.png) ## Open to parents After teachers have had the opportunity to block slots, the schedule can be opened to parents. To do this, click on the Open to parents option on the progress bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/open-to-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/open-to-parents.png) Once clicked, every parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the classes included will receive a Parent-Teacher Interview workflow item in Messages. Upon receipt of the workflow item, all parents of the student can book appointments. For example, if a student has three parents or guardians with access to records, all three parents can book an appointment with the student’s teachers. Teachers may still block any free appointment slots, but once a slot is booked by a parent, it cannot be unbooked by the teacher. ### Example of a parent’s Parent-Teacher Interview workflow ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/example-of-a-parents-PTI-workflow-item.png) 1. 1. 1. 1. Students associated with the parent account. 2. Click slot to book the appointment. Parents cannot book another appointment for this appointment slot. 3. Click *Remove Booking* to cancel the appointment. 4. Click *Add Note* to supply a note to the teacher. 5. Click *Change* to change the appointment to a new slot. 1. Click *Done* to view the schedule. ### Example of a parent’s Appointment Summary [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-summary.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-summary.png) A list of teachers, classes, and room number. The room number is set by the teacher. Click Make changes to open the appointment schedule form and alter the bookings. The online help for parents can be found [here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-teacher-interviews/) ### Managing bookings on behalf of a parent or student contact School Administrators can book and cancel the booking on behalf of a parent or student contact (a parent/guardian without an active Edsby account) by navigating to the Parent-Teacher Interview schedule. 1. Click Parents tab. 2. Search for parent name. 3. Click manage. 4. Click on a slot to book an appointment. Click on a booked appointment to cancel the appointment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/editing-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/editing-parents.png) If the schedule has been set up to enable concurrent sessions, the book for parent link will appear until all concurrent slots have been filled. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/concurrent-spots.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/concurrent-spots.png) ### Printing a list of parent appointments Click the print icon to view an overall list of parent appointments. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/printing-list-of-parent-appointments.png) To include both teacher and parent notes in the printout, select the checkbox next to *Include Notes,* then click the print icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/include-notes-in-appointment-summary.png) ## Completing the registration period The school can close the registration period by clicking the Complete option on the progress bar. Parents will no longer be able to book or change appointments. The school administrators and teachers can continue to book appointments on behalf of parents. When the schedule is closed, parents are directed to call the office if any changes are necessary. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/registration-closed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/registration-closed.png) Schedules become read-only once the dates are in the past. ## Group PTI Schedules Occasionally, administrators may want to set up parent-teacher interview periods for groups of students at the school. To create a Group PTI Schedule, create a new interview period and search for the Group to add in the *Classes and Groups* tab. **Note:** Groups *must* include students to be included in a PTI Schedule. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/selecting-group-for-pti-1024x680.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/selecting-group-for-pti.png) It is important to note that although List and Monitor Groups show up in the Groups picker, they are not schedulable in the parent-teacher interview schedule as they are not intended to be exposed to students and parents. When the PTI is open for teachers, only the first moderator of the group will have access to the schedule in their Mailbox and have the ability to block or book appointment slots. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/first-moderator-of-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/first-moderator-of-group.png) When it’s time for parents to book appointments, they will do so through their Edsby mailbox. Parents do not need to be members of the Groups added to the interview period – only students need to be members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-PTI-in-schedule-1024x194.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-PTI-in-schedule.png) **Note:** The above picture demonstrates the process of accessing the PTI Schedule for both parents and the first group moderator. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Supported browsers and operating systems](https://www.edsby.com/help/supported-browsers/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby platform is a modern application that uses modern web standards to deliver a powerful and elegant user experience. For it to work properly, you need to have a reasonably modern device designed to support current web and mobile technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript. Edsby is tested extensively on recent versions of popular browsers, including: - Google Chrome - Apple Safari - Mozilla Firefox - Microsoft Edge If you’re getting a message that the current version of your browser is no longer supported, upgrade your browser to its latest version. Device OS and browser upgrades are free, and each new version tends to be faster, better and more secure than its predecessor. Keeping all of your software current, especially your browser, is generally a good policy. We know it is not always possible to run the very latest version of a browser, so we try to make sure Edsby can work with slightly older, less capable browsers. But modern features expected by users are often available only on newer browser versions. It is not always feasible for Edsby to maintain support for older browsers. #### Cookies Required Like many modern web applications, Edsby stores a local “cookie” on your device to make logging in easier. You need to make sure you have cookies enabled in your browser for Edsby to work properly. Consult the help documentation for your browser if you need to find out how to check this browser setting. #### JavaScript Required The Edsby web user experience is built with JavaScript. You need to make sure you have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Consult the help documentation for your browser if you need to find out how to check this browser setting. #### Mobile Device Operating System Support The Edsby apps for mobile devices target support for mobile device OSes two versions back for iOS and iPadOS, and four versions back for Android. Ensure your device is running a contemporary version of its operating system or the Edsby apps may not perform as desired. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [Individualized Assessments](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/individualized-assessments/) **Published:** March 22, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers can create individualized assessments to support a modified curriculum, IEP’s, or to provide students with a choice of assessments. In the assessment form, the Assign To field enables teachers to choose between assigning all students or a subset of students. By default, assignments are assigned to all students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Edsby-IA-snap-1.png) To assign a subset of students, click Change. The student list appears, and the teacher chooses which students to include in the assignment. Teachers can clear the list by clicking clear, or select all students by clicking Select All. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Edsby-IA-snap-2.png) The Assign To field lists the students who have been assigned the assessment. If the assessment is for all students, the form displays the text “All Students”. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Edsby-IA-snap-3.png) Individual assessments are not posted to the Class conversation and activity feed, but they do appear in the Gradebook, Content panel, Planner, and Perspective. The Gradebook disables the cells for students who are not included in the assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-1.png) The list of students can be changed by editing the assessment form. If a student has a grade and is subsequently unassigned, the grade will be dropped from all average calculations. The grade, comment, submissions, and discussions are retained and are formatted to indicate the student is no longer included. Student averages of those who are not included in an individualized assessment are not affected. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-2.png) For the teacher, the Content panel and Planner add an Individualized label to any individualized assessment. Each student’s Perspective includes only the assignments that apply to the student. The Individualized label is added to individualized assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-3.png) Students only see their assignments in the Content panel, My Work, Planner, Recent Activity and Calendar. Students are only notified about their own assessments. The Individualized label is not visible to students or parents. If the student has not been assigned the assessment, it is not visible to the student. #### **Cross posting and Individualized Assessments** Individualized Assessments can be cross posted. The assessments are cross posted without any assigned students. The cross posted assessment is added to the other classes without making the students aware of an assessment they may not be responsible for. For students, no notifications are sent, nor are any updates made to the Content panel, My Work, Planner, or calendars until the teacher assigns students to the cross posted individualized assessment. The Gradebook includes a Set Students label, and the Content panel and the Planner include an Unassigned label. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-4.png) Once students are assigned to the assessment, the student will see the assessment in the Content panel, Recent Activity, My Work, Planner, and calendars. #### **Weighting and Individualized Assessments** The introduction of individualized assessment doesn’t change anything about how averages are calculated. Any summative assessment with a grade is used in the calculation of the average. If an assessment does not have a grade then it is not used in the calculation. The Perspective lists the assessments assigned to the student and displays the weight the assessment is contributing to the average. Analyze – count will show how many assessments each student has been assigned. Teachers can also set up a summary column in the gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-5.png) If we look at Vita’s Perspective, we can see that 100% of her grade is coming from assessment 1. For Mason, we can see 100% of his grade is coming from assessment 2. If we look at a third student we can see that they have no calculated average at all. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-7.png) Now let’s fill in the grades for all 4 assessments. The Perspective now indicates that each assessment is weighted at 25%. The overall average is calculated based on the grades entered for each student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-8.png) Teachers could create an assessment that is hidden from students and then tell just Vita to do the assessment. But they could never share the grade because all students would then see the assessment name and it would appear on every student’s Perspective. Individualized assessment is about accurately reflecting the intentions of the teacher and ensuring each student understands what is expected of them. Let’s see this in action. Let’s add an individualized assessment for only Vita. Here’s how the weighting form looks now. There are five assessments each worth 20%. When Vita has grades for all 5 assessments, they will each contribute 20% to her calculated average. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-9.png) Vita is the only student who can be graded on all 5 assessments. Let’s fill in her grades. (enter 10, 10, 5, 5, 10) Let’s also fill in the same grades for Mason. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-10.png) In Vita’s perspective, each assessment is weighted at 20%. For Mason, the 4 graded assessments are weighted at 25% ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Edsby-IA-replace-11.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Attendance Codes Configuration](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-codes-form/) **Published:** November 27, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** ### Attendance Codes Attendance Codes are categorization of types of lates and absences, mostly defined by the SIS. Codes are the general group, while reasons are the specific type of absence. It is crucial to complete this configuration before the start of the school year to avoid disruptions to attendance tracking and reporting. Changes to code and reason values should be made with extreme caution, as they will impact attendance totals and report card generation. While duplicate code and reason combinations are not allowed, duplicate text is permitted. However, for clarity, consider using different text for unexcused and sanctioned absences, even if they share the same reason text. #### Attendance Code Fields: FieldPurpose/NotesDefault Absent TypeThe field sets the default option on the Incident form if more than one absent code exists. This field will only be visible if two or more absent codes are present.CodeUnique code for a type of late or absence. Typically the code is one or two characters.Code TextThe description of the code. The text is visible to faculty, students, and parents.Is LateSpecifies whether the code and accompanying reasons pertain to tardiness occurrences.Counts on RCDetermines whether the code and associated reasons will be used in calculating absences and lates on the report card, in Zoom totals, attendance threshold warning and the attendance summary.DisciplineIn some jurisdictions, the government body requires truancy reporting. The discipline checkbox will mark whether the absence needs government intervention.ReasonUnique code for the reason of absence.Reason TextThe description of the reason. The text is visible to faculty, students, and parents.ParentIndicates whether the reason is available for use by parents. All reasons are available to the Senior Admin, Office Head, and Office roles.TeacherIndicates whether the reason is available for use by teachers. All reasons are available to the Senior Admin, Office Head, and Office rolesLate EquivalentOptional, appears when the “Is Late” checkbox is enabled for a code. It’s used when a planned absence covers only part of a class meeting.NotesThe field is for documentation purposes and is only visible on this form.When code and reason are set as available for teachers and parents, they may use them to mark attendances. If no reason option is available to non-admin for a code, then parents or teachers will not see the code at all during marking. This prevents teachers or parents from putting reasons they wouldn’t be able to make. ### Export and Import Attendance Codes Attendance configuration may already be standardized by district or SIS, or may have been finished in Sandbox mode. The Attendance Configuration form includes an Export button. The resulting files can be imported as a standardCSV. ### Test Plan Before the attendance configuration is used for a school year, it should be tested for accuracy. The test will identify and mitigate issues early, such as inadequate reasons, or wrong permissions. If you do not active classes, groups can be used to test your attendance configurations. ![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcA_wf9iBkBkl5O-TJkKlf3F2jfNatGzue6-vkuuE9Uf0CNQXpC6_6pLUO-8HJLnYdSEajVXMDUzAhdcQuqojNKYFGQLCxmhIKwB9J_Pf6_EeuEmeaGAeBjj8vBHynvoGacl5_9inwnN_7Vjl089MxhoFA?key=pWZsiGy6xsXMDpQ4rEj81A) 1. Configure attendance. 2. Create a group and open it to staff and students. 3. Before hitting save on the bottom, click Permissions &Options. Then click Enable Attendance. 4. Invite the students to the group, and then impersonate invited students to accept the invitation. Invite a student for each type of attendance code made. 5. Click attendance on the top right. 6. Click Create Extra Attendance. 7. Mark students as absent, and put each type of attendance code made. Be sure reasons made in attendance configuration are available. #### **Default Attendance Codes** Edsby has a default set of absence and late codes, if these are suitable for your organization, you don’t need to configure custom codes. By default, the following Absent reasons are available to teachers and school administrators. All these absences would count toward absence totals in Zooms and the Panorama. - Bereavement - Bus Issue - Confirmed/Other - Emergency - Family - Illness - Medical Appointments - Personal Transportation - Religious Holiday / Event - Suspended - Truant / Unexcused - Vacation The following Absent reasons are available to teachers and school administrators. All these absences would be listed as Other in the Students Zoom. - School Activity - School Closure - Withdrawn. Parent can choose from the following set of absent reasons: - Bereavement - Bus Issue - Confirmed / Other - Emergency - Family - Illness - Medical Appointment - Personal Transportation Issue - Religious Holiday / Event - Vacation - Weather ### Configure Codes If your organization needs a different setup, you can use the Configure Codes to set up your own codes, reasons and reason text. Planning the order of codes and reasons before filling out the form is crucial. It ensures clarity for attendance office staff, teachers, and parents, as the sequence directly affects the forms they see. While duplicate code and reason combinations are not allowed, duplicate text is permitted. However, for clarity, consider using different text for all reasons. Also note the planned absence form displays all absence reasons in one list. Prepending the reason text with the code text can enhance clarity and organization. Note for new customers: Before classes begin for the year, changes can be made without any impact. Reviewing the setup with the Attendance Office is strongly recommended. Once attendance starts, deleting or changing a Code or Reason will have serious consequences. Changing the Reason text only impacts the text seen by faculty and parents. Note for customers pre 2024: Your district may already be using an attendance customization, please consult Edsby Support before completing this form. ### Common Attendance Configurations Unexcused Absence: A set of reasons that are counted as absences for the purposes of report cards. This set of reasons will also appear in the Attendance sheet in the Absent column and Student/My Students/Student Report under the A column. Unexcused absences also trigger the attendance warning and danger thresholds set in the Attendance Configuration form. Excused Absences: Students are absent for educational events. These absences are tracked but are not counted as absences on report cards. These absences appear in the Other column in the attendance sheets and Zooms. Excused absences do not trigger the attendance warning and danger thresholds. Whether illnesses count as excused absences depends on the jurisdiction. Late: Much like absences, late reasons can be categorized into unexcused lates (or early departures), often due to personal or parental time management issues, and excused lates, such as other educational obligations, for missing part of a class meeting. School Level Absences: Some jurisdictions have separate codes for school-level reasons, such as school closures or bus cancellations. These are not counted as absences on report cards. These absences appear in the Other column in the attendance sheets and Zooms. School level absences do not trigger the attendance warning and danger thresholds. #### Multiple Absent/Late Categories Example In this example, the excused and unexcused categories include separate Codes that can only be used by the attendance Office. In addition, the late category has been split into two categories to handle excused and unexcused absences. Note that if the code does not have reason visible to the teacher, the teacher will not see the code. ![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXc0VG5arf6rRXZVpqFFXbDJfMZ2qqNSHy1TjLzQDeqkZ1VFE8OtoYbmz_8J9BUUBHAEi7lCxxa-Y5CbIKjtL9rLO_7WXtnCmIXXwHMeSG-JTm06zEH2KLWC-E83xFBnzgCOn8DhI50wr_Snrm_vIdihALLu?key=pWZsiGy6xsXMDpQ4rEj81A) --- ### [The Office](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/the-office/) **Published:** May 25, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables organizations to keep track of administration processes happening within the school. The Office contains messages generated by parents during the onboarding process, security notices for unauthorized login attempts, and reported inappropriate content. The Office link can be found to the right of the news river and will display a red counter to indicate the number of new unread messages. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/the-office-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/the-office-location.png) ## Parent Invitation Process If parents have multiple children, they will receive an email invitation from each of the schools their children attend. The first invitation a parent accepts will bring them to a screen to create an account. Acting on any subsequent invitations will link additional children to the existing account. After inviting parents, the Office will be notified: 1. Every time a parent has activated an account. 2. If an invitation has been declined. 3. If a parent has added a new child. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Different-things-in-the-Office.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Different-things-in-the-Office.png) ## Contacts Zoom Although the Office contains messages detailing the changes that occur in the parent invitation process, there is a more powerful tool that summarizes this information in one convenient screen. The Student Contacts Zoom displays the up-to-date information about which parents and other student contacts have registered, have declined, or have invitations pending. Both the Student Contacts Zoom and the Office will update when the status of an invitation has changed to either being accepted or declined. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-contacts-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-contacts-zoom.png) ## Personal Information Administrators of organizations can control the kind of personal information that can be updated in Edsby by teachers and parents. When allowed, every update to the specified information will prompt a new message in the Office. The details of these changes can be found in the Office feed. Administrators must update the Student Information System as there is no link between this and the Office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/information-update.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/information-update.png) ## Security Notices Repeated attempts to sign into an account will automatically cause a new post to be sent to the Office on behalf of the student whose account is trying to be accessed. An IP address is given in the notice which can be used to investigate the issue. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/security-notice.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/security-notice.png) ## Report Inappropriate Content Every post that is made in Edsby has a student’s name attached to it. In addition, students cannot delete content themselves and are therefore motivated to monitor what they post. But sometimes inappropriate things are published. The Office’s unread counter will inform administrators when a new item has been flagged as inappropriate. In the event of an inappropriate post in a group or class, teachers or group moderators can either delete the content, report it as inappropriate, or report the content as inappropriate and then delete it. Reporting as inappropriate and deleting a post are two separate actions. Any user may mark a post as inappropriate. To do so on on a web browser, hover over the post and click Report Inappropriate at the bottom right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/report-inappropriate.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/report-inappropriate.png) In the Edsby mobile apps, click the downward-facing arrow to the right of the post. In the Office, administrators will see information about posts that have been flagged as being inappropriate. In the Office feed, the original post is visible along with the details about the person who reported it, the reason for reporting it, and an optional comment. From here, the post can be deleted by clicking the Delete button in the upper right corner of the original post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-original-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-original-post.png) Edsby will ask teachers to confirm that they would like to delete the post. Click Delete to confirm the deletion. Once deleted, the post of the reported content will still remain in the Office feed with information about which administrator deleted it and when. Although the post remains in the Office feed, the inappropriate post will no longer remain where it was originally posted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/information-about-the-deletion.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/information-about-the-deletion.png) An administrator can delete the post so it no longer remains in the Office feed by clicking the X at the upper right corner of the post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-post-from-office-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-post-from-office-feed.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Wrapping up the school year](https://www.edsby.com/help/getting-started-again/wrapping-up-the-school-year/) **Published:** June 21, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Classes are never deleted – they are only moved out of the way to make current classes the center of attention. Completed classes are moved off the home screen about two weeks after the last day of the class. Around August 1, Edsby archives all Classes from the previous school year. Course plans, seating plans, and Gradebook and the feed become read-only. The Planner enables teachers to copy assessments, journals, and lessons from archived classes to new classes. To access a class from the previous year, teachers can click the Classes panel’s pop out icon, then select the previous school year. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/previous-class-year.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/previous-class-year.png) To access the archives from two or more years ago, teachers can choose Archives from the menu under their name in the top right when logged in with a browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-archived-data-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-archived-data-1.png) Once the Archives have been accessed, click the Classes panel’s pop out icon, then select the school year. Access to the archives remains active until a teacher logs out. Only staff can access the archives. Students and parents only have access to the current year. ## Groups and Message To keep things tidy, Edsby archives content groups and messages just before the beginning of every school year. ### Groups For Regular, Teams, and Club groups, Edsby archives any feed post older than 90 days. To see the older posts, teachers can access their archives. Edsby does not archive - Group feed posts less than 90 days old. - Group Knowledge Base Articles - Group Library items - Group “Pinned” items Professional Learning Groups are not archived. The group type can be seen in the Group Setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-setup-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-setup-group-type.png) ### Messages During the annual archive process, Edsby archives message conversations where the most recent message is greater than 90 days old. Teachers can reference their archived messages by accessing their archives then returning to Messages. ### Personal Folder The content of the Personal folder is never archived. Uploaded files, question sheets and rubrics will remain until they are deleted by the teacher. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Archives](https://www.edsby.com/help/archives/) **Published:** June 25, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Before a school year begins, much of the previous year’s content is automatically moved to an archive. The entire contents of Classes are archived including Course Plans, Gradebooks, and Report Card sheets. For Groups, feed items older than 90 days are automatically archived and at the school level, all News River posts are archived. Private Edsby messages in users’ mailboxes are not archived. ## Jump to a Section [Accessing Archived Content](#accessarchivedcontent) [Using Content from Previous Classes](#usepreviouscontent) [Accessing Archived News River Posts](#accessarchivednews) [Archiving Groups](#archivinggroups) ## Accessing Archived Content To access archived content, teachers can click the drop-down arrow beside the name of the account holder and select Archives from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-accessing-archives.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-accessing-archives.png) Edsby enables archived content from years before the most recent school year to be accessed and enables multiple years of archives to be visible at once. For example, if a teacher is looking for content in a group from a few years back but can’t remember which year, they can select a wide range of years of archived content to view all at once. This saves the teacher from having to view each year of archived content individually before they find what they are looking for. Click the drop-down arrow under View Data From to select the years of archived content to be viewed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-data-from.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-data-from.png) Click Set View. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/set-view-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/set-view-1.png) All archived content is accessible until the account is logged out of. ## Using content from the previous year’s classes Teachers can use content from the most recent school year that has passed and copy it to their current classes. To copy content from recent classes, archived content must be accessed. Click the drop-down arrow beside the name of the account holder and select Archives from the menu. Under View Data From, select from the most recently passed school year to the current year. Click Set View. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/set-view-most-recent-year.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/set-view-most-recent-year.png) In this example, 2017 is the most recently passed school year. Navigate to the Classes panel on the left side of the teacher’s home screen. Click to view the popout. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Teacher-class-panel.jpg) Click the drop-down arrow at the top left of the Classes popout and select the previous school year. This will show the teacher all of their classes from the previous year. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/choosing-previous-year-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/choosing-previous-year-classes.png) ### Using the Planner Select a class to open the archived content. Access the Planner from the top of the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planner.png) Click the Gear icon and select the items that will be copied to the new class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-content-items.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-content-items.png) Entire units can be selected by clicking the box under the name of the unit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy-entire-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy-entire-unit.png) When the correct items have been selected, click Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy-1.png) Navigate to the current year’s class by using the Class Navigation list. Click the drop-down arrow beside the name of the class and select the current year’s class from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigating-back-to-current-year.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigating-back-to-current-year.png) This brings the teacher to the planner of their current class. Hover over a date and click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/paste.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/paste.png) The content from the previous year’s class has been copied to the current class. ### Using the Content Builder Teachers can also copy directly from the Content Builder of a previous Class. Navigate to the previous class and click Content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/clicking-content-in-archived-class-1024x605.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/clicking-content-in-archived-class.png) Inside the Content Builder click Select, then click the copy icon next to the class name. The entire Content Panel will be copied. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/select-and-copy-in-archived-content-1024x637.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/select-and-copy-in-archived-content.png) Alternatively, the teacher can copy individual items if they do not want to copy the entire Class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/copy-individual-content-item-in-archives.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/copy-individual-content-item-in-archives.png) Navigate to the current year’s Class using the Class Navigation List. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/using-class-navigation-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/using-class-navigation-list.png) This brings the teacher to the Content Builder of their current Class. Click Edit, then click the drop-down arrow next to the class name and click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/edit-and-paste-into-current-class-1024x278.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/edit-and-paste-into-current-class.png) The Content from the previous year’s Content Builder is pasted into the current Class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/content-pasted-into-new-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/content-pasted-into-new-class.png) ## Accessing Archived News River posts Before a new school year begins, all News River posts from the previous year are automatically archived. To view the archived posts, select the years of archived content to be viewed. When the view has been set, click the name of the school to view its archived content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/name-of-school.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/name-of-school.png) Scrolling down in the school feed will display the archived News content from all of the selected years. This archived content is accessible until the account is logged out of. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/archived-news.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/archived-news.png) Notice in this example, the post was made over a year before. It is displayed when Archives have been enabled. ## Accessing Archived Group content In Groups, feed items older than 90 days are automatically archived. To view the archived content, select the years of archived content to be viewed. When the view has been set, click the name of the group in the My Groups panel to view its archived content. Any content that was automatically archived in the group will now be visible. This archived content is accessible until the account is logged out of. ## Archiving Groups In Groups, feed items older than 90 days are automatically archived. However, entire groups can be archived manually – essentially deleting them. When a group has been archived manually, it will be removed from the My Groups panel of anyone who is a member of the group. The group will also not show up if it is searched for. Once a group has been archived, only administrators can restore it. A teacher can manually archive a group if they are the moderator of it. To archive a group manually, access the group by clicking on it in the My Groups panel. Click Setup from the top right of the group screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/setup-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/setup-2.png) At the bottom of the setup form, click Archive. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/archive-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/archive-button-1.png) Edsby will ask for confirmation that the group is intended to be archived. Confirm by clicking Yes. The group will no longer appear in the My Groups panel of the moderator or any other member of the group. School-level administrators will need to be contacted to restore a group that has been archived. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ### [Communicating with Your Child's Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/communicating-with-your-childs-teachers/) **Published:** July 28, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables parents to easily communicate with their children’s teachers. Depending on a school or district’s policies, Edsby can enable parents to communicate and interact with the teachers of their children through Edsby Messages, Recent Activity, and their child’s Learning Story. ## Edsby Messages The easiest way for a parent to ask their child’s teacher a question is to send them a private message using Edsby Messages. Parents can access their Edsby mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-messages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-messages.png) Click the compose message button in the top right of the mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-compose-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-compose-message.png) Enter a recipient by beginning to type their name. No email address is necessary. Edsby should find them in the school’s directory. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-typing-mobile-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-typing-mobile-message.png) If a parent isn’t finding a desired teacher’s name, it’s possible the teacher has turned off the ability for parents to message them in Edsby. Edsby can be configured to disable parents’ abilities to write teachers private messages if it’s against the school or district’s policy, and/or if they have other preferred messaging systems for parents to use. Parents having difficulty messaging teachers through Edsby should contact their school for clarification. Senders of private messages in Edsby see in their mailboxes when recipients have opened and read their private messages. This means a teacher can see when individual parents, for example, read private or group messages a teacher sends. It also means parents, in turn, can also see when teachers read their messages. This is intended to promote transparency in communication. Note that while some teachers may choose to read their messages in off hours, they are often under no obligation given local legislation and/or collective agreements to perform official duties after hours. Parents are unable to unsend messages in Edsby. Nor can parents delete messages they send, or old messages they receive, due to student safety and compliance reasons unique to K-12. Messages in Edsby are usually private between the sender and recipient, but note school or district administrators can access Edsby inboxes. ## Recent Activity If teachers have not enabled parents to enter their Edsby Classes, notes, events, and assessments posted by teachers will be visible in Recent Activity on parents’ Edsby Home Screens. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-mobile.png) Parents can let their children’s teachers know that they are reading the notes and assessments they are posting by liking posts in their children’s Recent Activity feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-like-post-in-recent-actibity-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-like-post-in-recent-actibity-1.png) ## Learning Story Edsby provides teachers with tools to capture evidence regarding student learning. Once captured, teachers can share the evidence with students and parents in the Learning Story. Parents can view their child’s Learning Story and any evidence their teachers have shared by clicking Learning Story under their name on the parent’s Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-learning-story-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-learning-story-parent-mobile.png) Or, parents can find it under their Classes Panel on their browser Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png) Parents can like and comment on any posts in the feed and communicate with their child’s teachers about each item of evidence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/comments-on-mobile-ls.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/comments-on-mobile-ls.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Broadcasting to the School Community](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/broadcast-school-community/) **Published:** July 7, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby provides schools with powerful tools to communicate with their teachers, students, and families. The best tools to do this are the News River and Edsby Groups. The [News River](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/ideas-for-the-news-river/) can be used to share information about events or resources to the entire school community. Articles in the News River will be displayed across the top of the screen of every individual associated with the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-news-river.png) [Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-groups-overview/) can be used to inform or collaborate with small or large groups of individuals within the school community. Groups also provide the option of sending an Edsby message to either students and parents or just parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-join-open-group-1024x563.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-join-open-group.png) [Calendars](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/managing-the-school-calendar/) can be used to remind the school community about upcoming events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar.png) The notifications system can alert the school community when new items are posted to the News River, groups, or the calendar. [Click here to learn more about Edsby Notifications.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en) The News River and Groups are purpose-built tools recommended for broadcasting to the school community. However, Senior Administrators and Office Head roles can additionally use the Students, Parents, or Teachers Zooms to send bulk messages. Messages sent in bulk are pre-addressed with the selected names and the BCC label indicates each recipient only sees their own name. Other recipients of the massage do not see who else is included in the message. Note: Any attachments included in these messages will only be sent to local Edsby users and must be viewed inside of Edsby. They will not be sent to external email addresses associated with an individual’s Edsby account. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bcc-admin-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bcc-admin-message.png) Administrators can remove a name from the message by clicking the X beside it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/admin-delete-name-in-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/admin-delete-name-in-message.png) ## Messaging Students and Parents Administrators can message students, their parents, or both through the Students Zoom, Parents Zoom, Classes Zoom, or from within a group. In a Zoom, filter and use the gear icon to select who to send the message to. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Zoom and select the recipients. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-options-in-the-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-options-in-the-zoom.png) In a Group, click the view all members link. Then, click the drop-down arrow and select the recipients. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-a-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-a-group.png) Fill out the message and click Send. Recipients will receive the message in their Edsby mailbox. ## Messaging Staff Members Administrators can message teachers and other staff members in the school through the Staff Zoom and Classes Zoom. In the Zoom, filter and use the gear icon to select who to send the message to. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Zoom and select the recipients. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-staff.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-staff.png) Fill out the message and click Send. Recipients will receive the message in their Edsby mailbox. ## Messaging Group Members In addition to messaging students and parents directly from a group, administrators can message all group members or moderators from the Groups Zoom. Filter to which groups to send the message to. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Zoom and select the recipients – either all members or just the moderators. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-groups-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-groups-zoom.png) Fill out the message and click Send. Recipients will receive the message in their Edsby mailbox. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Parent Invitation Process](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/parent-invitation-process-2/) **Published:** May 11, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Within a school district or school board, each school may manage their own database of parent and contact information. A parent with children at more than one school may have different information recorded at each of the children’s schools. The information was accurate at the time it was collected, but parents don’t always update the school when information changes. The Parent Invitation process is designed to help the school district create Edsby accounts for parents by using information in the existing database at the schools. Student contacts may include parents and guardians as well as doctors and babysitters, but only parents and guardians will receive Edsby accounts. The schools continue to manage parent information as they currently do, by entering information into the Student Information System. ## **Overview** - Like all information, the parent and contact information is synchronized to Edsby’s Student Contact Zoom. - When the school is ready to invite parents to create an Edsby account, the school issues invitations from the Student Contacts Zoom. - Invitations are sent by email. The invitation includes the school and children’s names. - The Student Contacts Zoom displays the up-to-date information about which parents have registered, have declined, or have invitations pending. - Parents complete the registration process by clicking a link in the email. - When parents complete the registration process, they are added to the Parents Zoom. Parents will receive an invitation from each of the schools their children attend. The first invitation a parent acts on creates an account, and acting on subsequent invitations will link additional children to the existing account. Regardless of the number of children or schools, parents will only have one account to check. ## Jump to a section [Inviting parents to join Edsby](#inv) [Parent account creation workflow](#create) [Adding a child to an existing account](#add) [Parents with 2 e-mail addresses](#2email) [Decline invitations](#decline) [Resending invitations](#resendinv) [Canceling pending invitations](#cancel) [Resending a welcome message](#resendwel) [FAQ from parents](#FAQ) ## Inviting parents to join Edsby To invite parents to create an Edsby account, a school or district administrator should navigate to the Student Contacts Zoom then, click the blue arrow and choose *Invite to Edsby*. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-student-contacts-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-student-contacts-zoom.png) A form will appear listing the names of student contacts. The admin must click Send Invitations. Administrators can also choose to resend invitations to users who last received one since some specified period of time. Click on the calendar icon to select a time since. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-invitations.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-invitations.png) For administrators, the Student Contacts Zoom will keep a list of: - Who has not been invited - Who has been invited, and when - Who has accepted the invitation and are Active - Who has declined the invitation - The contact and student relationship - Which contacts do not have Edsby Access Filters will appear according to the data in the Student Contacts Zoom. As invitations are issued, accepted, or declined the associated Account Status filters will appear. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/contacts-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/contacts-zoom-filters.png) ### Parent account creation workflow When parents are invited to Edsby by their school or district administrators, they receive an email message similar to: “High Prairie School District (HPSD) uses Edsby to provide a convenient way for parents and guardians to follow their child’s progress at school, receive updates, engage with groups at your child’s school, and much more. If you have any questions regarding Edsby, please contact your school. Activate or Connect your Edsby Account If you have any questions regarding Edsby please contact the school office. To to learn more about how to set up your parent account, please watch[ this video](https://vimeo.com/edsby/parentaccounts?share=copy). *If this message was sent to you in error and do not wish to join Edsby, click here to decline this invitation.”* In the above example, Owen Andersen has been invited to join Edsby by the high school his daughter Mie attends. - When a parent clicks the Activate or Connect your Edsby Account link, the registration form appears. - To create an Edsby account, the parent clicks “I don’t have an Edsby account” button. - The registration dialog appears, and the parent fills in the password fields and clicks Create Edsby Account. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/register-a-parent-account.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/register-a-parent-account.png) Once the parent clicks *Create Edsby Account*, the parent is logged into Edsby. The parent is shown his or her own Personal information. A parent’s ability to change the information on this form is determined by the organization. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-information.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-information.png) The parent also receives a confirmation message. The subject of the confirmation message is “Welcome to Edsby”. The email includes a link to the organization’s login screen. For example: “Welcome to Edsby, Owen! Your Edsby account has been activated as the parent/guardian of Mie Anderson. With Edsby you can: - Follow your child’s progress at school - Receive school updates - Engage with groups at you child’s school - And so much more! Here are your account details: Your Edsby URL is: hpsd.edsby.com Your server address is hpsd Your username is: oanderson15\_edsby@mailinator.com Explore Edsby *This E-mail was autogenerated by the Edsby system for High Prairie School District. If you do not Edsby to send you this kind of notification, please* *click here to unsubscribe*.” ### Parent adding a child to an existing account Parents with children in more than one school will receive an invitation to join Edsby from each school. The invitation email informs parents that they can either create a new Edsby account or connect a child to an existing Edsby account. The email also includes the child’s name and school. In the following example, Mrs. Andreasen, who already has an Edsby account for her son Oliver, has been invited to join Edsby by the elementary school her son Mark attends. “High Prairie School District (HPSD) uses Edsby to provide a convenient way for parents and guardians to follow their child’s progress at school, receive updates, engage with groups at your child’s school, and much more. If you have any questions regarding Edsby, please contact your school. Activate or Connect your Edsby Account If you have any questions regarding Edsby please contact the school office. To to learn more about how to set up your parent account, please watch[ this video](https://vimeo.com/edsby/parentaccounts?share=copy). *If this message was sent to you in error and do not wish to join Edsby, click here to decline this invitation.”* Clicking the Activate or Connect your Edsby Account link displays the registration form, however, once a parent has an Edsby account, he or she clicks Login to your existing Edsby account to connect additional children. The parent enters the password and clicks Login and register as parent of . . . button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/existing-parent-account-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/existing-parent-account-1.png) For every child, parents are asked to confirm their personal information. Parent Information lists all the children linked to this account. ### Example of a parent with 2 email addresses Different schools may have different emails for the same parent. For example, Tecumseh High has Mr. Barnes email at fbarnes@focalspace.com, and Mesa Elementary has him at fbarnes@leapville.com. Mr. Barnes will receive the invitation at whatever address the schools have on record. Mr. Barnes first accepted the invitation from Tecumseh High School and created an account with a Username of fbarnes@focalspace.com. When Mr. Barnes accepted the invitation from Mesa Elementary that was addressed to fbarnes@leapville.com, he clicked “*Login to your existing Edsby account”.* Entering fbarnes@focalspace.com and his password added his son Michael to Mr. Barnes existing account. To view information about both children’s school life, Mr. Barnes navigates to ncsd.edsby.com, enters the username of fbarnes@focalspace.com and his password. ### Declined Invitations The invitation has the following option: “If this message was sent to you in error, or you do not wish to join Edsby, *please click here to decline.”* Parents clicking this link receive the following message. “Your decision not to join Edsby as the parent of Lucy Batista has been processed. No further communications (except security notices) will be forwarded to you. If you no longer wish to receive notifications regarding the security of your Edsby account, click *here to unsubscribe.*” A parent may click this in error and there is a way to issue an additional invitation. 1. Navigate to the Student Contact Zoom. 2. Click the name to open the contact’s Details Page. 3. Click Send Invitation. ### **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-invitation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-invitation.png)** ## Resending invitations When a new family enrolls at a school, the contacts will synchronize overnight and appear in the Student Contacts Zoom the next morning. An administrator wanting to resend an invitation previously sent, or wanting to send first invitations to new families should navigate to the Student Contacts Zoom, and then: 1. Filter the list of parents to those that need another invitation. The list can be filtered by typing a name in the Search box, or clicking the gear icon and selecting names. 2. Select Invite to Edsby. 3. When the list of names appears, click Send Invitations. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-invites.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-invites.png) Parents are sent an additional invitation but they can use any invitation, not just the most recent invitation. ### Canceling pending invitations Invitations can be canceled if required. School or district administrators should navigate to the Edsby Student Contacts Zoom, and then filter the list of parents to those that did not need an invitation. The list can be filtered by typing a name in the Search box, or clicking the gear icon and selecting names. Click the dropdown arrow and Select Cancel Edsby Invitations [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cancel-edsby-invitations.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cancel-edsby-invitations.png) When the list of names appears, click Cancel Invitations. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cancel-invitations-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cancel-invitations-button.png) Of course, the parent will still have an email invitation in his or her Inbox, but the link is no longer valid. Clicking on the link will produce an error. ## Resending a Welcome Message The Parents Zoom includes the ability to resend the Welcome message to parents. The Welcome Message includes a link that will take the parent to the organization’s Login screen. Administrators should navigate to the Parents Zoom and choose Send “Welcome to Edsby” Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-welcome-to-edsby-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-welcome-to-edsby-notifications.png) Set the *Send welcome message to users who have not accessed Edsby since* field to a specific date. If a specific date is selected, the list of names in the To field will not change, but the Welcome Message will only be sent to the parents who meet the criteria. Click Send Welcome Messages. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-welcome-messages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-welcome-messages.png) Parents will receive a message with the subject of Welcome to Edsby. The content of the message is similar to as follows: “Welcome to Edsby, Owen! Your Edsby account has been activated as the parent/guardian of Mie Anderson. With Edsby you can: - Follow your child’s progress at school - Receive school updates - Engage with groups at you child’s school - And so much more! Here are your account details: Your Edsby URL is: hpsd.edsby.com Your server address is hpsd Your username is: oanderson15\_edsby@mailinator.com Explore Edsby *This E-mail was autogenerated by the Edsby system for High Prairie School District. If you do not Edsby to send you this kind of notification, please* *click here to unsubscribe*.” ## Questions from parents and how to fix **I didn’t get the email. Or, I don’t have access to that email address anymore.** School administrators should confirm that the parent’s email is valid in the student information system (SIS) and change the email, if necessary. The updated email address will sync to Edsby overnight. Similarly, if a parent seeks to update their mailing address in Edsby, it must first be changed in the SIS as well, and will sync to Edsby overnight. If the parent’s email address is correct, the message may have been flagged as spam. The school administrator should ask the parent to check their spam folder. The subject of the message starts with “Invitation from Edsby to connect”. School admins can follow the following instructions to resend a parent invitation email. The invitation will arrive almost immediately. If the invitation message does not arrive, the invitation link can be copied into an external email message. 1. The admin should navigate to the Student Contacts Zoom, click on parent’s name to go to the Details page. 2. The admin can click Get Invite Link button and copy and paste the link into an external email message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/get-invite-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/get-invite-link.png) The parent completes the registration process by clicking the link. The parent will receive the Welcome message once the parent has registered. **It said that the email was already in use?** This warning message occurs when a parent with an existing Edsby account has clicked the *I don’t have an Edsby account* button, instead of the *Login to your existing Edsby account* button. The parent can click the Back link and select the *Login to your existing Edsby account* button. The parent can also open the invitation message, click the link and start the process again. **I clicked on the link, but it didn’t work.** Parents sometimes return to the invitation message and click on the link to get to the login screen. Once parents have registered, the invitation link is no longer valid. After a parent completes the registration process, they are sent a confirmation message that includes a link to the organization’s login screen. The subject of the confirmation message is “Welcome to Edsby”. School admins should ask parents to use the link contained in the Welcome to Edsby message. **I can’t remember my password or Username** Parents with an assortment of email addresses may forget which one was used to create the account. The email and Username may be the same, but not always. A parent’s Username can be found by a school administrator by following these steps: 1. Navigate to the Parents Zoom, click on the parent name. 2. Open the Information panel to view the Login Name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/reset-password.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/reset-password.png) If the name is not listed in the Parents Zoom, the parent has not completed the invitation process. The administrator should navigate to the Student Contacts Zoom and issue another invitation. If a parent has forgotten their password, he or she can click on the “Forgot Password?” link on the login page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/forgot-password.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/forgot-password.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Communicating with your Teacher](https://www.edsby.com/help/communicating-privately-with-the-teacher/) **Published:** August 13, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Students can communicate with their teachers through My Work, Class posts, or through Edsby Messages. ## My Work Sometimes for students it’s just not feasible to stay after class to ask their teachers a question about an upcoming test or assignment. Edsby enables students to privately message their teachers about a specific assignment. If there are any questions or concerns about upcoming or graded assessments, navigate to My Work. If students are accessing Edsby on a browser, navigate to the Assessments tab of My Work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/My-Work.jpg) 1\. On mobile, access My Work in the Class header. The My Work feed lists all assignments in a Class as well as the results of any your teacher has chosen to share. 2\. If you have any questions or concerns about upcoming or graded assessments, click the speech bubble icon. 3\. You can access any comments, responses, or changes to grades your teacher has made by clicking the assignment and viewing the details. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-my-work-1.jpg) ## Class Feed Consider posting in the class feed to ask a question other students in the class might also have. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-post-in-mobile-class-feed.jpg) This provides a great way for students to collaborate with their classmates and for teachers to contribute as necessary. If a teacher has not enabled students to post in the class, ask them to do so. Opening up the class for students to post fosters greater engagement in Edsby and the class. It also facilitates learning opportunities and encourages healthy communication between students. ## Private Messages If My Work or posting in a class is not the best way to message the teacher for a certain question, use Edsby Messages. Students can contact any staff at their school in addition to teachers, like coaches or the Principal. **Note:** Messages sent can be reviewed by a school administrator, and students are unable to un-send or delete anything they send. Nor can they delete messages they’ve received. Access the mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in the Navigation Bar on mobile or the browser. Create a new message by clicking the Compose Message button and typing a teacher’s name as the recipient. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-new-message.jpg) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Parent Quickstart](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/) **Published:** July 24, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is designed to meet the needs of K-12 parents with tools that are purpose-built to help parents to review their child’s academic progress, stay up-to-date on school and classroom announcements, as well as communicate with their children’s teachers. ## *Jump to a Section* [Activating an Edsby Account](#parentquickstartaccountsetup) [Logging In](#parentquickstartlogin) [Setting Up Notifications](#parentquickstartnotifications) [Home Screen](#parentquickstarthomescreen) [The School Page](#parentquickstartschoolpage) [News](#parentquickstartnews) [Scheduling Absences](#parentquickstartschedulingabsences) [Child’s Calendar](#parentquickstartchildcalendar) [Child’s Classes](#parentquickstartchildclasses) [Viewing a Child’s Assessments and Grades](#parentquickstartchildassessments) [Groups](#parentquickstartgroups) [Messages](#parentquickstartmessages) [Communicating with a Child’s Teachers](#parentquickstartmessageateacher) [Parent-Teacher Interviews](#parentquickstartpti) [Personal Calendar](#parentquickstartpersonalcalendar) ## *Getting Started* ### **Activating an Edsby Account** Once the schools a parent’s children attend are using Edsby, they will send parents an email with a link unique to them. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-d1fa73fe-bef8-4caa-abac-fcee13b54411-1024x957.png) Clicking the link will set up a parent’s Edsby account in seconds and will be connected to the information regarding all of their children. All of their children will be merged into one Edsby account. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-fe95cb75-20bc-4c49-add4-607ca52039b0-1024x1024.png) **Note:** If parents do not receive the email or the link sent does not work, contact the school to reissue the invitation. It’s always best to contact their child’s school for specific instructions on activating their Edsby account. ### **Downloading the Edsby App** In addition to accessing Edsby through a desktop browser or mobile browser, parents can keep up-to-date with their children’s schooling on their mobile device by using the Edsby Mobile App freely available on Google Play and the App Store. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1024px-Google_Play_Store_badge_EN.svg-400x118-1.png)![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/app-store-logo-400x138-1.png) ### **Logging In** Every Edsby system has a unique URL, or Edsby server address, like https://your-server.edsby.com, where your-server is unique to the school or district. Ask the school for the system’s Edsby server address. Consider bookmarking it for easy access. This server address is also required for logging into the Edsby Mobile App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1-Edsby-Login-screen-edit.png) Parents can ask the school for their Edsby username and password. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-login/) for information on logging into Edsby. ### **Setting Up Notifications** With so many things happening inside Edsby, it is important to stay organized and up-to-date. Edsby makes this easy by enabling various notifications to ensure parents are notified of the important things happening within their school, children’s Classes, Calendars, and Groups. Access Settings by clicking on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Home Screen, then select Notifications from the menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-notification-settings-edit-1.png) This provides a form for parents to select and update notifications regarding their: 1. Messages 2. Edsby Activity Digest 3. Personal Calendar 4. Organization 5. Children 6. Groups ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-notification-settings-detail-edit.png) Parents can choose to receive notifications through Email, Edsby, or straight to their mobile devices. Notifications received in Edsby will be accessible by clicking the bell icon in the Navigation Bar. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/edsby-login/) for more information on setting up Notifications. ## *Home Screen* The Home Screen is the hub of the Edsby experience. From here, parents can use the quick links to access the school news, schedule absences for their children, and view their Portfolio, Learning Story, Classes, Recent Activity, and Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-home-screen-1.png) On a browser, the Home Screen will also display this information. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-browser-home-screen.png) Additionally, the Navigation Bar is located on every page in Edsby. Parents can use it to access their Home Screen, Groups, Messages, Personal Calendar, and Notifications. ### **The School Page** Access the school and district pages by clicking on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Home Screen and selecting schools. Choose the school or district. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-schools-1.png) This will provide parents with a feed of school news. Scroll to view all posts. Click Calendar to view the School Calendar. The school-specific events on this calendar are merged on a parent’s Personal Calendar accessible by clicking the calendar icon in their Navigation Bar. Click Info to view important school information including: 1. Key Contacts in the school 2. Staff Panel, making it easier to contact any teacher or principal at the school through Edsby 3. Contact Information for the school 4. A school-wide Documents library Turn on notifications whenever a new article is posted at the school by clicking the bell icon in the top right. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-school-news-and-info-1.png) The School Page is also available by clicking the school’s name in the top left corner of the browser’s Home Screen. ### **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-browser-school-page.png)** ### **News** The News River at the top of a parent’s Home Screen combines the news from the district and schools their children attend. Use the arrows to navigate through the articles. Click an article to view its full text. ## *![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-news-river-1.png)* ## *Children* If a parent has multiple children, they will all be merged into their single Edsby account. On the Home Screen, parents are provided with a list of their children. Parents can scroll through each of their children and view the various options they have for each. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-child-overview-blank.png) For each child, parents can plan an absence, and view their Portfolio and Learning Story, their classes, attendance, recent activity, and calendar events. These quick links are the best ways for parents to stay up-to-date on each of their children. ### **Scheduling Absences** Parents can schedule absences for their children right from the convenience of their mobile devices. Click Absent Today if a child will be away on the current day. Click Plan an Absence if the child will be away for multiple days, partial days, or another day in the future. Fill out the form and click Send to School Office. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-planned-absence-1.png) A submission receipt will be sent to the parent’s mailbox. Once the school office has reviewed and approved the absence, the status of the receipt will change to Approved. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-planned-absence-receipt-1.png) An approved absence will be visible in the child’s Personal Calendar by clicking Calendar under their name on the Home Screen. #### **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-calendar-planned-absence-1.png)** #### **Attendance Incident Notifications** If a child is marked Late or Absent by any of their teachers and there is no Planned Absence listed for them, the Attendance Office may choose to notify parents through Edsby. In order for parents to receive these notifications, they must enable them in their Notification Settings. Navigate to Settings, select Notifications, and click the child’s name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/notification-child-settings.png) Ensure the box next to *Attendance Incidents* is selected. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/attendance-incidents-box-selectd.png) If the Attendance Office notifies a parent of their child’s Late or Absence, they will receive an Edsby Notification in the Navigation Bar. Here parents will be provided with 2 options to reply back to the Office. If a parent is aware of their child’s Late or Absence, click *I Know About This*. Parents will then be asked to provide a reason for their child’s absence and send it to the School Office. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/i-know-about-this.png) If they are unaware of their child’s Late or Absence, click *I Don’t Know About This.* The Office will be notified that the child is unaccounted for. The Office will be notified that the child is unaccounted for. ### **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/i-dont-know-about-this.png)** ### **A Child’s Personal Calendar** The Edsby Calendar is the perfect tool to help students plan their time. Each child’s calendar is found beside their name on the browser Home Screen or by clicking Calendar under the child’s name on mobile. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-calendar-1.png) Edsby knows about every assignment, every test, and every event entered in any class a child is enrolled in. The Calendar is a great tool for parents looking to support and encourage their children to complete their work on time. Parents will see a two-week view of events and assessments on their Home Screen. To see further ahead, click the Calendar pop-out on the browser. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/child-calendar-full-popou.png) Edsby even knows about events in the clubs, teams, and other groups students are a member of. So, when an event is added to the Festival Choir, the Basketball Team, or the Yearbook Committee, these events are added to the student’s Calendar as well. ### **About a Child’s Classes** Click Classes under a child’s name to view the classes they are enrolled in as well as their current average if shared by the teacher. If teachers have enabled parents to enter a class, click the class name to enter it. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-classes-1.png) If teachers have not enabled parents to enter a class, all notes, events, and assessments posted by the children’s teachers will be visible in their Recent Activity on the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-recent-activity-1.png) ### **Viewing a Child’s Assessments and Grades through My Work** If parents want to see a detailed list of their child’s upcoming assessments and any grades their teacher has shared, they can do through My Work, available both on mobile and in a browser. On mobile, My Work is available by clicking Classes under the child’s name, selecting a class, and clicking My Work in the header. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-my-work-1.png) Here parents can see a list of class assessments and any grades that have been assigned. A child’s My Work Report is available on a browser by clicking My Work under the class name. ### **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-browser-my-work.png)** ### **Accessing a Child’s Portfolio** A parent can access a child’s feed of Portfolio posts by clicking Portfolio under their name on mobile or under their Classes Panel on a browser. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-portfolio-1.png) Parents can like and comment on any posts in the feed. ### **Viewing a Child’s Learning Story** Edsby provides teachers with tools to capture evidence regarding student learning. Once captured, teachers can share the evidence with students and parents in the Learning Story. View a child’s Learning Story and any evidence their teachers have shared by clicking Learning Story under their name on the Mobile Home Screen or, find it under their Classes Panel on the browser Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-childs-learning-story-1.png) Parents can like and comment on any posts in the feed and communicate with their child’s teachers about each item of evidence. Teachers can enable students and parents to print QR Codes for capturing their own evidence at home using the Edsby Capture App. If the child’s teachers have enabled this option, click Print QR Codes at the top of the child’s Learning Story. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/mobile-print-qr-codes.png) For more information on Edsby Capture, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-capture-for-students/) ## *Groups* Parents can access the Groups they are a member of by clicking the Groups icon in the Navigation bar of the mobile app. On a browser, the My Groups Panel is located under the News River on the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-groups-1.png) Click More Groups on browser or the search icon on Mobile to browse more groups in the school. Groups can be open or closed, as indicated by a lock icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/groups-with-lock-parent.png) Parents can freely jump in and out of open groups. However, they will only be notified of new posts in the groups if they join as a member. Click Join in the top right of an open group to join it. To join a closed group, click the group and fill out the request. A moderator of the group will review and confirm a parent’s request before they can officially join the group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-group-request.png) Review the status of the request in the Mailbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-group-request-status.png) If a parent has been invited to a group, they are provided with options to Accept or Decline. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/mobile-accept-or-decline.png) There are some instances when a parent may be automatically added to a group like All Parents or a Lost and Found group. Parents cannot unsubscribe from groups they have been automatically subscribed to. Groups include a group Feed, a group Calendar, group Members with those recently active listed first, a Knowledge Base, important Pinned Items, and a Group Library. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-group-feed-1.png) The group screen on a browser looks like the picture below, with the same functionality as groups on mobile. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-browser-groups.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/groups-for-parents/) for more information on Edsby Groups. ## *Messages* Parents have their own Edsby Mailbox where they can message teachers and staff members in the school. Access this mailbox in the navigation bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-messages.png) ### **Communicating with a Child’s Teachers** Parents can use Messages to communicate with their children’s teachers. Click the compose message icon in the top right of the mailbox. Fill out the recipient and send the message. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-new-message.png) Parents can attach live pictures taken through a device’s camera, attach existing pictures or photos, videos, Internet links and other files to messages using the icons at the bottom of the message compose window. Parents can let a child’s teachers know that parents are reading the notes and assessments they are posting by like the posts in their child’s Recent Activity feed. ### **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-interact-recent-activity.png)** ### **Booking Parent-Teacher Interviews** When Parent-Teacher Interviews are in session and parents are enabled to book appointments, the workflow is available in their Edsby Mailbox. Open the message and click *Book Parent-Teacher Interview*. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-PTI-booking-1.png) Use the tabs to navigate between interview dates. Click on available slots to book them. Parents can remove their booking by clicking *Remove Booking* or change it to another available time by clicking *Change.* Click *Add Note* to supply a note to the teacher. Parents can modify the note by clicking *View/Edit Note.* The note is visible to the teacher and School Administrators. When parents are finished booking, click Done. They will have a summary of their interview schedule in their Mailbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-PTI-1.png) If bookings are still open to parents, they can access and change their appointment schedule by clicking *Make Changes. **Note:** If parents are unable to book or are having difficulty booking, the school office can manage the bookings. ## *Personal Calendar* Each parent has their own personalized Edsby Calendar. A triangle symbol in the calendar indicates the event is in progress. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-personal-calendar-1.png) The Personal Calendar includes: 1. Group events 2. Personal events parents create 3. School or district events Create a personal event by clicking the blue plus sign. Fill out the form. This event is only visible to you as a parent. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-parent-personal-calendar-new-event-1.png) The Personal Calendar collates all calendar items from a parent’s groups, schools, and district. Other Calendars, for example, a Group Calendar, will only show events relevant to that class. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [What do students see when they log into Edsby?](https://www.edsby.com/help/what-do-students-in-your-classes-see-when-they-log-into-edsby/) **Published:** September 17, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** When students log in, they see a home screen that is similar to the teacher’s with their school in the upper left, the news river, and a calendar. While teachers see a list of all of the classes that they are currently teaching, the students Classes panel will display a list of all of the classes that they are currently enrolled in. For each class, the student will be shown the name of the class, the formal name and picture of the teacher, and a counter of how many new items are in the class. [![Student desktop](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/home-screen-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/home-screen-copy.png) ## **My Work** When the students hover over each of the classes in the Classes panel, a *My Work* button will be displayed. Students can also access My Work from inside the class. When the student clicks that button, they will see a graph composed of visible assessments with shared results. Using the tabs above the graph, students can view their upcoming assessments and assessment results, a list of all expectations/standards/observations and their level of success, a record of their attendance, and previous report cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/perspective-3.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/perspective-3.png) If new results have been shared by the teacher since the student last logged in, they will be notified on the Classes panel. ### **Average grade display** If a teacher has turned on the *Show averages to students and parents* option in the class setup, the average for that class will be displayed at the top the student’s My Work for that class. If the teacher has set *Show averages to students and parents* to Don’t Show, no average will be displayed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-average-to-students-and-parents-option.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-average-to-students-and-parents-option.png) ## **Recent Activity** The student’s Recent Activity will contain all of the postings made by teachers in the classes that the student is a member of. This is done for two reasons: first, so students can’t use the excuse “I didn’t see the posting” and second, so that in the case where the teacher has not yet opened the class, the students will still have access to important teacher posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/recent-activity-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/recent-activity-copy.png) ## **Groups** If the student is a member of any groups, those groups will be listed in the Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/my-groups-panel-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/my-groups-panel-copy.png) ## **Home Screen Calendar** The student’s home screen calendar will contain the amalgamated view of all of the items on all of the calendars of all of the classes and all of the groups of which the student is a member. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-calendar-schedule-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-calendar-schedule-copy.png) ## **Entering Classes** If a teacher of a particular class has turned on the *Students can enter class* option, then clicking on the class in the Classes list will take them into the class. Once in the class, the students will see the class, as follows: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/inside-a-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/inside-a-class.png) ### **Teachers** The students will see a list of the formal names of the teachers of the class. Hovering over the names will allow the students to send a private message to that teacher. ##### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-teacher-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/send-teacher-message.png) [Click here](http://vimeo.com/72660827) to watch a video about the classes shared with students. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Viewing Your Child's Grades and Assignments through My Work](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/how-did-you-do-on-that-english-project/) **Published:** September 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables parents to stay up-to-date on their child’s homework and assignments, as well as monitor how they are doing in each class. ## Calendar The Edsby Calendar is the perfect tool to help parents understand their children’s school schedules. Each child’s calendar is found by clicking Calendar under the child’s name on mobile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-parent-mobile.png) On a browser, it is found beside the child’s name on the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-location-parent-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-location-parent-browser.png) Edsby knows about every assignment, every test, and every event entered in any class a child is enrolled in. Students cannot calendar entries, assignments or due dates from their parents. The Calendar is a great tool for parents looking to support and encourage their children to complete their work on time. Parents will see a two-week view of events and assessments on their child’s Personal Calendar. To see further ahead, use the full-screen calendar on the browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-full-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-full-calendar.png) Edsby even knows about events in the clubs, teams, and other groups students are a member of. So, when an event is added to the Festival Choir, the Basketball Team, or the Yearbook Committee, these events are added to the student’s Calendar as well. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/calendars/) for more information on Edsby Calendars. ### Edsby Calendar Colour Guide Each colour in Edsby Calendars signifies an event, assessment, or class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/orange-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/orange-circle.png)Scheduled Classes[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/green-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/green-circle.png)Assessments or Class Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/blue-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/blue-circle.png)Group Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/purple-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/purple-circle.png)School Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-circle.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-circle.png)Personal Events## Recent Activity Edsby’s Recent Activity also gives parents insight into what their children are learning in each of their classes to start rich conversations about their child’s work. Upcoming assessments, events, or other notes posted by teachers are found in the Recent Activity section corresponding to each parent’s children. Students cannot hide Edsby classes, assignments or grades from their parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-mobile.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/what-happened-in-school-today/) for more information about Recent Activity. ## My Work Parents can view the classes each of their children are taking in their Classes Panel. This is found by clicking Classes under their child’s name on mobile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-child-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-child-classes.png) On a browser, this is visible under their child’s name on the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Plain-Classes-Panel-1.jpg) The Classes Panel additionally lists the student’s current average and subjective performance indicator in each class if the teacher has chosen to share them. The teacher determines what will be shown in each Edsby class and when. The red bubbles indicate the number of items in each class that parents have not personally read yet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bubble-counter-mobile-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bubble-counter-mobile-classes.png) Edsby makes it easy to review a child’s progress in each class. Click a class and select My Work in the header to view the child’s My Work Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/view-childs-my-work-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/view-childs-my-work-parent-mobile.png) This will provide parents with a detailed list of their child’s assessments and grades, if their teacher has chosen to share grades with parents. To access the My Work Report from a browser, hover over the class name and click My Work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Plain-How-to-My-Work-Panel.jpg) There are 5 tabs in the browser’s My Work: Graph, Assessments, Standards, Attendance, and Previous Report Cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-tabs.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-tabs.png) The default tab is **Graphs**. This tab displays a visualization of the student’s academic progress throughout the school year by graphing grades. Parents can zoom, pan, and select specific areas of the graph to view. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-my-work-graph.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-my-work-graph.png) The **Assessments** tab displays a list of upcoming and incomplete assessments as well as the results of past graded assessments, if the teacher has decided to share them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-assessments-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-assessments-my-work.png) The **Standards/Expectations** tab lists all of the criteria that students will be graded on in a class. Standards and Expectations are standardized criteria for a particular course, often set by the government or an otherwise exterior organization (ex. Common core standards). Many teachers, especially in lower grades, will directly evaluate students on expectations by creating observations and adding a subjective performance indicator (SPI). [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/expectations-studny-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/expectations-studny-my-work.png) The SPI is visible to parents and students as a circle beside the expectation. In the example above, the student achieved a blue on standard A.2 – the highest indicator. The performance indicators from lowest to highest are red, yellow, green, and blue. The **Attendance** tab displays all attendance incidents in a particular class. If a student is recorded as missing class or arriving late, the incident will appear here. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-tab-my-work-parent-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-tab-my-work-parent-browser.png) The **Previous Report Cards** tab shows all Report Cards for that class which have been published on Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/previous-report-cards-student-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/previous-report-cards-student-my-work.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Utilizing the Gradebook for traditional assessment: A comprehensive guide](https://www.edsby.com/help/utilizing-the-gradebook-for-traditional-assessment-a-comprehensive-guide/) **Published:** August 14, 2024 **Author:** Megan Goodman **Content:** Traditional assessment refers to evaluating student learning through standardized tests, quizzes, exams, and assignments that result in a numerical or letter grade. These assessments often focus on measuring a student’s ability to recall information, solve problems, or apply learned concepts within a set timeframe. In traditional assessment, the results are usually expressed as a percentage or score that reflects the student’s overall performance across multiple tasks. These scores are often averaged over time to determine a final grade. This approach highlights the accumulation of points and provides a clear comparison against established standards, placing less emphasis on individual progress toward specific learning goals or outcomes. ## Jump To a Section [Connecting Analyze, Evidence, and the Gradebook](#connetcinganalyzetraditional) [Creating Assessments](#creatingassessmentstraditional) [Grading Assessments](#gradingassessmentstraditional) [Rubrics](#rubricstraditional) [Online Tests](#onlineteststraditional) [Progress Reports](#progressreporttraditional) [Gradebook Settings](#gradebooksettingstraditional) ### Connecting Analyze, Evidence, and the Gradebook Edsby’s Gradebook and Perspective enable teachers to document student achievements, encompassing grades, Learning Evidence, and average calculations. The Gradebook provides data to be analyzed by Edsby’s Perspective Analyze tool. Analyze takes the information from the Gradebook and Evidence and enables teachers to see the results of both types of assessments in one place. Analyze empowers the teacher to look at the assessment data in multiple ways to spot trends or areas of concern and act on the information. For more information on how to use the Perspective Analyze, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective-analyze/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/analyze-gradebook-evidence.png) ### Creating Assessments To provide Analyze with information teachers can create Learning Evidence and assessments for their students. To create an assessment for a class, navigate to the class. Assessments can be created from the class feed, the Content Builder, or the Gradebook itself. No matter where an assessment is created, it will appear in the Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/assessment-add-locations.png) When the assessment form is open, teachers can fill in the form with any relevant information for the assessment. Not every field must be filled out, however, some fields are mandatory. Teachers can include: 1. The name of the assessment \* 2. The unit which the assessment falls under \* 3. The type of assessment 4. Any Expectations or Standards attached to the assessment 5. Whether or not the assessment includes an online submission 6. The due date 7. Which students the assessment is assigned to 8. Grading details \* 9. Any instructions or files for students \*Denotes mandatory fields ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/assessment-form.png) The weighting box of the assessment form will automatically be filled in with the same number as the number of points if teachers are using a grading scheme that includes ‘Out Of’. Teachers can adjust the weighting of assessments in both the assessment form and the Weighting form in the Class Setup. We will show teachers how to adjust the weighting in the Gradebook Settings section of this article. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/weighting-out-of.png) Teachers can create individualized assessments to support a modified curriculum, or IEPs, or to provide students with a choice of assessments. In the assessment form, the Assign To field enables teachers to choose between assigning all students or a subset of students. By default, assignments are assigned to all students. To assign a subset of students, click Change. The student list appears, and the teacher chooses which students to include in the assignment. The Gradebook disables the cells for students who are not included in the assessment and in the Content Builder and Planner the assessment will have an Individualized label. For more information on Individualized Assessments, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/individualized-assessments/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/individualized-assessments.png) ### Grading Assessments To fill in grades in the Gradebook, click the cell and fill in the grade. Teachers can quickly give multiple students the same grade by clicking and dragging the blue square down the list of students. To grade online submissions such as documents or online tests, click the file icon. This will open the Grader. The Grader can be used to annotate a student’s submissions. The Grader tools include a rectangle, pen, or highlighter. Teachers can choose the desired colour and mark up the submission. Teachers can leave comments for each markup they make on the submission. The Grader includes a discussion box that can be used to provide students with feedback on their work and to answer any private questions the student has asked about the assessment. When a teacher has finished annotating a student’s assessment, they can choose to share the annotations without sharing a grade. This enables students to correct their work before a final submission. When teachers have graded an assessment, they can choose to share just the grade and comment with students, or they can share the grade along with any final annotations. Students can view these annotations and any comments in their My Work. For more information about the Grader, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/annotating-student-submissions-with-the-gradebooks-grader/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Grader.png) In addition to the Grader, teachers can use the Details mode to grade assessments. The Details mode can be accessed by clicking details at the bottom right of the screen, or by clicking the name of an assessment from the list. The Details mode enables teachers to focus on one assessment at a time. Teachers can have discussions with students, set an assessment status, fill in grades, and add comments. Teachers can also edit, share, or print assessments here. To return to regular mode, click the arrow or click the details button again. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/detail-mode.png) ### Rubrics Teachers have the option to create or import rubrics within Edsby. To create a new rubric, navigate to the Personal Folder, click New, and choose Rubric. Type a name for the rubric and choose a grading scheme. Teachers who are assessing based on an overall grade may wish to use Four Level or Letter Grade schemes for their Rubric. Type the category name for each row and then type the rubric information in each box. Click Add Category to create new rows and click Save when the rubric is complete. Teachers can also import existing rubrics by clicking Browse after they have selected a grading scheme. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/traditional-rubric.png) To grade an assessment with a rubric, create a new assessment. In the Grading Scheme field, choose Rubric, then click Choose Existing. Once the assessment has been created, navigate to the Gradebook and select the assessment. Teachers can grade with the Rubric in the Grader or in the Details mode. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/grading-traditional-rubric.png) ### Online Tests Teachers can also create Online Tests with Edsby. To create a new Online Test navigate to the Content Builder or the Personal Folder and select Question Sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/creating-question-sheet.png) Teachers can choose from a variety of question types and can choose how many points each question is worth. When teachers are done creating their Question Sheet, click Save. To use the Question Sheet as an Online Test, navigate to a class and create an assessment. In the Online Submission field, choose Online Quiz and click ‘Choose a Question Sheet’. Teachers can choose the time limit and number of attempts for the Online Test and they can choose whether or not to randomize the questions and answers. Teachers can also open the test, leave it closed, or schedule when the test will open and close. Students are unable to take the test when it is closed. Click Save. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing/) for more information on Question Sheets. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/creating-online-test.png) Students can take the test when the teacher has opened it, most question types are automatically graded for an online test so teachers do not have to grade every question manually. However, Paragraph questions need to be manually graded, so navigate to the Gradebook and choose the online test. Teachers can grade an ungraded question and can change the grade for any automatically graded questions by clicking the lock and typing the new grade in. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/grading-online-test.png) ### Gradebook Filtering When teachers open their Gradebook, they see their assessments listed. Teachers can choose how they want to view their assessments by using the Gradebook filters. Teachers can choose to view assessments by reporting periods or by Units and they can choose which assessments to include. Teachers can also create additional tabs in the Gradebook to view different information quickly. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/gradebook-filtering-2.png) ### Progress Reports Teachers have the option to create a Progress Report for their students. The Progress Report tools enable teachers to create a printed report of their student’s progress to distribute to parents and students. The Progress Report can be used as a helpful tool during parent-teacher interviews, as an indicator of student progress for the students, or even as a report card substitute for private schools. Teachers have many options within the Progress Report. Teachers can print a report for all students, select specific students to include in the Progress Report, or they can choose to include dropped students. Teachers can select the dates for the Progress Report. Choosing ‘Any date’ will include data from the entire Gradebook, choosing ‘In a reporting period’ enables teachers to select a reporting period and will only include data from that reporting period, and choosing ‘Date Range’ enables teachers to select specific dates and will only include data from within that date range. Teachers can choose what to show in the Progress Report. Teachers can choose which, if any, assessments to include in the Progress Report. The list of assessments can be any selection of incomplete, shared, ungraded, and unshared. If shared assessments are included in the printed report, a graph can be included by checking the Graph checkbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/included-in-progress-report.png) When teachers include summaries, more options will appear on the form. The list will include Overall Average, General Learning Outcomes, and Specific Learning Outcomes. However, the choice of Summary columns is dependent on the curriculum. The Assessments, Evidence, and Include Unshared checkboxes control what data the summary columns will use to pre-calculate the grades. If these fields are left blank, the summary columns will be blank and the teacher can use professional judgment to enter grades. For example, if the teacher has chosen to summarize by Overall, using the mean, and showing as a percentage, overall grades from the assessments included within the date range will be averaged using the mean and will show in the Progress Report as a percentage. If no graded assessments have been included in the Progress Report, no grades will appear. Grades can also be filled in manually and overridden in the Progress Report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/progress-report-percentage-summary.png) For more information about Progress Reports, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebooks-class-specific-progress-alerts/) ### Gradebook Settings The Gradebook settings enable teachers to add additional summary columns to their Gradebook. Teachers can also choose how to display Gradebook results, select a grading scheme to create new assessments with, whether or not to show averages in the Gradebook and Perspective, and whether or not to include the Evidence button in the classes panel. Selecting a scheme to create new assessments will automatically select that grading scheme in the assessment form every time a new assessment is created. Teachers can still change the grading scheme when creating an assessment if desired. To create additional summary columns in the Gradebook, click the drop-down arrow and select the desired column type. For teachers using a traditional grading scheme, it may be helpful to create summary columns for an overall grade showing the average, median, or mode. Once the type of column is chosen, teachers can choose the summary method and how to show the results in the summary column. Teachers can add as many columns as they would like and can choose whether or not to show each of these columns to their students. Columns can be removed from the Gradebook by clicking the x. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/class-setup-summary-columns.png) Teachers should ask their school district about how they are required to complete their report cards. This enables teachers to set up and summarize their Gradebook based on the information they will need for their Report Cards. This will make it easier for teachers when report card season arrives, as the grades in their Gradebook will match the template of the report card. For example, if the district reports on overall grades and uses a percentage, teachers may want to use a grading scheme that will show an overall grade as a percentage. If the district reports on overall grades using a letter grade, teachers may want to use a grading scheme that reports on letter grades. The class setup form enables teachers to personalize their class settings, however, classes are usually set up by the district, so consult them before making changes. The class setup form enables teachers to set the weighting of each assessment and create weighting buckets. If teachers would like to put more emphasis on certain assessments, units, or even outcomes, weighting buckets are useful. For example, this high school teacher would like to put more weight on tests and quizzes than assignments. This is how they might set up their weighting buckets. Now, when new tests or assignments are created, their weight is automatically factored into these weighting buckets. Click here for more information about weighting buckets. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/setting-weighting-buckets.png) Teachers have the option to create summary columns in their Gradebook based on their needs, however, Perspective Analyze enables teachers to view detailed information without setting up these columns. Teachers grading on an overall grade may wish to view Analyze by units, assessment types, weeks, or months to view student performance. Teachers can choose how to summarize the grades and what grading scheme to view the results in, and teachers can also choose whether or not to include Evidence in these calculations. Perspective Analyze takes the data that teachers have just added to their Gradebook and enables them to view and analyze the information to spot trends or areas of concern. The Perspective Analyze tool works with the Gradebook and Learning Evidence to create a powerful tool to view and assess student progress. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Traditional-analyze-examples.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Parents Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-parent/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Parents Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all parents and guardians associated with students at the school as well as information about each of them. Administrators can access the Parents Zoom from the right side of their home screen in the panel below the name of the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-zoom-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-zoom-location.png) The Parents Zoom provides the following information for each parent/guardian: - Name - The names of students they are linked to - Telephone contact numbers - E-mail addresses - The time of their last login to Edsby [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-parent-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-parent-zoom.png) The Parents Zoom facets are limited. As with other zooms, administrators can filter down to a specific subset of parents and then create a new message for that subset. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-parents.png) The following example shows how you can use the Parent Zoom to find a specific parent by entering their name or by entering the name of a child that is linked to the parent. This is useful when looking for a parent, but only have the child’s name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/using-search-in-parent-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/using-search-in-parent-zoom.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Adding district-level and school-level report card comments](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/adding-district-level-school-level-report-card-comments/) **Published:** November 3, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** ### About Comments Organizations can choose to support report card comments in Edsby in the following ways: - Teachers type ad-hoc comments in the report card sheets. - Pre-approved report comments are provided by the organization and teachers choose from the pre-approved set. Teachers do not have the option of adding ad-hoc comments. - Teachers can add ad-hoc comments as well as create their own private set of comments in a personal report card comment bank or library, or - A set of report card comments is provided by the organization, that teachers can use if they wish. In addition, teachers can add ad-hoc and create their own private set of comments in a personal report card comment bank or library. Edsby Support configures the comment choices for schools and districts. If the organization decides to provide the teachers with a set of comments, the comments are imported into Edsby. Edsby supports substitutions for names, pronouns, and gendered nouns. Existing comments may need to be adjusted to use these substitutions. Comments can also be created within Edsby. ## District-level and school-level comment banks or libraries The District IT Admin and District Admin roles manage district-level comments, which are available to all teacher in the district. Click on the district name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/District-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/District-name.png) The School IT, Senior Admin, and Office (Head) roles manage school-level report card comments in Edsby. The comments are managed by navigating to the School Page and clicking the Comments link. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-name-then-clicking-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-name-then-clicking-comments.png) ## Creating new comments within Edsby To create a new district-level or school-level comment, district IT admins and district administrators should: 1. Click the Comments link on the School Page 2. Click Add New Comment 3. Enter the comment in the text field. The comment can include automatic replacements. 4. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-new-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-new-comment.png) The comment is now available to be used on report card sheets. ### How substitutions work [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Substitutions-in-create-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Substitutions-in-create-comment.png) When using the above comment on a report card sheet the <> is replaced with the student’s first name, and <> is matched to the gender listed in the student’s Panorama. The gender is set in the organization’s student information system. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/comment-filled-into-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/comment-filled-into-report-card.png) Comments can be edited by selecting the comment, editing the form and clicking Save. Comments can be removed by clicking the X beside the comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-comment.png) ## About the Comment form [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-comment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-comment-form.png) The Comment field is the only required field on the form, the additional fields are used to rank the available comments and display comments in a more helpful way. When the Subject field matches the Subject on the Class Setup form, the comment will appear higher in the list, but comments are never excluded from the search. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/same-subject.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/same-subject.png) Typing “fractions” in the English class’ report card sheet will display all comments containing the string “fractions” even if the comments are tagged as Mathematics. The Tags field can add additional classifications to comments. For example, next steps, learning skills, strands, or a comment number. Multiple tags can be added by tapping the return or tab key. To view the comments that match the tag, the teacher begins typing the tag. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/tags-field.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/tags-field.png) ## Creating the import CSV file Large sets of comments are added to Edsby by importing a CSV file. Any file name can be used as long as the file is in the CSV format. A CSV is a comma separated values file, which allows data to be saved in a table structured format. CSVs look like a garden-variety spreadsheet but with a .csv extension. The imported CSV must contain specific and case-sensitive column names. The best way to ensure the correct format to import comments into Edsby, create a comment within Edsby and then export it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/export-comment-1024x218.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/export-comment.png) The CSV file exported will provide the proper template for future comments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/comment-templae.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/comment-templae.png) Field names are case sensitive. Only the comment field is required. Columns can be in any order. To import a comment with multiple values in a single field, separate the values with commas in the spreadsheet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/csv-example-1024x169.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/csv-example.png) **Field Name****Description****comment**Required. Maps to Comment field.subjectMaps to the Subject field. This information is used to rank comments. For example, when completing a science report card, the science comments will appear higher in the list.performance\_lowMaps to Performance. Enter the lowest percentage the comment is best associated with. This information is used to rank comments. For example, if the student’s calculated grade less than 60%, the comment will appear higher in the list.performance\_highMaps to Performance. Enter the highest percentage the comment is best associated with. This information is used to rank comments. For example, if the student’s calculated grade is greater than 90%, the comment will appear higher in the list. Specify a range by including both the performance\_low and performance\_high fields. tagsMaps to Tags fields. Tags can be used for a comment code or to group comments that don’t have words in common. For example, end of year comments, such as: <> has matured nicely this year, both academically and socially. <> continued to blossom as the year progressed. If all the above comments have an “End of Year” tag, the teacher can view all comments by typing “end of year” ## Substitutions The following substitutions are supported. Gender-based pronouns and nouns are based on the gender provided by the Student Information System. **Substitution****Description**<>First name of the student<>Last name of the student<< fullname>>First and last name of the student<> For example, <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <<> <> <<étudiant/étudiante>> When a teacher begins to type in the comment field, Edsby can instantly search through thousands of comments, therefore, adding the performance tags will likely not make very much difference. Typing words like excellent, consistent, or difficulty will be just as effective. Whole words are not even necessary, typing exc, cons, or diffi will be enough to find matching comments. If this information already exists, include it, but it may not be necessary to add performance tags. However, it will be necessary to add the substitutions to the existing comments. If testing in the organization’s Sandbox system, the import CSV can be first imported a teacher’s My Comments before importing at the school level. The teacher’s My Comments are found in the drop-down menu under the person’s name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-comments.png) To make comments available to all teachers at the school, navigate to the School Page by clicking on the school name. To make comments available to all teachers in the district, click on the district name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-or-district-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-or-district-name.png) Select Comments and choose Import from the drop-down menu. Select the CSV file. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-comments.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards/preapproved-report-card-comments/) to learn about how a teacher uses pre-approved comments. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards/report-cards-comments/) to learn about how a teacher creates his or her own comments. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Character Matters News River Illustrations](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/character-matters-new-river-illustrations/) **Published:** November 8, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Adding Character Matters to a News River is a great way to promote the program. These illustrations were created by Tiffany TJ, a Co-Op student at Richmond Hill High. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Courage.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Courage.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Empathy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Empathy.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Love.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Love.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Perseverancev2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Perseverancev2.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Fairness.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Fairness.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Loyalty-2.0.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Loyalty-2.0.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Respect.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Respect.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Training Teachers through PD Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/training-teachers-through-pd-groups/) **Published:** July 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** With Edsby’s wide selection of purpose-built tools, teachers often benefit from training that shows them all of Edsby’s capabilities. Professional Development groups within Edsby enable senior administrators to create self-paced training material that informs and shows teachers everything they can do in Edsby. ## Creating a Professional Development Group To create a PD Group, click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups.png) Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-button.png) Set the group type to Professional Development. William Ham, the principal of Tecumseh High is creating an Edsby Training group to train teachers at the school on how to best use Edsby in their classroom. Fill out the form with a title, image, and description. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-teacher-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-teacher-training-group.png) In an Edsby Training group, it may be beneficial to allow teachers in the group to ask questions and collaborate with other teachers in the group. In this case, enable group members to make posts and reply to posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/members-make-and-reply-to-posts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/members-make-and-reply-to-posts.png) However, if teachers ask questions but only the School IT or Senior Admin to answer them, set replying to posts to Only Moderators. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/only-moderators-reply.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/only-moderators-reply.png) ### Using Automated Membership Senior administrators can automatically subscribe certain roles to a group. In this example, William will automatically subscribe all teachers and assistant teachers at the school as well as the School IT, Office Head, and Senior Admin to the group to answer any questions teachers may have. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/automated-membership-teacher-training.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/automated-membership-teacher-training.png) When the form is complete, click Create Group. ## Using a PD Group Once inside, Professional Development groups look just like normal groups except they contain a Content panel instead of a Knowledge base. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-edsby-training-group-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-edsby-training-group-1.png) The Content panel enables moderators of the group to add rich content including images, PDFs, links to videos, pages, and access to a rich text editor. Only moderators of a group can edit or add to the Content using the Content Builder. To edit or add to the Content as a moderator, click on the Content panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/clickign-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/clickign-content.png) Click Edit in the top left of the panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edit-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edit-training-group.png) Add sections, pages, links, and files to the group by clicking the + next to the group name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/adding-content-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/adding-content-training-group.png) Consider creating sections that instruct teachers in the fundamentals of using Edsby in their classrooms like Setting Up Edsby, Creating Content in Your Class, and Assessing Student Performance. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/sections-in-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/sections-in-training-group.png) It’s also a great idea to provide a link to the teacher support section of the Edsby website. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/link-to-teacher-support.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/link-to-teacher-support.png) Delete items by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting Delete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/delete-item-in-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/delete-item-in-training-group.png) ### Viewing Teacher Group Engagement PD Groups enable senior administrators to view which teachers have been viewing and interacting with the group’s content. To view teacher engagement, click the Content Panel. Click Show Progress. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/show-training-group-progress.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/show-training-group-progress.png) ## The Teacher Experience Teachers can view the information in the PD Group from their browser or mobile device. If teachers have been automatically enrolled in the group, the group will be in their My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/training-group-in-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/training-group-in-panel.png) Teachers have access to the full group view on desktop with the Content panel on the left side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/teacher-looking-in-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/teacher-looking-in-training-group.png) On a mobile device, teachers view the group content by clicking Content at the top of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-content-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-content-training-group.png) They can easily navigate through the information by using the Next and Previous buttons. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/next-in-mobile-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/next-in-mobile-training-group.png) When teachers have finished reading the information, they can mark it complete. This is what is visible to moderators of the group when clicking Show Progress in the Content panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mark-training-group-content-complete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mark-training-group-content-complete.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/professional-development-groups/) for more information on Professional Development groups. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Creating Best Practices for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/creating-best-practices-for-teachers/) **Published:** July 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** With Edsby’s wide selection of purpose-built tools, senior administrators may want to collaborate with teachers and other staff in the school to determine best practices for how Edsby will be used consistently throughout the school. Teachers can use the sample Edsby Best Practice Guidelines below as a conversation starter when meeting with teachers in their school. They can come up with their own best practices so parents, students, and faculty have a consistent and enjoyable Edsby experience! ## Edsby Faculty Guidelines (Sample) Edsby FeatureBenefitsBest Practices**Journals**Communicates what has been taught and what students are to be working on. Helps students and parents with time management. Parents can have deeper conversations about what their children are learning. Grades K-6: Use the Homeroom class to create a weekly summary of what is being taught and what students are working on. Include questions parents can ask or other suggestions for ways parents can extend learning at home. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-summarize-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-summarize-classes.png) Grades 7-8: Create Journals to outline units in each class. Include what will be taught, learning goals, or any expectations. Use the Homeroom class to list any homework for the week. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-introduce-a-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-introduce-a-unit.png) Grades 9-12: Create Journals to outline units in each class. Include what will be taught, learning goals, or any expectations. Use the Homeroom class to list any homework for the week. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-for-the-weeks-homework.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-for-the-weeks-homework.png) **Notes**Wonderful things happen in your class every day! Use notes to capture this information. No paper needed for printing – making Notes cost effective and equitable. Post any classroom announcements. Consider sharing what you are proud of, what your students are proud of, or information about the upcoming field trip. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classroom-announcement.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classroom-announcement.png) **Assessments**Enables students to submit assessments online or take online tests within Edsby. Integrates with the Gradebook to make capturing assessment information easy. Helps students and parents with time management. Helps other teachers manage student workload. Post assessments in advance. Include a due date and any important notes that will help students complete the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assignment-example.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assignment-example.png)Enable File Upload to allow students to submit directly into Edsby. **Sharing Events**Helps students and parents with time management. Keeps students and parents informed. Share milestones for major assessments – outline due, rough draft due, submit for peer editing, final copy due. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assignment-milestone.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assignment-milestone.png) Share class events like Field Trips, Show and Tell, or a Guest speaker. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/field-trip.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/field-trip.png) **Gradebook**Enables easy and efficient grading and recording of student progress. Enables student-submitted assessments in Edsby to be automatically added for grading. Helps at reporting time. Record grades, levels, and subjective performance indicators for each assessment in a class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gradebook.png)Enable Online Submissions so students can submit directly into Edsby. Use for record keeping. **Sharing Grades**Students and parents care about grades. Keeps students and parents informed about the student’s progress. Teachers’ professional judgements are at the heart of effective assessment, evaluation, and reporting of student achievement. Grades K-8: Share grades online shortly after sending home marked assessments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/graded-assessments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/graded-assessments.png)Grades 9-12: Share grades after marking assessments as complete. **Evidence of Learning**Captures student achievement when a letter or number grade isn’t appropriate. Focuses on student progress in the classroom. Found to be especially beneficial in the Kindergarten and Early Years of education. Integrates with report cards within Edsby. Capture evidence when a student has demonstrated a new skill, a learning goal, or another form of progress within the classroom. Evidence is all about student learning. Save the Notes section of the class for sharing classroom moments that aren’t specifically tied to learning. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/evidence-example.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/evidence-example.png) Share evidence with parents in a predictable and sustainable way. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Report Cards - Creating district-level reporting periods](https://www.edsby.com/help/district-administrator-quickstart/district-report-cards/) **Published:** November 1, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Reporting periods are created by the school district. Reporting periods define a submission period by supplying a start date and a due date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/District-Workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/District-Workflow.png) Teachers complete and submit report cards sheets during the submission period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Teacher-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Teacher-workflow.png) School administrators can choose to review report cards either by class or by student before they are made available to parents and students. Report Cards are printed by exporting data to another system, or they are printed from within Edsby. Report Cards can also be published and made available to students and parents on their home screens. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/School-Office-Workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/School-Office-Workflow.png) ## Definitions ### Reporting period A reporting period defines the date range of assessments and attendance information. A reporting period creates an average column in class gradebooks. The dates also determine which students to include in the report card sheets. ### Report Card Sheet Adding classes to a reporting period creates a report card sheet for the class. A teacher can open the report card sheet from within each class or by clicking the Report Card button on the home screen. A report card sheet lists all the enrolled students in the class during the reporting period. ### Report card template (input and print) The report card template includes all the required and optional information teachers enter to complete report cards. Report card templates can include both an input template and a print template. ### Record A student has one record for every class to which he or she is enrolled. Edsby combines the records to produce a Report Card. ### Report Card A report that includes grades and other required information from all of a student’s teachers. ## What happens when **What****School office****Teachers**Reporting period created- A new reporting period is added to the Report Cards Zoom. - A link to Report Cards is available on the home screen when one or more reporting periods have been defined. - A Report Card link is added to the Class. - A reporting period subtotal column is added to the Gradebooks. - A Report Card link is added to the Class. - A reporting period subtotal column is added to the Gradebooks. Submission period is open- The Report Cards zoom displays which report cards sheets have been completed. - A Report Card button appears in the teachers Classes panels. - Report card sheets can be submitted to the office. - Changes can be made and resubmitted by teacher. - Report Card buttons appear in the teacher’s Classes panel. - Report card sheets can be submitted to the office. - Changes can be made and resubmitted by the teacher. Submissions period ended- The Report Cards zoom displays which report cards sheets have been completed. - Report card sheets can be unlocked for editing if changes are needed. - Reports card sheets can be submitted. - Reports cards sheets cannot be changed unless unlocked by the office. - Reports card sheets can be submitted. - Report cards sheets cannot be changed unless unlocked by the office. Report card sheets reviewed- School administrators can review report card sheets by class or collated records for a student. All report card sheets submitted- Report card information can be exported. - Report cards can be printed, if available. ## Creating a Reporting Period To create a Reporting Period, navigate to the Schools Zoom on the right side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen.png) Click District Reporting Period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-reporting-period-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-reporting-period-button.png) The District Reporting Period Setup form opens. Complete the form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-district-reporting-period-setup-form.png) When the report card sheets have been deployed, the district-level Report Cards Zoom will appear. The summary displays the number of report cards included in the reporting period, along with a breakdown of the school-level numbers. Once the reporting period opens, the summary will include a count of sheets that are currently, unsubmitted, submitted, returned for correction, or approved. The schools include the same count. Selecting the ‘Restrict publication to district level’ checkbox makes the Publish button accessible exclusively at the district level. When sheets have been published, the Retract button is added to the district level reporting period. Selecting the ‘Restrict publication to district level’ checkbox removes the Publish and Retract buttons from the School level Report Cards Zoom. Hover over the Total Sheets count to view a list of deployed report card input templates. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reporting-period-overview.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reporting-period-overview.png) ## Editing Reporting Period Details The Edit Details button enables District Admin staff to alter the following details: - Name - Type - Previous reporting period - Period Start Date - Period End - Report Cards Due - Don’t include period average in gradebook - Maximum comment length - Submission Start Date. The Edit Reporting Perform form can delete a reporting period. Consider this process irreversible. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-reporting-period.png) ## Additions, Adjustments, and Corrections Many additions, adjustments, and corrections can be made at the school level by either school-level admins or by the district-level admins. Common activities include: - Adding additional classes to a reporting period. - Adding additional schools to a reporting period. - Changing Templates. This should only be necessary if the grade and subject is missing. Of course, it is best to add this information. Contact Edsby support if this can’t be resolved with the SIS. - Cancel sheets. Classes that are discontinued after the reporting period has been created can be deleted, if desired. School-level admins cannot change the details of the district-level reporting period. ### Adding classes to a district reporting period If classes have been added since the initial deployment, do this: - Navigate to the Schools Zoom. - Select District Reporting Period and then choose the reporting period from the drop-down list. - The form’s default is configured to add new classes to the reporting period. Click Save. Once complete, the Report Cards Zoom opens. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-to-which-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-to-which-reporting-period.png) ### Adding schools to a district reporting period If schools need to be added to a reporting period, do this: - Navigate to the schools zoom - Click the gear icon and select the school or schools to be added - Click District Reporting Period and choose the correct reporting period from the drop-down list in the form ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/adding-schools-to-reporting-periods.png) ### Changing templates at the district level Report card input templates are designed to deploy automatically based on subject and grade, but if adjustments are necessary it is probably wise to test changes with one school, before applying them to many schools. The gear icon reveals selection checkboxes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-schools.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-schools.png) For example, Homeroom classes are used to add an overall student evaluation and require the Basic Comment template. All Homeroom classes were given the Percent with Comment template. To change this to Basic Comment, the form would be setup as follows: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/changing-the-reporting-period-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/changing-the-reporting-period-setup.png) The form is setup to only apply the changes to Homeroom classes, regardless of the current template. If the Homeroom has a template, reset it to use Basic Comment. If any homeroom classes have been created since the last deployment, add the new classes to the reporting period and set the template to Basic Comment. The homeroom teachers may have been entering comments into the existing template, in most cases the common fields are retained. In this case, both the Percent with Comment and Basic Comment both have a comment field. In most cases, homeroom teachers will not have to reenter the comments. Consider testing the change by navigating to a school’s Report Card Zoom and changing one report card sheet. ### Publishing report card sheets at the district level The Report Cards Zoom offers valuable information regarding the percentage of sheets that are in different states, including unsubmitted, submitted, returned for correction, and approved. This data assists District IT Admins in making informed decisions about when the report cards can be published. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-district-report-card-summary.png) By clicking the Publish button, any sheet that is in either the submitted or approved state will be published. Once sheets have been published, the Retract button becomes available. Clicking the Retract button will change the status of all published sheets back to approved. It’s important to note that only published sheets are visible to students and parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-district-report-card-publish.png) Schools retain the ability to make corrections to sheets throughout the school year. However, when such corrections are made, the individual sheets become inaccessible to both students and parents until published again. For instance, if the report card sheets for Ms. Archer’s Homeroom were opened for editing and subsequently resubmitted, parents who view the report card would not be able to see the homeroom comment or other data provided by the homeroom input sheet. The District IT Admin would need to Publish the submitted or approved sheets by clicking the Publish button again. ### Deleting report sheets at the district level Edsby sets up the report card sheets to deploy to a specific set of subjects and grades. Classes that don’t meet the criteria are not provided with report card sheets. For example, study classes or homeroom classes are not needed for report cards. Unnecessary reporting sheets may confuse or annoy teachers. Teachers will see a red Report Card button for the remainder of the school term. School Admins can cancel sheets at a school level. In this example, the homeroom classes do not require a report card sheet. Again testing the changes against one school before applying the change to the entire district is recommended. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-in-reporting-period-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-in-reporting-period-setup.png) All report card sheets will be removed from all homeroom classes. Teachers may have content that they wish to copy to another class’ report card template. Choosing Delete If Empty, will not delete report card sheets with content. Delete if unsubmitted, would not delete submitted or approved report card sheets. Delete if unsubmitted, would not delete submitted or approved report card sheets. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/?help=report-card-creation-and-management), for more information about school-level report cards. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [News River for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/news-river-for-students/) **Published:** July 20, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Everyone likes to be up-to-date with the latest news. Edsby makes this easy! When loggin in, students will see the News River across the top of the Home Screen. Each school and district has its own news stream. The News River collates news from all streams. Scroll to navigate through the River. Click an article to view the full text. Attachments can be viewed or downloaded from either the desktop browser or the Edsby mobile app. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-news-river.jpg) ## Submitting a News Article Creating a News Article is easy. Anyone in any role, even a student, can submit a proposed news item. On the Edsby browser login, navigate to your School Page by clicking the school name in the top left of the Home Screen. Click Submit an Article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-submit-an-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-submit-an-article.png) Fill in the form with a headline, a picture, and some text. News River articles also support attachments. To add an attachment to the article, click one of the attachment icons depending on the style of attachment. Click Submit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-filling-in-submit-an-article.jpg) When students press submit, it is sent to the School Page. However, it is pending and only school administrators with certain permissions can see it until it is approved. They have the option of approving it, editing it, or rejecting it. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Navigation Bar](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigation-bar-2/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Navigation Bar is the bar running across the top of the screen on all browser Edsby pages and across the bottom of the mobile Edsby app. ## Mobile Navigation Bar The Navigation Bar is visible across the bottom of the screen in the Edsby Mobile App. This provides options to access the Home Screen, Groups, the Mailbox, Personal Calendar, and Notifications. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-navigation-bar-300x48.jpg) Click the Home icon to return to the Home Screen from any other screen in Edsby. The Classes Panel on the Home Screen lists all classes students are enrolled in as well as their current average and Subjective Performance Indicator, if their teacher has chosen to share them with their students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-classes-panel-1.jpg) The Groups Screen shows all groups students are a member of. Click a group icon to enter the group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-groups.jpg) The Mailbox stores all messages sent and received in a user’s Edsby account. Students cannot delete the messages stored in their mailbox – all messages will remain until their account is deactivated. Other communications, such as permission forms and requests to join closed groups, are also stored in the mailbox. When receiving a new message, a red bubble counter will appear on the envelope icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-messages.jpg) The Personal Calendar combines the events from all school, group, and class calendars. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-calendar.jpg) If enabled through account settings, new Notifications will appear under the bell icon with a red bubble counter. Clicking the icon will show the notifications and remove the red bubble. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-notifications.jpg) ## Browser Navigation Bar The browser Navigation Bar is visible across the top of the screen on all Edsby pages. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-navigation-bar-1024x372.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-navigation-bar.png) 1. The Mailbox stores all messages sent and received in Edsby accounts. Students cannot delete the messages stored in the mailbox – all messages will remain until their account is deactivated. Other communications, such as permission forms and requests to join closed groups, are also stored in the mailbox. When receiving a new message, a red bubble counter will appear on the envelope icon. 2. The Personal Calendar combines the events from all school, group, and class calendars. Clicking the calendar icon opens a full-page view of the Personal Calendar. 3. Key third-party websites and applications are integrated into Edsby through the Launchpad for quick access. Examples include the school website, O365, Google Docs, and Edsby help files and videos. 4. If enabled through account settings, new Notifications will appear under the bell icon with a red bubble counter. Clicking the icon will show the notifications and remove the red bubble. 5. Click the drop-down arrow next to your name in Edsby to access the Portfolio, Personal Information, or Settings. Use the search bar to search for staff members or groups in Edsby. As you type, suggestions will appear. #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/searching-names.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/searching-names.png) Immediately return to the Home Screen from any other screen by clicking the Edsby logo. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Edsby-home-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Edsby-home-icon.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Home Screen](https://www.edsby.com/help/home-screen/) **Published:** August 13, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Jump to a Section [School Page](#homeschoolpage) [Searching](#homesearching) [News River](#homenews) [Settings](#homesettings) [Portfolio](#homeportfolio) [Learning Story](#homels) [Recent Activity](#homeactivity) [Launchpad](#homelaunchpad) The Home Screen is the hub of the Edsby experience. From here, students can use the quick links to access the school news, the Portfolio, Learning Story, and Recent Activity. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-home-screen-student.jpg) On a browser, the Home Screen will also display the Classes, Personal Calendar, and Groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-home-screen.png) Additionally, the Navigation Bar is located on every page in Edsby. Use it to access the Home Screen, Groups, Messages, Personal Calendar, and Notifications. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-navigation-bar.jpg) ## The School Page Access schools and district pages from the Home Screen by clicking the top menu icon and selecting Schools. Select a school or district. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-navigate-to-schools.jpg) View the school’s News Feed, Calendar, and Information including: 1. Key Contacts in the school 2. Staff Panel, making it easier to contact any teacher or principal at the school through Edsby 3. Contact Information for the school 4. A school-wide Documents library 5. Turn on notifications whenever a new article is posted at your school by clicking the bell icon in the top right. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-school-news-and-info.jpg) The School Page is also available by clicking a school’s name in the top left corner of the browser Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-page-student-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-page-student-browser.png) ## Searching Search for groups, members of the school community or anything else in Edsby by clicking the search icon in the top right of the Home Screen on the mobile app. On a web browser, the search box is in the middle of the banner at the top of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/search-on-home-screen.jpg) ## News River Everyone likes to be up-to-date with the latest news. Edsby makes this easy! When logging in, students will see the News River across the top of the Home Screen. Each school and district have their own news stream. The News River collates news from all streams. Scroll to navigate through the River. Click an article to view the full text. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-news-river.jpg) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/news-river-for-students/) to learn about posting News Articles to the News River. ## Settings Access the Settings easily from the Home Screen menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-student-settings.jpg) Here students can change their Notification Settings as well as their Language Preferences by clicking Other Settings. Settings are accessible on a browser by clicking the drop-down next to your name in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-settings.png) ## Portfolio The Home Screen provides a direct link to the Portfolio. Students can view the feed of their Portfolio posts. 1. Click the plus in the header to add a post to the Portfolio. 2. Students can also change their About Me displayed at the top of the Portfolio by clicking Edit, making any changes changes, and clicking save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-portfolio.jpg) Portfolios are also accessible on a browser under the Classes Panel or by clicking the drop-down next to your name in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-portfolio-browser-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-portfolio-browser-access.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/portfolio/) to learn more about Portfolios. ## Learning Story Access the Learning Story and any evidence teachers have shared with students from the Home Screen. Students can view the feed of their shared evidence. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-learning-story.jpg) 1. Comment on or like posts. 2. Add evidence to Portfolios by clicking the blue plus under the item. The Learning Story is also accessible on a browser under the Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png) ## Recent Activity Recent Activity includes posts relevant to each student’s classes. This feed, accessed by selecting it from the Home Screen menu, updates when a teacher posts any new assessments, journals, notes, or attendance incidences (lates or absences). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-recent-activity.jpg) Recent Activity is the main feed when logging in to Edsby on a browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-recent-activity-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-recent-activity-1.png) Polls and events from classes do not show up in the Recent Activity feed as well as posts from groups or the school page. However, when a new item is posted in a class or group, an unread red bubble counter will appear beside the teacher’s picture in the Classes Panel to notify students to check for updates. ## Launchpad Key third-party websites and applications are integrated into Edsby through the Launchpad for quick access like the school website, O365, Google Docs, and Edsby help files and videos. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-launchpad.jpg) Access this from the Home Screen menu on mobile or the Navigation Bar on a browser. Administrators at a school or district can choose who can see a link in their launchpad. Only links that are made visible to students will appear in their launchpad. ## Logout Logout from the mobile app on the Home Screen menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-logout.jpg) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Capturing Evidence of Learning](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/capturing-evidence-of-learning/) **Published:** July 8, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby provides both teachers and students with tools to capture evidence regarding student learning. Once captured, teachers can create Learning Stories to share the learning evidence with students and parents if they choose to. Students can capture evidence regarding their own earning through their Learning Story if their teacher has enabled the feature in the class. Access the Learning Story under the Classes Panel on a browser Home Screen or below your name on a mobile Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Edsby-Learning-story.png) At the top right of the Learning Story, click Capture Learning. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/capture-learning-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/capture-learning-button-1.png) 1. This will open a form for students to upload evidence of their learning by taking a picture, recording a video, submitting an audio recording, uploading a file, or attaching a link. 2. Select the class the evidence applies to by using the Class drop-down. 3. Add a description to the evidence by explaining what learning the evidence demonstrates. 4. Click Submit. Teachers will then review the evidence students captured and can choose to share it. Once shared, students and their parents can view the evidence in the Learning Story. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-capturing-mobile-learning.jpg) Note: Students will not see evidence they have captured until their teacher shares it. Ask teachers if they have not shared it with their students. [For more information on using your Learning Story, click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/learning-story-for-students/?locale=en) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Online Testing for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/online-testing-for-students-2/) **Published:** June 25, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby features a simple and easy way to take tests online. Whether it’s a traditional quiz, an exit ticket, or a student reflection, online tests with Edsby are convenient for both students and teachers. Tests are graded online by the teacher and delivered directly to My Work for students to view their scores and feedback. ## Jump to a Section [Taking an Online Test](#takeonlinetest) [Answering Different Question Types](#answerqtypes) [Retaking an Online Test](#retakeonlinetest) [Viewing Grades for an Online Test](#viewtestgrades) ## Taking an Online Test When teachers create an online assessment, students are notified of the upcoming test in their Class Feed, Planner, My Work, Calendar, and Recent Activity. Students can begin an Online Test anywhere they see the assessment name including in the Content Panel. Students will see the start time, end time, and duration of the test everywhere the assessment is visible. If it is out of the test’s scheduled time, the Take Test button is not available to students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/test-not-open.jpg) When an online assessment is available, students will see a Take Test button. After clicking the Take Test button, students can view the test duration and are able to start the test. Click Start Test Now to begin completing the test. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/take-test-and-start-test-now-browser.jpg) 1. 1. When the student is completing the test, the time remaining is shown in the top right corner. 2. Select answers for each of the questions. 3. The scores for each question can be seen on the right side of the question. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/browser-test-breakdown.jpg) ### Answering Different Question Types Teachers can choose from 11 different question types when creating an Online Test inside of Edsby. Students may see any combination of these types when completing the test. #### Multiple Choice Multiple Choice questions list possible answers. Students can select the one they think is most correct by clicking the circle next to the answer. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/multiple-choice-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/multiple-choice-q.png) #### True/False True/False questions will provide a prompt and options to select True or False. Students can select which they think is correct by clicking the circle next to their answer. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/truefalse-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/truefalse-q.png) #### Choose All That Apply Choose All That Apply questions will provide a prompt and possible answers. One, multiple, or none of the answers could be correct. Students select all of the answers they think are correct by selecting the checkbox next to each one. This means they must correctly select the answers that apply and not select any answers that do not apply. Students are graded both on the boxes they select and those that are left blank. Answering Choose All That Apply questions means students must correctly select the answers that apply and not select any answers that do not apply. Students are graded both on the boxes they select and those that are left blank. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/choose-all-that-apply-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/choose-all-that-apply-q.png) In this example, the student has correctly selected the 4 answers that apply and has left the 2 answers that do not apply unselected. When their test is graded, they will see checkmarks next to each possible answer – they properly selected the correct answers and left the incorrect answers unselected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/perfect-CATA-answer.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/perfect-CATA-answer.png) In this example, however, the student has correctly selected the 4 answers that apply, but they have also selected an answer that does not apply. When their test is graded, they will see checkmarks next to each of the answers that do apply, but an x next to the answer they selected that did not apply. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/checked-wrong-answer-cata.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/checked-wrong-answer-cata.png) In this last example, the student has correctly selected 3 out of the 4 answers that apply and left the rest of the answers unchecked. When their test is graded, they will see checkmarks next to the 3 answers they selected as well as next to the answers they correctly identified as not applying, however, they will see an x next to the last answer that applied but the student did not select. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/didnt-choose-answer-they-shouldve.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/didnt-choose-answer-they-shouldve.png) #### Short Answer Short answer questions will provide students with a prompt and a small text box to type in. Type in the answer to the question – it will likely be a 1 or 2 word answer. Exact match to the teacher’s answer is required. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/short-answer-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/short-answer-q.png) However, students can always contact their teacher for any concerns about how a question was graded. #### Paragraph Paragraph questions will provide students with a prompt and a large text box to type in. Teacher will mark paragraph answers manually – Edsby won’t automatically grade them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/paragraph-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/paragraph-q.png) #### Likert Scale Likert Scale questions will provide students with a question prompt and a scale of answers ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Select which answer applies best. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/likert-scale-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/likert-scale-q.png) #### Drag and Drop Drag and Drop questions will provide a prompt, a series of answers, and a space for students to drag the answers into. The question will ask them to order the answer options. Drag the answers into the correct order. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/drag-and-drop-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/drag-and-drop-q.png) #### Match Match questions will provide a series of prompts and drop-down menus next to each prompt. Each drop-down menu has a series of possible correct matches to the prompt. Next to each prompt, select the term from the menu that matches the prompt. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/match-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/match-q.png) #### Numerical Numerical questions look like short answer questions with a prompt and small text box to type in. However, instead of a term, they require students to type in a number. Type an answer into the box. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/numerical-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/numerical-q.png) These questions have a range of acceptable answers determined by teachers. Edsby will use this range when automatically marking these questions. Students can contact their teacher if they have any concerns about how a question was graded. #### Fill in the Blanks Fill in the Blanks questions can look one of two ways: either with a text box or drop-down menu. If teachers have selected to use a text box, students will answer this question similar to a short answer question by typing what they think correctly fills the blank. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/fill-in-the-blank-text-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/fill-in-the-blank-text-q.png) If teachers have selected to use a drop-down menu, students will select in the menu which answer they think correctly fills the blank. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/fill-in-the-blanks-dropdown-q.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/fill-in-the-blanks-dropdown-q.png) If the browser window is accidentally closed or the test is navigated away from during the test, the test is still available. Navigate back to Edsby and click Continue Test to return to the testing sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/continue-browser-test.jpg) The timer begins to count down as soon as the test is started and it will continue to count down even if the testing sheet isn’t on the screen. When all answers have been selected, click Submit at the top right corner of the test to submit the test and close the testing sheet. If a student submits a test with unanswered questions, Edsby will provide a warning and indicate which have been left blank for the student to answer. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/browser-submitting-unfinished-test.jpg) After submitting, the student is provided with the following confirmation: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submission-confirmation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submission-confirmation.png) If a student does not complete the test within its specified duration, the test will be automatically submitted and the student will be given this prompt. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/test-timed-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/test-timed-out.png) ***Note:** The time an online test is set to open and close as well as an assessment’s due date is based on the time zone the teacher creates the assessment in, not the student’s time zone, if it differs from the teacher.* ## Retaking an Online Test If the teacher has set the number of attempts greater than 1, an option will be available for students to retake the test. Navigate back to the assessment and click Retake Test. A page opens to show the student the time limit and the number of attempts remaining. Click Retake Test Now to complete the test again. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/retake-browser-test.jpg) ## Viewing grades for an Online Test When the teacher shares the grades for the test, a notification appears in the Classes Panel. Clicking the notification opens a student’s My Work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/viewing-test-grade.jpg) Click Submissions to view correct and incorrect answers. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/viewing-test-submissions.jpg) Students can also view their submissions by clicking the submission link anywhere the assessment is visible – including from the Class feed or Calendar. [Click here for information about taking online tests from a mobile device.](https://www.edsby.com/help/mobile-online-testing-students/?locale=en) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Content Panel - Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/about-classes-mobile/content-panel-students/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Content Panel lists all units, journals, assessments, and other information in the Class. When students enter a class, the class Content is found by clicking Content in the header on the mobile app. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-content-panel-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-content-panel-1.png) The Content Panel is located on the left side of a class on the browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-content-panel-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-content-panel-location.png) 1. Underneath Content, each student has a progress bar that tracks their progression through the content. 2. Any items of content a student has marked complete will be indicated by a green check mark. Click the name of an item to view its content. 3. Use the Next and Previous arrows to navigate through the Content. 4. When you have completed an item, click Mark Complete. This will display a green check mark next to the item and update your progress bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-content-panel-1.jpg) When accessing Edsby from the browser, students can also set the state of their learning on a particular item of content by clicking the emoji at the top left. Students can let teachers know if they understand the content, find it confusing, or already know it! [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/setting-learning-state-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/setting-learning-state-content.png) Students can also submit assignments, contribute to Discussions, and participate in Polls from the Content Panel. ## Assessments Students will see any assessments in the class that have been setup by the teacher in the Content Panel. Students will see the description of the assessment and any instructions their teacher has provided. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-content-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-content-assessment.png) If teachers have enabled online submissions and the assessment is open for students to submit, students will have a Submit button under the assessment name. Students can upload the files associated with the assessment right from the Content Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-submit-assignment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-submit-assignment.png) Any submissions they make will be visible to them underneath the instructions associated with the assessment. ## Polls Students can participate in Polls set up by the teacher in the Content Panel. They will see the Poll question and will be provided with options to answer. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-poll.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-poll.png) If teachers enable it, students can view the results of the poll and which student in the class chose each option. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/show-poll-votes-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/show-poll-votes-mobile.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Mobile My Work - Grades and Assignment Report](https://www.edsby.com/help/about-classes-mobile/mobile-my-work-grades-and-assignment-report/) **Published:** July 21, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Every class has a grades and assignment report called My Work. 1. Students can access My Work by clicking My Work in the class header. The My Work feed lists all assignments in a class as well as the results of any other assessments teachers have chosen to share. 2. Students can click the speech bubble icon to share any questions or concerns about upcoming or graded assessments. 3. Students can access any comments, responses, or changes to grades their teacher has made by clicking the assignment and viewing the details. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-my-work-1.jpg) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Calendars](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/calendars-2/) **Published:** June 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Schools are very busy places. There is so much to keep track of – class timetables, tests, assignments, team practices and games, club get-togethers, and departmental meetings. Fortunately, Edsby is very good at helping keep track of all these things. With Edsby, every class, every group, and every school has its own calendar. When teachers place an event on a calendar in, for example a class, every member of that class can see the event. Likewise, if they place an event on a school calendar, every student, parent and staff member part of that school can see the event. ## Personal Calendar On the Edsby home page there is a very powerful calendar panel that shows all calendar events in the calendars of all classes, groups and schools an Edsby user is a member of. Edsby nicely merges them all together to tell at a glance what is on today, tomorrow, and later this week. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/personal-calendar-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/personal-calendar-schedule.png) Edsby knows all about school day cycles and class timetables, so staying on top of that is a snap! For teachers, Edsby even knows when they should be taking attendance, and provides them with a shortcut for doing that! To quickly check imminent events and assessments, use the Edsby [schedule](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/?help=schedule-4) on the home screen. ### Monthly Personal Calendar Clicking on today’s date in the Edsby schedule opens a small monthly view of the Personal Calendar. Dates shaded with light blue indicates something is scheduled for that day. Dates with a straight blue line under the number indicates school is in session that day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popout-monthly-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popout-monthly-calendar.png) 1. Clicking on a date in the calendar displays any events for that day in the personal schedule underneath. 2. Clicking the previous and next buttons jumps by month. 3. To collapse this monthly view, click the month name to show only the personal schedule. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/navigating-calendar.jpg) ### Seeing the big picture To check events further in the future or customize the schedule, the pop-out calendar is the best tool. Access this by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the Edsby schedule or by clicking the Calendar icon in the Navigation bar. This gives users a classic Month/Week/Day view that makes it easy to navigate around the calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-popout-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-popout-calendar.png) Click on the arrows to navigate between months. Click today to jump to today’s date. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigation-arrows-and-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigation-arrows-and-today.png) ## Customizing the calendar Is the schedule or calendar becoming too cluttered with events from extraneous groups? Schedules and Calendars can be customized to only show the calendars from particular groups, classes, or schools. Use the checkboxes on the left side of the personal calendar to streamline which calendars will appear in the personal calendar and schedule. Checked boxes indicate the calendars which appear in the calendar, while unchecked boxes indicate the calendar has been unsubscribed from. *[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/check-boxes-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/check-boxes-calendar.png)* *In this example, the student has unsubscribed from the calendars for their district, Book Fair, Fall Fair, and Quebec City Trip. The events from the district or these groups will not be visible in their calendar or home screen schedule. The student can still visit the district or group pages and view upcoming events from there.* Customizations to the calendar are saved and do not reset when the student exits the calendar or logs out of Edsby. If students would like to resubscribe to a calendar again, they must do it manually through their personal calendar. ## Accessing the calendar of a class, group, or school 1. Open the class, group or school. 2. Click on the calendar icon beside the schedule. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-calendar-of-class-group-school.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-calendar-of-class-group-school.png) ## Creating Events Creating events is easy to do. Simply go to the calendar desired to create the event in, expand the calendar, and click on the day, or the new event button. Teachers can also use the “event” button right in the class feed to create new events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-event-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-event-button.png) Events can be set for a specific time, or they can be all day. Edsby even knows how to do fancy repeat schedules for events so teachers can easily schedule events that occur on a regular basis. ## Making it Personal When popping out the calendar on the home page it is actually your personal calendar with events from classes and groups merged into it. Creating an event on this calendar is a personal event, and only you can see it. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Approvals](https://www.edsby.com/help/approvals-4-2/) **Published:** May 7, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Field trips, school opportunities, and requests for volunteers are all simplified using Edsby’s Approvals feature. Edsby Approvals enable teachers to send requests directly to parents and teachers will receive a list of parents who have responded as soon as they do. Edsby Approvals does not let permission slips get lost at any point during the process as they are kept secure within Edsby. ## Responding to Requests You will receive permission requests directly as a message in your mailbox. Each permission request is customized to names and teachers can answer the approval directly on the request. To view the request, navigate to the mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in your mobile Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/approval-in-parent-mail.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/approval-in-parent-mail.png) The approval will be at the top of the mailbox with a notification. Click the message to view the request. All information regarding the event will be available to parents. At the bottom of the request are options for parents to choose. Select one of the options and click Submit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-permission-options-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-permission-options-mobile.png) The request will be submitted to the person who created it with a record of the parent’s name and how they responded. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/review-permission-submission-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/review-permission-submission-parent-mobile.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Office Administration Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/) **Published:** August 24, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** Office Administrators run one of the largest organizations in the community – the school. They are responsible for keeping students, teachers, and parents in the school community informed, engaged, and connected. Edsby provides powerful tools designed to enable the Office Administration team to work efficiently and easily. ## Jump to a Section [Zooms](#zoomsofficeadmin) [The Panorama](#panoramaofficeadmin) [The Office](#officeadmin) [The School Page](#schoolpageofficeadmin) [School News](#newsofficeadmin) [School Calendar](#calendarofficeadmin) [Teacher Details Page](#teacherdetailspage) [Edsby Groups](#groupsofficeadmin) [Report Cards](#reportcardsofficeadmin) [Parent Invitation Process](#parentinviteofficeadmin) [Parent-Teacher Interviews](#ptiofficeadmin) [Approvals and Permission Requests](#approvalsofficeadmin) ## Zooms Edsby Zooms are powerful data analysis tools designed to help office administrators manage the school by providing valuable information about people, classes, rooms, and groups in the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/zooms-on-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/zooms-on-home-screen.png) Each Zoom provides a list view of data. These lists can be easily sorted by clicking on the column headers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/inside-a-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/inside-a-zoom.png) Each Zoom also provides a set of filters on the left to enable administrators to narrow down to a specific subset of data to perform operations like sending messages or inviting to groups. Office administrators have access to 7 main Zooms: Students, Staff, Parents, Student Contacts, Classes, Groups, and Rooms. Click the links for additional information on each. [Students Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-students/)The Students Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all students in the school and information pertaining to them including name, grade, risk indicators, attendance information, and parent activity.[Staff Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-staff-2/)The Staff Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all staff members in the school and information pertaining to them including their role, title, current location, and the classes they teach, if any.[Parents Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-parent/)The Parents Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all parents and guardians associated with students at the school as well as information about them including their name, contact information, which students they are linked to, and the time of their last login to Edsby.[Student Contacts Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/student-contacts-zoom-4/)The Student Contacts Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all contacts associated with students in the school like parents, guardians, doctors, or babysitters. Office administrators can invite parents and guardians to activate their Edsby accounts from this Zoom.[Classes Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-classes/)The Classes Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all classes being taught in the school as well as various types of information regarding them including the class name, grade, subject, teacher, number of students, and who has access to the class.[Groups Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-groups/)The Groups Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all groups created at the school and various types of information regarding them including the name, type, membership style, visibility settings, number of members, and how many posts have been made in the group.[Rooms Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-rooms/)The Rooms Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all rooms in the school and information about their occupancy like the room number, capacity of the room, the room type, and whether or not the room is currently in use.### Exporting Zoom Data The information found in each Zoom can be exported into a csv (comma-separated values) file. This csv file can then be opened with a variety of spreadsheet, database, or word-processing software. To export the information in a Zoom, filter to the desired subset of data. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Zoom and select Export from the menu. The file will begin to download. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-zoom.png) ## The Panorama The Panorama enables office administrators to access parent information, academic progress, and attendance history. The Panorama is accessed by clicking a student’s name anywhere in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png) Parent information is found on the upper left corner of the Panorama. Clicking on a parent’s name opens the parent’s Profile. To access additional parent information, click Student Admin at the top right of the Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png) Click Caregivers. Here teachers can see the student’s parents and contacts, their relationship to the student, contact order, if they have access to Edsby, additional information, and the time of their last activity on Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png) Click the parent’s name to open their Parent Details page. Here teachers can change their information, suspend the parent’s account, or reset their password. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/parent-details-page.png) A student’s academic progress is shown in their Classes Panel on the left side of the Panorama. This shows the student’s calculated average in each class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-classes-panel-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-classes-panel-1.png) A student’s attendance history is viewed by clicking the attendance totals at the bottom of the Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-attendance-totals-summary-4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-attendance-totals-summary-4.png) Options to suspend the student’s account or reset their password are found in the Panorama’s Account section. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/account-section-of-panorama.png) For more information on the Panorama, [click here. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/panorama/) ## Office Administration The Office is located on the right side of the Home Screen of School Administrators. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/office-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/office-location.png) The Office tracks changes to personal information made by parents and teachers as well as posts that have been reported as inappropriate in Edsby. The types of information teachers and parents can change within Edsby is determined by the organization. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-office.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-office.png) For more information on facilitating administration processes within the Office, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/the-office/) ## Managing School Information The School Page, accessed from the top left of the Home Screen in Edsby, provides a great way for office administrators to share a wide range of school-specific information including: 1. Key Contacts of the school 2. A list of Staff members in the school 3. An Important section for policies and procedures 4. School Groups for teams, clubs, staff members, etc. 5. School News articles 6. School Calendar 7. School Information including its address, phone numbers, and fax numbers 8. Documents such as newsletters, handbooks, or a school form [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-page-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-page-breakdown.png) **Note:** This content is only available to authenticated individuals of a school, so office administrators can share more than they might choose to do on a public website. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/the-school-page/) for more information on the School Page. ### Staff and Key Contacts On the School Page, Edsby displays all staff members that are associated with the school. Edsby obtains this information from the Student Information System, so office administrators do not have to worry about manually inputting this information. Staff are listed in one of two panels – a general Staff panel and the Key Contacts panel. Initially, all staff in the school are displayed in the Staff panel. Staff can be added and removed from the Key Contacts panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/key-contacts-and-staff-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/key-contacts-and-staff-panel.png) Office administrators can also print staff lists, display photographs for each staff member, and assign roles to manage what staff members can see and do in Edsby. ### School News In Edsby, schools and districts can publish news to the News River. When individuals log into Edsby, they will see the News River at the top of their Home Screen with news that is relevant to them. A teacher teaching at one school will receive news from the district and school. A parent with children at two different schools in the district will receive news from both schools and the district. Staff working at multiple schools will receive news from each school they are associated with. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/news-river.png) To add an article to the News River, click Submit an Article at the top of the School page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submit-an-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submit-an-article.png) Fill in the form with a title, content, and image. Attachments are optional. Click Submit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submit-an-article-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submit-an-article-1.png) The article is added to the School Page pending approval. Until approved, the article is only visible to office administrators. Staff and students can submit articles, however, only office administrators can approve them. This enables teachers and students to contribute to the school news, while giving the office administration team the opportunity to edit, and perhaps reject, an article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approve-edit-reject.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approve-edit-reject.png) Use the buttons at the bottom of the article to Edit or Unapprove it. Click the gear icon to set a Show or Expire date. To delete a news article, hover over the article, and click the trashcan icon that appears. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delete-news.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delete-news.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/managing-the-news-river/) for more information on managing the News River. ### School Calendar The School Calendar is used to create school-wide events. Holidays, Professional Development days, and school breaks are added automatically when Edsby is first set up. However, office administrators can add additional school-wide events easily through the Calendar on the School Page. These events will appear on everyone’s Home Screen Calendar in Edsby with a purple dot beside them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-calendar.png) To add a new event to the School Calendar, click on the blue plus icon to open the New Event form. Fill in the New Event form and click Save. The event will be added to the Home Screen Calendars of everyone associated with the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Fill-out-event-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Fill-out-event-form.png) The event can be edited or deleted at any point by clicking on the Event name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/click-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/click-event.png) Click the Calendar icon on the School Calendar to open the full Calendar and access all scheduled events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/full-page-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/full-page-calendar.png) **Note:** Everyone has a Personal Calendar on their Edsby Home Screen. The Personal Calendar displays the individual’s name in the top left corner while the School Calendar displays the school name. Administrators should double-check they are creating school events in the School Calendar which is accessed from the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/different-calendars.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/different-calendars.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/managing-the-school-calendar/) for more information on managing the School Calendar. ### Teacher Details Page Senior Administrators can access a staff member’s Details Page by clicking on their name anywhere in Edsby. This page displays all information imported from the Student Information System about a given staff member including: - Any Classes they teach - Contact Information (address, phone number, email) - Username - Account activity ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/teacher-details-page.png) The page also includes options to suspend the staff member’s account, reset their password or view Account History. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/suspend-account-reset-password-show-history.png) Clicking *Show History* displays any changes made by the Student Information System as well as manual changes to a staff member’s Account Settings. Information here can help track down where changes have been made and by what system or person. In this illustration, a Senior Admin can see the teacher updated their Account Settings and changed their profile picture and that William Ham, the Principal, changed fields in the information section of Julie Breton’s Details Page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/teacher-history.png) ## Edsby Groups Edsby Groups are a powerful way for groups of people to collaborate with each other in a convenient, secure, and effective way. Most schools using Edsby quickly end up with 50-100 groups as they create groups for sports teams, clubs, teacher professional development, or student council. Groups can be closed or open to the entire school. They can be shown to everyone or only to people of certain roles. Members can be invited or automatically added to a group based on their role. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups.png) Only staff members can create groups. This ensures all groups have at least one staff member in a supervisory role. ### Initial Set of Groups As part of every standard Edsby deployment, the following groups are automatically set up: - A **School Talk** group is created at each school and includes all staff and students at the school. It provides a space where topics of interest can be discussed like upcoming events, sports team results, or school initiatives. - A **Staff Room** group is created at each school. It is only available to staff members at the school and provides a place for staff collaboration on matters they prefer not to share with students or parents. - An **Edsby Feedback** group is created at the district level and all staff members in the district are added as members. This group enables staff members to ask questions, report bugs, and provide feedback to the Edsby team. We try to respond to all posts the same day they are posted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/initial-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/initial-groups.png) The school can request for these groups to not be automatically set up. **Note:** It is recommended that the school principal or other members of the administrative team make an initial post in the School Talk and Staff Room groups to welcome people in. In the case of School Talk, office administration may want to add a reminder for students to use their best judgement when deciding what to share with their school community. ### Creating Groups To create a group, click Find More at the bottom right of the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/find-more-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/find-more-groups.png) Click Create Group. Fill out the Group Creation form and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-button-1.png) Group information can be changed by entering a group and opening the Setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/group-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/group-setup.png) **Note:** School Administrators can create groups in the Groups Zoom or by clicking the Find More link in their My Groups panel. Teachers just create groups from their My Groups panel. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/groups-management/) for more information on creating and managing groups. ## Report Cards Office administrators have access to the Report Cards Zoom. The Report Card Zoom appears when the first reporting period is created. Report Cards can then be printed directly from within Edsby or by exporting data to another system. Report Cards can also be published and made available to students and parents on their Edsby Home Screens. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/report-card.png) The process of Report Cards is simplified and efficient within Edsby. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/report-card-creation-and-management/) for more information on creating reporting periods and managing the Report Card process. ## Supporting Parents Office Administrators are the first point of contact for parents with any questions or concerns. Office Administrators can assist parents in activating their parent accounts, choosing a new password, and viewing their child’s academic progress. The answers to these along with many other Frequently Asked Questions can be found in the Parent section of Edsby Support. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/supporting-parents/) for more information on supporting parents in Edsby. ### Parent Invitation Process The Parent Invitation process within Edsby is designed to help the school district create Edsby accounts for parents by using information in the existing school databases. Parent and contact information is synchronized to Edsby’s Student Contacts Zoom. When the district is ready to invite parents to create an Edsby account, the office issues invitations from the Student Contacts Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-edsby-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-edsby-1.png) Invitations are sent by email. Parents complete the registration process by clicking a link in the email. When parents complete the registration process, they are added to the Parents Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/edsby-invitation-email.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/edsby-invitation-email.png) The Student Contacts Zoom displays the up-to-date information about which parents have registered, have declined, or have invitations pending. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-contacts-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-contacts-zoom.png) For more information on the parent invitation process, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/parent-invitation-process-2/) ### Parent-Teacher Interviews Edsby Parent-Teacher Interview Scheduling considers the needs of all School Administrators, teachers, and parents. The process involves four key steps of creating a schedule, opening it to teachers, opening it to parents, and completing the bookings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pti-steps.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pti-steps.png) Office administrators can manage bookings on behalf of a parent or student contact. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/booking-slots.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/booking-slots.png) For more information on creating and managing parent-teacher interviews, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/parent-teacher-interview-schedules/) ### Approvals Field trips, school opportunities, and requests for volunteers are all simplified using Edsby’s Approvals feature. Edsby Approvals enable office administrators to send requests directly to parents and students and receive a list of responses as soon as they respond. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approval-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approval-workflow.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/approvals-2-2/) for more information on Approvals. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Study Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/district-administrator-quickstart/study-groups/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby includes support for Study Groups. These are district-wide groups that are automatically employed across the district for each unique course being offered in the given district. When a Study Group is created for a specific course code, every student and teacher across the district enrolled in that course will be automatically enrolled in the corresponding Study Group. This enables students across the district to ask questions, learn from other students, and be guided by educators who are facilitating the learning in that specific area. ## Creating a Study Group In addition to the automatic deployment of study groups across the district, district administrators can also choose to create a study group themselves. To create a Study group, click the pop-out in the My Groups panel or click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-copy-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-copy-1.png) Set the group type to Study. Name the group and provide a description of the group, if desired. Select moderators, permissions and membership for the group. Automated membership can be used to automatically enroll the correct staff and students to the specific study group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/study-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/study-group-type.png) In this example, Scott Beasley, District Superintendent of High Prairie School District, is creating a Study Group for all students and staff enrolled in grade 9 academic science. To do this, he will select specific Automated Membership permissions. 1. He is subscribing teachers, assistant teachers, and students to the Group. 2. Clicking the box next to Unsubscribe users if they no longer meet the criteria means the students will no longer be members of the group when they move onto grade 10 and are no longer enrolled in grade 9 science. 3. Type the specific course code for grade 9 academic science. Click Enter. 4. Moderators can be assigned to the group on a role basis. In this example, teachers teaching SNC1D will automatically become moderators of the Study group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Study-group-automated-membership.jpg) Mr. Beasley would like this to be a private group that is closed to all except those who have been specifically invited to it. In this case, it is not necessary for other non-science teachers in the school to be able to search for the group or enter it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/closed-and-private.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/closed-and-private.png) Once the setup form is complete, click Create Group. This will automatically add the group to the My Groups panel of all staff and students who have been assigned an automated membership. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/study-group-in-groups-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/study-group-in-groups-panel.png) Members of the study group can see moderators, pinned items, the knowledge base, members panel, schedule, and library. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-study-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-study-group.png) Students in Study groups can also post notes and polls in the group feed. The Group’s Knowledge Base automatically defaults to be called Knowledge. However, teachers can change this at any point. Click Knowledge. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-knowledge-in-study-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-knowledge-in-study-group.png) Then click Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/study-group-edit-knowledge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/study-group-edit-knowledge.png) Here, teachers can change the title. In this example, the Knowledge Base in the SNC1D Study Group is being changed to say ‘Information for Studying’. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/change-study-group-knowledge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/change-study-group-knowledge.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [News Rivers - Creating district-level News Articles](https://www.edsby.com/help/district-administrator-quickstart/creating-district-level-news-articles/) **Published:** May 29, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Everyone likes to be up to date with the latest news. Edsby makes that easy. After logging in to Edsby, there is an engaging News River across the top of the home screen. In the News River, news items come from multiple streams, including each school and its extensions (groups, classes, and the main office) as well as from the district. Creating News events and submitting articles is easy. However, the process differs slightly when submitting articles to the News River as a district-level administrator compared to how students, teachers, and administrators at the school level submit articles. To learn more about Submitting an article to an entire district, click [here](#entiredistrict). To learn more about Submitting an article to selected schools, click [here](#selectedschools). ## Submitting an Article to an entire District There are times when the district wants to broadcast information to all schools, teachers, students, parents, and other users in the district. For example, Scott Beasley, the District Superintendent of High Prairie School District wishes to broadcast an article about celebrating student success for students that attend both elementary and high schools in the district. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Celebrating-student-success.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Celebrating-student-success.png) To submit an article that will be displayed on the News River of all teachers, students, and parents in the district, first, access the school district intended to broadcast the article to by clicking the district name on either the left of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/clicking-district-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/clicking-district-name.png) This will show the district’s summary screen of district staff, schools, courses, and schedule. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-an-article-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-an-article-2.png) Click the “Submit an Article” button located at the top of the feed and fill in the form with a Title, content, and an image: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-a-district-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-a-district-article.png) Click Submit. The article will post to the district-level feed with pending approval. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/approve-edit-or-reject-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/approve-edit-or-reject-1.png) Click Approve to publish the article to the News River. Approved articles are visible to all staff, students, and parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/article-in-the-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/article-in-the-river.png) ## Submitting an Article to selected schools There are times when the district wishes to broadcast information to selected schools in the district. For example, Scott Beasley, the District Superintendent of High Prairie School District wishes to broadcast an article reminding the elementary school teachers, students, and parents of an upcoming PA day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/PA-day-notice.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/PA-day-notice.png) To submit an article that will be displayed on the News River of schools in the district, navigate to the Schools Zoom in the menu on the right side of the screen and Click. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/schools-in-the-district.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/schools-in-the-district.png) An overview of the schools in the district will be shown. Use the filters on the left side of the screen to select the schools to display the article to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/creating-article-from-school-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/creating-article-from-school-zoom.png) When the selections are finished, click Create News Article and fill out the form with a title, content, and image. At the bottom of the form are options to decide how long the post will be visible for and who it is visible to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/district-level-form-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/district-level-form-filled-out.png) The Superintendent wishes to display the post immediately and have it expire the day after the PA day. There are two options for Visibility: Internal Only and General Public. Access the options by clicking the drop-down arrow under Visibility. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/changing-visibility-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/changing-visibility-settings.png) ### Internal Only Clicking “Internal Only” under Visibility means only district staff, students, and parents can see the post. Posts set to Internal Only Visibility will not be able to be posted onto the district’s Log In page. ### General Public Clicking “General Public” under Visibility enables the post to be displayed on the Log In screen of the district page. Since the district page is shared, anyone who accesses the Log In screen will see the post. This option is useful when broadcasting to an entire district without people needing to even Log In. Or, in the case of a Private School that does not share a Log In screen with an entire district, they may use the General Public option to display the post to their entire school. In the example, the Superintendent has chosen for the post to be visible to Internal Only. When the form is complete, click Submit. News Article submissions posted through the Schools Zoom are approved automatically in order to eliminate the need to visit each school page individually to approve the post. After clicking submit, the post will automatically be posted into the school feeds of all selected schools and the News Rivers of all teachers, parents, and students associated with these schools. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/district-level-news-in-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/district-level-news-in-river.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Handling Late Arrivals](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/handling-late-arrivals/) **Published:** December 12, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Organizations may be concerned that students can be issued a late slip from the Attendance Office and then not go to class. When a student reports to the Attendance Office to pick up an Admit Slip, there is no guarantee the student will proceed to class. Students have been known to take advantage of this loophole. The Admit Slips System in Edsby closes this loophole and provides teachers the ability to confirm late arrivals without interrupting teaching to manage Admit Slips. ## Jump to a Section [Creating an Admit Slip](#creatinglateslip) [Teacher Workflow for Admit Slips](#teacherworkflowlateslips) [Other Helpful Reminders](#helpfulreminders) There are three options an organization can choose from to handle late arrivals: First, organizations can choose to resolve late arrivals and have the student recorded as late on the Attendance form. To support this choice, the teacher will record a student as absent and the Attendance Office will use the Incident form to mark the student as late. Second, organizations can choose to leave the student as absent on the Attendance form until the teacher confirms that the student arrived in class. Once the teacher confirms the arrival, the absence automatically changes to late. Teachers will receive a notification for each late student and they confirm whether the student was late or absent. Otherwise, the students are recorded as absent. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/image8.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/image8.png) To support this choice, use either the Admit Slip button on the Student tab or the Bulk Admit Slips button on the Incidents tab, if issuing Admit Slips to multiple students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/admit-slip-or-issue-late-slip.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/admit-slip-or-issue-late-slip.png) Third, organizations can choose to resolve late arrivals and have the student recorded as late on the Attendance form. The teacher is informed of the late arrivals but no action is required within Edsby. To support this choice, a School District or a private school can contact Edsby support and request that the “Admit slips apply automatically” option be enabled for teachers’ organization. Once enabled, either the Admit Slip on the Student tab or the Bulk Admit Slips on the Incidents tab can be used to record a late. The teacher sees a list of late students under their Notifications bell icon. No further action is required within Edsby for teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/lates-in-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/lates-in-notifications.png) ## Admit Slip vs Bulk Admit Slips Admit Slip is used to issue a slip for one late student at a time. This is done on the Student Tab of the Attendance Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/admit-vs-bulk-admit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/admit-vs-bulk-admit.png) Bulk Admit Slips is used to issue admit slips for a group of late students at a time, for example, if an entire school bus arrives late. In both cases, teachers can set the arrival time and reason for the late arrival. ## Creating an Admit Slip If there is only one student arriving late at a time, search for the student’s name in the Student Tab. Click Admit Slip. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/admit-slip-on-student-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/admit-slip-on-student-tab.png) The student’s name will be filled in the form. Select the time they arrived and a reason. Click Issue to Issue the Admit Slip. Or click Issue and Print if teachers additionally want a hard copy of the Admit Slip. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/admit-slips.jpg) To issue Admit Slips for multiple students, for example, if an entire bus arrived late, navigate to the Incidents page of the Attendance Zoom. Then click Bulk Admit Slips. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bulk-admit-slips.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bulk-admit-slips.png) Enter the names of the students. Enter the time they arrived and choose a reason. Select Issue or Issue and Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bulk-admit-slip-for.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bulk-admit-slip-for.png) Admit Slips can also be created for multiple students who have unresolved attendance incidents recorded by using the gear icon to select student names. Click the gear icon. Then, click the checkboxes beside the students’ names. Click Bulk Admit Slips and fill out the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/gear-then-bulk-admit-slips.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/gear-then-bulk-admit-slips.png) The Admit Slip is matched to the teacher-reported absences. If the absence exists at the time the Admit Slip is created, the reason is listed as “Late Slip Pending”. If the attendance sheet has not yet been submitted, the Admit Slip will appear when the student is reported absent on the attendance sheet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/late-slip-pending.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/late-slip-pending.png) When the teacher confirms that the student has arrived in class, the reason code changes to Late. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/late-status.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/late-status.png) If the teacher confirms the student has not arrived in class and is absent, the reason code changes to Absent. This absence is resolved in the same manner as other teacher-reported absences. ## What Teachers See on the Attendance Sheets When a teacher opens the attendance sheet, the Planned Absences are visible. The information is provided for the convenience of the teacher. In this example, the period begins at 1:05 PM and ends at 4:05 PM. When the teacher opens the form, Lisa is already marked absent. Maudad is currently sitting in their chair and the teacher has marked her present, but at 2:30 PM, she is going to leave class for a medical appointment. Tho is involved in a school activity that ends at 2:05 PM. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/example-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/example-attendance.png) No further action is required of the teacher, but if the teacher were to open the Attendance Sheet after the end of class, the pending departures and arrivals would be confirmed. Maudad is absent and Tho is present. Typically, the Attendance Office manages any changes to Planned Absences – if Maudad’s medical appointment is cancelled, the Attendance Office would cancel the Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/updated-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/updated-attendance.png) Teachers manage Late Slips through Notifications, located in the Navigation Bar at the top of any Edsby screen. The unread counter indicates when there are pending Late Slips. Clicking Notifications opens a list of Late Slips issued by the Attendance Office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/image8.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/image8.png) The teacher clicks Confirm Late to indicate the student arrived in class. This action records the student as Late. If the teacher clicks Confirm Absent, the Late Slip is cancelled, and an absence is recorded. The Attendance Zoom Incidents tab will list this as an unresolved absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/unresolved-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/unresolved-1.png) ## Other Helpful Reminders Students can’t arrive late to a class that has ended – this is an absence, not a late. The student’s arrival time needs to be set to a time that falls within the period the student arrived late. ### For Elementary Schools Elementary schools often have a morning session and an afternoon session. If the late slips are issued during the same session as when the students arrived, the time can be left as the default. For example, if the students arrived between 8:55 and 10:15, but the late slips are created at 10:30, the students will be correctly recorded as being late for the morning session. If the Attendance Office creates the late slips in the afternoon, the time should be adjusted to fall within the morning session. ### For High Schools High Schools often have multiple periods in a day. In this case, the time of the late slip needs to be set to a time that falls within the period the student arrived late. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Exporting Attendance Data](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/exporting-attendance-data/) **Published:** June 12, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** After processing the parent emails, voice mails, phone calls, and notes, approving parent submitted requested absences, admitting late students, and reviewing the Incidents tab, the Attendance Office may export the list of absent students to an external system. ## Attendance Export File Attendance data can be exported for use in a spreadsheet program. The file includes the following fields: IncidentIDUnique IdentifierIncidentDateThe date the incident occuredUpdateDateThe date and time the incident was modifiedFirstNameStudent first nameLastNameStudent last nameGUIDEdsby’s Global Unique IdentifierSIDStudent ID as supplied by the Student Information SystemGradeGrade of studentPeriodIDsPeriod ID as supplied by the Student Information SystemTimeTime of the periodClassClass name associated with the incidentClassGUIDUnique Identifier for the classTeacherNamesNames of teachers assigned to the classTeacherGUIDsUnique Identifier for the teachersCodeAbsent, Late, or PresentReasonCodeCode listed in the Incident Form’s drop-down listReasonDescription of CodeCommentText entered in the Comment field of the Incident Form or the Attendance SheetTo export attendance data, navigate to the Incidents tab in the Attendance Zoom. Navigate to the day needed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/incidents-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/incidents-tab.png) To export a subset of a day’s attendance data, set the filters to display the information to be included in the export. To export all incidents on a day, ensure All is selected under Status. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/needs-resolution-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/needs-resolution-filter.png) Click Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-incidents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-incidents.png) The Export form will appear. Choose the Export type and click Export. The file will download with a csv extension. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-export-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-export-form.png) To export attendance data for multiple days, in the attendance export form, uncheck Export Selected Records Only. Unchecking this field reveals the date pickers. Set the start and end date, then click Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/reveal-date-pickers.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/reveal-date-pickers.png) ## The Attendance Export Form **Field Name****About**Export selected records onlyField will appear on the form when filters have been applied to the Attendance Zoom.Export date rangeSet the date range to be exported. Attendance data for a large range may take a few minutes to download.**Advanced Options**Suppress column headersThe column headers are not included in the export.Add column type headerString, date, or number, for example.EncodingUTF8 includes extended characters, such as accents in people’s names.Minimal QuotingChoices include No Quoting, Minimal Quoting, Quoted all non-numeric values, or Quote everything.**Note:** Ask the School District for information about how to import attendance data to a third party. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [About Classes - Browser](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/) **Published:** August 13, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Classes are the heart of how Edsby helps students. Every class includes an effective way for students to engage with teachers and classmates, view class information, and submit assignments. ## Jump to a Section [Classes Panel](#aboutclassespanel) [Inside a Class](#aboutclassesinside) [Class Content](#aboutclassescontent) [Viewing Grades and Assignments through My Work](#aboutclassesviewgrades) [Viewing Rubrics](#aboutclassesrubrics) [Submitting Assignments Online](#aboutclassessubmit) [Switching Between Classes](#aboutclassesswitch) ## The Classes Panel On the left side of the student’s Home Screen is the Classes Panel. This panel provides a brief overview of students’ classes, including: 1. Unread Counter indicating the number of new posts in the Class 2. New assessment grades that have been shared 3. Name of Class 4. Link to My Work Report for each Class 5. Course Code 6. Teacher’s name 7. If available, a button will be visible at the bottom of the Classes Panel to view any Report Cards of the current school year. 8. Access all Class Journals by clicking the pop-out. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Complicated-Classes-Panel-1.jpg) Enter a Class by clicking its name. ## Inside a Class Included in each Class is: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-breakdown-of-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-breakdown-of-class.png) 1. A Teachers Panel 2. Pinned Items 3. Students Panel 4. Content Panel containing all of the content for the course 5. A field to post a note (if enabled by the teacher) 6. Class Feed 7. Class Calendar 8. Journal Panel displaying the most recent journal entries 9. Class Library for uploaded media ### Contributing to the Shared Classroom In the Edsby Classroom, students can have a conversation with their teacher and classmates. Students should consider posting if they’re having trouble with the homework and want to ask for help, or if they want to help another classmate. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-discussion.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-discussion.png) Anything posted in the class feed is visible to the teacher and students are unable to delete a post. ### Class Content On the left side of a class is the Content Panel. 1. Underneath Content, each student has a progress bar that tracks their progression through the content. 2. Any items of content a student has marked complete will be indicated by a green checkmark. 3. Click Content to open the panel and click on any item in the list to view the content. 4. Use the Next and Previous arrows to navigate through the Content. 5. When students have completed an item, click Mark Complete. This will display a green checkmark next to the item and update their progress bar. 6. Students can also set the state of their learning on a particular item of content by clicking the emoji at the top left. They can let their teacher know if they understand the content, find it confusing, or already know it! ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-browser-content-panel-breakdown.jpg) Students can submit assignments, contribute to Discussions, and participate in Polls from the Content Panel. ### Class Calendar The Class Calendar on the right side of the Class screen lists all events and assignment dates relevant to the specific class. The events of each Class Calendar are merged on a student’s Home Screen’s Personal Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-calendar.png) ### Class Journal In Classes, teachers may use the Journal to communicate learning objectives and student expectations. View the most recent Journal entry a teacher has made in the Journal Panel on the right side of the Home Screen. Click Journal to view all Journal entries for the specific class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-class-journal-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-class-journal-popout.png) Journals can be used to remind students of what they are learning in each class as well as keep them up-to-date on homework and learning goals. ## Viewing Grades and Assignments through My Work Every class has a grades and assignment report called My Work. Students can access it by hovering over the class name and clicking My Work or from within a class by clicking the My Work link at the top of the page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-my-work-buttons.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-my-work-buttons.png) The My Work Report has 5 tabs: Assessments, Graph, Standards/Expectations, Attendance, and Previous Report Cards. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-top-bar.png) ### Assessments The Assessments tab provides a detailed breakdown of incomplete, upcoming, and graded assessments as well as the results of any the teacher has chosen to share. Click on Incomplete, Upcoming, Ungraded, or Graded to see these assessments listed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-browser-my-work.jpg) 1. Submissions, comments, and grades can be viewed by clicking either the chat bubble or the page icon. 2. Here, students can also reply to the teacher’s comments using the dialogue box at the bottom of the assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-viewing-assignment-in-my-work.jpg) Clicking on a submission will bring up the Grader, this allows students to view a teacher’s annotations. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-viewing-grader-annotations.jpg) ### Graph The graph shows a student’s grades in the class, depicting their academic progression. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-graph-overview.png) ### Standards/Expectations Students can see how they’re doing on each specific expectation/standard for a class in the Standards/Expectations tab. These are a checklist of skills that teachers use to assess student performance in class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/expectations-studny-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/expectations-studny-my-work.png) Students can see the performance indicator when their teacher makes an observation on an expectation for them. The performance indicators from lowest to highest are: red, yellow, green, blue. ### Previous Report Cards The Previous Report Cards tab displays any previous report cards that have been published through Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/previous-report-cards-student-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/previous-report-cards-student-my-work.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/how-did-you-do-on-that-english-project-2/) for more information about the My Work Report. ### Viewing Rubrics Rubrics are a scoring scale that provide a set of criteria for achievement and the descriptions of levels of achievement. Teachers can attach Rubrics to assignments within Edsby for students to view and understand the assignment expectations. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rubric-for-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rubric-for-student.png) To view a rubric attached to an assignment, click the name of the assessment in either Recent Activity or the Class Feed. Click the name of the rubric to open it. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/clicking-assignment-to-see-rubric.jpg) Students can also view rubrics in the Assessments Tab of My Work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-view-rubric.jpg) ### Submitting Assignments Online Edsby enables teachers to create assignments that can be handed in online. There are multiple places an assignment can be submitted in Edsby, but for the teacher to receive the assignment, it only needs to be submitted one time in one place within Edsby. To submit an assignment online through Edsby, view it in My Work, Personal Calendar, Recent Activity feed, or the feed of the class where the assignment is due. A Submit button will appear next to the assignment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-submit.png)![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-Calendar-submit.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-recent-activity.png) In the form that opens, use the icons to attach a file, photo, video, or link. Add a comment with your submission. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submitting-assignment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submitting-assignment.png) The assignment will move to Ungraded Assessments in My Work until the teacher has reviewed it and assigned a grade. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-ungraded.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ungraded-assessments.png) ## Switching Between Classes Easily switch between classes by using the Class picker at the top left of any class screen in Edsby. Students can click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the class to reveal a list of the other classes they are enrolled in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/My-Work-class-swap.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-picker.png) Select one from the list to enter it. Students will jump to the same screen of the new class as the one they were in when they picked a new class. For example, if they’re in the My Work Report from one class, using the Class picker to navigate to a new class will bring them to the My Work Report for the new class. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Video Conferencing for Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/video-conferencing-for-zoom/) **Published:** March 11, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Adding and Removing Edsby Live for Zoom If your School District would like to use Zoom as a service provider, please open a support ticket. Support can configure an OAuth2 authentication service for your district. The Support team will copy information from the Zoom Zoom App Credentials page. 1. Copy the Client ID and paste it into the Client ID field in Edsby OAuth Config form. 2. Copy the Client Secret and paste it into the Client Secret field in Edsby OAuth Config form 3. Provide a Service ID at the top of the Config form, this should be relative and unique among all OAuth Configs for the School 4. Copy the Redirect URL in your OAuth Config form and paste it into the “Redirect URL for OAuth” in the Zoom App Credentials page. Also paste this link into the Whitelist URL below the Redirect URL for OAuth field. Hit continue at the bottom District IT Admins can view OAuth2 authentication from by doing the following: - Navigate to the Manage page. - Open the Features form by clicking Edit. - Open the OAuth 2 Client (Generic) form by clicking Configure. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Zoom1-1.png) Select the configuration you wish to view. Please note, altering the information on this form will break the Zoom integration and your teachers will not be able to start Zoom meetings from within their classes or groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Zoom2a.png) ### Disabling Video Conferencing Zoom integration If your district no longer wishes to use the Zoom integration, do this: 1. Navigate to the Manage page. 2. Open the Features form by clicking Edit. 3. In the Add On Modules section, click the Set checkbox to disable Video Conferencing. Note: After you save, it may take a couple of minutes for Edsby to apply any changes made to this form and/or any configuration forms under it. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/zoom3.png) Also remove Open the OAuth 2 Client (Generic) form by clicking the trashcan icon beside the service name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Zoom2.png) --- ### [School Info](https://www.edsby.com/help/school-info/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The School Page in Edsby makes it easy for students to quickly find key information about their school. ## Mobile School Page Access the school and district page from the Home Screen by clicking the gear icon in the top right and selecting the name of your school or district. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-gear-for-school-page-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-gear-for-school-page-1.png) This will provide a feed of school news. Click the plus in the top right corner to submit an article to the school News River. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-school-page-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-school-page-1.png) Click Calendar to view the School Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-school-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-school-calendar.png) The school-specific events on this calendar are merged on the Personal Calendar accessible by clicking the calendar icon in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/personal-calendar-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/personal-calendar-student-mobile.png) Click Info to view important school information including: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-info-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-info-student-mobile.png) 1. Key Contacts in the school 2. Staff Panel, making it easier to contact any teacher or principal at the school through Edsby 3. Contact Information for the school 4. A school-wide Documents library Students can quickly message any of the Key Contacts in Edsby by clicking their name, opening their profile, and clicking Send Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/send-message-on-mobile-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/send-message-on-mobile-mini-profile.png) Turn on notifications whenever a new article is posted at the school by clicking the bell icon in the top right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-notifications-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-notifications-student-mobile.png) ## Browser School Page The School Page is also available by clicking the school’s name in the top left corner of the browser Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/School-Page.jpg) The browser School Page contains: 1. A list of Key Contacts in the school 2. A Staff list, making it easier to contact any teacher or principal at the school through Edsby 3. A panel of Important school information like various policies the school may have posted for students to reference 4. The school News Feed 5. The School Calendar 6. Contact Information for the school 7. A school-wide Documents library Students can quickly message any of the Key Contacts in Edsby by hovering over their name, opening their mini-profile, and clicking Send Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-key-contact-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-key-contact-browser.png) Submit an article to the News River by clicking Submit an Article at the top of the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-submit-an-article-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-submit-an-article-1.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Viewing Rubrics](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/viewing-rubrics/) **Published:** July 7, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Rubrics are a scoring scale that provide a set of criteria for achievement and the descriptions of levels of achievement, used to assess and evaluate students’ work and to guide students to desired performance levels. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rubric-for-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rubric-for-student.png) Teachers can attach Rubrics to assignments within Edsby for students to view and understand the expectations of the assignment. To view a rubric attached to an assignment, click the name of the assessment in either Recent Activity or the Class Feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/clicking-on-assessment-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/clicking-on-assessment-name.png) A lightbox opens with details about the assignment. Click the name of the rubric to open it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/clicking-rubric-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/clicking-rubric-name.png) Students can also view rubrics attached to assignments through their My Work Report. In My Work, navigate to the Assessments tab. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ungraded-2.jpg) Click View Rubric below the assignment name. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Submitting assignments online](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/submitting-online-assignments/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby gives teachers the ability to create assignments that can be handed in online. There are multiple places where an assignment can be submitted in Edsby, but any of them will do the trick. For the teacher to receive the assignment, it only needs to be submitted one time in one place within Edsby. To submit an assignment online through Edsby, view it in My Work, the schedule, the Recent Activity feed, or the feed of the class in which the assignment is due. If online submission is enabled, a Submit button will appear next to the assignment in the Recent Activity Feed, Calendar, Class Feed, and My Work Report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/places-where-submit-button-is.jpg) ## Submitting an Assignment 1. Click on the Submit button. 2. Click one of the three icons to either take a photograph, browse your computer for the file you want to submit, or add a video or link. 3. A comment can be included with your assignment submission. Click Submit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/submitting-browser-assignment.jpg) Students will receive a confirmation of submission screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/browser-confirmation-of-submission.png) After the assignment has been submitted, it will move to Ungraded Assessments in My Work until the teacher has assigned a grade to it. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ungraded-2.jpg) Students, if allowed by the teacher, have the opportunity to resubmit their assignment by clicking the Resubmit button and uploading a new file and comment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Resubmit.jpg) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Helping Your Child with Edsby Capture](https://www.edsby.com/help/helping-your-child-with-edsby-capture/) **Published:** July 28, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby Capture App, available via the App Store and Google Play, gives students and their parents a simple way to record evidence of student learning. After a record is uploaded, it appears in the teacher’s Evidence stream in Edsby. Parents can help their children get started with using Edsby Capture! ## Downloading the App The Edsby Capture App is available via the App Store and Google Play. Click the links below to download the App and make capturing evidence a breeze. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/app-store-logo.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/edsby-capture/id1395476423)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1024px-Google_Play_Store_badge_EN.svg.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.edsby.capture&hl=en_CA) ## Accessing QR Codes In the classroom, a child’s teacher will supply them with a QR code. However, teachers can also enable parents and students to print their own QR Codes for use of the Edsby Capture App at home. When enabled, parents can access their child’s QR Codes from their Learning Story. Access their Learning Story by clicking Learning Story under their name on the Home Screen in Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/parent-mobile-learning-story-295x300.png) Or, on a browser, click Learning Story under their Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png) Click Print QR Codes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-print-qr-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-print-qr-codes.png) All codes that have been shared by your child’s teachers will be accessible. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-qr-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-qr-codes.png) If your child’s teacher has not yet enabled you to print your child’s QR code, ask them! Using Edsby Capture is a great way to further your child’s learning and display what they are learning at home. ## Using the App Once downloaded, open the Edsby Capture App. Children will see a screen where they are asked to scan their QR Code. Parents can use the camera to scan their child’s unique QR Code. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scan-qr-code.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scan-qr-code.png) Take a picture or video of the piece of evidence parents and their child wish to capture. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/taking-picture-of-evidence-151x300.png) Switch between front and back cameras and set the flash settings using the icons. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/camera-and-flash-icons-164x300.png) The app will then bring users to a new screen where they can review and add to the submission. Click Add More to attach additional items to the submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/add-more-to-capture-150x300.png) Click Reflect and type a description of your child’s work. This will be seen by the teacher. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/reflect-on-capture-252x300.png) When parents and their children are finished, click Upload. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/upload-capture-150x300.png) Once captured, the evidence will automatically flow into the teacher’s Evidence system. After a parent’s child has submitted a piece of evidence regarding their own work, their teachers can review the evidence and choose to share it with the parents and their child. If they have chosen to share the evidence, parents can view it in their child’s Learning Story. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-capture-for-students/) for a resource on students using the Edsby Capture App. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Helping Your Child Get the Most out of Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/helping-your-child-get-the-most-out-of-edsby/) **Published:** July 28, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Parents care about their child’s education and want to support them through their learning journey. Edsby enables students to keep up-to-date with their school life, grades, and assignments. Why not show them the ropes and help them get the most out of Edsby? ## The Student Interface When students first login, their Home Screen is the first thing they see. This screen displays the News River as well as options to access the student’s Settings, Portfolio, Learning Story, Recent Activity, and Launchpad. Students can also logout from this screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-home-screen-with-phone.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-home-screen-with-phone.png) The browser Home Screen additionally shows the student’s Classes Panel, My Groups Panel, and Personal Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-home-screen-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-home-screen-1.png) ### Setting Up Notifications Students can choose to be notified of activity in their classes, groups, and the school they attend. Notifications are a great way for students to stay up-to-date with their school life. Show children how to set their notifications up by clicking Settings then selecting Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-clicking-notifications-in-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-clicking-notifications-in-settings.png) [Click here for a resource on how students can set up their notifications.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en) ### Liking Posts Encourage children to communicate with their teachers by liking teacher posts in their Recent Activity feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-like-post-in-recent-actibity-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-like-post-in-recent-actibity-1.png) If teachers have enabled students to enter the class and post, they can also reply to teacher posts. ### Classes Students can view the classes they are enrolled in as well as their current averages if their teacher has chosen to share them, by clicking Classes in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-classes.png) Or, in the student’s Classes Panel on their browser Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classes-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classes-panel.png) Students click a class to enter it. #### My Work Students can view their assessments and grades if their teacher has shared them, in their My Work Report. This report is accessed by clicking My Work in the header. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-my-work-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-my-work-1.png) Or, on a browser, access the My Work Report by hovering over the class and clicking the My Work button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button-1.png) If a parent’s child has a question about an upcoming or graded assessment, they can ask it easily through My Work by clicking Ask Private Question. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ask-private-question-student-mobile-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ask-private-question-student-mobile-1.png) View any changed grades or responses to questions by clicking the assessment and viewing its details. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assignment-details-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assignment-details-student-mobile.png) ### Portfolio Every student in Edsby has a Portfolio. Here, students can create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular success. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio-1.png) Child can access their Portfolio by clicking the link for it on their Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-portfolio-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-portfolio-1.png) Encourage them to upload posts by clicking the + icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/studnet-mobile-plus-in-portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/studnet-mobile-plus-in-portfolio.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/portfolio/) for a resource on creating student Portfolios. ### Groups Students can view the groups they are a member of by clicking Groups in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-my-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-mobile-my-groups.png) Or, in the student’s My Groups Panel on their browser Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-groups-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-groups-panel.png) ### Messages Students can receive and send messages with their Edsby Mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-student-messages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-student-messages.png) ### Personal Calendar The events and assessments of all classes and groups the student is a member of are merged on their Personal Calendar. This Personal Calendar is accessible by clicking Calendar in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-personal-calendar-mobile-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-personal-calendar-mobile-location.png) Or on a browser, it is visible on the right side of their Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-calendar-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-browser-calendar-location.png) Parents should encourage their children to use this calendar to keep track of their due dates, events, and other activities and practice time management. They can even add their own personal events by using the blue plus. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [School News and Information](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/student-calendars-school-news/) **Published:** September 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Backpacks are great for carrying books and lunches, but they fail as the communication channel between parents and their child’s school. Edsby gathers school news and other important school information conveniently for parent access. ## The News River Edsby gathers all the news from the district and schools that parent’s children attend in the News River at the top of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-parent-news-river-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-parent-news-river-location.png) Use the arrows to navigate through the articles. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/use-arrows-in-news-river-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/use-arrows-in-news-river-mobile.png) Click an article to view its full text. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/click-for-full-mobile-news-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/click-for-full-mobile-news-article.png) ## The School Page Access the school and district pages from the Home Screen by clicking the gear icon in the top right and selecting the name of the school or district. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-school-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-school-name.png) This will provide parents with a feed of school news. Scroll to view all posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-school-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-school-feed.png) Click Calendar to view the School Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar-mobil.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar-mobil.png) The school-specific events on this calendar are merged on the Personal Calendar accessible by clicking the calendar icon in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-add-calendar-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-add-calendar-event.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-personal-calendar-mobile-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-personal-calendar-mobile-location.png) Click Info to view important school information including: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-info-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-info-student-mobile.png) 1. Key Contacts in the school 2. Staff Panel, making it easier to contact any teacher or principal at the school through Edsby 3. Contact Information for the school 4. A school-wide Documents library Parents can turn on notifications whenever a new article is posted at their school by clicking the bell icon in the top right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-notifications-student-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-notifications-student-mobile.png) Parents can quickly message any of the Key Contacts in Edsby by clicking their name, opening their mini-profile, and clicking Send Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/send-message-on-mobile-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/send-message-on-mobile-mini-profile.png) The School Page is also available by clicking the school’s name in the top left corner of the browser Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-school-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-school-page.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Recent Activity](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/what-happened-in-school-today/) **Published:** September 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby’s Recent Activity gives parents insight into what their kids are learning in each of their classes, so parents can start a richer conversation with them. Parents can access their child’s Recent Activity by clicking Recent Activity under their name on the mobile Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-mobile.png) For parents on a browser, their child’s Recent Activity is the main feed below their name on the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-recent-activity-parent-browser.png) Parents can let their children’s teachers know that they have received the notes and assessments posted in their children’s classes by liking the posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parent-liking-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parent-liking-post.png) Parents can see if they have liked a post or not. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-like-on-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-like-on-post.png) Teachers will see if parents have liked a post, however, students and other parents will not. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Parent-Teacher Interviews for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/parent-teacher-interviews-for-parents/) **Published:** June 17, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** When it’s time for parents to schedule an interview with their children’s teachers, a message will be sent to their Edsby mailbox. Parents can click the envelope in the Navigation Bar to access their mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-pti-.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-pti-.png) Open the message and click Book Parent-Teacher Interview. Parents will see the children the interviews apply to and the available time slots for each of their children’s teachers. If the interview period runs on more than one day, use the tabs to select between interview days. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-pti-tabs.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-pti-tabs.png) Edsby enables parents to choose exact time slots they want and enables parents to know in real time if the slots are available. Slots that are already booked and unavailable will be blank. Slots available will be labeled accordingly. Click on available slots to book them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-book-pti-appointment-slots.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-book-pti-appointment-slots.png) Parents can also remove their booking or change it to another available time. When they are finished booking, click Done. They will have a summary of their interview schedule in the mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pti-summary-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pti-summary-mobile.png) If the interview period has not yet been closed for editing by an administrator, parents can make changes to their interview schedule by clicking Make Changes. ## Printing the Schedule Parents can print their interview schedules by clicking File and then Print or by typing Ctrl+P on their keyboard. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-options.png) ## New Parents joining Edsby If a parent activates an account during a Parent-Teacher Interview period, the parent will automatically be invited to book interviews if the interview period applies to one of their children. ## PTI Time Zone Handling Dates and times in Edsby are stored in a universal format and automatically translated to the local time zone of an individual based on the operating system of the individual’s device. When booking parent teacher interview times, Edsby enables automatic detection of cases when the parent’s computing device is set to a different time zone than that of the school. This prevents parents from booking an interview slot at an unanticipated time when the time zone difference has gone unnoticed. If a parent is booking a parent teacher interview time slot from a time zone different than that of the school, Edsby will remind them and offer to translate the displayed times to the time zone of the education organization, if the parent prefers. Click the button to switch the times to the School’s time zone. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/switch-to-school-timezone.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/switch-to-school-timezone.png) The interview times will now be visible in the School’s time zone. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/in-schools-timezone.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/in-schools-timezone.png) A parent can switch back to their local time zone by clicking the button again. ## PTI Information in Calendar Parents can view information regarding their booking times in the Personal Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pti-in-calendar-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pti-in-calendar-parent-mobile.png) If the interviews are further than 2 weeks away, parents can view them by using your full-screen calendar on a browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pti-in-full-screen-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pti-in-full-screen-calendar.png) Clicking on the event will open the workflow in the mailbox. From here, they can view the appointment time summary or make changes if scheduling has not yet been closed. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Parent Planned Absences](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/parent-planned-absences/) **Published:** June 25, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables parents to inform their children’s school of an absence quickly and easily right from their mobile device. To submit a planned absence, scroll to the child the absence is for. Parents have two options when scheduling absences: Absent Today and Plan an Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absence-options-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absence-options-parent-mobile.png) ## Absent Today If a parent’s child is going to be away for the whole day, click Absent Today to open the Planned Absence form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-absent-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-absent-today.png) The name of the child will automatically be filled in the form. Select a reason for the absence. The comment is optional. When the form is complete, click Send to School Office. A submission receipt will be sent to their mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absent-today-receipt-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absent-today-receipt-parent-mobile.png) ## Plan an Absence Parents can report future absences, partial-day absences, and multi-day absences through Edsby. Use Plan an Absence if their child will be absent at a time other than the current day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/plan-an-absence-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/plan-an-absence-parent-mobile.png) After selecting this, the name of the child will automatically be filled in. Fill out the form by specifying the dates and times the child will be absent for, providing a reason, and an optional comment. When finished, click Send to School Office. A submission receipt will be sent to their mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submitted-absence-request.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submitted-absence-request.png) ## Approved Absences Once the school office has reviewed and approved the absence, the status of the receipt will change to Approved. An approved absence will be visible in their child’s Personal Calendar by clicking Calendar under their name on the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/approved-absence-request.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/approved-absence-request.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/planned-absence-in-mobile-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/planned-absence-in-mobile-calendar.png) ## Attendance Incident Notifications If a parent’s child is marked Late or Absent by any of their teachers and there is no Planned Absence listed for them, the Attendance Office may choose to notify their parents through Edsby. In order for parents to receive these notifications, they must enable them in their Notification Settings. Navigate to the Settings, select Notifications, and click a child’s name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/notification-child-settings-1024x381.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/notification-child-settings.png) If the Attendance Office notifies a parent of their child’s Late or Absence, the parent will receive an Edsby Notification in their Navigation Bar. Here, they will be provided with 2 options to reply back to the Office. If parents are aware of their child’s Late or Absence, click *I Know About This*. They will then be asked to provide a reason for their child’s absence and send it to the School Office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-know-about-this.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-know-about-this.png) If parents are unaware of their child’s Late or Absence, click *I Don’t Know About This.* The Office will be notified that the child is unaccounted for. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-dont-know-about-this.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i-dont-know-about-this.png) ## Attendance Totals Attendance Totals can be found under the name of the class in a child’s Classes Panel on their parent’s browser Home Screen. Here, parents can quickly see an overview of their child’s attendance record in a given class. Parents can click the totals to view their child’s Attendance Summary of their attendance history. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-history-parent-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-history-parent-browser.png) Here, parents can use the filters to view certain events regarding their child’s attendance in a specific class. They can also access an overview of their child’s attendance record in a specific class through the Attendance tab of My Work on a browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-tab-my-work-parent-browser-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/attendance-tab-my-work-parent-browser-1.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/how-did-you-do-on-that-english-project/) for more information on a child’s My Work Report. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Groups for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/groups-for-parents/) **Published:** June 1, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Introduction Groups provide a great space for discussion and updates on parent council, volunteer opportunities, or other school groups. Each group has at least one teacher assigned as a moderator. Parents can access the Groups they are a member of by clicking the Groups icon in the Navigation bar of the mobile app. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/groups-parent-mobile-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/groups-parent-mobile-1.png) On a browser, parents My Groups Panel is located on the bottom left corner of the Home Screen. Click Find More to browse more groups in the school. Only staff members can create groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-find-more-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-find-more-groups.png) ## Joining a Group Groups can be open or closed, as indicated by a lock icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/groups-with-lock-parent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/groups-with-lock-parent.png) Parents can join groups by accessing Edsby from a browser. ### Open Groups Parents can freely jump in and out of open groups. However, they will only be notified of new posts in the groups if they join as a member. Click Join in the top right of an open group to join it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-join-open-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-join-open-group.png) Members are notified of unread posts in a group through a red bubble counter appearing next to the group icon. ### Closed Groups Closed groups have a lock beside their name. To join a closed group, click the group and fill out the request. A moderator of the group will review and confirm parents’ requests before they can officially join the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-request-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-request-group.png) Parents can review the status of their request in the Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-group-request.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-group-request.png) When the group moderator approves or rejects the request, parents will receive a notification in their mailbox and the request status will change accordingly. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/status-of-group-request.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/status-of-group-request.png) The group will appear in the My Groups panel immediately once their request has been approved. ## Invitations and Automatic Membership Moderators can quickly add students to groups. If parents are invited to a group, they are provided with options to Accept or Decline in their My Groups Panel. However, sometimes moderators automatically add parents into a group, in which case they do not have to respond to a request. ## Using Groups Groups include a group Feed, Calendar, Group Members with those Recently Active listed first, And a Library. The group screen on a browser looks like the picture below, with the same functionality as groups on mobile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-group-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-group-screen.png) If the group moderator has enabled parents to post, post a note or poll in the group by clicking the Compose icon in the top right of the group. Like, Reply, or report posts as inappropriate in the feed by clicking the plus icon beside the post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-post-in-mobile-group.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-post-in-mobile-group.png)[ ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-like-or-reply-in-mobile-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-like-or-reply-in-mobile-group.png) Hover over the post on a browser to reveal these same options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-hover-group-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-hover-group-options.png) ## Leaving a Group Parents have the option to remove themselves from groups, except those they have been automatically added to. Leaving a group will remove it from the home screen, deleting it from the groups area. To leave a group, the parent may open the group page in a web browser and click the Unsubscribe button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-group-unsubscribe.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-group-unsubscribe.png) **Note:** Parents automatically enrolled in groups by the school or district will only be unsubscribed if they no longer meet the criteria for automated membership. If a parent clicks the Unsubscribe button from within a group they’ve been automatically added to, the group will be temporarily deleted from the My Groups Panel but added back again the next day. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Calendars for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/calendars/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Schools are busy places. Parents have so much to keep track of – class timetables, tests and assignments their children need to complete, as well as team practices, games, and club events parents need to make sure their children are on time for. Fortunately, Edsby provides great tools for helping them keep track of all of it! ## Accessing the Calendar of a School, Group, or Class Within Edsby, every school, class, and group has its own calendar. The parents calendars contain everything on the calendars of all of their children attached to their account. ### School Calendar Access children’s School Calendars through the School Page. Access the School Page on a browser by clicking a school name in the top left of the Home Screen. Parents will see all of the schools their children attend. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-school-page-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-school-page-2.png) The School Calendar is displayed on the right side of the screen. On mobile, click the gear icon on the Home Screen and select the school name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-school-name.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-school-name.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar-mobil.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar-mobil.png) ### Group Calendar Access a Group Calendar to view group-specific events by selecting a group from the My Groups Panel and clicking Calendar in the header on mobile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-calendar-parent-mobile-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-calendar-parent-mobile-access.png) The Group Calendar is displayed on the right side of the group on a browser. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-group-calendar-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-browser-group-calendar-location.png) ### Class Calendar If teachers have enabled parents to enter their Edsby classes, parents can view the Class Calendar by clicking a class and selecting Calendar from the header. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/access-class-calendar-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/access-class-calendar-parent-mobile.png) The Class Calendar is displayed on the right side of the class on a browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-calendar-location-parent-browser.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-calendar-location-parent-browser.png) If teachers have not enabled parents to enter the class, events and assessment dates are visible by navigating to their child’s Personal Calendar and will show in the parent’s calendar by default. ## Your Child’s Calendar The Edsby Calendar is the perfect tool to help students plan their time. For parents, each child’s calendar is found beside their name on the browser Home Screen or by clicking Calendar under a child’s name on the Edsby mobile app. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-parent-mobile.png) Edsby knows about every assignment, every test, and every event entered in any class a child is enrolled in. The Calendar is a great tool for parents looking to support and encourage their children to complete their work on time. Parents will see a two-week view of events and assessments on their Home Screen. To see further ahead, click the Calendar pop-out on the browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-full-popou.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-full-popou.png) Edsby even knows about events in the clubs, teams, and other groups students are a member of. So, when an event is added to the Festival Choir, the Basketball Team, or the Yearbook Committee, these events are added to the student’s Calendar as well. Here, parents also receive up-to-the-minute attendance information for the given day and view whether their child has been marked late, present, or absent in each of their classes. ## Your Personal Calendar Each parent within Edsby has their own Personal Calendar. This powerful Calendar shows all calendar events in the calendars of groups, and schools a parent is a member of. Edsby merges them all together so they can tell at a glance what they have coming up today, tomorrow, and later this week or next. Access the Personal Calendar by clicking the calendar icon in the mobile Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-personal-calendar-mobile-location-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-personal-calendar-mobile-location-1.png) On a browser, the Personal Calendar is displayed on the right side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-personal-calendar-browser-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-personal-calendar-browser-location.png) ### Monthly Personal Calendar Clicking today’s date in a parent’s Personal Calendar opens a small monthly view of their Personal Calendar populated with events from their children’s calendars. Dates shaded with light blue indicate something scheduled for that day. Dates with a straight blue line under the number indicates school is in session that day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/month-view-of-mobile-parent-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/month-view-of-mobile-parent-calendar.png) Collapse the monthly view by clicking the month name. ### Seeing the Bigger Picture If parents are looking to check events further in the future, the pop-out Calendar accessed on a browser is the best tool. Access this by clicking the icon in the upper right corner of the Personal Calendar or by clicking the Calendar icon in the Edsby browser login Navigation bar. This is the view many parents choose to print using the browser’s print feature. Printed calendars like these often appear on families’ kitchen fridges. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-full-screen-browser-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-full-screen-browser-calendar.png) Use the arrows to navigate between months. Click Today to jump to today’s date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/arrows-and-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/arrows-and-today.png) ### Customizing Your Personal Calendar If a parent’s Personal Calendar is becoming too cluttered with events from certain groups or classes, they can customize which groups, schools or classes to show events from. Click the gear icon at the top right of your Personal Calendar. Use the checkboxes to streamline which calendars will appear in the Personal Calendar. Checked boxes indicate the calendars that will appear on the Personal Calendar, while unchecked boxes indicate the calendar has been unsubscribed from. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-gear-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-gear-calendar.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/customize-calendar-parent-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/customize-calendar-parent-mobile.png) **Note:** Customizations to a Personal Calendar are saved and do not reset when exiting the Calendar or logging out of Edsby. To add a calendar again, parents must do it manually through their Personal Calendar. ### Creating Events Parents can create custom events on their Personal Calendar. Click the blue plus icon in the top right of the Personal Calendar to open the Create Event form. Fill out the form. Events can be set for a specific time or span the entire day. Edsby even enables repeat schedules for events that occur on a regular basis. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-add-calendar-event.png) ](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-add-calendar-event.png)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-parent-create-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-parent-create-event.png) If parents create an event on their Personal Calendar, it is a personal event and only they can see it. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Mobile Help - Navigating the Edsby App](https://www.edsby.com/help/mobile-help-navigating-the-edsby-app-new/) **Published:** April 8, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables teachers to access their students and classes with the convenience of their mobile devices by using the Edsby App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1-Edsby-Login-screen-edit.png) For more information about logging in to Edsby, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-login/) For more information about using Edsby on smartphones and tablets and how to download the app, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/smartphones-and-tablets/) ## Jump to a Section [Home Screen](#teachermobilehomescreen) [Classes](#teachermobileclasses) [People](#teachermobilepeople) [Evidence](#teachermobileevidence) [Groups](#teachermobilegroups) [Messages](#teachermobilemessages) [Calendar](#teachermobilecalendar) [Notifications](#teachermobilenotifications) [Settings](#teachermobilesettings) [Recent Activity](#teachermobilerecentactivity) [Personal Folder](#teachermobilepersonalfolder) [Launchpad](#teachermobilelaunchpad) [School and District Pages](#teachermobileschoolpages) [Searching in Edsby](#teachermobilesearchinginedsby) ## Home Screen When teachers log into the Edsby App, the Home Screen will be the first screen they see. This screen displays the News River as well as options to access a teacher’s Classes and Groups. In the top right corner, there is also a menu tab for access to more settings and features in the Edsby App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Home-Screen-edit.png) ### The News River The News River runs along the top of the Home Screen when teachers first log in. The newest posts will be visible first, however, teachers can access older posts by swiping to the left. To read the full article, click on the picture of the article in the News River. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3-Edsby-News-River-snaps-edit-final.png) ## Classes Teacher’s classes are listed below the News River under Classes. This list shows an overview of the classes they are teaching. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-List-edit.png) Teachers can easily capture a piece of Learning Evidence from the Home Screen. Click New Evidence for the correct class. From the Classes list, teachers can click on any class to view the class feed. ### Inside a Class The Class feed provides posts from both teachers and students if teachers have enabled the students to post. Teachers can add a new post to the Class Feed by clicking the New Note icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-Feed-edit.png) Students in the class will be notified each time a post is made in the class feed. ### Class Feed If teachers have enabled students to post in the Class Feed, their posts will be visible. Teachers can post new Assessments, Notes, or Polls by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the screen. Teachers can also start a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting by selecting Go Live Now. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Class-Post-edit.png) Teachers will be notified each time a new post is made in the Class Feed. Teachers can interact with posts in the Class Feed by clicking the like or comment buttons below each post. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Like-and-Comment-Class-Post.png) To Pin, Add to Library, Edit, Delete, or Report Inappropriate, click the drop-down arrow to the right of the post. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-Post-Options-edit.png) Pinned items are visible by selecting Pinned from the top menu bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Pinned-Items-edit.png) Reported posts are sent to the Office for an administrator to review. The report includes the original post so teachers can choose to remove the post from the Class feed. ### Attendance Teachers have the option to take attendance from their mobile devices. Select Attendance from the top menu bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Attendance-Bar-edit.png) Teachers will see a grid view of their students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Attendance-Sheet-edit.png) Click the pictures of the students who are Absent or Late. A red A will appear on top of the student’s photo after being clicked once. Click the student’s photo again to mark them late. A yellow L will appear on top of the student’s photo after being clicked twice. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Absent-and-Late-edit.png) Click fill present to fill all other students as present. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Fill-Present-edit.png) When each student has been marked with the correct attendance state, click Share with Office. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Attendance-Share-With-Office-edit.png) Teachers can create extra attendance sheets by clicking the three white vertical dots in the top right corner of the attendance screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Extra-Attendance-edit.png) Select Create Extra Attendance. Fill out the form with a sheet name, start time, and end time. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Extra-Attendance-Form-edit.png) Click Save. Mark the students with their appropriate attendance states and share with the Office when the attendance is complete. ### Calendar Click Calendar in the top menu bar in a class to view past, current, and upcoming events or assessments in the class schedule. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-Calendar-edit.png) Teachers can add events to the Class Calendar by clicking the blue plus icon on the right side of the screen. Fill out the form and click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Calendar-Event-edit.png) The event will be added to the Class Calendar and will be visible to all members of the class. The event will also be added to the home screen of the students and their parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Calendar-Event-in-Class-edit.png) ### Content Teachers can view all of the class content they have created for their students by clicking Content. Teachers can select which items are visible to students by clicking the toggle beside each item of Content. When the toggle is green filled in the Content is visible to students. When the toggle is empty in black and white, the Content is hidden from students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Content-Panel-edit.png) Teachers can create Content for a class by accessing Edsby from a browser. [Click here for more information on using the Content Builder in classes. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/?locale=en) ### Class Setup Access the Class Setup form from inside a class by clicking Setup from the top menu bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-Setup-edit.png) Here, teachers can edit the setup options for the specific class. It is the form where teachers can enable students to post in the class, set whether students’ parents may see what is transpiring in the class, set whether averages can be seen, and more. ## People Teachers can view all members of the class (both teachers and students) by clicking People from the top menu bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-People-List-edit.png) Click the drop-down arrow next to a student’s name for options to visit their Panorama, Mini Profile, or to add a new piece of Learning Evidence. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Student-Options-edit.png) ### Panorama Click Panorama to go to a student’s Panorama. From here, teachers can send the student a message, plan an absence, view the student’s Portfolio, and view important information regarding the student including: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Panorama-View-edit.png) 1. Their parents/guardians’ information 2. Their Classes 3. Their Calendar 4. Groups the student is a member of 5. Personal Information about the student 6. Option to reset the student’s Edsby password ### Mini Profile Clicking the name of a student in the list under People or selecting Mini Profile from the drop-down menu brings teachers to the student’s Mini Profile. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Mini-Profile-View-edit.png) From here, teachers can send the student a message, view their Panorama, or their Portfolio by clicking View More. ### New Evidence Click New Evidence of Learning to capture a piece of Learning Evidence for the specific student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Evidence-Form-edit.png) ## Evidence Teachers can access the Evidence of Learning system from within a class. Select Evidence from the top menu bar. This will bring teachers to a screen with options to view All Evidence, organize their collected Evidence, or view a student’s Learning Story. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Evidence-Tab-edit.png) Teachers can click All Evidence to view all of the pieces of Evidence they have collected for the students in their class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-All-Evidence-edit.png) Teachers can click Organize to organize the pieces of Evidence they have collected for specific students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Organize-Evidence-edit.png) Teachers can click Learning Story to view the Evidence they have shared with a student and their parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Learning-Story-edit.png) For more information on capturing mobile Learning Evidence, [click here. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/mobile-evidence-of-learning/?locale=en#:~:text=To%20access%20evidence%20from%20a,have%20a%20New%20Evidence%20button.&text=Teachers%20can%20create%20additional%20evidence,top%20right%20of%20the%20screen.) ## Additional Options Teachers can also view the Class Journal and Library by selecting these options from the top menu bar in the class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Class-Journal-and-Folder.png) ## Groups Groups can be accessed in two ways on the Edsby Mobile App. From the Home Screen, Groups will be listed below a teacher’s Classes, and each group will have a red notification counter above it when there is a new post. Additionally, teachers can access their Groups by selecting Groups from the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. The Groups bar will have a red notification counter when there are new posts to see in any Groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Groups-edit.png) From here, teachers can click on the icon of any group to view the group feed. If enabled by the group moderator, members can post either a Note or Poll in the group by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Group-Feed-edit.png) Members of a group will be notified every time a new post is made in the group feed. Teachers can reply to and like Group posts by using the icons below each post. Teachers can also report posts as inappropriate or edit their own posts by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the post. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Group-Feed-Post-Options-edit.png) If a teacher is the moderator of a Group, they can additionally Pin and Delete posts from the Group Feed by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the post. Click Calendar in the top menu bar of a group to view past, current, and upcoming events specific to the selected group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/26-Edsby-Group-Calendar-snap-edit.png) If a teacher is a moderator of a Group, they can add events to the Group Calendar by clicking the blue plus button, filling out the form, and clicking Save. Teachers can also view the people in the group, the Knowledge Base, important pinned items, and the group library by navigating to these from the menu bar across the top of the screen. ## Messages Teachers can view their Edsby Mailbox and Messages by clicking the Messages icon in the navigation bar across the bottom of the screen. The screen will show a teacher’s Messages along with options to: 1. Search through them 2. View a message 3. Compose a new message ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Messages-Screen-edit.png) Click a message to view the conversation. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Conversation-edit.png) Teachers can Lock a conversation with students so that they can message the student but the student is unable to reply. This is done by clicking the lock at the top right of a message and setting it to either Unlocked (students can message teachers) or Locked (students cannot message teachers). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Locked-Message-edit.png) To compose a new message, click the New Message icon in the top right corner of the main Messages screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Message-edit.png) Fill out the form and click Send. ### Managing Parent-Teacher Interview Schedules Teachers can manage their Parent-Teacher Interview schedules through their Mailbox on mobile. Here, teachers can block spots and book for parents. If a parent-teacher interview campaign has started, teachers will receive a message in their Mailbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-PTI-Message-edit.png) Click the message. Click Manage Schedule. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Manage-Schedule-Button-edit.png) From here, teachers can block or unblock spots, set room numbers, or book for parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Managing-PTI-Schedule-edit.png) For more information on Parent-Teacher Interviews, [click here. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/parent-teacher-interview-teachers/) ## Calendar Teachers can access their Personal Calendar by clicking on the Calendar icon from the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. This calendar summarizes all past, current, and upcoming events and assessments from all classes and groups teachers are a part of. This calendar is only visible to the teacher and is also the place where they can add a personal event to the calendar. To add a personal event, click the Add button on the right side of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Personal-Calendar-edit.png) Fill out the form and click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Personal-Calendar-edit.png) The event will be added to the calendar and it will only be visible to the teacher. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Personal-Event-in-Calendar-edit.png) ### Changing Calendar Settings Click the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen to select what is displayed on the calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Personal-Calendar-Settings-Button-edit.png) Teachers can select certain groups or classes to be displayed on the personal calendar. Boxes with a checkmark indicate that events and/or assessments from these sections will be added to the teacher’s personal calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Personal-Calendar-Settings-edit.png) ## Notifications Teachers can choose to be notified of various activities in various ways through email, Edsby itself, or Mobile Notifications on mobile through their Account Settings. Edsby notifications are found in Notifications from the navigation bar across the bottom of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Notifications-edit.png) Clicking a mobile notification on mobile will place teachers in the appropriate context of the Edsby App where the notification came from. For example, Beth Archer received a notification that Lisa Lee commented on one of her posts. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Mobile-Notification-edit.png) Clicking this notification will bring her to the post within the Edsby App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Mobile-Notification-Location-edit.png) For more information on setting up Notifications as a teacher, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en) ## Settings Teachers can access their settings by clicking on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Home Screen and clicking Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Settings-Edit.png) Here, teachers can access and edit their Login Information, Personal Information, Notification Settings, and Other Settings. ### Login Information Teachers can view their username and current password by clicking Login Information. Teachers’ usernames cannot be changed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Login-Information-edit.png) If it is incorrect or requires updating, teachers should contact the school. However, teachers can change their password. Type in the new password and confirm it by typing it again under Verify Password. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Password-edit.png) The new password is effective immediately. ### Personal Information Teachers can access Personal Information by selecting this from the Settings menu. If this information is incorrect or requires updating, teachers should contact the school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Personal-Information-edit.png) ### Notifications Teachers can view and update Notification Settings by clicking Notifications. Here, teachers can choose to be notified regarding their Messages, Personal Calendar, Organization, Classes, Groups, or Portfolio. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Notifications-Settings-edit.png) Click on a row to update it. For more information on changing Notification Settings, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/) ### Other Settings Teachers can change language settings by clicking Other Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Other-Settings-edit.png) Select the preferred language using the drop-down menu. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Language-Settings-edit.png) For more information on language settings and translating in Edsby, [click here. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/?locale=en#:~:text=In%20the%20row%20next%20to,exit%20the%20Account%20Settings%20menu.) Teachers can also decide if they would like to allow parents to send unsolicited messages to them within Edsby by selecting or deselecting the box. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Parent-Messages-edit.png) Teachers can also change the theme of the Edsby Interface by using the drop-down menu under User Interface Theme. Try out Dark Mode for a fun twist! ## Recent Activity Teachers can view the Recent Activity of their students, including observations made by other teachers in the school, or changes to school information by clicking Recent Activity from the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Recent-Activity-edit.png) ## Personal Folder The Personal Folder contains all rubrics, online tests, and files a teacher has created or uploaded. Teachers can access the Personal Folder by clicking Personal Folder from the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Personal-Folder-edit.png) Once in the folder, teachers can search through its contents. Teachers can upload files to their folder by clicking Upload and adding resources. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Personal-Folder-Upload-edit.png) Teachers can also create new courses, folders, question sheets, and rubrics in the Personal Folder by clicking New and selecting an option from the menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Personal-Folder-edit.png) However, creating new content like rubrics or question sheets is most efficient from the Edsby browser interface. For more information on using the Personal Folder, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/?locale=en) ## Launchpad Key third-party websites and applications are integrated into Edsby through the Launchpad for quick access. Some examples include Edsby Help Files & Videos, the school website, O365, and Google Docs. The Launchpad can be accessed through the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Launchpad-edit.png) Teachers can also add links to their Launchpad to websites or applications that they would like quick access to. In this example, Megan Goodman would like to add a quick link to her YouTube for quick access to the live stream. Click the Add Link button in the Launchpad. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Launchpad-Add-Link-edit.png) Give the link a title and paste the website address in the URL box. Add an optional image icon by clicking Browse. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Launchpad-Link-edit.png) The link will be easily accessible in the Launchpad for quick access. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-New-Link-in-Launchpad-edit.png) When administrators create new launchpad links for the school or district, they have the option to choose who is able to view the link. Links will only appear in the launchpad to the users that the administrator selects. ## School and District Pages The Edsby Mobile App enables convenient access to the school and district pages. To access these, click Schools under the Home Screen drop-down menu. Click the name of a school or district to view its page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Schools-Page-edit.png) Teachers will be brought to the News Feed of the school where they can view posts made by members of the school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-News-Feed-snap-edit.png) Teachers can view the School Calendar by clicking Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-Calendar-snap-edit.png) Teachers can view the School Information by clicking Info. To be notified when the school posts a new article, click the bell icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-Info-snap-edit.png) ## Searching in Edsby Teachers can search for people, Groups, or anything else in Edsby by clicking the Search icon in the top right corner of the Edsby app Home Screen or Groups panel. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Search-Bar-edit.png) Simply type a search request into the box and suggestions will appear. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/47-Edsby-Search-Bar-snap-edit.png) To refine a search, click the blue button at the bottom of the search options. Teachers can filter a search to search through People, Groups, Posts, Documents, or other. Teachers can also specify which group to search in or search by who created the content. Additionally, the date range can be refined to narrow down the search. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/48-Edsby-Search-Bar-Filters-snap-edit.png) Once teachers have located what they were searching for they can simply click the result. ## Logout Teachers can log out of their Edsby account from the Home Screen drop-down menu by clicking Logout. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Logout-edit.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Engaging Edsby Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/engaging-your-edsby-parents/) **Published:** August 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby helps teachers make connections between home and school by involving parents in their child’s learning, giving them a glimpse into their child’s classroom and school life. Teachers might be interested in increasing parent engagement in their student’s learning. Edsby gives teachers a variety of tools that can help parents take an active role in their child’s education. ## Monitoring Parent Edsby Access When schools issue parent invites, parents have access to Edsby through their very own parent accounts. In a classroom, teachers can hover over a student to show when their parent was last active in the student’s Mini Profile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hover-to-see-parent-activity-on-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hover-to-see-parent-activity-on-profile.png) Teachers can also see parent activity in the My Students Zoom and the My Parents Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/last-activity-students-and-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/last-activity-students-and-parents-zoom.png) Filter the list to narrow down which parents have active Edsby accounts and when they have last logged in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/parents-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/parents-zoom-filters.png) If a parent has not logged into their Edsby account yet, their last activity will appear as “Never”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/last-active-never.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/last-active-never.png) You can re-issue a parent invitation by clicking on the parent’s name to open the parent details page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/resend-invitation-parent-details.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/resend-invitation-parent-details.png) Click on the Resend Invitation (Registration) button. School administrators can also reissue invitations for multiple parents. ## Informing and Communicating with Parents ### Classes and Recent Activity If teachers have enabled parents to enter their Class by selecting *Can open class but only see teacher posts* in the Class Settings form, parents will be able to see any events, notes, and assessments teachers post in the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parents-can-open-class-but-only-see-teacher-posts-1024x358.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parents-can-open-class-but-only-see-teacher-posts.png) If teachers have not enabled parents to enter their class, they can still see any important notes teachers post in the class in their Recent Activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/recent-activity.png) ### Journal Entries When using Edsby to post homework and classroom activities, parents know exactly what students did in class and can facilitate better conversations with their children about what they are learning in school. If using the Journal to share information, parents will learn to look in the Journal panel for homework. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/journal-panel-in-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/journal-panel-in-class.png) Consider creating a weekly summary of what is being taught and what students are working on. Include questions parents can ask or other suggestions for ways parents can extend learning at home. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-summarize-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-summarize-classes.png) Or, consider creating Journals to outline units in each class. Include what will be taught, learning goals, or any expectations. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-introduce-a-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-introduce-a-unit.png) ### Class Calendar Keeping the class calendar up to date allows parents to keep track of important dates, and be informed of upcoming events. Parents can see these events in the Class Calendar if they are enabled to enter the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/class-calendar.png) If teachers have not enabled parents to enter their class, they can still view important class events by clicking Personal Calendar under their child’s name on mobile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-calendar-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-calendar-1.png) On a browser, their child’s Personal Calendar is on the right side of their Home Screen below the child’s name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-location-parent-browser-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/child-calendar-location-parent-browser-1.png) ### My Work Parents can view the feedback that teachers give students on their work by accessing the student’s My Work. When students receive meaningful feedback on their work, parents can support their children in their learning gaps and help them to reflect on their learning journey. Parents access their child’s My Work by clicking into a class and selecting My Work from the header. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-my-work.png) Or, on a browser, parents hover over the class in the student’s Classes Panel and click the My Work button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button-1.png) ### Learning Stories If using Evidence of Learning, teachers can share pieces of evidence with their students and parents. Parents can be brought into their child’s learning journey by seeing pedagogical documentation of their child’s work at home and at school. When capturing a piece of evidence, click *‘Share with student and parent’.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/share-with-student-and-parent-new-evidence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/share-with-student-and-parent-new-evidence.png) When this is selected, parents and students can view the evidence by clicking Learning Story under their name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-learning-story-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-child-learning-story-2.png) On a browser, access to the student’s Learning Story is below their Classes Panel on the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/browser-learning-story-access.png) ### Messages Use Edsby Messages to communicate directly with parents to engage them online. Click the envelope icon to access your mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/view-messages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/view-messages.png) Create a message to start conversations with parents about learning strategies for their children by clicking the compose message icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/compose-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/compose-message.png) Teachers can lock conversations with students and parents by clicking the lock icon at the top of a conversation. Unlock the conversation by clicking the lock again. Locking a conversation closes the conversation to the parent or student. The messages can still be read by everyone in the conversation, but replies are not enabled. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Edsby-messages-lock-button.png) Edsby enables teachers to choose whether or not parents can send them unsolicited messages. Navigate to Settings and click Other Settings. Select the box to enable unsolicited messages and deselect the box to disable them. This can be changed at any time. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Edsby-unsolicited-messages.png) ### Edsby Groups Edsby Messages work great for having meaningful one-on-one conversations with a parent, however, try using Edsby Groups to collaborate with larger groups of parents. Groups for parent volunteer opportunities or parent counsel are a great way to use Edsby to involve parents in school activities. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/parent-volunteer-opportuniteis-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/parent-volunteer-opportuniteis-group.png) Create a group by clicking Find More at the bottom right of the My Groups panel and clicking Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/find-more-then-create-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/find-more-then-create-group.png) ### Setting Up Notifications Parents can be alerted about important things happening at school by turning on their notifications. The first time parents login to Edsby, they can elect to turn on the default set of notifications that will help parents stay in the loop about their child’s schooling. Encourage parents to set notifications regarding their children’s classes by accessing their Settings and selecting Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-clicking-notification-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-clicking-notification-settings.png) ## Encouraging Parent Participation Teachers can encourage parents to engage with their classroom by allowing them to enter the Class. Parents can view posts, but they won’t see the posts of students. Parents can also like posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parents-can-open-class-but-only-see-teacher-posts-1024x358.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parents-can-open-class-but-only-see-teacher-posts.png) If the class is closed to parents, they can still view your posts on their Recent Activity page. Encourage them to like posts so teachers know they are reading what is posted! [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-like-post-in-recent-actibity-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-mobile-like-post-in-recent-actibity-1.png) Encourage parents to also like and comment on shared evidence in their child’s learning story or on posts their child has created in their Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/comments-on-mobile-ls.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/comments-on-mobile-ls.png) ## Tips for Online Teaching Collaborating with and having productive relationships with the parents of students is key to their academic success. Teachers can introduce themselves to parents by posting about themselves in the class. Parents will see this in the Recent Activity of the child a teacher is teaching. This is also a good time to set boundaries so parents know the expectations teachers have moving forward. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/introducing-to-parents-and-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/introducing-to-parents-and-students.png) Or, consider sending a welcome letter to parents at the beginning of the year via email or an Edsby Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/welcome-message-to-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/welcome-message-to-parents.png) Make use of Edsby’s Parent-Teacher Interviews system for the parents of students to book appointments with teachers, even if virtually. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/sample-pti.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/sample-pti.png) [Click here for more suggestions on using Edsby for online learning.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Getting Started Again](https://www.edsby.com/help/getting-started-again/) **Published:** August 24, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers, welcome back and thank you for making Edsby a part of the back to school routine. We’ve put together some information that is useful at the start of a new school year. - Read about **[printing the class rosters](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/getting-started-again#printroster)**. - Learn how to **[copy content](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/getting-started-again#copycontent)** from completed classes to your current classes. - [**Add additional teachers**](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/getting-started-again#addteachers) to your classes - Choose which groups and classes you want to be incorporated into your **[Home Screen Calendar](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/getting-started-again#managecalendar)**. - If you use the **[Gradebook’s Weighting feature](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/getting-started-again#copyweighting)**, read about the Copy and Paste feature. - Monitor the engagement of your students and parents with **[Zooms](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/getting-started-again#teacherzooms)** ## Printing Student Lists Within each Class, the Student panel lists the students currently enrolled in the class. Edsby makes it simple for teachers to print a roster of their class. Click the pop-out arrow in the Students Panel and click Roster. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-08_12-50-31-1.jpg) Set the number of columns and choose whether to show column titles. Titles can be added now or left blank to write in later. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-creating-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-creating-roster.png) When the template is correct, click Print. ## Copying Content from Previous Classes The Class Planner enables teachers to copy content from completed classes to new classes. Teachers have access to classes completed in the current school year and completed in the previous year. To access completed classes, click on the Classes panel pop-out arrow. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Class-popout.png) In the drop-down menu, select Completed This Year or choose from a previous year. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classes-dropdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classes-dropdown.png) Click on the Class name to open the class. To copy content, navigate to the Planner and select the gear icon. Select the content, and click copy. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-08_15-41-48-scaled.jpg) To select all content in the Planner, click the drop-down arrow next to Select and choose All. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-all-in-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-all-in-planner.png) Navigate to the target class. Hover over the desired date for the first assessment to be created to reveal the option to Paste. This will paste the rest of the copied content in order relative to the first date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/paste-into-current-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/paste-into-current-class.png) ## Copying Weighting Edsby enables teachers to copy the weighting setup from one class to another class. Navigate to the Gradebook, click the gear icon, and select Edit Weighting. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/accessing-weighting-form-from-gradebook-1024x859.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/accessing-weighting-form-from-gradebook.png) Configure the weighting form. Click Copy. Click Save. Use the class drop-down to navigate to the next class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/navigating-to-other-science-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/navigating-to-other-science-class.png) Open the Weighting form and click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/paste-science-weighting-1024x313.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/paste-science-weighting.png) [Click here to learn more about Gradebook weighting.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebook-2-2/) ## Adding Additional Teachers to your Class To support team-teaching, teachers and school administrators can add additional teachers to Classes. To add another teacher to a class, navigate to the Class Setup form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-08_13-29-06.jpg) Under Teachers and Assistants, search for the name of the teacher to add. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/searching-for-teacher-in-settings-1024x327.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/searching-for-teacher-in-settings.png) Select the role they will have in the class by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting a role – either Teacher, Support, or Substitute. Each of these roles have varying levels of access to the class and its content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-role.png) [Click here to learn about the specifics of each role.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assigning-teacher-roles/) ## Reordering your Classes Teachers’ Personal Calendar lists the classes they teach in timetable order – the order they teach them in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classes-in-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classes-in-calendar.png) The Classes Panel lists the classes taught in alphabetical order. However, teachers can change this order by clicking and dragging a class to a new location in the panel when logged into Edsby with a web browser. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/dragging-a-class.png) ## Managing your Personal Calendar Staff and faculty can choose which Classes and Groups contribute to the home screen calendar. Click on the gear icon and uncheck the classes and groups that should not be included on the home screen calendar.`` [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/calendar-control.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/calendar-control.png) We’ve created many articles and videos to help others learn more about Edsby. When logged into Edsby, click the Launch Pad icon and then select Edsby Help Files and Videos. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Launchpad.png) On the first day of school, the My Students and My Parents Zooms will appear on the right side of the teacher Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-zooms.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-zooms.png) The My Students Zoom provides teachers with important information about each of their student’s current classes, academic performance, and activity on Edsby. Teachers can also see when the parents of students have last accessed Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-students-zoom.png) The My Parents Zoom shows the parents of all students who are part of the classes a teacher teaches, or groups. Contact information, the parent’s relationship to the student, and their last activity in Edsby are included in the Zoom for teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-parents-zoom.png) If any parents have not activated their accounts, teachers can re-issue their invitations by clicking their name and opening their Parent Details Page. Click Resend Invitation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/resend-invitation-parent-details.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/resend-invitation-parent-details.png) Districts preset the Settings form for teachers but if they are interested in understanding the options, this video explains the Class and Gradebook Setup form. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards-2/) **Published:** August 13, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Some schools and districts may decide to distribute report cards through Edsby. If this is the case, when report cards are available, a View Report Cards button will appear on the class panel of the Edsby home screen visible to students and their parents on browser login or via mobile app. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-student-view-report-card-button.png) Report cards published in Edsby are available throughout the school year. Click the report card button to open a list of all published report cards, then select a report card to view it. Not all schools or districts may choose share all report cards from all past reporting periods in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-student-view-previous-report-cards.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-see-report-card.png) [![report cards](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-see-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-see-report-card.png) To save a copy of a report card, view the report card when logged into Edsby from a computer browser login. Use the print to PDF feature available in most mainstream browsers to save the report card to a PDF file. Depending on your report card’s graphical format, best results may be obtained by toggling off margins and headers and/or selecting portrait vs. landscape orientation before printing to PDF. Teachers cannot download report cards from the Edsby app. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Using Portfolios for Student-Led Conferences](https://www.edsby.com/help/portfolio/student-portfolio-conferences/) **Published:** July 7, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Student-Led Conferences involve students leading a discussion about their progress and learning with their parents. Students can prepare, reflect on, and discuss evidence of their learning through the creation of Edsby Portfolios. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Danny-Portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Danny-Portfolio.png) Each student has their own Edsby Portfolio – similar to a personal blog. In the Portfolio, students can create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular success. Each submission is posted to a board which makes it easy for students, teachers, and parents to quickly review the student’s proud moments, learning goals, or future aspirations. When preparing for a student-led conference, students can consider sharing an assignment they are proud of, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/proud-assignments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/proud-assignments.png) a learning goal, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-goal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-goal.png) a career plan, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/career-plan.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/career-plan.png) an area for growth, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/area-for-growth.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/area-for-growth.png) something to advocate for, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/advocating.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/advocating.png) a success story, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/success-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/success-story.png) a high-school ready trait in possession, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/high-school-ready-trait.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/high-school-ready-trait.png) a time students showed leadership, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/leadership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/leadership.png) or a timeline of their learning. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-timeline.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-timeline.png) Take the time to reflect on each item shared in the Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/reflecting-on-goal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/reflecting-on-goal.png) Edsby enhances a student’s Portfolio by giving access to teacher-curated evidence of learning. Students can use evidence their teachers have shared with them in their Portfolios to prepare for a student-led conference. This can include evidence students have captured through the Edsby Capture App themselves. Teachers share evidence to the student’s Learning Story. Click the blue plus icon on a piece of evidence to add it to student’s Portfolios. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portfolio-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portfolio-button.png) Edsby Portfolios enable students to create a rich display of their learning journey for use in their Student-Led Conference. Explore all that Edsby can do in this area to display students’ proud moments, learning goals, or future aspirations. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/portfolio/) for more information on creating an Edsby Portfolio. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Settings](https://www.edsby.com/help/account-settings-3/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** All Edsby students can use Settings to change their password, Notification Settings, user interface theme, and on some systems, language preferences. Settings also enables a student to view their username, role, and other personal information. Students can access their Settings by clicking their profile in the top right corner of the browser navigation bar and selecting Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-browser-settings.png) Or, on a mobile device, click Settings on the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/35-Edsby-Settings-Overview-snap-edit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-mobile-clicking-notifications-in-settings-1.png) ## Login Information View username and current password by clicking Login Information. Usernames cannot be changed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/36-Edsby-Login-Information-snap-edit.png) If it is incorrect or requires updating, contact the school. However, students can change their password. Type in the new password and confirm it by typing it again under Verify Password. Click Save. The new password is effective immediately. ## Personal Information Students can access their Personal Information by selecting this from the Settings menu. If this information is incorrect or requires updating, contact the school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/38-Edsby-Personal-Information-snap-edit.png) The role for all students in Edsby is *Student.* ## Notifications View and update Notification Settings by clicking Notifications. Here, students can choose to be notified regarding their Messages, Personal Calendar, Organization, Classes, Groups, or Portfolio. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/39-Edsby-Notifications-snap-edit.png) Click on a row to update it. [For more information on changing your Notification Settings, click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en) ## Other Settings Students can change their language preferences by clicking Other Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/40-Edsby-Other-Settings-snap-edit.png) 1. Select the preferred language using the drop-down menu. Click Save. [For more information on language settings and translating in Edsby, click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/?locale=en#:~:text=In%20the%20row%20next%20to,exit%20the%20Account%20Settings%20menu.) 2. Students can also change the theme of the Edsby Interface by using the drop-down menu under User Interface Theme. Try out Dark Mode for a fun twist! **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Inviting Parents to a Group](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups/inviting-parents-to-a-group/) **Published:** July 21, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** If teachers would like to parents to communicate with each other and the teacher they can invite them to a parent group. First, create a group to invite parents to. In this example, Christopher Nelson, an Art teacher, would like to create a group to collaborate with the parents of his 6th Grade Art students. He has named it The Arts\_GR6 Parent Group so he can easily tell it apart from other groups he may have. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group.png) The group is closed and private so only the parents specifically invited can access the group. To invite parents associated with a specific class to the group, navigate to the My Students Zoom. Filter to the correct class or classes. In this example, Mr. Nelson would like to collaborate with the parents of all of his 6th grade Art students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filtering.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filtering.png) To invite all of the parents associated with the classes, click the drop-down arrow and select Invite Parents to Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-all-parents-to-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-all-parents-to-group.png) To invite select parents associated with the classes, click the gear icon and select the students whose parents are to be added to the group. Click the drop-down arrow and select Invite Parents to Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-select-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-select-parents.png) Click the arrow under Choose Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/choose-group-dropdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/choose-group-dropdown.png) Click the checkbox next to the name of the desired group. The filters can be used to narrow down the selection. Click Select. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/selecting-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/selecting-group.png) Click Add. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-1.png) Christopher Nelson can now collaborate with the parents of his 6th grade Art students. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Groups help people to focus on an activity or a subject matter. Groups are used for collaboration, communication, sharing resources, scheduling, and capturing group knowledge. Sports teams, school clubs, parent volunteers, and school departments, all use groups to achieve their goals. Groups include a conversation area, a knowledge base, a calendar, and a library. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/inside-a-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/inside-a-group.png) 1. Moderators 2. Pinned Items 3. Knowledge Base (the title can be changed later) 4. Group Feed 5. Active Panel 6. Group Calendar 7. Library The Group’s Knowledge Base automatically defaults to be called Knowledge. However, teachers can change this at any point. Click Knowledge. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-knowledge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-knowledge.png) Then click Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/edit-knowledge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/edit-knowledge.png) Here, teachers can change the title. In this example, the Knowledge Base in the Staff Room group is being changed to say ‘Staff Information’. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/changing-knowledge-title.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/changing-knowledge-title.png) The Group’s Active Panel is visible above the Calendar on the right side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-location.png) This panel displays information about when members last entered the Group. Those tagged with “now” are currently engaging with content in the Group. Group members will be tagged with the number of minutes, hours, or days since they last entered the Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel.png) The panel is organized by the time of last entry, with the most active members listed first. Users active in the last 15 minutes are coloured green, users active between 15 and 60 minutes ago are coloured in orange, and all others are grey. Clicking Active will pop out the panel, where group moderators and members, if enabled by the moderator, can view the Active list. The Active list shows when any individual has accessed the Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-pop-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-pop-out.png) To view a list of the members, click View All Members link. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/view-all-members-in-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/view-all-members-in-group.png) If a person is member of a group, the group is listed in their My Groups panel. Members see the unread count red bubbles and events from the group’s calendar are included in the home screen calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/red-bubbles-and-group-events-in-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/red-bubbles-and-group-events-in-calendar.png) In addition to the groups in the My Groups panel, addition groups can be found by clicking Find More. The list includes open groups that people can join if they choose and closed groups that require an invitation from the moderator to join. Staff, students, and parents may see a different set of groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/find-more-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/find-more-groups.png) Closed groups have a lock in the lower right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/closed-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/closed-groups.png) People can pop into an open group through the Groups list, or can join the group by clicking Join from within the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/join-open-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/join-open-group.png) When logged in with a web browser, groups can be rearranged by clicking and dragging the icon to a new location within the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rearranging-groups-in-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rearranging-groups-in-panel.png) ## **Creating groups** Only teachers and school administrators can create groups. Students and parents cannot create groups. To create a group: 1. From the home screen, click My Groups. 2. Click Create. 3. The Create Group form appears. Choose a name and click Create Group. The group is added to the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/create-group-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/create-group-workflow.png) All group settings can be changed through the group’s Setup form at any time by opening the group and clicking Setup. ## Adding and removing members To invite people to the group, enter the group and click Invite. Type the names of the invitees. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/invite-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/invite-members.png) The invitees see the group on the home screen in their My Groups panel and can choose to accept or decline joining the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accept-or-decline-group-invite.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accept-or-decline-group-invite.png) Note: If the group requires a large number of invitees, school administrators have the ability to add large numbers of people to a group, very quickly. Click on the View All Members link to view members who have not accepted the invitation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/pending-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/pending-members.png) To remove people from the group, click the View All Members link and click Remove button below the name of the member that needs to be removed. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-xs.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-xs.png)** ### Automatic Membership in Groups Moderators can quickly add teachers to groups. Sometimes, teachers will have the option to accept or reject the request, otherwise, the student is added automatically. Teachers may have noticed the first time they logged into Edsby, they were already a member of a few groups. That’s because teachers are automatically added to major school groups at the beginning of the year. If a teacher is invited to a group, they have to respond to the request to become a member. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accept-or-decline-group-invite.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accept-or-decline-group-invite.png) Students who are automatically added to a group do not have to take any action. The group will simply appear in their My Groups panel. **Note:** Individuals automatically enrolled in groups will only be unsubscribed if they no longer meet the criteria for the automated membership. If they click the Unsubscribe button from within a group, the group will temporarily be removed from their My Groups panel. However, the group will be added to their My Groups panel again the next day. ## **Group Setup examples** The following is a set of examples of recommended Group Setup forms for common situations. ### School Groups The following examples can be used for groups such as: - School Talk - Parent Volunteer Opportunities - Community Volunteer Opportunities - Parent Counsel For example, the Parent Volunteer Opportunities group can be seen by staff, parents, and students. Anyone can ask questions about volunteer opportunities. Younger students, who love having their parent on a field trip, can tell parents about new posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-1.png) The Parent Volunteer Opportunities group could also be set up to enable only the moderators to make posts, but anyone could reply to a post. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-2.png) ### Staff Groups Sometimes it is a good thing for parents and students to be aware of all the work and activity that happens at school, however, we don’t want to overwhelm parents and students with a list of groups they can’t join. For staff groups, set the Show to field to All Staff. Groups provide departments or committees with a great way to collaborate. In this example, only staff can see the name of the group and any staff member can enter and join the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-3.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-3.png) Follow this example if the group only needs to be seen by the group creator and people invited to join the group. If a small and dedicated group of people want to create content in a group before sharing them with all staff, start with this setting and then switch the Show To field to All Staff and the Membership field to Open. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-4.png) When working with a group of people to create content, follow this example to enable everyone in the group to have the same set of permissions as the moderator. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-5.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-5.png) ### Student groups Groups can give students a safe place to practice being digital citizens. Groups such as student volunteer opportunities or clubs that are always open to new members can be set up like this: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-6.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-6.png) Follow this example to set up a group whose name can be seen by students, but only members can enter the group and contribute. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-7.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-7.png) People who are not in a group can click on the group name to view moderator names, the number of posts and the description. To create a group that can only be seen by the creator and members, set the Show To field to No-one (Private) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-8.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-example-8.png) To create a group where students can only read content and reply to a moderator’s post, staff can change who can Reply to posts. ## **Create Group and Setup form** NameChoose a name for the group.TypeRegular Group, Club, & Team have the same functionality. A Professional Learning Community includes a Planner like that found in a class. A Badge groups awards and tracks certification and badges. A List group can include students without the student knowing they belong to a group. Changing the group type to Archive will remove it from the home screen of moderators and members. A Study Group is setup by Edsby and automatically enrolls students and teachers in a group if they are teaching or taking the same course. A Professional Development Group enables people to take a professional development training. Moderators are content creators and facilitators. Members are participants. Contains a Course Builder. Learning Object Repository enables people to share files. PictureUse the standard group icon or choose the group’s icon by clicking Browse and locating a jpg or png file from the computer. Drag and drop is also supported. The image file will automatically scale to the dimensions of the group icon.About this groupAdd a brief description about the focus of the group.ModeratorsType in the names of additional Moderators. Moderators automatically see the group in the My Groups panel.Show toChoose which type of users can see the group name when they click on the Find More link in the Groups panel. See the Examples section for typical setups.**Permissions**The Permission section is collapsed initially; click the blue arrow to expand the section.Invite PeopleControls who can invite other people to this group.Make PostsControls who can post Notes, reply to Notes, and create Polls.Reply to PostsControl who can reply to Notes or participate in a Poll.Edit Knowledge BaseControls who can create, edit, and delete Knowledge Base entries.Edit CalendarControls who can create, edit, and delete Calendar Events.View MembersControl who can see the Members panel.**Academic Info**Groups can be included in Report Cards. The Subject and Grade field are used to ensure the Group receives the correct report card template.Enable AttendanceOrganizations that use the Edsby Attendance system for classes can also take attendance for groups. When enabled, an attendance link will appear within the group if the group has a student as a member.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-setup-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/group-setup-form.png) ## Taking Group Attendance If enabled in the Group Setup form, an Attendance link will appear within the Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/attendance-link-in-group-1024x706.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/attendance-link-in-group.png) From here, the Group Moderator can either create a Planned Absence for the Group or create an Extra Attendance Sheet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/attendance-options-in-group-1024x449.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/attendance-options-in-group.png) In this example, Beth Archer is one of the moderators of the Festival Choir Group and needs to create a Planned Absence for their upcoming performance. She will fill out the form and submit to the attendance office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-planned-absence.png) As well, she would like to create an Extra Attendance Sheet so she can take attendance on the bus. She will fill out the form accordingly. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-extra-attendance-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-extra-attendance-sheet.png) By default, attendance taken from within a Group will not be included in the Group’s attendance totals. However, if the Group Moderator would like to keep track of group absences, they can select this box for each Extra Attendance Sheet created. When checked and if a member is absent, the Group’s attendance totals will be updated. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-attendance-totals-1024x710.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/group-attendance-totals.png) **Note:** Group Absences are not included in the student’s overall Attendance summary – just within the Group’s attendance totals. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edit Weighting](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebook-2-2/) **Published:** October 23, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edit Weighting is accessed from the Gradebook. Edit Weighting is only available to the teachers of a class. Ontario teachers click[ here](https://vimeopro.com/edsby/edsby-help-video-for-teachers/video/135469212) to watch the KTCA video. To access the weighting form of a class, navigate to the Gradebook, click the gear icon, and select Edit Weighting from the drop-down menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/access-edit-weighting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/access-edit-weighting.png) Assessments fall into two broad categories: summative assessments that are used in the calculation of the overall average and formative assessments that are not part of a student’s overall average. When teachers create a summative assessment, they assign weighting points and Edsby uses this information to calculate each student’s overall average. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-optioins.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-optioins.png) Edit Weighting displays the assessments and their weighting points in a compact way and enables you to adjust the weighting points without opening multiple assessment forms. When teachers change an assignment’s weighting points on the Edit Weighting form, the assessment form is also updated. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-opens-edit-weighting-1024x576.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-opens-edit-weighting.png) In addition, Edit Weighting enables teachers to group assessments into a bucket and assign a weight to the bucket. The weighting of assessments can be done at any time from the beginning of the term until just prior to a report card. Creating buckets is optional – teachers may find that just adjusting the points on important assessments, or setting like assessments to the same points is all that is required. Teachers can create buckets based on the assessments type. Existing and future assessments are placed into the bucket. For example, tests and quizzes can be put in the same bucket and given a weight of 30%. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/test-and-quiz-weighting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/test-and-quiz-weighting.png) By default, all summative assessments are grouped together in the Everything Else bucket and Everything Else accounts for 70% of the overall average. Click on the blue triangle to see a list of the assessment type, name, unit, weighting points, and the percentage the assignment contributes to the overall average. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assessments-in-quiz-test-bucket-1024x625.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assessments-in-quiz-test-bucket.png) ## Creating buckets by assessments type In addition to the weighting points, each assessment has an assessment type and Edsby can use the type to automatically place current and future assessments into buckets of the teacher’s choosing. Once teachers have created buckets, all assessments will be added to the correct bucket and no further work is required. ### Creating a bucket To set weighting based on assessment types, do this: - Click Choose what’s in this bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choose-whats-in-this-bucket-dropdown-1024x294.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choose-whats-in-this-bucket-dropdown.png) - Select the assessment type. - To add additional assessment types to a bucket, click plus and choose an assessment type. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/add-new-type-to-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/add-new-type-to-bucket.png) - Enter the weighting points. The weighting points you enter are deducted from Everything Else. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/add-weight-to-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/add-weight-to-bucket.png) - Select the Aggregate Method for the bucket [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/aggregate-method-dropdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/aggregate-method-dropdown.png) As a teacher indicates what assessment types are in the bucket, assessments of that type will automatically move from Everything Else to the bucket. ### Removing an assessment type from a bucket Teachers can remove an assessment type from a bucket by clicking X. Assessments of that type are removed from the bucket and automatically moved to the Everything Else bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/delete-type-from-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/delete-type-from-bucket.png) ### Examples In this example, a bucket has been created to set the final assessments to 30% of the overall average. The gradebook has 1 final exam and 2 final summative assessments and the remaining 18 assessments remain in Everything Else. The Everything Else weight has been calculated at 70% because the one other bucket is worth 30%. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/final-summative-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/final-summative-bucket.png) The weighting in this example is identical, but the teacher has configured the Edit Weighting before any assessments have been added. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/0-assessments-in-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/0-assessments-in-bucket.png) The form displays: “This bucket has a weight but no assessments”. As the teacher creates assessments, the finals will be placed in the first bucket and the term work will be placed in Everything Else. In this example, tests and quizzes are grouped together, as are projects and labs. The third bucket has been created for the final assessments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3-different-buckets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3-different-buckets.png) The teacher has created a set of buckets that account for 100% of the grade, but 12 assessments exist that don’t match any of the above buckets. The assessments are added to Everything Else and display a warning: “This bucket contains assessments but no weight”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assessments-but-no-weight.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assessments-but-no-weight.png) To resolve this situation, the teacher can change the assessment type, reduce one of the other buckets weight points, or create a bucket for the additional type. ## Edit Weighting (KCTA) Teachers can also set up weighting based on the KCTA grading scheme. Edit Weighting enables them to set up a weighted bucket for each of the categories. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ktca-buckets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ktca-buckets.png) By default, all summative assessments are grouped together in the Everything Else bucket and the percentage of Final Average is 100%. Formative assessments are not used in calculating averages. Creating a KCTA bucket will move every assessment with a KCTA grading scheme into the bucket. Only assessments that do not have a KCTA grading scheme will remain in the Everything Else bucket. ### Creating a KCTA bucket To set weighting based on the KCTA grading scheme: 1. Click Choose what’s in this bucket. 2. Select KCTA. 3. Enter the weighting points for each of the categories. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choose-ktca-scheme-for-bucket.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choose-ktca-scheme-for-bucket.png) To create a bucket for the final assessments: 1. Click Choose what’s in this bucket. 2. Select the assessment type – Final Exam, for example. 3. To add additional assessment types to this bucket, click Add to choose an assessment type – Final Summative, for example. 4. Enter the weighting points for this bucket. To see the list of assessments with their categories, click the blue triangle. Edit Weighting enables you to adjust the weighting points of individual assignments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dropdown-ktca-bucket-1024x838.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dropdown-ktca-bucket.png) ### Examples In this example, the final assessments contribute 30% to the overall average, leaving 70% to be divided between the KCTA categories. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ktca-edit-weighting-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ktca-edit-weighting-setup.png) In this example, Edit Weighting was set before any assessments have been created so the form displays: “This bucket has a weight but no assessments”. As the teacher creates assessments with a KCTA grading scheme, they will be added to the KCTA bucket. The bucket with Final Summative and Final Exam assessments will display “This bucket has a weight but no assessments” until assessments with that assessment type are created. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ktca-setup-without-assessments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ktca-setup-without-assessments.png) Every assessment including the two finals assessments use the KCTA grading scheme. The final assessments also have an assessment type of Final Exam and Final Summative. The two final assessments can go in either bucket, so teachers need to make a choice. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choosing-weighting-bucket-for-final-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choosing-weighting-bucket-for-final-1.png) Click Choose One and select the desired bucket. In this example, the two assessments were added to Final Summative, Final Exam bucket. The Everything Else bucket contains 32 assessments that do not meet the criteria of any of the buckets. The Everything Else bucket displays a warning: “This bucket contains assessments with no weight”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/everything-else-bucket-no-weight.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/everything-else-bucket-no-weight.png) To resolve this situation, reduce the weight of an existing bucket. Here, the Knowledge points have been reduced by 3 and those 3 weighting points have been automatically moved to the Everything Else bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reduce-weighting-so-everything-else-gets-weight.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reduce-weighting-so-everything-else-gets-weight.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Importing Rubrics into Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/importing-rubrics-into-edsby/) **Published:** May 29, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables teachers to import pre-existing rubrics into the Edsby system, which can then be used to grade students online. The rubric content needs to be saved as a .csv file, and then it can be imported into the Edsby system. Edsby configures the content into a rubric within Edsby that can then be attached to any assessment. Rubrics need to be saved in the “CSV” (Comma Separated Values) format, supported by any major spreadsheet programs like Excel, Numbers, OpenOffice, and Google Sheets. ## File Content Within the spreadsheet program, the rubric contents need to be formatted to be imported into Edsby correctly. 1. The first row defines the following aspects of the rubric. In the first column of the first row, type “name”. 2. In the next columns type the level numbers. For a 4-Level rubric, the following columns would be “1”, “2”, “3”, “4” respectively. For a Letter Grade rubric, the following columns would be “D”, “C”, “B”, “A” respectively. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/name-and-level-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/name-and-level-rubric.png) ­­­­­ In the following rows, include: 1. The name of the row in the first column 2. The criteria for each level in the following columns [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/name-of-row-and-criteria.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/name-of-row-and-criteria.png) In summary: Row 1 - Column 1: “name” - Column 2: Rubric column 1 grading level - Column 3: Rubric column 2 grading level - Column 4: Rubric column 3 grading level - Column 5: Rubric Column 4 grading level Each subsequent row - Column 1: Rubric row name - Column 2: Rubric column 1 text - Column 3: Rubric column 2 text - Column 4: Rubric column 3 text - Column 5: Rubric column 4 text This is an example of a rubric with a Four-Level grading scheme: name1234ParticipationStudent did not participate in any group discussionStudent participated in few group discussionsStudent participated in almost every group discussionStudent participated in every group discussionContributionStudent did not contribute any work to final projectStudent contributed very little to final projectStudent contributed adequately to final projectStudent contributed greatly to final projectOral PresentationStudent did not present or was not prepared to presentStudent did not speak very clearly and did not practiceStudent spoke clearly and practiced adequatelyStudent spoke clearly and practiced a great amountGroup CollaborationStudents worked independently with no group collaborationStudents did not work very well together as a groupStudents worked well as a group togetherStudents worked incredibly well together as a group## Save as CSV Now that the rubric is formatted correctly, it needs to be saved as a .csv file. Within the spreadsheet program, click “Save As”. Choose CSV. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/save-as-csv.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/save-as-csv.png) ## Create a Rubric with Imported Content Access the rubric sheet through the personal folder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-personal-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-personal-folder.png) Click New, then click Rubric. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-rubric.png) Select the grading Scheme. Edsby needs to know what the right configuration is for the rubric. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/select-rubric-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/select-rubric-scheme.png) Click Browse and import .csv file. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/browse.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/browse.png) Click Save. The rubric is now formatted to the Edsby system and can be added to any assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rubric-formatted.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rubric-formatted.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/) **Published:** October 23, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Gradebook records grades, calculates averages, and sets Subjective Performance Indicators. Every time a teacher adds an assessment in the Class feed or Planner a column is added to the Gradebook. ## Jump to a Section [Entering and Sharing Grades, Assessment States and Comments](#entergradesoverview) [Dropping a Grade from a Student’s Average](#dropgradeoverview) [Gradebook Sidebar](#gbsidebar) [When Assessment Information is Shared](#gbshareinfo) [Teachers Making Submissions](#gbteachersubmission) [What Students See](#gbstudentview) [Gradebook Indicators and Icons](#gbindicators) [Tips for Online Teaching](#gbonlinetips) [Gathering Student Reflection](#gbstudentreflection) The Gradebook has a Regular mode and a Details mode. The Regular mode (top) lists all assessments in a grid and enables teachers to enter the grades for one or many assessments, while the Details mode (bottom) enables teachers to focus on one assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/regular-vs-details-mode.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/regular-vs-details-mode.png) Navigate between the two modes by clicking the Details button at the bottom of the Gradebook, clicking the Esc key, or clicking the name of the assessment. Teachers can jump to other gradebooks by choosing the class from this list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/navigate-to-other-gradebooks.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/navigate-to-other-gradebooks.png) To view the links to Setup, Perspective, Seating Plan, and Planner hover over or click the shade handle. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-gradebook-access-to-tool-bar.png) #### Entering and sharing grades, assessment states and comments Grades remain private until the teacher clicks the Share button. After the grades are shared any changes are immediately visible to the student and parent. Grades can be unshared by clicking the Shared indicator. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/share-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/share-button.png) Comments are entered in the Details mode. In the Regular mode, a blue triangle in the cell indicates a comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/comments.png) In addition to grades and comments, teachers can record student work habits by setting an assessment state. Students and parents see assessment states in the student’s My Work Report. Assessment States will not alter a student’s average. They are for teachers to keep track of who has submitted what and when and to inform students of the status of their assignments. Use the state that best fits each student’s unique situation. To set an Assessment State, hover over a cell and click the blue arrow. Additionally, the status can be set by clicking a cell, hitting the spacebar, and typing the letter that is underlined. For example, to set the state to Overdue, type O and to set the state to Received Late, type L. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-assessment-status.png) Using Overdue, Not Done, or Reschedule will display the assignment at the top of the student’s Home Screen Calendar. In the My Work Report, students will see the specific Assessment State. Each of these States are found under the *Incomplete* and *Ungraded* filters. However, the Overdue State will create an additional *Overdue* filter. Using Overdue, Not Done, and Reschedule enable teachers to keep track of assessments that are late and have not been handed in, assessments that students have not finished, and assessments that need to be rescheduled. None of these assessment states will affect a student’s average or grade for that assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-student-overdue-assessment.png) The Incomplete and Absent States are recorded in My Work and are found under the *Incomplete* and *Ungraded Filters.* They are not displayed at the top of the student’s Home Screen Calendar. The Incomplete State enables teachers to keep track of assessments that students did not complete or hand in. The Absent State enables teachers to keep track of which students were absent on the date of the assessment. Neither of these Assessment States will affect a student’s average or grade for that assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-absent-assessment.png) Excused will mark the student as having completed the assignment even if no marks are assigned. The State is recorded in My Work and is found under the *Ungraded* filter. The Excused State enables teachers to keep track of which students have been excused from an assessment and that assessment will be dropped from the student’s average and no grade will be calculated. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-excused-assessment.png) Received on Time and Received Late will not display any additional information other than the state in My Work. They are found under the *Ungraded* filter. These Assessment States do not affect a student’s average and only enable teachers to keep track of which students handed their assessments in either late or on time. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-received-late.png) Choosing Drop from Average will drop the grade from a student’s average after an assessment has already been marked. #### Filling in a column with the same grade To give all students the same grade, 1. Enter the grade, 2. hover over the lower right corner of the cell until the crosshair cursor appears, 3. click, hold and drag the handle up or down to fill the other cells in the column. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/filling-in-same-grade.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/filling-in-same-grade.png) #### Yellow exclamation point A yellow exclamation point highlights a grade that does not fit the assessment’s marking scheme. For example, letter grades entered in the cell of a percentage marking scheme will be flagged with a yellow exclamation point. If a grade is entered is more that 120% of value of the assessment a yellow exclamation mark will also appear. Click the yellow exclamation mark to override this limit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/yellow-exclamation-point.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/yellow-exclamation-point.png) For multi-column assessments, the yellow exclamation mark will appear if one of the categories does not have a grade. Examples of multi-column assessment would include the Stranded and KTCA grading schemes in Ontario and assessments by Outcomes in Saskatchewan. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/multi-column-assessment-examples.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/multi-column-assessment-examples.png) Clicking on the yellow exclamation point displays a dialog box that enables the teacher to override the default behavior. Once overridden, the category is treated as dropped and the assessment contributes to averages and is shareable. Teachers can return to default behavior by clicking the yellow exclamation point. Entering a grade will automatically clear the override. In the illustration below, row A has the Override enabled and the Reading and Writing grades are being used in the strand averages, while the Oral Communication strand has no data. Row B does not have the Override set and the assessment isn’t contributing to the strand averages. #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/multi-column-override-dialog.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/multi-column-override-dialog.png) On the Perspective only the strands with grades are visible (row A). For row B, the assessment is ungraded. #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/multi-column-override-perspective.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/multi-column-override-perspective.png) #### Dropping a grade from a student’s average In the Details mode, click the Status cell and select Drop From Average. In the Regular mode, click the arrow or an existing assessment state and select Drop From Average. The grade can be undropped by selecting Drop From Average. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/drop-from-average.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/drop-from-average.png) Dropped grades appear with diagonal lines in the cells. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dropped-diagnoal-lines.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dropped-diagnoal-lines.png) #### Subjective Performance Indicator (SPI) The Subjective Performance Indicator enables teachers to convey student progress independent of calculated averages. Initially the SPI is blank, but whenever the indicator is changed, the information is immediately shared with the student and parent. E = Excellent G = Good S = Satisfactory N = Needs Improvement [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/subjective-performance-indicator.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/subjective-performance-indicator.png) #### Gradebook sidebar When students ask private questions about an assessment, the questions are visible in the gradebook. After the first question, the Gradebook includes a side bar that lists all of the students’ questions. Clicking on the blue control will reveal or hide the side bar. Unread items are highlighted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gradebook-sidebar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gradebook-sidebar.png) In the Details mode, student questions are highlighted with a blue speech bubble. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/blue-speech-bubble.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/blue-speech-bubble.png) When students are permitted to submit online assessments, the Gradebook sidebar alerts the teacher of new submissions. The assessments can be downloaded by hovering over the file name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/file-submitted.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/file-submitted.png) For more information about online submissions, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/submitting-assignments-online-edsby/). #### Gradebook Filtering Gradebook filtering enables teachers to filter the assessments in their Gradebook by reporting period, formative vs summative, units, and types. The student roster can be filtered by grade-years, course enrollment, and dropped students. Multiple tabs can be created for various sets of filters. ##### Accessing Gradebook Filters To filter your Gradebook, use the filters at the top of the default Gradebook view. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gradebook-Filtering-Image-1.jpg) Clicking the Assessments drop-down enables teachers to filter by term, assessment method (summative vs formative), or assessment type. Multiple can be chosen. Clicking the Students drop-down enables teachers to filter by grade, course enrollment, and dropped students. Multiple can be chosen. ##### Creating Gradebook Tabs By default, your Gradebook begins on the main tab. Any filters applied on this tab will remain when the Gradebook is navigated away from. However, additional tabs can be created to host different filters. To create a new Gradebook Tab, click the + next to Main at the bottom left of the Gradebook. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gradebook-Filtering-Image-2.jpg) The tab can be renamed by clicking its name and typing a new one in. Any filters created in each tab will remain unless later changed. This teacher has a number of tabs set up. They can filter to only formative assessments, #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gradebook-Filtering-Image-3.jpg) The couple of grade 10 students in their Class, #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gradebook-Filtering-Image-4.jpg) And filter to the quizzes they have created throughout the year. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gradebook-filtering-Image-5.jpg) #### When assessment information is shared ##### What ##### Where the information is entered ##### When visible in My Work Assessment gradeRegular and Details modesAfter the Share button is clicked.CommentsDetails modeAfter the Share button is clicked.Assessment stateRegular and Details modesImmediately.Discussion noteDetails modeImmediately.### Teachers Making Submissions Teachers can also upload their own submissions to an assessment on behalf of a student or to upload a marked version of their assessment. To make a submission, click the assessment state or drop-down arrow within the given student’s cell. Select Make Submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/make-submission-in-gradebook.png) Using the upload icons, select the file you wish to upload as a submission. Add a comment. Click Submit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/assessment-submission-on-behalf-of-teacher.png) The file will be submitted. The student can view the teacher’s submission in their My Work Report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/student-viewing-teacher-submission.png) Note: Making a submission will automatically mark the student as having completed the assessment, even if they have not made their own submission. ### What the students see In the Classes panel, the student is notified of a new discussion note or a new shared result. Clicking on the notification opens the student’s My Work. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/what-the-students-see.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/what-the-students-see.png) ### Gradebook indicators and icons [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/formative-vs-summative-marking-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/formative-vs-summative-marking-scheme.png)The marking schemes of summative assessments are in normal text and the marking schemes of formative assessments are in dimmed text.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/set-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/set-scheme.png)A column with lattice lines indicates an assessment without a marking scheme. Click Set Scheme to open the assessment for editing.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dropped-grades.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dropped-grades.png)A cell with diagonal lines identifies a dropped grade.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/red-circles.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/red-circles.png)A red circle indicates the mark is below standards. The red circle is only visible in the Gradebook and is not shared with the student.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/yellow-exclamation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/yellow-exclamation.png)A yellow exclamation point highlights a grade that does not fit the assessment’s marking scheme. For example, letter grades entered in the cell of a percentage marking scheme will be flagged with a yellow exclamation point. If a grade entered is more than 120% of the value of the assessment, a yellow exclamation mark will also appear. Click the yellow exclamation mark to override this limit. Until the grade is changed, the grade is not shared with the student and parent.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/blue-triangle-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/blue-triangle-comment.png)A blue triangle indicates that the grade also has a comment. Click on the assessment name to go to the Details mode.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/late-and-on-time-submissions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/late-and-on-time-submissions.png)In the case of an online submission, the green check mark indicates on-time submissions. The yellow check mark indicates a late assessment. The deadline is set by date and time in the Due Date field of the assessment form.## Tips for Online Teaching ### Creating a Missing Homework Tracker Try creating a missing homework tracker in the class Gradebook. Use the Out Of field in the assessment form to determine how many homework items students can miss before the Gradebook sets a flag. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/missing-homework-tracker.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/missing-homework-tracker.png) For example, if a teacher allows students to miss 2 homework items throughout the semester, set the Out Of to 2. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/out-of-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/out-of-2.png) If anything greater than 2 is entered, meaning the student has missed more than 2 homework items, the Gradebook will flag the cell with a yellow exclamation point. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/yellow-flag-homework-tracker.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/yellow-flag-homework-tracker.png) Place the Tracker at the beginning of the Gradebook and update it if students miss any homework. Easily see at a glance which students have missed too many. ### Gathering Student Reflection If a teacher is teaching online, they are likely providing their students with materials for them to view on their own time outside of their regular class meetings. Follow up with students by setting up an assessment where they can provide a reflection on the material given to them. This not only shows teachers how the students are managing the material, it also encourages students to work through all supplementary materials as they know their teacher will follow up with them about it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/set-up-reflection.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/set-up-reflection.png) Teachers can also enable File Upload on the assessment to have students quickly upload a picture of the work they have done. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-file-upload.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/select-file-upload.png) Keep track of which students have submitted their homework by looking at the file icon next to each student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/file-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/file-icon.png) [Click here for more suggestions on using Edsby for online learning.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Sharing QR codes for printing at home](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/sharing-qr-codes-with-students-and-parents/) **Published:** May 1, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers can choose to give students and families access to QR codes that let them use the Edsby Capture app to submit pictures and videos to Edsby. Sharing QR codes enables students to print their own QR codes and use the Edsby Capture app to contribute to their own Evidence for a class. Once submitted, the images can be reviewed by the teacher in their All Evidence page, where observations and tags can be entered. Teachers can enable students and parents to print QR Codes by opening a class and clicking Evidence. Click Print QR Codes for Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-qr-codes-button-all-evidence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-qr-codes-button-all-evidence.png) Select the Allow students and parents to print the QR Code checkbox. Unselecting this box will remove the access to the QR code, however, the code is still valid and if it has printed it can still be used. To suspend the student’s and parents’ ability to submit their own evidence, click Reissue all Codes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/allow-students-and-parents-to-print-qr-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/allow-students-and-parents-to-print-qr-codes.png) ## Communicating with students and parents about QR codes #### Teachers may wish to share the following with students by posting a note within the class: I’ve given you access to a QR code that can be used to share photos of your work with me. The first step is to print your QR code. On your Edsby home screen, click Learning Story then click Print QR Codes. You’ll see your QR code. Click Print QR Codes to print the code. The next step is to grab your phone or tablet and download the Edsby Capture app from the iTunes Store or the Google Play Store. Once you have the QR code printed and the Edsby Capture app downloaded, open the app, scan the code and take a photo. The photo will be shared securely with just me. The photos are used to help me see your progress and l use them as part of my evaluation of your progress. I may select key images and share them to your Learning Story. #### For younger students, teachers may wish to share the following with parents: I’ve given parents access to a QR code that can be used to share photos of your child’s work with me. The first step is to print a QR code. On your Edsby home screen, click Learning Story under your child’s name, then click Print QR Codes. You’ll see the QR code. Click Print QR Codes to print the code. The next step is to grab your phone or tablet and download the Edsby Capture app from the iTunes Store or the Google Play Store. Once you have the QR code printed and the Edsby Capture app downloaded, open the app, scan the code and take a photo. The photo will be shared securely with just me. The photos are used to help me see your child’s work and l use them as part of my evaluation of your child’s progress. I may select key images and share them to your child’s Learning Story. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Printing QR Codes](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/printing-qr-codes/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby Evidence system provides teachers with a powerful tool to capture pedagogical evidence regarding the learning of each of their students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/evidence-on-mobile-and-broswer.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/evidence-on-mobile-and-broswer.png) The Edsby Capture App provides a simple way to do this. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edsby-capture-app-copy-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edsby-capture-app-copy-1.png) In order to link learning evidence to the right student, unique QR codes are issued to each student in a class and scanned when using Edsby Capture. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/QR-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/QR-codes.png) QR codes can be printed from both the Evidence system or from the Student Panel in a class. ## Evidence System To print QR codes for the students in your class, navigate to the Evidence system in the class. In the All Evidence view, click the button that says Print QR Codes for Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-qr-codes-for-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-qr-codes-for-students.png) Click Print. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Print-QR-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Print-QR-codes.png) ## Student Panel Teachers can also print QR codes from the student panel of a class. Click to view all students in the class. Click QR Codes, then click Print. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/print-from-student-panel-copy-1024x553.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/print-from-student-panel-copy.png) ## Reissuing Codes If teachers need to reissue QR codes for all of their students, click Reissue all Codes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reissue-all-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reissue-all-codes.png) If teachers only need to reissue QR codes for a handful of students, click the Reissue Code icon in the bottom right corner of each student’s individual square. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reissue-single-code.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/reissue-single-code.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Live Documents](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/live-documents/) **Published:** March 11, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby’s many features are equipped to import and update live documents linked from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or an external service. Live documents can be directly imported into the Content Builder in Classes and Groups. Additionally, Notes, Journals, Assessments, Polls, Calendars, Events, and Messages all include the Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive icons. Wherever the Google and Microsoft icons are displayed in Edsby, live documents can be uploaded. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/google-and-microsoft-icons-in-class-feed.png) When linked to Edsby, any changes made to the document in its original location will automatically sync and update within Edsby. Clicking the Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive icon will open a window that lists the files held in teacher’s accounts. Note: Edsby may require teachers to authenticate their accounts and login before having access to the files held in their account. In this illustration, the teacher has selected a Google Slide, Google Document, and a Word Document. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/link-live-document.png) Selecting *Link Live Document* will create links to the selected documents. Clicking on any of these links will open the current version of the item in a new browser window. Any changes made to the document in its original location will be reflected within Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/live-links-in-class-feed.png) In this illustration, the teacher has selected a Word Document, a Google Document, and a PDF. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/attach-copy.png) Choosing Attach Copy will copy the selected items. The items can be downloaded or viewed within Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/attached-copies-in-class-feed.png) ## Adding Live Documents in the Content Builder Live Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive files can be linked to the Content Builder in Classes and Groups. To add a live link to a document in the Content Builder, click the + and select one of *Google Drive Document, Microsoft OneDrive Document,* or *Live Document.* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/selecting-live-link-in-content-builder.png) The contents of a teacher’s account will appear in the right panel of the Content Builder. Teachers can select the document they wish to link. In this illustration, the teacher is linking the class syllabus for her students to view. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/selecting-document-to-link.png) The document is embedded within the Content Builder. As always, if teachers make changes to the document in its original location, the updated content is available within Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/article-linked.png) Linked documents will display a Google or Microsoft icon accordingly in the Content Panel. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/google-drive-icon.png) Teachers can jump directly to the document by selecting Edit Mode and clicking *Open in Google Drive.* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/edit-and-open-in-google-drive-1.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Student Mobile Quickstart](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-edsby-app-students/) **Published:** March 15, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables students to keep up-to-date with their school life from the convenience of their mobile devices with the Edsby mobile app. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1-Edsby-Login-screen-edit.png) For help logging in, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-login/) For more information about using Edsby on smartphones and tablets and how to download the app, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/smartphones-and-tablets/) ## Jump to a Section [Home Screen](#studentmobilehomescreen) [Classes](#studentmobileclasses) [My Work](#studentmobilemywork) [Portfolio](#studentmobileportfolio) [Learning Story](#studentmobilelearningstory) [Groups](#studentmobilegroups) [Messages](#studentmobilemessages) [Calendar](#studentmobilecalendar) [Notifications](#studentmobilenotifications) [Settings](#studentmobilesettings) [Recent Activity](#studentmobilerecentactivity) [Launchpad](#studentmobilelaunchpad) [School and District Pages](#studentmobiledistrictpages) [Searching in Edsby](#studentmobilesearchinginedsby) ## Home Screen When students log into the Edsby App, the Home Screen will be the first screen they see. This screen displays the News River as well as options to access their Classes, Portfolio, Learning Story, and Groups. In the top right corner, there is also a menu tab for access to more settings and features in the Edsby App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2-Edsby-Student-Home-Screen-edit.png) ### The News River The News River runs along the top of the Home Screen when students first log in. The newest posts will be visible first, however, students can access older posts by swiping to the left. To read the full article, click on the picture of the article in the News River. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3-Edsby-News-River-snaps-edit-final.png) ## Classes A student’s classes are listed below the News River under Classes. This list shows an overview of the classes a student is in and their average in the class if the teacher has chosen to share them. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5-Edsby-Class-List-snap-edit.png) A Report Cards button showing current and past report cards will appear at the bottom of the Class list in the mobile app if the school or district is electing to share report cards via Edsby. From the Classes list, click on any class to view the class feed. Students seeking to review future classes that are not yet in session can click the Classes header and select > Upcoming. Students will see their upcoming classes if their school or district has published them to their Edsby system. ### Inside a Class The class feed provides information about posts from both the teacher and the students if teachers have enabled students to post. If a teacher has enabled a student to post in a class feed, this can be done by clicking the New Note icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/6-Edsby-Class-Feed-and-New-Note-snap-edit.png) Students in the class will be notified each time a post is made in the class feed. ### Calendar Click Calendar in the top menu bar in a class to view current and upcoming events or assessments in the class schedule. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/7-Edsby-Class-Calendar-snap-edit.png) ### Course Content Students can review the Course Content of a class from the top menu bar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-Content-Panel-View-snap-edit.png) Students can also view a list of the teachers and full names of fellow students in the class, any important “pinned” items, journals, and the class files library by navigating the menu bar across the top of the mobile app’s class screen. Swipe left and right for the full menu. ## My Work From the home screen, click My Work under a class to view private notes and online submissions. Whenever a teacher adds a grade and chooses to make it visible to a student, it will be posted in My Work. At the top, students can scroll through to see their overall grade, overall average, and their overall latest grade. Below grades is an overview of a student’s assessments. This will indicate how many incomplete, upcoming, ungraded, and graded assessments a student has. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-clicking-mobile-my-work-button.jpg) Under each assessment, there is a comment bubble and an electronic submission counter. Clicking on these allows a student to see the submissions they have made as well as any comments or annotations the teacher has shared with them. Here, students can also reply to the teacher’s comments or annotations using the comment box. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/11-Edsby-Submission-Comment-and-Annotations-snap-edit.png) Students can also submit assessments through My Work if online submissions are permitted. Click submit to perform an online submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-submitting-assignment-850x824.jpg) Attachments can be added by clicking the attachment icon. Add a comment and click Submit when all fields have been filled out. Students can also complete online tests from their mobile devices. Click Take Test under the online test from the My Work screen. From here, fill out an answer to each question and click submit when done. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-take-test-850x750.jpg) Students can also access My Work from the top menu bar within a class. ## Portfolio Students can access their Portfolio from the Home Screen, below the list of classes. Here, posts curated by students will be displayed in the Portfolio feed. The Portfolio is used as a tool to capture a student’s academic and extracurricular success. The Edsby App enables students to easily capture their work in their Portfolio by using the camera on their mobile device. Students can add a post to their Portfolio by clicking the + button in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/16-17-Edsby-Portfolio-Home-Screen-and-Post.png) Fill out the form and click Browse to use an image. Students can select either an existing image or take a new image with their mobile camera to document their work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/18-Edsby-New-Portfolio-Post-Upload-Image-edit.png) A Portfolio post can be saved as a draft or saved and published immediately. Once published, the post will appear in the Portfolio feed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/20-Edsby-New-Portfolio-Post-in-Feed-edit.png) If your school enables students to enter information in the About Me section, an Edit button is displayed at the top of a student’s Portfolio. The About Me section can be changed by clicking Edit, making any changes, and clicking save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/21-Edsby-About-Me-Edit-snap-edit.png) ## Learning Story The Learning Story is teacher curated and contains items that the teacher has shared regarding a student’s academic achievement. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22-Edsby-Learning-Story-Home-Screen-snap-edit.png) Students can Like and Comment on posts teachers have shared in their Learning Story or add them to their Portfolio. Students can also capture Evidence by clicking Capture Learning in the Edsby app, or using the separate Edsby Capture App. Teachers can share this evidence on a student’s Learning Story as well. Click Capture Learning and fill out the form to submit Learning Evidence as a student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/23-Edsby-New-Learning-Evidence-snap-edit.png) For more information about the Learning Story, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/learning-story-for-students/?locale=en). For more information on capturing Evidence of Learning as a student, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/capturing-evidence-of-learning/). ## Groups Groups can be accessed in two ways on the Edsby Mobile App. From the Home Screen, a student’s groups will be listed below the Portfolio and Learning Story, and each group will have a red notification counter above it when there is a new post. Additionally, groups can be accessed by selecting Groups from the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. The Groups bar will have a red notification counter when there are new posts to see in any of the groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/24-Edsby-Groups-Overview-snap-edit.png) From here, students can click on the icon of any group to view the group feed. If enabled by the group moderator, members can post either a Note or Poll in the group by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/25-Edsby-Group-Feed-snap-edit.png) Members of a group will be notified every time a new post is made in the group feed. Click Calendar in the top menu bar of a group to view past, current, and upcoming events specific to the selected group. Students can also view the people in the group, the Knowledge Base, important pinned items, and the group library by navigating to these from the menu bar across the top of the mobile app. ## Messages Students can view messages by clicking the Messages icon in the navigation bar across the bottom of the screen. 1. Search through your messages using the Search Bar 2. Click a message to view the conversation 3. Compose a new message using the pencil icon ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/27-Edsby-Messages-Overview-snap-edit.png) Schools decide who students can send messages to within Edsby. Most schools enable students to send messages to teachers in their own school, and disable student-to-student messaging. ## Calendar Clicking the Calendar icon from the app’s bottom navigation bar brings a student to the Personal Calendar. This calendar summarizes all past, current, and upcoming events and assessments from all classes and groups a student is a part of. This calendar is only visible to the student and is also the place where personal events can be added to the calendar for the student. To add a personal event, click the Add button on the right side of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-create-calendar-event-850x827.jpg) Fill out the form and click Save at the bottom. The event will be added to the student’s calendar and it will only be visible to them. ### Changing Calendar Settings Click the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen to select what is displayed on the calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-calendar-settings-850x822.jpg) Students can select certain groups or classes to be displayed on the personal calendar. Boxes with a checkmark indicate that events and/or assessments from these sections will be added to the personal calendar. ## Notifications Students can choose to be notified of various activities in various ways through email, Edsby itself, or Mobile Notifications on mobile through their Account Settings. Edsby notifications are found in Notifications from the navigation bar across the bottom of the app’s screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/33-Edsby-Notifications-Overview-snap-edit.png) Clicking a mobile notification on mobile will place students in the appropriate context of the Edsby App where the notification came from. For example, Tamara Abram received a notification from her teacher that some grades have been published. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-Mobile-Notification-snap-edit.png) Clicking this notification will bring her to her My Work within the Edsby App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-Mobile-Notification-Location-snap-edit.png) For more information on notifications for students, [click here. ](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/notifications-students-teachers/) ## Settings Students can access Settings by clicking on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Home Screen and selecting Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/35-Edsby-Settings-Overview-snap-edit.png) Here, students can review their Login Information, Personal Information, Notification Settings, and Other Settings. ### Login Information Students can view their username and current password by clicking Login Information. Usernames cannot be changed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/36-Edsby-Login-Information-snap-edit.png) If this information is incorrect or requires updating, students should contact the school. However, students can change their password. Type in the new password and confirm it by typing it again under Verify Password. Click Save. The new password is effective immediately. ### Personal Information Students can access Personal Information by selecting this from the Settings menu. If this information is incorrect or requires updating, students should contact their school to update it in their master systems. They cannot update it themselves in Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/38-Edsby-Personal-Information-snap-edit.png) ### Notifications Students can view and update Notification Settings by clicking Notifications. Here, students can choose to be notified regarding their Messages, Personal Calendar, Organization, Classes, Groups, or Portfolio. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/39-Edsby-Notifications-snap-edit.png) Click on the row to update. For more information on changing Notification Settings, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en) ### Other Settings Students can change the language settings by clicking Other Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/40-Edsby-Other-Settings-snap-edit.png) Select the preferred language using the drop-down menu. Click Save. For more information on language settings and translating in Edsby, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/?locale=en#:~:text=In%20the%20row%20next%20to,exit%20the%20Account%20Settings%20menu.) Students can also change the theme of the Edsby Interface by using the drop-down menu under User Interface Theme. Try out Dark Mode for a fun twist! ## Recent Activity Students can view a collated feed of any Notes, Journal entries, or Assessments posted by teachers by clicking Recent Activity from the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/43-Edsby-Recent-Activity-snap-edit.png) ## Launchpad Key third-party websites and applications are integrated into Edsby through the Launchpad for quick access. Some examples include Edsby Help Files & Videos, the school website, O365, and Google Docs. The Launchpad can be accessed through the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/44-Edsby-Launchpad-Overview-snap-edit.png) Students can also add links to the Launchpad to websites or applications that they would like quick access to. In this example, Tamara Abram would like to add a quick link to her Science teacher’s YouTube help channel. Click the Add Link button in the Launchpad. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/45-Edsby-New-Link-Button-snap-edit.png) Give the link a title and paste the website address in the URL box. Add an optional image icon by clicking Browse. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/add-link-to-launchpad-1140x651.jpg) The link will be easily accessible in the Launchpad for quick access. ## School and District Pages The Edsby Mobile App enables convenient access to the school and district pages. To access these, click Schools under the Home Screen drop-down menu. Click the name of a school or district to view its page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-Schools-Tab-snap-edit.png) Students will be brought to the News Feed of the school where posts made by members of the school can be viewed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-News-Feed-snap-edit.png) Students can view the School Calendar by clicking Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-Calendar-snap-edit.png) Students can view the School Information by clicking Info. To be notified when the school posts a new article, click the bell icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-Info-snap-edit.png) ## Searching in Edsby Students can search for people, Groups, or anything else in Edsby by clicking the Search icon in the top right corner of the mobile app Home Screen. Simply type a search request into the box and suggestions will appear. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-searching-850x556.jpg) To refine a search, click the blue button at the bottom of the search options. Searches can be filtered to search through People, Groups, Posts, Documents, or other. Students can also specify which group to search in or search by who created the content. Additionally, the date range can be refined to narrow down the search. Once students have located what they were searching for, click on the result. ## Check-Ins and Attendance Students can see their Social Emotional Learning Check-Ins in the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/49-Edsby-Check-Ins-snap-edit.png) Students can also see their Attendance in the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/50-Edsby-Attendance-snap-edit.png) ## Logout Students can log out of Edsby from the Home Screen drop-down menu by clicking Logout. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/52-Edsby-Logout-snap-edit.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Report Cards - Creating and managing school-level reporting periods](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/) **Published:** October 7, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** Reporting periods are created by the school office. Reporting periods define a submission period by supplying a start date and a due date. ### Jump to a section [What happens when – report card stages in Edsby](#whatwhen) [Creating a Reporting Period](#createreportingclasses) [Report Period Setup Form](#reportsetup) [Editing Reporting Periods](#editperiod) [Adding Classes to a Reporting Period](#addclassperiod) [Changing Report Card Templates](#changetemplate) [Managing Submitted Report Card Sheets](#reportcardsheets) [Publishing a Reporting Period to Parents and Students](#publishreportingperiod) [Managing Reporting Periods](#reportperiods) [Printing Student Report Cards](#printing) [Report Cards Zoom](#reportzoom) [Group Report Cards](#groupreport) ## Overview [Here’s a video on how to create report cards.](https://vimeopro.com/edsby/edsby-help-videos-for-school-administrators/video/191667057) Teachers complete and submit report cards sheets during the submission period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Teacher-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Teacher-workflow.png) School administrators can choose to review report cards either by class or by student before they are made available to parents and students. Report Cards are printed by exporting data to another system or printed from within Edsby. Report Cards can also be published and made available to students and parents on their Edsby home screens. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/School-Office-Workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/School-Office-Workflow.png) ## Definitions ### Reporting period A reporting period defines the date range of assessments and attendance information included in report cards. A reporting period creates an average column in class gradebooks. The dates also determine which students to include in the report card sheets. ### Report Card Sheet Adding classes to a reporting period creates a report card sheet for the class. A teacher can open the report card sheet from within each class or by clicking the Report Card button on the home screen. A report card sheet lists all the enrolled students in the class during the reporting period. ### Report card template (input and print) The report card template includes all the required and optional information teachers enter to complete report cards. Report card templates can include both an input template and a print template. ### Record A student has one record for every class to which he or she is enrolled. Edsby combines the records to produce a Report Card. ### Report Card A report that includes grades and other required information from all a student’s teachers. ## What happens when **What****School office****Teachers**Reporting period created- A new reporting period is added to the Report Cards Zoom. - A link to Report Cards is available on the home screen when one or more reporting periods have been defined. - A Report Card link is added to the Class. - A reporting period subtotal column is added to the Gradebooks. - A Report Card link is added to the Class. - A reporting period subtotal column is added to the Gradebooks. Submission period is open- The Report Cards zoom displays which report cards sheets have been completed. - A Report Card button appears in the teacher’s Classes panels. - Report card sheets can be submitted to the office. - Changes can be made and resubmitted by the teacher. - Report Card buttons appear in the teacher’s Classes panel. - Report card sheets can be submitted to the office. - Changes can be made and resubmitted by the teacher. Submissions period ended- The Report Cards zoom displays which report cards sheets have been completed. - Report card sheets can be unlocked for editing if changes are needed. - Report card sheets can be submitted. - Report cards sheets cannot be changed unless unlocked by the office. - Report card sheets can be submitted. - Report cards sheets cannot be changed unless unlocked by the office. Report card sheets reviewed- School administrators can review report card sheets by class or collated records for a student. All report card sheets submitted- Report card information can be exported. - Report cards can be printed, if available. ## Creating a reporting period for all classes or a set of classes On your home screen, click Classes. If required, use Filters to create a list to the classes you want to include in this reporting period. The reporting period can automatically include a variety of report card templates. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-zoom-and-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-zoom-and-filters.png) Click Add to Report Card and complete the Reporting Period Setup form. Complete the Reporting Period Setup form. Click Save. The Report Cards Zoom will appear. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reporting-period-setup-and-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reporting-period-setup-and-zoom.png) The Report Card Zoom is available when at least one reporting period exists. ### Reporting period setup form [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reporting-period-setup-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reporting-period-setup-form.png) Add to which reporting periodSetting this field to Create New will add a new reporting period. Add classes or groups to an existing reporting period by choosing the name from the list.Template to useIf set to Select Automatically the report card will be based on grade level and/or subject. The list will include the school’s report card templates. Select Automatically is the recommended setting.Force deploySome Student Information Systems tag classes with a report card indicator. Classes like homeroom or study periods do not require a report card. Clicking the checkbox will override the SIS setting.Allow Multiple SheetsGenerally used for split classes. For example, in 6th grade a level is displayed on the report card, while 7th grade report card displays a percent. This class would require two report card sheets.**New Reporting Period Details**NameThe name chosen is visible to teachers on the report card sheets. When report cards are published the name is visible to students and parents.TypeChoose the correct type from the list. The list varies by school and district. Interim and Final are two common types.Previous Reporting PeriodIf the report card includes a section for every reporting period, enter the previous reporting period. If the report card does not include previous reporting periods, leave this field blank.Period StartThe reporting period will include any assessments on or after this date.Period EndThe reporting period will not include any assessments after this date.Report Card DueThe date and time teachers are required to submit report cards. Teachers can continue to submit report card sheets once the deadline has passed, but cannot unlock the report card sheet for editing. Once the deadline has passed, administrators can view unsubmitted report cards.**Advanced**Don’t include period average in gradebookWhen enabled, gradebooks won’t display an average column for the reporting period. Typically used for progress reports.Maximum comment lengthIf the template includes a comment field, this field sets the number of characters allowed in the comment. In most cases, the report card input template has a comment length pre-defined. If the district is using one of the default templates the maximum length is set to accommodate the requirements of the printed report card. The default is 450 characters.Submission Start DateThe date teachers can submit reports cards. On this date, teachers will see a Report Card button under the Class Name. By default, the submissions start date is 7 days before the Report Cards Due date. Once provisioned, teachers can enter information in the report cards, but they cannot submit Report Cards until the date set here. ## Confirming a class is included in a reporting period 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Select a reporting period. 3. Search for the class name or filter by teacher, template, grade, or subject. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/confirming-class-is-in-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/confirming-class-is-in-reporting-period.png) If the class is displayed in the list, the class has a report card sheet. Until the report card sheet is submitted, or the due date has passed, Office staff will not see the reporting period listed in the class. ## Editing a reporting period 1. On the home screen, click Report Card. 2. Choose the name of the reporting period from the drop down list. 3. Click Edit Details. 4. Complete the changes then click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-reporting-period.png) Note: Schools cannot edit District level reporting periods. ## Adding classes to an existing reporting period - On the home screen, click Classes. - Filter the class list to the classes that need to be added to an existing reporting period. The list can also be filtered by names, code, grade, subject, or teacher name. - Select Add to Report Card. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-to-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-to-report-card.png) - The Template to Use field is normally set to Select Automatically, but a specific report card template can be set. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Template-to-use.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Template-to-use.png) - Choose the reporting period from the list and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/choosing-the-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/choosing-the-reporting-period.png) While in the Report Card zoom, the Add Class or Group button can be used to add a Class or Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-class-or-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-class-or-group.png) ## Changing Report Card Templates 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Enter the name of the class in Search, or filter the list by grades, subjects, report card templates, or teachers. 3. Click the Gear icon. To select all listed classes in the list, click Sheet Name checkbox or select individual classes by clicking the checkbox beside the class name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filtering-and-selecting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filtering-and-selecting.png) Click Change Template. Select a report card template from the list. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/change-template.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/change-template.png) ### Canceling a report card sheet 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Enter the name of the class in Search, or filter the list by grades, subjects, report card templates, or teachers. 3. Click the Gear icon. To select all classes in the list, click Sheet Name checkbox on the toolbar or select individual classes by clicking the checkbox beside the class name. 4. Click Cancel Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-sheets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-sheets.png) If report card sheets are canceled in error, add the class back to the reporting period to restore the sheets and their contents. ## Managing submitted report card sheets ### Approving a report card sheet Report card sheets can be approved. This optional step is used by administrators to help them identify which sheets have been reviewed. Once approved, teachers can no longer unlock a report card sheet, even if the due date is still in the future. 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Click on the Sheet Name to open the report card sheet. 3. Click Approve. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/approve-report-card-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/approve-report-card-sheet.png) ### Returning a report card sheet for correction 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Click on the Sheet Name, to open the report card sheet. 3. Click Request Correction. Enter a message for the teacher. Click Proceed. Teachers can unlock their own report card sheets during the submission time frame but after the due date has passed, report cards need to be unlocked for the teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/return-for-correction.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/return-for-correction.png) ### Unlocking a report card sheet to make corrections 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Click on the Sheet Name, to open the report card sheet. 3. Click Unlock for Editing and make corrections. Click Resubmit to office or Approve. Both the teacher and school administrators can make corrections and resubmit to office. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/unlock-for-editing.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/unlock-for-editing.png) ## Printing Report Cards 1. To print all sheets, Select Student View from the top right of the report cards screen. Make sure the filters are set to All. 2. Click the checkbox at the top of the student list to select all students. 3. Choose a print template. Click the Print button. A print preview of the report card is opened. 4. Click print to print the report cards. 5. The browser Print dialog appears. 6. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-all-sheets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-all-sheets.png) ### Printing by Grade Level The report card sheets can be filtered by using the filters on the left side of the screen 1. Click Student View. 2. Choose a print template. 3. Select a grade or grades. 4. Click Print. 5. The browser Print dialog appears. 6. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-filter.png) ### Printing by Teacher 1. Click Student View. 2. Click on the teachers column to sort by teacher. 3. Choose a print template and Click Print. 4. The browser Print dialog appears. 5. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teachers-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teachers-filter.png) ### Printing by Selected Students 1. Select Student View. 2. Choose a print template. 3. Click the gear button in the top right corner of the page. Click the boxes beside each student’s name whose report card will be printed. 4. Click Print. The browser Print dialog appears. 5. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students-1.png) ### Setting Print Options School administrators can choose to set the print options for all Report Cards at their school. Navigate to the Student View of the Report Cards Zoom and click Print Options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/clicking-print-options-1024x453.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/clicking-print-options.png) A menu opens to customize the printed Report Cards. Add a school statement, school logo, principal signature, or school council chair. Each field is optional. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/set-report-card-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/set-report-card-options.png) When the print options are customized, click Save. The printed report cards will include the information specified in the Print Options. ### Chrome Print Options and removing the header/footer The Chrome browser, depending on local settings, may add a header and footer to the printed report card. Expand the printer settings, then disable Headers and footers. ## Publishing a reporting period to parents and students As soon as one report card sheet is submitted, the Publish button will appear on the reporting period’s toolbar in Sheet View. Clicking the Publish button will publish all submitted and approved report card sheets. 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Select the reporting period. 3. Click Publish. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/publish-report-cards.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/publish-report-cards.png) Students and parents view the report card by clicking the View Report Cards button that appears on the home screen’s Classes panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-report-cards.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-report-cards.png) ## Managing reporting periods ### Retracting a reporting period Once the reporting period has been published, a Retract button appears on the reporting period’s toolbar. Clicking the Retract button will un-publish all published report card sheets. Parents and students will no longer see the reporting period name listed. If there are no published report cards, the View Report Cards button is removed from the parents and students home screen. 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Select the reporting period. 3. Click Retract. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/retract.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/retract.png) It is not necessary to retract all report cards to correct information on a specific published report card sheet. Instead, click on the report card sheet to correct and click Unlock for editing. Once the correction has been made, click Approve. Click the Publish button to change the sheet status to Published. ### Deleting a reporting period To delete a reporting period: 1. On the home screen, click Report Cards. 2. Choose the name of the reporting period from the drop down list. 3. Click Edit Details. 4. Click Delete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-a-report-card-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/delete-a-report-card-sheet.png) Deleting a reporting period will remove all associated report cards from Edsby for all users in all places. The report card period cannot be restored without the intervention of Edsby Professional services. Schools cannot delete a District level reporting period. ## Report Cards Zoom District and School administration have access to the Report Card Zoom, which provides up-to-the-minute information on a reporting period. Report Cards has two views. The Sheet View is focused on providing information about classes, while the Student View concentrates on reviewing and printing student report cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-vs-sheet-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-vs-sheet-view.png) ### Sheet View toolbar & columns [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sheet-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sheet-view.png) ToolbarReporting Period listUsed to navigate to a selected reporting period.Add Group or Class buttonAdd a class or a group to the selected reporting period. Classes and groups require student members. An empty class or group without students will not be provisioned a report card sheet.Edit Details buttonReporting Periods provisioned at the schools level will include the ability to change the Reporting Period Setup form. District level reporting periods will not include an Edit Details button.ExportExport report card sheet data to a csv file.Gear iconDisplays Change Template, Cancel Sheet buttons and enables the ability to select individual classes.PublishIf at least one report card sheet has been submitted, the Publish button appears. Clicking Publish will enable students and parents to view the report card on the home screen.RetractIf report cards have been published, the Retract button will appear. Clicking the Retract button will unpublish all report cards.Column NameSheet NameClicking on the sheet name will open the report card sheet. The report card sheet can be open if the State is Submitted, Overdue, Approved, Returned for Correction, Published.Class / Group NameThe short name of the class.GradeGrade is displayed if provided by the Student Information System.Teacher(s)A list of teacher names.TemplateThe name of the report card template provided to the class.Student StatusThe number of students in the class.Sheet StatusUnsubmitted[![grey circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)Teacher has not yet submitted the sheet. Percentage of completed required fields is displayed. Represented by a gray circle.Submitted[![yelllow circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)During the submission period, teachers can unlock and modify report card sheets. Represented by a yellow circle.Approved[![green circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)Indicates the Office has approved the sheet. Once a sheet has been approved, the teacher can no longer edit the sheet. Represented by a green circle.Published[![blue circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/blue-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/blue-circle4.png)The report card is visible to a student and parents. Represented by a blue circle.MeanThe class mean based on the Grade column. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.MedianThe class median based on the Grade column. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.\# FailThe number of students who fall below expectations. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.AlertIndicates if a grade has been adjusted more than 5 points. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.### Student View The Student View enables the Office to view report card records by student. Clicking a student’s name opens the Review Report Card form. The form lists the teachers and classes that make up a student’s report card. The form also includes the current state of each report card record. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-view.png) [![grey circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)Unsubmitted --- [![yelllow circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)Submitted --- [![green circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)Approved --- [![red circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/red-circle1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/red-circle1.png)Returned for Correction --- ![blue circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/blue-circle4.png)Published ## Group report cards Administrators can add Groups to report cards to include extra-curricular activities in students’ report cards. Moderators of the groups can assign students a performance indicator and a comment, which become part of the student’s report card. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/GroupReportComment-1.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/GroupReportComment-1.jpg) To add a set of groups to report cards: 1\. Access the Groups zoom from the Edsby home page. 2\. Filter the groups that should be added to the Report Cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filtering-for-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filtering-for-groups.png) Click the gear to specifically select certain groups. Changing the filters will not unselect the selected groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-groups.png) 3\. Once all groups have been selected, open the drop-down menu by clicking the down arrow in the upper right corner. 4\. Click Add to report card. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-group-to-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/add-group-to-report-card.png) All filtered (or selected) groups will be added to the report card after the subsequent Reporting Period Setup form has been filled out and saved. 5\. Fill out the Reporting Period Setup form. To add the Groups to a reporting period that already exists, click the drop-down box labeled Create New. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-group-to-reporting-period-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-group-to-reporting-period-setup.png) Otherwise, administrators must set-up a new reporting period. [Click here to learn more about setting up a reporting period.](#reportsetup) 6\. Click Save once the form is filled out to add all filtered (or selected) groups to the report cards of the selected reporting period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/save-reporting-period-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/save-reporting-period-setup.png) **Note:** Monitor and List Groups, due to their privileged nature where they are hidden from students and parents, cannot be used in Report Cards. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [News](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/news/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Everyone likes to be up to date with the latest news and Edsby makes that easy. When users log into Edsby there is an engaging News River across the top of their screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/News-river-with-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/News-river-with-content.png) It is called the river of news since the news items may come from multiple news “streams”. Each school has its own news stream, and the umbrella organization (district or private school main office) has a news stream as well. The News River collates news from all streams at the top of the home screen. ## Creating New News Creating a news article is easy. Anyone in any role, event students, can submit a proposed news item. Go to the School page by clicking the school’s name and click on the “Submit an article” button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submit-an-article-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submit-an-article-button.png) Fill in the form with a headline, a picture, and some text. News River articles also support attachments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submit-an-article-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/submit-an-article-2.png) To add an attachment to the article, click one of the attachment icons depending on the style of the attachment. Click Submit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-attachment-to-article-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-attachment-to-article-1.png) When pressing submit, it goes to the school page. However, it will be “Pending.” Only school or district administrators with certain permissions will be able to see the item until they approve it. They have the option of approving it, editing it, or rejecting it: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/approve-edit-or-reject.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/approve-edit-or-reject.png) ## Reading the News [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/post-in-river-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/post-in-river-1.png) Once the article has been approved, other Edsby users will see the news headline in their river of news, as shown in the image above. Articles with attachments have a visual indicator. When people click on the news headline they will see the complete article: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/full-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/full-article.png) Attachments can be viewed or downloaded from either the desktop browser or the Edsby mobile app. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Calendars](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/calendars-2/) **Published:** July 6, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Schools are busy places. There is so much to keep track of – class timetables, tests, assignments, team practices and games, club get-togethers, and departmental meetings. Fortunately, Edsby is very good at helping users keep track of all these things. With Edsby, every class, every group, and every school has its own calendar. When a teacher places an event on their calendar in, for example, a class, every student of that class and their parents can see the event. Likewise, if an administrator places an event on a school calendar, every student, parent and staff member of that school can see the event. ## Personal Calendar On the Edsby home page there is a powerful calendar panel that shows all calendar events in the calendars of all classes, groups and schools an Edsby user is a member of. Edsby nicely merges them all together to show at a glance what is on today, tomorrow, and later this week. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/personal-calendar-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/personal-calendar-schedule.png) Edsby knows all about school day cycles and class timetables, so staying on top of that is a snap. If you’re a teacher, Edsby even knows when you should be taking attendance, and provides you with a shortcut for doing that. Teachers are reminded of the state of their class attendance on their Personal Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/all-present-vs-has-incidents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/all-present-vs-has-incidents.png) All Present indicates each student in the class was marked as Present on the attendance sheet. Has Incidents indicates some students have been marked as either Late or Absent on the attendance sheet. To quickly check imminent events and assessments, use the Edsby [schedule](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/?help=schedule-4) on the home screen. ### Monthly Personal Calendar Clicking on today’s date in the Edsby schedule opens a small monthly view of the Personal Calendar. Dates shaded with light blue indicates something is scheduled for that day. Dates with a straight blue line under the number indicates school is in session that day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popout-monthly-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popout-monthly-calendar.png) Clicking on a date in the calendar displays any events for that day in the personal schedule underneath. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clicking-on-day-and-seeing-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clicking-on-day-and-seeing-events.png) Clicking the previous and next buttons jumps by month. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/previous-and-next-buttons.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/previous-and-next-buttons.png) To collapse this monthly view, click the month name to show only the personal schedule. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/month-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/month-name.png) ### Seeing the big picture If you are looking to check events further in the future or customize your schedule, the pop-out calendar, available on Edsby web browser logins, is the best tool. Access this by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the Edsby schedule or by clicking the Calendar icon in the Navigation bar. This classic Month/Week/Day view makes it easy to navigate around your calendar on a web browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-popout-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-popout-calendar.png) Click on the arrows to navigate between months. Click today to jump to today’s date. This is the calendar view many users choose to print through their web browser’s print function. Some parents post a printed view of this on the kitchen fridge. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigation-arrows-and-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigation-arrows-and-today.png) ## Customizing the calendar Is the schedule or calendar becoming too cluttered with events from extraneous groups? Schedules and Calendars can be customized to only show the calendars from particular groups, classes, or schools. Use the checkboxes on the left side of the personal calendar to streamline which calendars will appear in the personal calendar and schedule. Checked boxes indicate the calendars which appear in the calendar, while unchecked boxes indicate the calendar has been unsubscribed from. *[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/check-boxes-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/check-boxes-calendar.png)* *In this example, the student has unsubscribed from the calendars for their district, Book Fair, Fall Fair, and Quebec City Trip. The events from the district or these groups will not be visible in their calendar or home screen schedule. The student can still visit the district or group pages and view upcoming events from there.* Customizations to the calendar are saved and do not reset when the student exits the calendar or logs out of Edsby. If students would like to resubscribe to a calendar again, they must do it manually through their personal calendar. ## Accessing the calendar of a class, group, or school 1. Open the class, group or school. 2. Click on the calendar icon beside the schedule. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-calendar-of-class-group-school.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-the-calendar-of-class-group-school.png) ## Creating Events Creating events is easy to do. Simply go to the calendar you wish to create the event in, expand the calendar, and click on the day, or the new event button. Teachers can also use the “event” button right in the class feed to create new events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-event-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-event-button.png) Edsby even knows how to do fancy repeat schedules for events so regular occurring events can be easily scheduled. ## Making it Personal The calendar on the home page is actually the personal calendar with events from each person’s (or your children’s, if you’re a parent) classes and groups merged into it. Events created on this calendar are considered personal events and only you can see them. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [New Teacher Video Playlist](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/new-teacher-video-playlist/) **Published:** August 17, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Edsby Overview ## Getting ready for a new school year ## Edsby Classes Overview The Class is the heart of how Edsby helps teachers and students. Learn how to maximize the potential of your Edsby Class in this video. ## Printing a Roster Learn about Edsby’s customizable roster printing with this short video. ## Taking Attendance Created for teachers, this video covers how to submit attendance, cancel absences, and record lates. Also included is information about planned absences and attendance history. ## Gradebook Overview The Gradebook records grades, calculates averages, and sets Subjective Performance Indicators. Learn about the Gradebook’s assessment and reporting capabilities in this video. ## Planner Operating Manual This video explains how teachers can use the Planner to organize their Units, Assessments, and Journals in a Calendar view. ## Adding Additional Teachers to your Class Perhaps a class has two primary teachers or a teacher has an assistant/support teacher helping manage their class. This video shows how to easily add another teacher to an Edsby Class. ## Using Evidence of Learning in the Classroom Edsby’s Evidence of Learning system enables teachers with rich purpose-built tools to capture, organize, and analyze student learning. Watch this video to learn how to maximize the Evidence of Learning system in the classroom. ## What do students see on their home screens? One of Edsby’s many great features is that both students and teachers see very similar content. However, there are some key differences between what teachers and students see because Edsby customizes the home screen view for each role. This video covers what students see and how their view compares to the teacher’s view. ## What do students see when they enter my class? When students enter a class, they see a similar screen to that of the teachers: similar panels, similar layouts, similar content. The only difference between content is that students never see hidden assessments, journals, events or lessons. Only teachers can see items that are hidden. This video compares the screen of teachers to that of students, to let teachers know what students see when a teacher posts in the feed, adds an assessment, creates a poll, shares a grade, or creates an event, and what the library, journal, course plan and overdue assessments look like to students. ## Engaging your Edsby Parents Teachers might be interested in increasing parent engagement in their student’s learning. This video shows the various tools Edsby provides teachers with to help parents take an active role in their child’s education. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Teacher Quickstart](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/) **Published:** September 19, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is designed to meet the needs of K-12 teachers with tools that are purpose-built to help teachers keep track of what’s important. Edsby fosters parent engagement, classroom management, and assessment and reporting practices. ## Jump to a Section ##### Getting Started [Edsby Mobile App](#appteacherquick) [Logging In](#loginteacherquick) [Setting Up Notifications](#notificationteacherquick) ##### [Home Screen](#hometeacherquick) [News](#newsteacherquick) [Personal Calendar](#calendarteacherquick) [Recent Activity](#activityteacherquick) ##### [Classes](#classteacherquick) [Printing a Class Roster](#rosterteacherquick) [Creating Content in a Class](#contentteacherquick) [Using the Content Builder](#builderteacherquick) ##### [Assessing Student Performance](#assessteacherquick) [Attendance](#attendanceteacherquick) [Gradebook](#gradebookteacherquick) [Evidence of Learning](#evidenceteacherquick) [Learning Story](#lsteacherquick) [Portfolio](#portfolioteacherquick) [Report Cards](#reportteacherquick) ##### [Edsby Messages](#messageteacherquick) ##### [Edsby Groups](#groupteacherquick) ##### [Zooms](#zoomteacherquick) [My Students Zoom](#mystudentsteacherquick) [My Parents Zoom](#myparentsteacherquick) [Sending Bulk Messages](#bulkteacherquick) ## Getting Started ### Downloading the Edsby App In addition to accessing Edsby through a desktop or mobile browser, teachers can keep up-to-date with Edsby on their mobile device by using the Edsby Mobile App freely available on Google Play and the App Store. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1024px-Google_Play_Store_badge_EN.svg.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en_CA)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/app-store-logo.png)](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814) [Click here for more information on using the Edsby Mobile App.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/navigating-the-edsby-app-3/) ### Logging In Every Edsby system has a unique URL, or Edsby server address, like https://your-server.edsby.com, where your-server is unique to the school or district. This server address is also required for logging into the Edsby Mobile App. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-login-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mobile-login-screen.png) In most cases, the username and password used for other logins in the organization should work as a teacher’s login credentials. Ask the school if the school or district’s server address or login credentials are needed. [Click here for more information on logging into Edsby.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/edsby-login/) ### Setting Up Notifications With so many things happening inside Edsby, it is important to stay organized and up-to-date. Edsby makes this easy by enabling various notifications to ensure teachers are notified of the important things happening within their school, Classes, Calendars, and Groups. Access Notification Settings by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the teacher’s name in Edsby. Select Settings from the menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-settings-access.png) Select Notifications from the menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-notification-settings-access.png) This provides a form to select and update Notifications regarding a teacher’s: 1. Edsby Activity Digest 2. Personal Calendar and Messages 3. Portfolio 4. Organization 5. Classes 6. Groups ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-notification-settings.png) Teachers can choose to receive notifications through Email, Edsby, or straight to their mobile device. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/where-you-receive-notifications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/where-you-receive-notifications.png) [Click here for more information on setting up Notifications.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/notifications-students-teachers/) ## Home Screen The Home Screen is the hub of a teacher’s Edsby experience. From here, teachers can check upcoming events and assessments in the Classes they teach, the school news, and new posts in Classes or Groups. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-Home-screen-overview.png) The Home Screen includes: 1. Navigation Bar 2. Access to the District page and School page 3. Classes the teacher is teaching based on those assigned in the SIS 4. Any Applications associated with the teacher’s account 5. The News River 6. Groups the teacher is a member of 7. Recent Activity regarding the teacher’s students 8. The teacher’s Personal Calendar that merges all events from their Classes, school, and Groups 9. A panel with links to the teacher’s Students, Parents, Report Cards, and all Classes at the school ### Navigation Bar The Navigation Bar is displayed at the top of every page in Edsby when logged in with a web browser, and provides quick links for the Edsby Mailbox, the full-screen Personal Calendar, the Launchpad, Notifications, Edsby Analytics, and the Personal Folder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-nav-bar-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-nav-bar-breakdown.png) - - The **Mailbox** includes all incoming and outgoing conversations from the teacher’s Edsby inbox. When they receive a new message, a red bubble will appear on the mailbox icon. - The **Personal Calendar** when accessed from the Navigation Bar, includes all dated events from Classes, Groups, and the school or district. It also includes upcoming assessments from Classes. - Key third-party websites and applications are integrated into Edsby through the **Launchpad** for quick access. Some examples include the school website, M365, or Google Workspace for Education. - If enabled through Settings, new **Notifications** will appear next to the bell icon with a red bubble counter. Clicking the bell shows the notifications and removes the red bubble. - **Edsby Analytics** (if available at the school) enables teachers to gain academic insights from live Gradebook, standardized test results, LMS usage, and other school data. - The **Personal Folder** stores Rubrics and Question Sheets that have been saved from assessments in Edsby, as well as documents uploaded to the folder by the teacher. It does not get archived, so anything teachers upload to this folder will always be easily accessible to them in Edsby. [Click here to learn more about the Personal Folder.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/personal-folder/) Clicking on the teacher’s name in the right corner of the Navigation Bar opens a list of functions. Teachers can change their Password, Language Preferences, and Notification Settings by selecting Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-clicking-drop-down-and-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-clicking-drop-down-and-settings.png) When exploring Edsby for the first time, many of the features can seem overwhelming. Click the blue question mark at the top right of any screen to **start a tour**. The tour will give a basic overview of the current page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-start-tour.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/teacher-start-tour.png) ### News The News River at the top of the Home Screen combines the news from the district and all schools the teacher teaches at. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-News-river.png) To submit an article to the News River, navigate to the School Page, and click Submit an Article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-submit-an-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/news/) [For more information about submitting articles, click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/news/) ### Personal Calendar Each teacher has their own personalized Edsby Calendar. A triangle symbol in the calendar indicates the class, event, or assessment is in progress. The Personal Calendar on the Home Screen includes: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-browser-personal-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-browser-personal-calendar.png) 1. Assessments from Classes 2. Scheduled Classes 3. Class Events 4. Personal Events the teacher has created 5. Group Events 6. School Events Teachers can take Attendance quickly for the class in session by clicking the Take Attendance button below the class name in the Personal Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/take-attendance-in-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/take-attendance-in-calendar.png) Create a personal event by clicking the blue plus sign and filling out the form. This event is only visible to the teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/add-event-teacher.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/add-event-teacher.png) The Personal Calendar collates all calendar items from the teacher’s classes, groups, and school. Other Calendars, for example, a Class Calendar, will only show events relevant to that class. Each colour in an Edsby Calendar indicates specific events, assessments, or classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/orange-scheduled-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/orange-scheduled-classes.png)Scheduled Classes[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Green-icon-assessments-or-class-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Green-icon-assessments-or-class-events.png)Assessments or Class Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Blue-icon-group-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Blue-icon-group-events.png)Group Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Purple-icon-school-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Purple-icon-school-events.png)School Events[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Black-icon-personal-events.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Black-icon-personal-events.png)Personal Events### Recent Activity The Recent Activity feed in the middle of the teacher’s Home Screen below the My Groups Panel displays any observations made by staff members in the school about the teacher’s students or any changes to the personal information of the students including medical alerts or IEPs. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-recent-activity.png) ## Classes On the left side of the teacher’s Home Screen is the Classes Panel. This panel provides a brief overview of the classes the teacher teaches, including: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-Classes-panel.png) 1. Name of Class 2. Course Code 3. Recent Activity Button 4. Gradebook button 5. New Evidence button 6. Report Card button to access the class Report Card if available Access all Class Journals by clicking the pop-out arrow. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-class-journal-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-class-journal-popout.png) Enter a Class by clicking its name. ## Inside a Class The Class is the heart of how Edsby helps students and teachers. Every class includes an effective way for teachers to engage with students, create class content, and share important information. Each class includes: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-Class-overview.png) 1. 1. A Teachers Panel 2. Pinned Items 3. Students Panel 4. Content Panel where the teacher can create class Content 5. Class Feed 6. Links to the class Attendance, Gradebook, Planner, Evidence, Perspective, and more 7. Class Calendar 8. Journal Panel displaying the most recent journal entries 9. Class Library for uploaded media ### Printing a Class Roster Edsby makes it easy for teachers to print a roster of their class. Click the pop-out arrow in the Students Panel. Click Roster. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/popout-then-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/popout-then-roster.png) Set how many columns and whether or not to show column titles. Teachers can add titles or leave them blank to write in later. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-creating-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-creating-roster.png) When the template is correct, click Print. ### Creating Content in the Class The Class Feed enables teachers with access to quickly create notes, polls, events, assessments, or journal entries. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/class-content-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/class-content-options.png) #### Notes Notes are the most basic teacher posts in the Edsby classroom. Teachers can consider posting a note to remind students to bring certain materials to class, study for their upcoming test or even link students to a YouTube video to supplement what they have learned in class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/different-types-of-notes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/different-types-of-notes.png) Notes support images, documents, and links. Videos, Files, or Links added to Notes will be embedded in the Class Feed, meaning they can be accessed directly in the feed without having to go to the external resource. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/embedded-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/embedded-content.png) #### Journals Journals are useful for teachers to publish day-to-day class content to keep students on track of what is happening right now in class and what needs to be done in the future. Teachers should consider using the Journal to create a weekly summary of what is being taught and what students are working on. Include questions parents can ask or other suggestions for ways parents can extend learning at home. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-summarize-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-summarize-classes.png) Or consider creating Journals to outline units in each class. Include what will be taught, learning goals, or any expectations. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-introduce-a-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/journal-to-introduce-a-unit.png) Teachers can create Journals for the current day or for a day in the future. Journals made for the future will not appear in the class feed until the set date. Specify this in the Class Date section of the Journal form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/class-date-section-of-journal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/class-date-section-of-journal.png) #### Assessments Teachers can use Edsby to create assessments that are automatically linked to the Edsby Gradebook. The Assessment Form helps teachers organize everything pertaining to an assessment in one place – including learning goals, success criteria, relevant documents, and even learning standards (common core standards or ministry expectations). ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-assessment-form.png) Select File Upload to enable students to submit their assignments directly into Edsby. Any submissions made by students will automatically be linked to the class Gradebook. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-online-test-none.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/the-assessment-form/) [Click here for more information about the Assessment Form.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/the-assessment-form/) Assessments can be made from the Planner, Class Feed, or the Content Builder. [Click here for more information using the Planner.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/the-planner-2-2/) #### Events Events are the perfect way for teachers to share the date, time, and location of class and school activities with students. Consider creating events for field trips, special occasions, or scheduled extra-help sessions for a particular course. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/event-examples.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/event-examples.png) Create a class event to add to the Class Calendar by clicking Event at the top of the Class Feed or by clicking the blue plus in the Class Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-add-class-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-add-class-event.png) ***Note:*** Teachers of multiple classes who would like to post the content they create to more than one can try cross-posting by clicking the drop-down arrow at the bottom of a content form and selecting which classes to post to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cross-posting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cross-posting.png) ### Using the Content Builder The Edsby Content Builder enables teachers to create rich course content with embedded Edsby Objects in Classes. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-content-panel.png) Click Content to open the Content Builder. Click Edit in the top left to edit the Class Content. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-content-edit.png) Clicking the + next to an item in Class Content provides teachers with a list of content items that can be added underneath the selected item including: units, sections, assessments, pages, links, lessons, polls, files, live Google or Microsoft documents, and more. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-content-builder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) [Click here for more information on using the Content Builder in teachers’ classes.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) [Click here for more information on Edsby Classes.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/classes-3/) ## Assessing Student Performance The Attendance, Gradebook, Evidence of Learning, Portfolio, and Learning Story tools make it easy for teachers to keep track of student performance. All information Edsby has on a student’s performance in class is summarized for teachers to conveniently access while writing Report Cards. ### Attendance The Class Attendance Sheet is accessible from the Attendance button at the top of the Class, and is only visible to teachers. Additionally, if the Class is in session or has already occurred, a button to Take Attendance will appear in teachers’ Personal and Class Calendars. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-attendance-buttons.png) Teachers can indicate absent (A) and late (L) students by clicking the appropriate box and add any needed comments. Any planned absences for students will be visible in the attendance sheet. Click the Present column title to automatically mark the rest of the students as Present. When finished, click Share with Office to send the Attendance Sheet to administration. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/attendance-2/) [Click here for more information on attendance and planned absences.](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/attendance-2/) ### Gradebook Whenever teachers create an assessment in the Class Feed, Content Builder, or Planner, it is automatically added to the Class Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-gradebook-overview.png) Teachers can grade assessments through the Gradebook and assign a subjective performance indicator to each student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-gradebook-SPI.png) The Grader enables teachers to access student submissions, communicate with individual students regarding an assessment, and give feedback or comment on student work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-grader.png) The Overall Average in the Gradebook is calculated automatically, by considering the results and weighting of each assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gradebook-overall-average.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gradebook-overall-average.png) [Click here to learn about changing the weighting in your Gradebook.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebook-2-2/) Teachers can also create additional summary columns in their Gradebook. [Learn about them here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebook-settings/) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-gradebook-columns.png) The Gradebook feed on the right of the page keeps teachers up-to-date on student submissions and questions for assessments. Unread notifications are highlighted in yellow. Clicking a notification opens a pop-up window with the student’s question or submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-gradebook-notifications.png) Click the name of an assessment in the Gradebook to bring up the detailed page of the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-gradebook-details.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/gradebook-2-3/) [Click here for more information on using the Gradebook.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/gradebook-2-3/) ### Evidence of Learning Edsby’s Evidence of Learning system supports the assessment, evaluation, and reporting practices of K-12 teachers by providing purpose-built tools to capture learning evidence. Teachers can capture new evidence by clicking the New Evidence button in the Classes Panel on both mobile and browser. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-new-evidence-button.png) Once gathered, evidence can be organized, analyzed, and shared by the teacher with students and their parents. [Click here for more information on using evidence in the classroom.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/evidence-of-learning/) ### Learning Story When teachers first capture a piece of learning evidence regarding a student, it is private to the teacher. However, teachers can share evidence with the student and their parents if they choose. Students and their parents can view this evidence in the student’s Learning Story. In the New Evidence form, teachers can select *‘Share to Learning Story’*. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-share-to-learning-story.png) The student’s Learning Story is accessible by clicking Learning Story under their Classes Panel on the browser. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-learning-story-button.png) ### Portfolio Sometimes academic and personal development is not fully represented through a grade. This is where a student’s Portfolio comes in! Students and their teachers can upload outstanding class work, extracurricular accomplishments, or even a student’s goals to their Portfolio. A rich Portfolio becomes a great tool to reference for parent-teacher interviews. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio-1.png) Teachers can access a Student’s Portfolio by hovering over their name and clicking View More in their Mini-Profile. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-mini-profile.png) ### Report Cards During reporting periods set by Administrators, Report Cards on Edsby become available for editing by teachers and submission. Teachers may access a specific class Report Card by clicking the Report Card button in the Classes Panel or view the Report Card sheets for all classes by using the Report Cards Zoom. Click a Report Card to open the sheet. Edsby synthesizes all information entered by the teacher about a student and makes it conveniently available in the Report Card. This includes Gradebook grades, Observations, Standards, Evidence of Learning, and the student’s Attendance record. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-report-card-access.png)](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards/report-cards-comments/) [To learn more about importing, creating, and inputting saved comments within Edsby Report Cards, click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards/report-cards-comments/) When finished filling out the Report Card, click Submit to Office. Once the Report Card sheet has been submitted, teachers can continue to make changes by clicking Unlock for Editing. However, once the due date has passed, teachers need to contact the Office to have the Report Card sheet unlocked. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-report-card-submit-edit.png) During the Report Card editing process, the Report Card may be returned to the teacher for Correction by the Office. This will unlock the sheet for editing again. [Click here for more information on completing Report Cards.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/report-cards/) ## Edsby Messages Edsby enables teachers to message students, parents, and other staff members in the school through Edsby Messages. Access the Mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in the Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/navbar-mail.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/navbar-mail.png) Compose a new message by clicking the Compose icon in the Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/compose-message-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/compose-message-1.png) Edsby enables teachers to choose whether or not parents can send them unsolicited messages. Navigate to Settings and click Other Settings. Select the box to enable unsolicited messages and deselect the box to disable them. This can be changed at any time. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Edsby-unsolicited-messages.png) Additionally, teachers can lock and unlock conversations with parents and students. Locking a conversation will disable replies for students and parents, but they will still be able to view previous messages. To lock a conversation, the teacher can click the lock icon at the top of a conversation. To unlock a conversation, click the icon again. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Edsby-messages-lock-button.png) Teachers can also send bulk messages to groups of students or their parents. Most Edsby sites disable 1:1 messaging between students and their friends. [Click here to learn more.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/sending-bulk-messages/) ## Edsby Groups Groups help teachers, students, parents, and other staff focus on an activity or subject matter. Groups are used for collaboration, communication, sharing resources, scheduling, and capturing group knowledge. Teachers’ My Groups Panel on their Home Screen shows all groups the teacher is a member of. Any unread group posts will be indicated by a red bubble. Events from the Group Calendar are included in the Personal Calendar. To browse more groups in the school, teachers can view Groups that may be of interest to them in the Group Recommender. Teachers can set their interests in their Settings to personalize their Group recommendations. Click More Groups at the bottom right of the My Groups panel to find even more Groups or to search for a specific Group. Groups can be open or closed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-groups-overview.png) Closed groups have a lock next to the group name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-lock-group-icn.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-lock-group-icn.png) If a group is open, teachers may freely enter the group. To join the group and be notified of new posts, click Join in the top right of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-join-open-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-join-open-group.png) To join a closed group, click the group and fill out the request. A moderator of the group will review and confirm the request before the teacher can officially join the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/request-to-join-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/request-to-join-group.png) Review the status of the request in the Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-group-request.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-group-request.png) If a teacher has been invited to a group, they are provided with options to Accept or Decline. **Note:** There are some instances when teachers may be automatically added to a group like Staff Room, a study group for a specific class they teach, or a Lost and Found group. Teachers cannot unsubscribe from groups their school, district or region have automatically subscribed them to. ### Creating a Group Teachers and school administrators can create groups. After clicking Find More, click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-create-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-create-button.png) Fill out the group setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/blank-create-group-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/blank-create-group-form.png) ### Inside a Group Groups include: 1. Moderators 2. Important Pinned Items 3. Knowledge Base (the title can be changed later) 4. Group Feed 5. Active group Members – if enabled by the moderator, the teacher can view all members of the group by clicking ‘View All Members’ 6. Group Calendar 7. Library [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/student-browser-group-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/student-browser-group-breakdown.png) [Click here for more information on creating, managing, and using Edsby Groups.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/groups/) ## Zooms Edsby Zooms are dynamic lists of students and their parents involved in either the teacher’s classes or groups they are the moderator of. These lists can be organized using filters. Teachers have access to the My Students Zoom, My Parents Zoom, and Report Cards Zoom. These are found on the right side of the Home Screen. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Edsby-zooms.png) ### My Students Zoom The My Students Zoom provides teachers with important information about every student in a teacher’s current classes, and their academic performance and activity on Edsby. Teachers can also see when the parents of their students have last accessed Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-students-zoom.png) Some students may have risk indicators, which help teachers identify those who may be struggling at school. This includes failing classes (1), receiving a Needs Improvement for their subjective performance indicator in class (2), and repetitive lates or absences (3). [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/risk-indicators.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/risk-indicators.png) [Click here for more information on the My Students Zoom.](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/my-students-zoom-3/) ### My Parents Zoom The My Parents Zoom shows teachers the parents of all students who are part of a teacher’s classes or groups. Contact information, the parent’s relationship to the student, and their last activity in Edsby are included in the Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/my-parents-zoom.png) One of the best ways to create lists of parents is to filter by class. Filtering by class makes it easy for teachers to send bulk messages to parents of children in the filtered class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/filter-my-parents-to-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/filter-my-parents-to-class.png) ### Sending Bulk Messages To send bulk messages, teachers may filter to the desired subset of students or parents. Click the drop-down arrow and select Message Parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/dropdown-then-message-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/dropdown-then-message-parents.png) In some cases, teachers may want to send the same message to select parents or students from their classes or groups. Click the gear at the top right corner of the screen after filtering and select who to send the message to. Then, click the drop-down arrow and select message options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gear-select-parents-then-messaeg.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gear-select-parents-then-messaeg.png) [Click here for more information on the My Parents Zoom.](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/my-parents-zoom/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Planner](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/the-planner-2-2/) **Published:** October 1, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Planner organizes teachers’ Units, Assessments, and Journals in a Calendar view. No matter where teachers create units, journals, and assessments, they are automatically added to the Planner. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/the-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/the-planner.png) ### Creating units, assessments, lessons, and journals The Planner provides the quickest way to create items. In the Class and Gradebook, teachers need to specify units and dates, but in the Planner, unit and date is selected by hovering over a date. Teachers can create multiple items for a day. To create a Unit: Hover to the left of the date, and click *Click here to add unit* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/click-here-to-add-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/click-here-to-add-unit.png) To add an Assessment: 1. Hover over a date and click Assessment. 2. From the list, choose an assessment type. 3. Enter a name. Teachers can enter additional information by clicking Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-assessment.png) ***Note:** An assessment’s due date is based on the time zone the teacher creates the assessment in, not the student’s time zone, if it differs from the teacher. If a student is accessing content from a different time zone, ensure they are aware of this.* To add a Lesson: 1. Hover over a date and click Lesson. 2. Fill in the form as desired. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/lesson.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/lesson.png) To add a Journal: 1. Hover over a date and click Journal. 2. Fill in the form as desired. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/journal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/journal.png) If a new item is created outside of, but close to a Unit, the unit will expand to include the new item. In this illustration, the teacher has added a test on January 23, a date that is not included in a Unit but close to a Unit. After the teacher has pressed Enter, the Unit expanded to include the Unit Test. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unit-expanding.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/unit-expanding.png) ### Optional assessment shortcuts Teachers can create an assessment with a marking scheme and weighting points by entering keywords. To do this: - Enter the name of the assessment - Followed by the marking scheme - Then a slash followed by the weighting points - Hit the Enter key or Tab key to create the assessment This illustration shows the entries for creating an assessment with a marking scheme of: - Out of, with weighting points of 25 - Percentage with weighting points of 25 - Yes/No weighting points of 5 [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-shortcuts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-shortcuts.png) ### Editing items To edit any item in the Planner, click the name to open the form. After the changes have been made, click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/editing-items.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/editing-items.png) ### Making changes by dragging and dropping In addition to editing forms, teachers can change items by dragging and dropping. To move a Unit and all items belonging to the Unit: 1. Hover over the Unit name until the handle appears. 2. Click, hold, and drag the Unit to the new date. Within the Unit, the new dates of the items are shown in dimmed text. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dragging-entire-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dragging-entire-unit.png) To expand a Unit: 1. Hover over the Unit name until the handle and arrow appears. 2. Drag the handle down to the desired date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dragging-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dragging-unit.png) To move an assessment, lesson, or journal within a unit hover over the name and click, hold, and drag to the new date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/moving-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/moving-assessment.png) To move an assessment, lesson, or journal to another unit hover over the name and click, hold, and drag to the left side of the dates. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dragging-into-different-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dragging-into-different-unit.png)** ### Planner badges [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-scheme.png)After the name, a badge appears that indicates the current marking scheme and the weighting points.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/hidden-badge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/hidden-badge.png)The Hidden badge will appear beside any item that has the Status field set to Hidden from students.[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/graded-badge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/graded-badge.png)If teachers have entered any grades in the gradebook, the Graded badge will appear. ## Filtering The Planner displays every date the class is in session and every assessment, journal and Lesson. To filter the view to just dates with an item, select Only Days with Items from the Show Days drop-down menu. Teachers can filter out assessments, journals, or lessons by unchecking the boxes next to them under the Show Items drop-down menu. ### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-days-filtering.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-days-filtering.png) ### Advanced options Clicking the Gear icon displays additional options that enable teachers to work with individual or groups of items in the Planner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gear-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gear-icon.png) Additional options include the ability to: - Select or deselect all the items in the class Planner - Switch the status of items from visible to hidden - Copy, cut, and delete items, including Units [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/advanced-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/advanced-options.png) To copy an item of content and paste it to another date in the Planner or to paste it to a different Class’ Planner, select the checkbox next to the item that appeared when clicking the gear icon. Click Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/select-item-then-click-copy-1024x459.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/select-item-then-click-copy.png) To paste it, teachers can hover over a date in the Planner and click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/paste-the-item-1024x519.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/paste-the-item.png) The item will be pasted at the chosen date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/item-in-new-location-1024x398.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/item-in-new-location.png) To delete the item from its previous location, select the checkbox again and click Delete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/select-then-delete-1024x461.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/select-then-delete.png) Teachers can also move an item to a new location in the Planner by clicking Cut and Paste. This way, teachers do not need to delete the original item once they have pasted it to a new date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cut-then-paste-1024x757.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cut-then-paste.png) Entire units can be deleted at once from the Planner. Select the checkbox below the unit name and click Delete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/delete-entire-unit-1024x417.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/delete-entire-unit.png) Note: When deleting an entire unit, all content items within that unit will also be deleted. To learn more about copying and reusing content from previous classes or to paste from one current class to another, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/copying-content-previous-classes/?locale=en) For information on how the Planner integrates with the Content Builder, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/content-builder/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook Settings](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebook-settings/) **Published:** December 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby Gradebook, also referred to by some teachers as a mark book, enables teachers to turn on a wide range of summary columns. This provides teachers with great flexibility in how they can view assessment data they’ve captured, and how that can be shared with students and parents. To access the Gradebook Summary Columns setup screen, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the Gradebook. Select Gradebook Setup from the drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gradebook-setup-nav.png) The Gradebook Setup form provides the teacher with a flexible way of choosing the additional summary columns they would like to see in their Gradebook. In addition to the Average as a percent, teachers can add: - Mode – most common number in a data set - Median – middle of the set of numbers - Latest – the last entry for a outcome - Highest – the highest value - Decaying Average – a weighted moving average where more recent data is given greater weight - Range – the lowest and highest numbers - Count – the number of non-blank assessments - Standard Deviation – a way of describing the variability or spread in a set of data The teacher can also choose how the summary method is shown in the gradebook: - Percent - Four Level - Four Level +/- - Letter Grade - EGSN - Levels EMBN - Traffic Lights - Proficiency Scale ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/summary-columns.png) Note: the Show As list may differ based on your organization’s assessment practices. Additionally, teachers can choose to add columns for individual strands or categories of knowledge. Teachers can check the “Show to Students” checkbox if they wish to have the values of a particular column made available to each student and their parents via My Work and their Edsby Progress Report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/show-to-students.png) Complete the form and save. The columns can be reordered by grabbing the hamburger icon and dragging to reorder. Click x to Remove a Column, if desired. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/moving-columns.png) ## Strand Examples Ms. Ateeq teaches 6th grade Science and she predominantly uses the letter grade scheme. In this Science class, the teacher wants to see the Overall Averages as a Letter Grade, the range of letter grades, and the median. Note that Ms. Ateeq sometimes use the 4 Level and the EGSN scheme. Your organization tells Edsby the value of symbolic grading scheme. When teachers enter an A-, Edsby also stores the percentage value. The same would apply for EGSN, 4 Level, and any other summative symbolic grading scheme. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/letter-grade-summary-column-example.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/letter-grade-summary-column-example.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/letter-grade-example-in-gradebook-1024x296.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/letter-grade-example-in-gradebook.png) Mr. Chowdhury teaches 2nd grade, and he predominantly uses a 4-level grade scheme. In his Language class, he wants to see the mode and range for both Reading and Writing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/mode-range-4-level-example.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/mode-range-4-level-example.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/letter-grade-example-in-gradebook-1024x296.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/letter-grade-example-in-gradebook.png) In this example, Madison Brant wishes to summarize each student’s range of overall performance in Mathematics, as well as their average performance in the Measurement and Patterning and Algebra strands. Additionally, she would like to share these summaries with students and their parents. She will set up her Gradebook Summary Columns as the following: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-summary-column-example.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-summary-column-example.png) When Tegan Lee, a student of Madison Brant’s, opens My Work, these summaries will be visible in the Perspective tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-sees-averages-in-perspective-1024x536.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-sees-averages-in-perspective.png) ## Global Level Outcomes Example Mrs. Gruenspan assesses learning based on outcomes. For example, students are evaluated on their availability to solve one and two-step linear equations involving whole numbers. In the following illustration, the students have been assessed on P.73 & P.74 in two assessments. The summary columns display the latest entry for each Outcome. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/latest-summary-column-example-1024x301.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/latest-summary-column-example.png) The Latest value is not based on the assessment date but on the last grade entry date, so that anytime a teacher adds a grade for a specific Outcome, the Latest value will be displayed in the Summary Column. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/glo-gradebook-example-1024x329.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/glo-gradebook-example.png) ## Decaying Average Decaying average is most suitable for assessment when teachers want to place more weight on recently scored materials, thereby rewarding students’ progress without penalizing them for their starting point. This method considers the most recent scores as more representative of a student’s current mastery level and puts more emphasis on those scores compared to older ones. Assessment practices that emphasize outcomes-based learning and track student progress throughout the term, rather than one overall grade, find decaying average to be a suitable grading approach. Teachers have the option of using a decaying average in the gradebook or viewing the decaying average in the Perspective Analyze and the report card sheet’s Graph view. The Class Setup form includes an option to set the weight of the most recent score. The default setting is 65%. The option will apply to Perspective Analyze and the report card’s Graph view but has no impact on Gradebook calculations unless a summary column is added to the Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/decaying-average.png) **Example** Student A has been assessed on outcome A.1. four times during the term. The student’s grades are: **Score****Mean Average****Decaying Average****Calculation**158%58%58%58 \* 100% = 58265%61.5%62.6%(58 \* 35%) + (65 \* 65%) = 62.6380%67.7%73.9%(62.6 \* 35%) + (80 \* 65%) = 73.9480%70.8%77.9%(73.9 \* 35%) + (80 \* 65% = 77.9The gradebook summary columns display averages to one decimal place. The decaying average does not take the assessment weight into account. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decaying-average-gradebook.png) The benefit of using a decaying average for this student is that it provides a more accurate reflection of their current performance by giving more weight to recent assessments. For instance, with a decaying average, the student’s grade improves from 70.75% to 77.86% after their most recent assessment, showing their progress more effectively compared to a traditional mean average. With symbolic grades schemes such as 4 levels, the decaying average will be based on the percentage equivalent as defined in the grade mapping scheme. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Class specific Progress Reports](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebooks-class-specific-progress-alerts/) **Published:** November 7, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Progress Report tools enable teachers to create a printed report of their student’s progress to distribute to parents and students. The Progress Report can be used as a helpful tool during parent-teacher interviews, as an indicator of student progress for the students, or even as a report card substitute for private schools. **Progress Report (new)** To create a Progress Report (new), navigate to the Gradebook, click the gear icon, and then click Progress Report (new). Complete the form. A new column will appear in the Gradebook. Click Open to print the report. Click the date to edit the form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/adding-new-progress-report.png) Teachers have many options within the Progress Report. First, start by creating a title for the Progress Report. In this example, the teacher is using the Progress Report to communicate with parents about how their child is doing in week 5 of the school year. Teachers can print a report for all students, select specific students to include in the Progress Report, or they can choose to include dropped students. For example, if a few students in the class need extra support in their learning, the teacher can create a Progress Report for just those students and distribute it to their parents so they can support their child’s learning at home. Then, teachers can select the dates for the Progress Report. Choosing ‘Any date’ will include data from the entire Gradebook, choosing ‘In a reporting period’ enables teachers to select a reporting period and will only include data from that reporting period, and choosing ‘Date Range’ enables teachers to select specific dates and will only include data from within that date range. Teachers can choose what to show in the Progress Report. Teachers can choose which, if any, assessments to include in the Progress Report. The list of assessments can be any selection of incomplete, shared, ungraded, and unshared. If shared assessments are included in the printed report, a graph can be included by checking the Graph checkbox. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/included-in-progress-report.png) When teachers include summaries, more options will appear on the form. The list will include Overall Average, General Learning Outcomes, and Specific Learning Outcomes. However, the choice of Summary columns is dependent on the curriculum. The Assessments, Evidence, and Include Unshared checkboxes control what data the summary columns will use to pre- calculate the grades. If these fields are left blank, the summary columns will be blank and the teacher can use professional judgment to enter grades. For example, if the teacher has chosen to summarize by Strand, using the mean, and showing as a percentage, any grades from the Gradebook that include Strands will be averaged using the mean and will show in the Progress Report as a percentage. If no assessments have been created using Strands, no grades will appear in the Progress Report. Grades can also be filled in manually and overridden in the Progress Report. For a Progress Report that has multiple fields or strands included, the report will only show what fields have been filled in. If teachers do not wish to fill in each field, they don’t have to. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/summaries-pt-1.png) The grades can be summarized using the mean, median, mode, latest, highest, a count, or using a decaying average. Decaying average considers the student’s most recent scores as more representative of the student’s current mastery level and puts more emphasis on those scores compared to older ones. The default weight is 65% for decaying average but teachers can change the weight of the most recent score in the Class Setup form. Teachers can choose how the grade appears in the progress report by using the ‘Show As’ selection. The Class Comment enables teachers to write a general comment for the class and will be used for every student, it can be written or changed using the box. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/summarize-and-class-comment.png) **View Progress Reports** Teachers also have the option to view overall Progress Reports for their students. These Progress Reports do not include as many options as the Progress Report (new). To view these progress reports, navigate to the Gradebook, click the gear icon, and click View Progress Reports. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/view-progress-report.png) These reports include data from the entire Gradebook. They do not include any Evidence data and the overall average is displayed based on the Gradebook setup and cannot be changed within the Progress Report. However, teachers do still have options when viewing these Progress Reports. Teachers can choose whether or not to include the following in their Progress Report: 1. Graph 2. Incomplete Assessments 3. Shared Assessments 4. Ungraded Assessments 5. Attendance History 6. Only Show Flagged Assessments 7. Unshared Assessments ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/progress-report-options.png) The Progress Report provides a printable report that includes 3 main sections: 1. The Graph that plots all graded and shared assessments 2. Assessments and any statuses attached to them 3. Attendance History ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Progress-report-overview.png) Only the students who meet the criteria will be included in the report. For example, if teachers only have Incomplete Assessments selected, only the students who have incomplete assessments will be included in the report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/incomplete-assessments.png) ## **Flagging assessments for inclusion in Progress Reports** Teachers may want to create Progress Reports regarding only specific assessments. To do this, they can make use of the flagging system and filter in the Progress Report. Navigate to the Assessments tab of the Perspective in a class. Clicking the flag next to an assessment will flag it. Teachers can flag all assessments they wish to include in the Progress Report and then print a Progress Report for that student. In the preview, click the box next to only show Flagged Assessments. This filters the report to the assessments that were previously flagged. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/perspective-assessments.png) **Printing Progress Reports** Whether teachers are using the Progress Report or the Progress Report (new), they can print copies of the Progress Report for their students and parents. Navigate to the Progress Report in the Gradebook and click the printer icon, then click print. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/printing-progress-report.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [What does "Login for this username temporarily disabled" mean?](https://www.edsby.com/help/login-userid-temporarily-disabled/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** You’ll see this message for generally one of three reasons: 1. **All logins temporarily disabled** – Your school district or individual school may have turned off Edsby logins for a time, for instance over the summer break. They usually turn Edsby on again a few days before the start of school after they’ve input all the new school year information, including classes and schedules. 2. **Incorrect password attempts** – If you enter a wrong password three times in a row, Edsby temporarily disables login attempts for that username. When this happens, instead of the usual “incorrect username/password” message, you’ll see a warning that your login has been temporarily disabled. If you think this has happened, wait a couple of minutes and try again. Millions of students, parents and teachers use Edsby, so security is a top priority. 3. **Discipline** – Your school or school district might have disabled your account for disciplinary reasons. If you suspect this is the case, contact your school for details. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Students, Parents --- ### [Mobile Learning Evidence](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/mobile-evidence-of-learning/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby makes it easy for teachers to capture evidence from the convenience of their smartphone or tablet. Evidence can be captured in the moment and accessed later for editing or viewing. All classes automatically have evidence enabled. To access evidence from a mobile device, login to the Edsby app. Once logged into the Edsby app, the Classes list will appear on the home screen. Each class has a New Evidence button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-1-477x1024.png) Select the student or students that the evidence applies to and tap Select Students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-2-477x1024.png) Edsby allows teachers to personalize the evidence they wish to capture. Teachers can take a new photo from within the app or add an existing attachment. Teachers can document the student’s voice, set the collection date, write an observation, add a tag, add expectations or standards, and score the student’s performance. Teachers can also share the Learning Evidence immediately, or they can share it later from the All Evidence and Organize pages. When the evidence form is completed, tap Create. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-3-433x1024.png) Once created, the teacher can view the Evidence in the All Evidence page in a class. Navigate to a class and tap the Evidence button. Here teachers can choose to view the Evidence in the All Evidence or Organize pages. Tap on All Evidence. Here, any Evidence the teacher has created for any student is listed. Teachers can create additional evidence by clicking the New Evidence icon at the top right of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-5-1024x718.png) Teachers can filter through the Evidence by tapping the filters button. Teachers can edit, share, or delete Evidence by tapping on the drop-down arrow. Teachers can like or reply to a piece of Evidence using the buttons below the Evidence. When a teacher replies to a piece of Evidence that has been shared, they have the option to share the comment as well by tapping Share to Learning Story. Leaving the box unchecked will keep the comment private to the teacher and any co-teachers. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-7-896x1024.png) Teachers can also view Learning Evidence from the Organize page by tapping Organize. Like the All Evidence page, teachers can filter and share the Evidence here. Teachers can also create new Evidence from the Organize page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-9-959x1024.png) Additionally, teachers can write an analysis note here by selecting one or more pieces of Evidence and tapping the analysis button and filling in the form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-10-477x1024.png) Teachers can view what students and parents can see by tapping Learning Story. This page will list all of the Evidence items that have been shared for a specific student. Select a student to see evidence items for that student that are visible to the student and the student’s parents or guardians. Navigate to different students by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the student’s name and selecting a new student from the menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/mobile-snap-11-957x1024.png) Evidence can be organized and analyzed in the browser. For more information on using evidence from a web browser, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/evidence-of-learning/) Teachers and students can easily capture Evidence through the Edsby Capture App. [Click here for more information.](https://www.edsby.com/help/teachers/edsby-capture-for-teachers/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Groups Management](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/groups-management/) **Published:** May 12, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby groups are a very powerful way for groups of people to collaborate with each other in a convenient, secure and effective way. Most schools using Edsby very quickly end up with 50 – 100 groups as they add groups for sports teams, clubs, teacher professional development, the student council, parent advisory councils and the like. Groups can be closed or open to the entire school (or even wide open across a school district). Groups can be shown to everyone, or made visible only to people with specified roles (ex. only teachers). Members can be added by invitation from a group moderator. Members can also be added automatically to Groups based on role. For example, a group named Staff Lounge can be configured to automatically include all staff as members of the group. When new teachers are added to the school they will automatically be put into the Staff Lounge. ## Jump to a section [Groups Zooms](#zoom) [Creating groups through Groups Zoom](#create) [Changing a group’s Setup form](#changesetupform) [Archiving a group](#archive) [Settings for common group types](#settings) - [School groups](#school) - [Staff groups](#staff) - [Student groups](#student) - [Private group](#private) [Adding people to groups](#add) [Automated membership](#automate) [Bulk invitations](#bulk) [Closed Groups workflow for teams and clubs](#closed) [Removing members from a group](#remove) [Removing multiple members from groups](#removemulti) [Sending a message to group members](#msg) ## Inside a Group Groups include a conversation area, a Knowledge Base, a Calendar, and a Library. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/inside-a-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/inside-a-group.png) 1. Moderators 2. Pinned Items 3. Knowledge Base 4. Group Feed 5. Active Panel 6. Group Calendar 7. Library The Group’s Active Panel is visible above the Calendar on the right side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-location.png) This panel displays information about when members last entered the Group. Those tagged with “now” are currently engaging with content in the Group. Group members will be tagged with the number of minutes, hours, or days since they last entered the Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel.png) The panel is organized by the time of last entry, with the most active members listed first. Users active in the last 15 minutes are coloured green, users active between 15 and 60 minutes ago are coloured in orange, and all others are grey. Clicking Active will pop out the panel, where group moderators and members, if enabled by the moderator, can view the Active list. The Active list shows when any individual has accessed the Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-pop-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/active-panel-pop-out.png) To view all members of the group, click View All Members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/view-all-members-in-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/view-all-members-in-group.png) ## Groups Zoom The Groups Zoom shows all groups created by staff members at the school. This provides a good mechanism for administrative staff to have visibility into the kinds of conversations that are happening in the groups at the school. Click on the group name to view the group, or hover over the name to view the Setup form link. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-zoom-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/group-zoom-1.png) ### Creating groups with the Groups Zoom To create a group: 1. On the home screen, click My Groups. 2. Click Create. 3. Enter the name of the group. 4. Set the Show To and Membership fields. 5. Click Create Group. **Note:** School Administrators can create Groups in both the Groups Zoom and by clicking My Groups on the Home Screen. Teachers create Groups by clicking My Groups on the Home Screen only. ## Group Setup Form [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/full-group-setup-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/full-group-setup-form.png) NameThe name of the Group.Type**Regular Group**, **Club**, & **Team** have the same functionality. A **Professional Learning Community** includes a Planner like that found in a Class. A **Badge** Group awards and tracks certifications and badges. A **List** Group can include students without the student knowing they belong to the Group. A **Study** Group is set up by Edsby and automatically enrolls students and teachers in a Group if they are teaching or taking the same course. A **Professional Development** Group enables people to take professional development training. Moderators are content creators and facilitators. Members are participants. Contains a Content Builder. **Learning Object Repository** enables people to share and use files. Changing the Group type to **Archive** will remove it from the Home Screen of moderators and members, deleting it, in effect. PictureUse the standard group icon or choose the Group’s icon by clicking Browse and locating a jpg or png file from the computer. Drag and drop is also supported. The image file will automatically scale to the dimensions of the Group icon.About this GroupAdd a brief description about the focus of the Group.ModeratorsType in the names of additional Moderators. Moderators are automatically members of a Group and see the Group in their My Groups Panel.Show ToChoose which type of users can see the Group name when they click on the *Find More* link in the Groups Panel.MembershipChoose who can be a member of the Group and how. Open Groups mean anyone specified in the Show To field can enter a Group and join it as a member if they choose. Closed Groups either require an invitation from a Moderator to join and enter or an individual can request to join the Group and become a member upon approval by a moderator.PermissionsThe Permissions section is collapsed initially; click the blue arrow to expand the section.Invite PeopleControls who can invite other people to this Group.Make PostsControls who can post Notes, reply to Notes, and create Polls.Reply to PostsControl who can reply to a Note or participate in a Poll.Edit Knowledge BaseControls who can create, edit, and delete Knowledge Base entries.Edit CalendarControls who can create, edit, and delete Calendar Events.View MembersControl who can see the Members panel.Academic InfoGroups can be included in Report Cards. The Subject and Grade field are used to ensure the Group receives the correct Report Card template.Enable AttendanceOrganizations that use the Edsby Attendance system for Classes can also take Attendance for Groups. When enabled, an Attendance link will appear within the Group if the Group has at least one student as a member.Automatic MembershipThe Automatic Membership section is only available to School Admin roles. Automatically subscribes and maintains membership according to the criteria set in the form.Subscribe these user typesThe field lists all available user types. The Staff Zoom lists the roles used at the school or district.For Grades and/or subjectsEnter a list of grades, subjects or grade.subject if relevant. For example, *9, English* or *10.Mathematics*.Unsubscribe users if they no longer meet the criteriaMembership will be adjusted during the daily synchronization. For example, if a Group is setup for the grade 9 students, at the beginning of a new school year, the membership will change to include the current 9 students. This checkbox is not required to unsubscribe people who are no longer connected to the school. When people are no longer members of a school they are dropped from all Groups. For example, when parents no longer have a student at a school, they lose all access to Groups.### Changing a group’s Setup form Group names, moderators, icons or any other information can be changed by editing the Setup form. To open a group’s setup form, hover over the group name in the Groups Zoom to view the Setup link. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-group-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accessing-group-setup.png) The Setup form can also be opened from within the group. Those who are moderating a group and who do not have access to the Groups Zoom can change the Setup form from within the group. ## Archiving and deleting a group When a group is no longer needed, group moderators and school administrators can open the group’s Setup form and set the group type to Archived. This will immediately remove the group from everyone’s desktop. The group will be effectively deleted from Edsby, but the content is retained for the remainder of the school year. Just before a new school year begins, Archived groups are deleted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/changing-type-to-archived.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/changing-type-to-archived.png) ## Group Setup examples The following is a set of examples of recommended Group Setup form for common situations. ### School Groups The following examples can be used for groups such as: - Parent Groups - Parent Volunteer Opportunities - Community Volunteer Opportunities - Parent Council For example, the Parent Volunteer Opportunities group can be seen by staff, parents, and students. Anyone can ask questions about volunteer opportunities. Younger students, who love having their parent on a field trip, can tell parents about new posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-1-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-1-2.png) The Parent Volunteer Opportunities group could also be set up to only enable the moderators to make a post, but permit anyone to reply to posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-2.png) When naming groups for parents, remember that a parent may see groups from more than one school. Consider using the school name as part of the group name, or choosing the school logo as the image. ### Staff Groups Sometimes it is a good thing for parents and students to be aware of all the work and activity that happens at school, but to avoid overwhelming parents and students with a list of groups that they can’t join, staff groups can be hidden from parents. For staff groups, set the Show to field to All Staff. Groups provide departments or committees with a great way to collaborate. In this example, only staff can see the name of the group and any staff member can enter and join the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-3.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-3.png) Follow this example if the group only needs to be seen by the group creator and people invited to join the group. The Show to and Membership fields can be changed at any time. A group may begin as a private group while people create content then opened to all staff. For this scenario start with this setting below, and then switch the Show to field to All Staff and the Membership field to Open. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-4.png) When working with a group of people to create content, follow this example to enable everyone in the group to have the same set of permissions as the moderator. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-5.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-5.png) ### Student groups Groups can give students a safe place to practice digital citizenship. Groups such as student volunteer opportunities or clubs that are always open to new members can be set up like this: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-6.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-6.png) Follow this example to set up a group whose name can be seen by students, but only members can enter the group and contribute. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-7.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-7.png) People who are not in a group can click the group name and request to join the group. To create a group where students can only read content and reply to moderator posts, follow this example. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-8.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-8.png) ### Private Group To create a group that can only be seen by the creator and members, set the Show field to No-one (Private). **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-9.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/example-9.png)** ## Adding people to groups People can be added to groups in 6 ways: - Joining in any open group displayed in the expanded Group panel. - Requesting to join any closed group displayed in the expanded Group panel. - By moderators of groups, by opening the group and clicking the Invite link. - Teachers can invite students they teach and their parents to groups they moderate through the My Students and My Parents Zooms. - School Admins can bulk invite people to groups through the Students, Staff, and Parents Zooms. - School Admins can configure the Group Setup form’s Automated membership section. ### Automated membership School and district administrators can automatically subscribe staff members, parents, and students to a Group. Automated membership is based on a user’s Edsby role. The Staff Zoom can be used to identify which people are designated as which user type. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership.png) For example, if a group is set to automatically subscribe Guidance staff, every time new guidance staff members are added to the school, they will be added to the group. For teachers, the automatic membership can be refined by specifying grade, subjects, or a combination of grade and subjects. For example, the administrator can create a Staff Room, which for all time, will automatically add any new staff members to the group or groups can be created to enable grade 9 English teachers, or high school Art teachers to collaborate. Use the *For Grades and or Subjects* field to enter a list grades (K-12), subjects, or to combine grade and subject. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/for-grades-and-or-subjects.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/for-grades-and-or-subjects.png) This example illustrates how to automatically subscribe all current and future grade 6 and 7 teachers to a group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership-1.png) This example illustrates how to automatically subscribe all current and future teachers of English and Language Arts classes to a group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership-2.png) This example illustrates how to automatically subscribe all current and future high school English teachers to a group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership-3.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-membership-3.png) The Classes Zoom lists the valid choices for the *For Grades and or Subjects* field. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filters-for-grades-and-or-subjects.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filters-for-grades-and-or-subjects.png)** Use the *Course Codes* field to automatically subscribe users associated with specific course codes to the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/course-codes-automated-membership-field.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/course-codes-automated-membership-field.png) This example illustrates how to automatically subscribe all teachers who teach the ENG1D course code. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/subscribe-ENG1D-teachers.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/subscribe-ENG1D-teachers.png) Use the *Moderators* field to automatically subscribe certain roles as moderators of the Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/moderators-automated-membership-field.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/moderators-automated-membership-field.png) This example illustrates how to automatically make all Guidance staff moderators of the Student Success Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/guidance-moderators-automated-membership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/guidance-moderators-automated-membership.png) Group members with automated membership are distinguished by a gear icon next to their name in the Group Member List. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gear-icon-for-automated-membership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gear-icon-for-automated-membership.png) **Note:** Automated membership created by a school-level administrator will only apply to users at that school. If a district-level administrator uses automated membership, all users in the district matching the membership criteria will automatically be added as Group members. ### Automatic Membership for students To create a group that includes all current and future students set the *Subscribe these user types* field to Student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-student-membership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-student-membership.png) To create a group that includes all current and future students in a specific grade, set the Automatic Membership as follows. In this example, the group will be for grade 9 students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/subscribe-grade-9-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/subscribe-grade-9-students.png) When the Unsubscribe users if they no longer meet the criteria check box is enabled, students will be subscribed or unsubscribed based on their current grade level. At the beginning of a new school year, only the current grade 9 students will be subscribed to this group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/unsubscribe-users-if-dont-meet-criteria.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/unsubscribe-users-if-dont-meet-criteria.png) ### Automatic Membership for parents To create a group that includes all current and future parents set the *Subscribe these user types* field to Parent. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-parent-membership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/automated-parent-membership.png)** ***Note:** Individuals automatically enrolled in groups will only be unsubscribed if they no longer meet the criteria for the automated membership. If they click the Unsubscribe button from within a group, the group will temporarily be removed from their My Groups panel. However, the group will be added to their My Groups panel again the next day.* ## Bulk invitations for Students, Parents & Staff In addition to automatic membership, the Students, Parents and Staff Zooms include the ability to invite people to pre-existing groups. First, navigate to the relevant Student, Parent or Staff Zoom view. Then, filter the list to the people who you seek to add to the group, or click the Gear icon to select people. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-staff-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-staff-members.png) Click on the drop down menu arrow and select Invite to Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/invite-to-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/invite-to-group.png) Click Choose Group. The Groups Zoom appears. Select the group or groups and click Select. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/inviteadd-to-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/inviteadd-to-group.png) Click Invite to give people the option to decline the invitation. The group will appear on the home screen with an Accept & Decline button. Click Add to immediately add people to the group. Students and teachers cannot choose to leave a group if the Add button is clicked. Any moderators and school administrators can leave a group or remove a member from a group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/invite-vs-add.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/invite-vs-add.png) In this example, the school Principal has created a Group for the parents of the grade 12 graduating students to plan for their graduation ceremony and would like to issue a bulk Group invitation to all of the parents. This can be done from the Parents Zoom using the process shown above or through the Students Zoom. In the Students Zoom, filter to the grade 12 students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/filter-to-grade-12-students.png) Click the drop-down arrow and select *Invite Parents to Group.* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/select-invite-parents-to-group.png) Select the Group from the *Choose Group* drop-down. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/choose-group-drop-down.png) Click *Add* to automatically add the parents to the Group or *Invite* to give parents the option to decline the invitation. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/invite-or-add.png) ## Closed Groups workflow for teams and clubs One of the challenges at the beginning of the school year is to get students connected to the right groups, whether a sports team or a club. Closed groups can be used to help with this task. The faculty member creates a closed group that is visible to students. The team members request an invitation to join the group, and the moderator approves or rejects the request. When all the team members have been added, the moderator can then change the group’s Setup form’s Show To field to No-one(Private). If a group is closed, but not private, moderators may receive requests from people to join a group. To request an invitation: 1. From the home screen’s Group panel click Find More link. 2. Click the group to submit the request. The person can send an optional message with the request. 3. Click Request Invite. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-invite.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-invite.png) The request is sent to the moderator’s Edsby Message Centre. The moderator clicks Approve to add the person to the group. If moderators do not wish to grant access, they can do nothing, click Reject, or click Reject and enter a message in the space provided. The person requesting the invitation will see either the Approved or Rejected and optional message in his or her Edsby Message Center. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/approved-request.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/approved-request.png) ## Removing a member from a group Moderators can remove any member of the group, by doing this: 1. Open the group. 2. In the Active panel, click the view all members link. 3. Click the trashcan to remove the member. Confirm the deletion. Users can remove themselves from Edsby groups by clicking “Unsubscribe” within the group when logged in to Edsby with a web browser. This deletes the group from their desktop. The user will be re-added to the group the next day if they were added using auto-enrolment and still meet the auto-enrolment criteria. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/delete-group-member-1024x547.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/delete-group-member.png) ## Removing multiple members from a group If an administrator needs to quickly remove multiple users from a group, they remove them through Zooms. Once a list of selected individuals is generated, the users can be removed from a single or multiple groups using the Remove from Group function. The lists generated in a Zoom can only contain one role type (student, staff, or parent). If an administrator needs to remove users from a group across multiple roles, they must repeat the process in each Zoom. To remove multiple users from a group: Navigate to the correct Zoom. Administrators can access the staff, student and parent zooms from the home page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-staff-or-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-staff-or-parents-zoom.png) Select (or filter) a set of users to be removed from the group within the zoom. To select users, click the gear in the upper right corner. Click the checkbox beside a user to select them or click the checkbox in the top row to select all users in a list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-users.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-users.png) **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Note-Edsby.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Note-Edsby.png)Note**: Once a user has been selected, they will not be unselected unless the selection has been manually cleared. This means that administrators can create new filtered lists or search for a particular user within the zoom without their previous selections disappearing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clear-selection.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/clear-selection.png) After selecting users to be removed, click the downward arrow in the upper right corner of zoom. Select Remove from group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/remove-from-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/remove-from-group.png) **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Note-Edsby.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Note-Edsby.png)Note**: Administrators can also remove the parents of selected students from group(s) within the Student Zoom by clicking the Remove Parents from Group option in the drop-down box.Click on the box beneath Choose Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/choose-group-to-remove-from.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/choose-group-to-remove-from.png) Select the group(s) to remove the users from. Administrators can choose groups of which some of the selected users are not members. Edsby will simply remove the students who are members of that group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-removal-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-removal-group.png) Click Remove Members to remove the students from the group. In the case of a closed group, this will also revoke any pending invitations to students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-invites-remove-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-invites-remove-members.png) ## Sending a message to group members In addition to posting a message within the group, an Edsby message can be sent to groups members or the group moderator. This example illustrates sending an Edsby message to all the members of the Parent Committee and the Parent Volunteer Opportunities groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/messaging-all-group-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/messaging-all-group-members.png) The Staff, Students, Parents, and Classes Zooms can also be used to send an Edsby message to people. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Edsby Capture for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-teachers/) **Published:** July 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby Capture App, available via the App Store and Google Play, gives educators a simple way to record, tag, share, and report on learning evidence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edsby-capture-app-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-edsby-capture-app-copy.png) Edsby Capture gives students and teachers the ability to easily capture photographs and videos of their work and create evidence items within the Edsby platform. After a record is uploaded, it is automatically added to the Edsby Evidence stream and associated with relevant students. Capturing Evidence through Edsby has never been easier. With just a few taps of a smartphone or tablet, teachers can quickly add pieces of Evidence for any of their students. Edsby Capture uses a QR code unique to each student and is intended for student use, this means that when teachers use the Capture app, the Evidence will still be labelled as being created by the student. Evidence that is captured through the Edsby Capture app will be shared with the student in their Learning Story immediately. However, parents will not be able to see that Evidence in the student’s Learning Story until teachers choose to share it with them. ## Printing QR Codes When teachers open the Edsby Capture app, it will ask them to scan their student’s QR code. Each student has a unique QR code linked to their Edsby account. Have the QR codes for each student ready before opening the app. Teachers can print QR codes from both the Evidence system within a class or from the Student panel in the class. ### Evidence System To print QR codes for the students in a class, navigate to the Evidence system in the class. In the All Evidence view, click the button that says Print QR codes for Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-qr-codes-for-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-qr-codes-for-students.png) Click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-button-for-qr-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/print-button-for-qr-codes.png) If teachers need to reissue QR codes for all of their students, click Reissue all Codes. If teachers only need to reissue QR codes for a handful of students, click the Reissue Code icon in the bottom right corner of each student’s individual square. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/reissue-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/reissue-codes.png) ### Student Panel To print QR codes from the Student panel in the class, click to view all students in the class. Click QR Codes, then click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/print-from-student-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/print-from-student-panel.png) Teachers can also reissue QR codes for any or all of your students from this screen. ### Enabling students to print their own QR Codes Teachers can enable students and their parents to print their own QR Codes for capturing learning evidence at home. Click the checkbox next to ‘Allow students and parents to print the QR Codes’. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/allow-students-and-parents-to-print-qr-codes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/allow-students-and-parents-to-print-qr-codes.png) This option can also be selected in the class setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/allow-to-print-qr-codes-setup-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/allow-to-print-qr-codes-setup-form.png) **Note:** Students and their parents will only see the QR Codes pertaining to them. The QR Codes of other students in the class will not be accessible. ## Downloading the App The Edsby Capture App is available via the Apple Store and Google Play. Click the links below to download the App and make capturing evidence a breeze. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/app-store-logo-1.png)](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814)[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/google-play-icon-1.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en_CA) ### Students using the app Students can also use the Edsby Capture App to capture evidence regarding their own work without the teacher needing to. Provide students with their QR codes so they can easily document their own work in the classroom. When students capture a piece of their own evidence, it will also flow into the teacher’s Edsby Evidence system. [Click here for more information on how students can use the Edsby Capture App.](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/?locale=en) ## Editing the Evidence The Edsby Capture app simplifies the evidence capturing process by only requiring images to be captured regarding a student’s work. If teachers would like to add additional observations, conversational evidence, expectations, or share the evidence with the student and their parents, they can do so from the Edsby evidence system within the browser interface. Navigate to the evidence system within a class. This brings the teacher to the All Evidence view of the class where the previously captured evidence will be visible in the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/all-evidence-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/all-evidence-view.png) Click the drop-down arrow at the top right corner of the piece of evidence and select. Edit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/teacher-editing-evidence-300x142.png) This opens the New Evidence form where teachers can write an observation, conversational evidence, add frames and expectations as well as custom tags, apply the evidence to additional students, assign a performance indicator, or share the evidence in the student’s Edsby Learning Story. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/new-evidence-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/new-evidence-form.png) Make any necessary edits and click Save. Teachers can also find the captured evidence in the Organize tab of the evidence system. Click Organize and select the correct student from the drop-down menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/organize-and-select-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/organize-and-select-student.png) The evidence captured on Edsby Capture, if not edited yet, will be found in the Untagged section. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/untagged-section.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/untagged-section.png) Double click to access the New Evidence form and make any additions. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [The School Page](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/the-school-page/) **Published:** June 12, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The School Page, accessed from the top left of the Home Screen in Edsby, provides a great way for office administrators to share and manage a wide range of school-specific information including: 1. Key Contacts of the school 2. A list of Staff members in the school 3. An Important section for policies and procedures 4. School Groups for teams, clubs, staff members, etc. 5. School News articles 6. School Calendar 7. School Information including its address, phone numbers, and fax numbers 8. Documents such as newsletters, handbooks, or a school form **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-page-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-page-breakdown.png)** **Note:** This content is only available to authenticated individuals of a school, so office administrators can share more than they might choose to do on a public website. ## Staff and Key Contacts On the School Page, Edsby displays all staff members that are associated with the school. Edsby obtains this information from the Student Information System, so office administrators do not have to worry about manually inputting this information. Staff are listed in one of two panels – a general Staff panel and the Key Contacts panel. Initially, all staff in the school are displayed in the Staff panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/key-contacts-and-staff-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/key-contacts-and-staff-panel.png) Individuals with school administrative privileges in Edsby (Principal or Office Head) can add staff to the Key Contacts panel. To do this, click on the word Staff to open a detailed list of staff members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/staff-popout-and-add-to-key-contacts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/staff-popout-and-add-to-key-contacts.png) Then, hover over a staff member and click Add to Key Contacts. To remove a staff member from the Key Contacts panel, hover over the staff member’s name and click Remove from Key Contacts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/remove-from-key-contacts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/remove-from-key-contacts.png) To change the order of the people listed in the Key Contacts panel, click, hold, and drag a person’s name to the preferred location in the order. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/reordering-key-contacts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/reordering-key-contacts.png) ### Printing a Staff List Edsby enables office administrators to print staff lists. To do this, click the Staff pop-out on the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/staff-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/staff-popout.png) Change the layout to one of two list views by clicking the icons at the top right of the pop-out. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/staff-lists.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/staff-lists.png) When the desired layout has been chosen, click Print. The staff list will be printed. ### Photos Edsby can store and display a photograph for each staff member. It is highly recommended that each staff member has a good quality portrait photo in Edsby as it helps to make Edsby more inviting to students and parents. Other images, such as photos of pets, should be discouraged. Staff members can easily add their photo to their profile. In the top right corner of Edsby, click the drop-down arrow. Select Profile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-profile.png) Hover over the photo area, click Edit, and select a photo by clicking Browse. Click Save to update the photo. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/browse-for-photo.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/browse-for-photo.png) Edsby also enables staff photos to be loaded in bulk if there is a complete set of professional photos of all staff members. ### Roles Edsby has a set of roles that control what each staff member can see and do in Edsby. Examples of roles include Principal, Teacher, Guidance, Office Head, IT Administrator, Support Staff, etc. See the [Appendix](#rolesappendix) for the details about the various Staff Roles and Permissions. Ensure each staff member is assigned to the appropriate role. Some Student Information Systems provide Edsby with a SIS role for each staff member and Edsby automatically maps them to an Edsby role. In this case, office administrators only need to verify the roles are correct. However, if Edsby is not provided with roles from the SIS, then it simply defaults all staff members to the role of Teacher. The IT Administrator should change the role of the staff members who are not teachers. ***Note:** The only role at a school that can change roles is the IT Administrator. Therefore, it is necessary that at least one person is assigned this role in the SIS.* Changing a staff member’s role can be done by navigating to the Staff Zoom or through the Staff pop-out on the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/popout-or-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/popout-or-zoom.png) Select a specific staff member to open up the Teacher Details page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/teacher-details-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/teacher-details-page.png) Click Information. In the Role field, select the appropriate role. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-a-user-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-a-user-type.png) ## Important Panel Edsby provides a panel on the School Page called Important. This enables access to a two-level page publishing system that can be used to publish information to the school community. It is ideal for things like policies and procedures, volunteer information, committee information, or a code of conduct. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/important-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/important-panel.png) The Important panel is organized into Topics and Subtopics, which can be used to easily add structure to the way administrators share information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/new-topic-or-subtopic.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/new-topic-or-subtopic.png) A Topic or Subtopic may simply be a line or two of plain text. However, Edsby provides a rich text editor that enables the creation of complex pages with tables, bullets, and embedded images. Take some time to explore what Edsby can do in this area! [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rich-text-editor.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rich-text-editor.png) ## Groups The school’s groups can be viewed on the School Page. These are the same groups visible when an individual clicks Find More in their My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-groups.png) Teachers and administrators can create groups from the School Page. ## School News The middle of the School Page shows a feed view of the school News. Here, administrators can create a new article or edit, approve, or delete existing News articles. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-feed.png) ## School Calendar The School Calendar is used to create school-wide events. Holidays, Professional Development days, and school breaks are added automatically when Edsby is first set up. However, office administrators can add additional school-wide events easily through the Calendar on the School Page. These events will appear on everyone’s Home Screen Calendar in Edsby with a purple dot beside them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-calendar.png) ## Information Panel The Information panel on the School Page displays the school’s contact information including the address, phone number, fax number, and website. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-info.png) This is available to all individuals associated with the school. Clicking Information enables Administrators to supply or update the school information, change the school icon, and add additional moderators. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Edsby-manage-school-info.png) ## Documents Panel Edsby provides a panel on the School Page called Documents. This provides a facility for storing files that students, teachers, and parents may need to access from time to time. Think of uploading standard forms (PDFs), school newsletters, the student handbook, or other files that may be useful to the school community. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-documents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-documents.png) Office administrators can create folders inside the Documents panel. If there are many files, it may be useful to organize them into folders. To add a folder, click New and select Folder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/New-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/New-folder.png) Name the folder and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/name-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/name-folder.png) Files can be added to the folder by dragging and dropping. ## School Report Card Comments The School IT, Senior Admin, and Office (Head) roles can manage school-level report card comments in Edsby. These are managed by clicking the Comments link in the upper right corner of the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/comments-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/comments-link.png) To create a comment, click Add New Comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-new-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-new-comment.png) Enter the comment in the text field. The comment can include automatic replacements. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-comment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-comment-form.png) For more information on creating or importing report card comments in Edsby, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/adding-district-level-school-level-report-card-comments/) ## School Notifications Individuals associated with the school can choose to be notified whenever a new News article has been posted at the school by clicking the bell icon in the upper right corner of the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bell-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bell-icon.png) ## Appendix 1: Teacher and Staff Roles Teachers and staff members have access to parent and student information but have limited access to the information of other staff members. **Teacher****Teacher Assistant****Other Staff****Ancillary Staff****Office****Zooms**My Students, My Parents, Classes (for Attendance only)My Students, My Parents, Classes (for Attendance only)NoneNoneLimited to Attendance, Staff, Students, Parents, Student Contacts**Attendance Administration**✘No✘No✘No✘No✓Yes**Approval Forms**From My StudentsFrom My Students**Student Profile**✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes**Student Panorama and Portfolio**✓Yes✓Yes✘No✘No✘No**Student Information Panel on Panorama**✓Yes✓Yes\*✘No✘No✘No**Student Mailbox**✘No✘No✘No✘No✘No**Parent Profile**✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes**Parent Details**✓Yes✓Yes✘No✘No✘No**Parent Information**✓Yes✓Yes✘No✘NoContact information available on Attendance form**Staff Details**✘No✘No✘No✘No✘No**Staff Profile**✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes**Class Access**When listed as teacherWhen listed as teacher✘No✘No✘No**Class Setup Form**Edit if Class ownerEdit if Class owner✘No✘No✘No**Group Creation**✓Yes✓Yes✘No✘No✘No## Appendix 2: School Administration Roles School Administration roles have access to the school-level Zooms, Attendance, Report Cards, and Parent-Teacher Interview Schedules. **Guidance Staff****Office (Head)****Senior Admin****School IT****Zooms**Staff, Students, Parents, Contacts, ClassesAll ZoomsAll ZoomsAll Zooms**Attendance Administration**✘No✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**School Page Administration**✘No✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Calendar Administration**✘No✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Report Card Administration**✘No✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Parent-Teacher Interviews Administration**✘No ✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Approval Forms**All studentsAll studentsAll studentsAll students**Student Profile**✓View✓View✓View✓View**Student Panorama and Portfolio**✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Student Information Panel on Panorama**✓View✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Student Mailbox**✓View✓View✓View✓View**Parent Profile**✓View✓View✓View✓View**Parent Details**✓View✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Parent Information**✓View✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Staff Profile**✓View✓View✓View✓View**Staff Details** ✘No✓View✓View✓Edit**Edit Staff Passwords**✘No✘NoYes, if no ADYes, if no AD**Class Access**Yes, no Gradebook accessYes, no Gradebook accessYes, no Gradebook accessYes, no Gradebook access**Class Setup Form**✘No access✓Edit✓Edit✓Edit**Group Administration**✘No✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes**Group Creation**✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes**Group Automated Membership**✘No✓Yes✓Yes✓Yes **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [List Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/list-groups/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables support for List Groups which can be used for performing various actions on a set of students. List Groups are Edsby groups that students or parents never see they are a member of, but they appear as a normal group to teachers and administrators. List Groups can be used for attendance or for mail list-type purposes like making a planned absence for all grade 8 students or messaging a specific group of parents and students. Additionally, a List Group could be used to group students for disciplinary or other reasons. ## Creating a List Group To create a List Group, click the pop-out in the My Groups panel or click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-copy-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-copy-2.png) Set the group type to List Group. Name the group and provide a description of the group, if desired. Select moderators, permissions and membership for the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/choosing-list-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/choosing-list-group.png) Automated membership can be used to automatically enrol certain user types into the list group, for example, all grade 8 students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/automated-membership-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/automated-membership-1.png) In this example, William Ham, principal of Tecumseh High, is creating a List Group for all students who are picked up along Bus Route B. He would like to be able to inform them of any changes that may occur to the bus route. The group is private with closed membership as it is not necessary for other members in the school to have access to information regarding a different bus route than their own. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/bus-route-b-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/bus-route-b-setup.png) The group type is set to List Group, Beth Archer is added as a moderator of the group, and Mr. Ham will manually invite each of the students on the route so automated membership is not required. Once the setup form is complete, click Create Group. This will add the group to Mr. Ham’s My Groups Panel as well as Beth Archer, the other moderator of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/list-group-in-groups-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/list-group-in-groups-panel.png) ### Adding Staff and Students to the Group After the group has been created, moderators can continue to add staff and students to the group. To add students, click Add Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-students.png) Type the names of the students who will be added to the group. Mr. Ham will add all students who are picked up along Bus Route B. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/typing-names-then-add-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/typing-names-then-add-student.png) Click Add Student. The students will automatically be added to the group; however, they will not see the group in their My Groups panel and they will not know they are a member of the group. To add staff members, click Add Staff. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-staff-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-staff-1.png) Type the names of the staff members who will be added to the group. Mr. Ham would like to add Julie Howell to the group as she is a bus monitor for this route. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-staff-member.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-staff-member.png) Click Invite Members. This will send an invitation to Ms. Howell for her to Accept or Decline in her My Groups panel. Upon accepting, Ms. Howell will be able to enter the group. ## Sending a message to members of a List Group Moderators of a group can choose to send a message to members of the group as well as request permission. Other staff in the group can also send a message to members of the group if the moderator has allowed them to view the members panel. Mr. Ham would like to inform all students who take bus route B and their parents that there will be a few changes to the bus route due to road construction. He will do this by sending them a message through Edsby. Click to view all members of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/view-all-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/view-all-members.png) Click the drop-down arrow and select Message Parents and Students. Type a message and click Send. The message will be pre-addressed to every student and their parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/message-parents-and-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/message-parents-and-students.png) Note: The only options for messaging are to *Message Parents and Students* or *Message Parents* *Only,* even if the group only contains students. Group moderators cannot message students only through the Group. ### Printing a member list A roster of those in the group can be printed also from the Members panel by choosing one of the templates and clicking print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/printing-rosters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/printing-rosters.png) To request permission from students or parents, click the drop-down arrow and select one of the options from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/request-permission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/request-permission.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Learning Story for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-capture-for-students/learning-story-for-students/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** The focus of Edsby’s learning evidence system is to support the assessment, evaluation, and reporting practices of K-12 teachers. Edsby provides teachers with tools to capture evidence regarding student learning. Once captured, teachers can create Learning Stories to share with students and their parents. Students can view evidence teachers have shared through their own Learning Story. This feed is available on both mobile and browser interfaces and shows shared learning evidence captured by the student or by the teacher with newest posts at the top of the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/parent-view-of-learning-story-mobile-and-desktop-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/parent-view-of-learning-story-mobile-and-desktop-copy.png) Each item includes the teacher’s observation, the media – usually one or two pictures – and any conversation with the student. 1. Description of the student’s Evidence 2. Picture of the Evidence 3. Student’s Conversational Evidence 4. Learning expectations/outcomes the Evidence fulfills [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/parts-of-evidence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/parts-of-evidence.png) Items also show a list of the learning expectations/standards associated with the item which are displayed when students and parents hover over the item. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hovering-over-expectation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hovering-over-expectation.png) Finally, there is a conversational feed to enable the teacher, the student, or the parent to reflect and discuss the learning associated with the item. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/conversation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/conversation.png) Learning Story items are curated by the student’s teacher. Teachers share items using their professional judgement. Students are unable to remove anything from their Learning Stories themselves. ### Adding Learning Story items to the Portfolio Students can choose to add an item shared in their Learning Story to their Portfolio. To do so, click the blue plus icon. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-to-portfolio-learnign-story-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/add-to-portfolio-learnign-story-item.png) This adds the Learning Story item to the student’s Portfolio. To remove the item from the Portfolio, click the blue plus icon again. ### Mobile Students can access their Learning Story from their mobile device. Once logged into the Edsby app, students will see their home screen. Click Learning Story to see the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/viewing-mobile-laning-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/viewing-mobile-laning-story.png) ### Browser Students can also access their Learning Story on the Edsby browser. Once logged into Edsby, students will see their home screen. Below their Classes panel is an option for students to view their Learning Story. Students may click this to view the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/desktop-learning-story-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/desktop-learning-story-1.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Attendance - Mobile](https://www.edsby.com/help/mobile-help-navigating-the-edsby-app-new/mobile-taking-attendance/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers have the option to take attendance from the convenience of their mobile device. To do so, teachers should login to the Edsby App and navigate to the class that attendance will be taken in. In the top menu bar of the class, click Attendance. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/teacher-mobile-attendance-in-header.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/teacher-mobile-attendance-in-header.png) A grid view of the students in a class will be visible. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/attendance-view-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/attendance-view-copy.png) Tap the pictures of the students who are Absent and Late. A red A will appear on top of the photo after being tapped once. Click the student’s photo again if they are late. A yellow L will appear on top of the photo. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/absent-and-late-students-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/absent-and-late-students-copy.png) Click Fill Present to mark all other students as present. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/fill-present-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/fill-present-copy.png) When each student has been marked with the correct state, click Share with Office. ## Changing a Student’s Attendance State Teachers can change the attendance state of a student even after the attendance has been submitted to the office. In this example, Emma A was accidentally marked absent, however, she was in class the entire time. Click on the state of a student. A screen will show the student’s attendance totals and buttons for the three attendance state options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/changing-attendance-state.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/changing-attendance-state.png) Click the updated attendance state of the student. The attendance will automatically update, and the office will see the most recent update. ## Creating Extra Attendance Sheets Teachers can create extra attendance sheets by clicking the three white vertical dots in the top right corner of the attendance screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-extra-attendance-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-extra-attendance-copy.png) Select Create extra attendance. Fill the form out with a sheet name, start time, and end time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/extra-attendance-sheet-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/extra-attendance-sheet-copy.png) Click Save. Mark the students with their appropriate attendance states and share with the office when the attendance is complete. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [District Administrator Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/district-administrator-quickstart/) **Published:** June 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables administrators at the district level to perform various actions across the entire district including managing the schools in the district, creating district-wide groups, News River articles, report card comments, and reporting periods. ## Jump to a Section [Schools Zoom](#schoolszoom) [District Groups](#districtgroups) [District-Level News Articles](#districtnewsarticles) [District-Level Report Card Comments](#districtcomments) [District Reporting Periods](#districtreportingperiod) ## Schools Zoom The Schools Zoom is located on the right side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen-1.png) It provides district administrators with information regarding each of the schools in the district including the school name, school level, the number of staff, parents, and students at the school, as well as the senior admins of the school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/schools-zoom-850x361.jpg) 1. The Zoom can be filtered by School Level (Elementary, Middle, or High) and City the school is located in. 2. District administrators can also create district reporting periods and district-level news articles from this Zoom. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/schools-zoom-3/) for more information on the Schools Zoom. ## District Groups Edsby Groups can be used to collaborate with staff, students, and parents at individual schools or across the district as a whole. As part of every standard Edsby deployment, an Edsby Feedback group is created at the district level and all staff members in the district are members. This group enables staff members to ask questions, report bugs, and provide feedback. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/edsby-feedback-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/edsby-feedback-group.png) District administrators can also create district-wide groups. Click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/find-more-groups-district.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/find-more-groups-district.png) This provides a view of district-wide groups. Scroll to view groups created at individual schools. Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CREATE-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CREATE-button.png) Select the District name under the *Where* field. Fill out the Group creation form and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-district-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-district-group.png) ### Automated Membership District administrators can automatically subscribe staff members, parents, and students to district-wide groups. Automated membership is based on an individual’s role in Edsby. For example, Scott Beasley, the district superintendent of High Prairie School District is creating a group at the district-level for all Guidance staff to collaborate on best practices for student success. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-success-best-practices.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-success-best-practices.png) Under *Subscribe these user types,* select Guidance Staff. This means every time new guidance staff members are added in the district, they will be added to the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/subscribe-guidance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/subscribe-guidance.png) For teachers, automated membership can be refined by specifying grade, subjects, or a combination of both. For example, Scott Beasley is now creating a group at the district-level for all grade 9 English teachers in the district to collaborate. Under *Subscribe these user types,* select Teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/9-english-teachers.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/9-english-teachers.png) In the *For grades and or subjects* field, type 9.English. ### Study Groups Edsby includes support for Study Groups. These are district-wide groups that can be automatically employed across the district for each unique course offered. When a Study Group is created for a specific course code, every student and teacher across the district enrolled in that course will be automatically enrolled in the corresponding Study Group. This enables students across the district to ask questions, learn from other students, and be guided by educators who are facilitating the learning in that specific area. To create a Study Group, set the group type to Study Group in the group creation form. Use automated membership to automatically enroll the correct staff and students to the specific study group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/study-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/study-group-type.png) In this example, Scott Beasley is creating a Study Group for all students and staff enrolled in grade 9 academic science. To do this he will select the user types to Teacher, Assistant Teacher, and Student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/study-group-role-and-unsubscribe.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/study-group-role-and-unsubscribe.png) Clicking the box next to Unsubscribe users if they no longer meet the criteria means the students will no longer be members of the group when they move onto grade 10 and are no longer enrolled in grade 9 science. Type the specific course code for grade 9 academic science and click Enter. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/course-code-and-moderator-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/course-code-and-moderator-1.png) Moderators can be assigned to the group on a role basis. In this example, teachers teaching SNC1D will automatically become moderators of the Study Group. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups-management/study-groups/) for more information on Study Groups. ## District-Level News Articles Edsby makes it easy for everyone across a school district to be up-to-date with the latest news. District administrators can publish an article to an entire district or to selected schools within the district. Publish an article to the entire district by navigating to the District Page on the top left of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/clicking-district-name-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/clicking-district-name-1.png) Click Submit an Article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submit-district-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submit-district-article.png) To submit an article to only select schools in the district, navigate to the Schools Zoom on the right side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/schools-zoom-on-home-screen.png) An overview of the schools in the district will be shown. Use the filters on the left side of the screen to select the schools you wish to display the article to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selectes-schools-to-create-news-article.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selectes-schools-to-create-news-article.png) Once selected, click Create News Article. For more information on creating district-level news articles, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/creating-district-level-news-articles/) ## District-Level Report Card Comments Report card comments can be created at the district level to enable teachers across the district access to a bank of consistent comments across the district. The District IT Admin and District Admin roles manage district-level report card comments. To make comments available to all teachers in the district, click the district name. Click the Comments link in the top right of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-comments.png) To create a new comment, click Add New Comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-new-comment-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-new-comment-1.png) For more information on creating report card comments and how comment substitutions work, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/adding-district-level-school-level-report-card-comments/) ## District-Level Reporting Periods Reporting periods are created by the school district and define a submission period by supplying a start date and a due date. Teachers across the district complete and submit report card sheets during the submission period. To create a district reporting period, administrators navigate to the Schools Zoom and click District Reporting Period. Fill out the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-reporting-period-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-reporting-period-button-1.png) The district Report Cards Zoom, located on the right side of the Home Screen, keeps track of the schools in the district that are part of each reporting period as well as the status of the school’s Report Cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-report-cards-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/district-report-cards-zoom.png) For information on creating and managing district reporting periods, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/district-report-cards/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Planned Absences](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/planned-absences-2/) **Published:** June 12, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Planned absences are potential absences. Next week’s medical appointment could be cancelled. A student may miss the bus and not go on the field trip. A Planned Absence enables the teacher to see that the Attendance Office knows about the absence. When the teacher submits the attendance sheet, the absence is recorded. If the student is in class because their medical appointment was cancelled, the teacher will mark the student present and the Planned Absence for the period is negated. ## Jump to a Section [Creating Planned Absences](#creatingplannedabsences) [Modifying or Canceling a Planned Absence](#modifyorcancelabsence) [Viewing Planned Absences](#viewplannedabsence) [Field Trips](#fieldtrips) [Parent-submitted Planned Absences](#parentabsences) [Reviewing Unknown Absences](#unknownabsences) ## Creating Planned Absences ### In the Student Tab The Student tab in the Attendance Zoom is the quickest way for school secretaries and administrators to create planned absences for individual students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-tab.png) Administrators should search for the student’s name and click Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-student-and-click-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-student-and-click-planned-absence.png) The Planned Absence form will open with the Who section pre-filled with the student’s name. Enter the time range and reason, then click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/prefilled-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/prefilled-absence.png) To create a Planned Absence for another student, admin should click Search for New Student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-another-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-another-student.png) ### In the Students Zoom In addition to creating Planned Absences in the Attendance Zoom, the Attendance Office can also create Planned Absences from the Edsby Students Zoom. The Students Zoom makes it easier for the school administrator to filter lists of students from multiple grades and homeroom classes. It also has filters that can create unique lists not possible in the Attendance Zoom. School admins can access the Students Zoom on the right side of the Edsby Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/students-zoom.png) 1. Filter or select a list of students who will be absent 2. Click the arrow in the upper right corner 3. Select Create Planned Absence from the drop-down menu ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/filter-and-create-a-planned-absence.jpg) Click Create New if there are no existing Planned Absences. Fill out the time, date, and reason, then click Save to confirm the planned absence. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/create-new-planned-absence.jpg) ### Creating a Planned Absence for a Group or Class Planned Absences for groups or classes work the same way as a Planned Absence for an individual. Navigate to the Planned Absences tab of the Attendance Zoom. Click Create Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-planned-absence.png) In the Who field, enter the short name of a class or the name of a group. Multiple classes and groups can be entered. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/searching-for-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/searching-for-group.png) If there are students who are in the group or class, but are not going to be absent, add the name to the Add Exception field. In this example, the Junior and Senior Girls Baseball Teams will be away at an all-day tournament. However, Lisa Lee has a math test to write and is not attending the tournament. She will be added as an exception. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-exception.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-exception.png) The name of the class can be located through the Classes Zoom and the name of the group can be located in the Groups Zoom. ## Modifying or Canceling a Planned Absence To modify or cancel a planned absence from the Planned Absences tab in the Attendance Zoom, use the arrows to move forward or backward through the months and click on a date to jump to it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/going-to-a-date.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/going-to-a-date.png) Click on the row to open the form. Modify the information on the form and click Save. To cancel the planned absence, click Delete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/opening-up-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/opening-up-absence.png) Planned absences can also be modified or deleted from the Calendar. Click on the planned absence in the Calendar Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/absence-in-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/absence-in-calendar.png) Click Delete to remove the planned absence. To change it, enter the corrected information and click Save. ## Viewing Planned Absences A student’s Panorama lists all planned absences on the Calendar and in the Feed. If the planned absence is more than two weeks away, expand the Calendar by clicking the pop-out icon to view by month. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absence-in-calendar-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absence-in-calendar-popout.png) ## Field Trips Attendance can be taken regarding Planned Absences for a Class or Group. This can be used if the Class or Group is going on a field trip. If a student doesn’t attend the event and attendance on the Planned Absence is taken, the Attendance Office is notified in the Incidents tab. ***Note:** Taking attendance for a Planned Absence does not replace the Class Attendance Sheet. This sheet should still be filled out by the teacher. Both sheets can be found in the teacher’s Calendar.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/absence-and-class-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/absence-and-class-attendance.png) ### Elementary Homeroom Example Mrs. Lapp is taking her Kindergarten class to the Natural History Museum. Two of her students cannot join the field trip and will spend the day in Mr. Chowdhury’s class. The Planned Absence form looks like this. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/elementary-field-trip-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/elementary-field-trip-form.png) The “Attendance should be taken for this planned absence” checkbox has been ticked so Mrs. Lapp will get an attendance sheet that includes the names of the children who are going on the field trip. On the morning of the field trip, Mrs. Lapp clicks the Planned Absence event to open the Attendance Sheet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/take-attendance-on-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/take-attendance-on-planned-absence.png) As the students board the bus, she marks them as present. One of her students, Asela, woke up sick and is not on the bus, so she marks Asela as absent. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-attendance-for-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-attendance-for-absence.png) When Mrs. Lapp submits the Planned Absence sheet, the Attendance Office will see an attendance incident for the student that did not get on the bus for the field trip. The class attendance still needs to be taken. The sheet will list the students that are on field trip as on a School Activity, the student that is ill today is listed as absent, and the two students that weren’t going on the trip are unknown. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/reviewing-class-attendance-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/reviewing-class-attendance-sheet.png) The Office checks with Mr. Chowdhury to confirm they are both in class and marks them as Present and submits the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/marking-unknown-students-present.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/marking-unknown-students-present.png) ### High School Club Example Mr. Harris is taking the Festival Choir to a regional competition. Members of the Festival Choir do not have any classes in common. The Planned Absence form looks like this. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/high-school-field-trip-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/high-school-field-trip-form.png) The “Attendance should be taken for this planned absence” has been checked. Mr. Harris checks the names as the students board the bus. One student misses the bus. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filling-out-high-school-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filling-out-high-school-absence.png) As each student’s teachers take attendance, they will see the students are on a field trip or the student is absent. If the student is missing from class, the teacher submits the sheet without making any changes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/absence-shown-in-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/absence-shown-in-attendance.png) In this example, even though one of the students missed the bus, they went to their classes. In this case, the teacher would mark the student as present and negate the planned absence. ## Parent-Submitted Planned Absences Parents can submit absences regarding their children through Edsby. Parent-submitted planned absences differ from the planned absences created by the Attendance Office because they do not appear on the attendance sheets until the request has been approved. All unapproved parent-submitted planned absence requests appear in the list until approved, regardless of date. Students cannot submit a planned absence for themselves. When parents submit a request for a planned absence, they are completing the Planned Absence form for the Attendance Office. Parents will have a smaller list of absentee reasons than the Attendance Office. If there are any new absence requests, the Attendance Zoom and the Planned Absence tab will show an unread counter for the office admin. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-unread-counters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-unread-counters.png) To approve the parent submitted absences, administrators should click Planned Absences. Set the Requires Approval filter to Yes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/requires-approval.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/requires-approval.png) The list will be filtered to unapproved parent-submitted planned absences. Administrators may click a student name to open the form. Click Approve. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approve-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approve-absence.png) The absence will now appear on the attendance sheet. For information about the parent experience, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/parent-planned-absences/) ## Reviewing Unknown Absences with the Incidents Tab After the administrator has processed parent emails, voice mails, phone calls, notes, approved parent submitted requested absences and admitted late students, the Incidents tab will list students who are away for unknown reasons. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/unresolved-incidents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/unresolved-incidents.png) The actions a school takes with students listed in the Incidents tab will vary depending on its policies. - The attendance office may contact parents by phone to confirm the reason the student is absent. - The attendance office may send out Edsby notifications. - The attendance office may export the attendance incidents for use with third party applications that notify parents. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Learning Stories for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/learning-stories-for-teachers/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** The focus of Edsby’s Learning Evidence system is to support the assessment, evaluation, and reporting practices of K-12 teachers. Edsby provides teachers with purpose-built tools to capture Evidence. Once captured, Edsby provides innovative tools to organize and analyze the Evidence as well as create Learning Stories to share with students and parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Snap-1.png) When teachers first capture a piece of Evidence regarding a student, it is private to the teacher. However, teachers have the option to share the Evidence with the student and the student’s parents if they desire. The Evidence can be shared immediately through the New Evidence form or later on from the All Evidence and Organize pages of the Evidence system after the Evidence has been captured. ## *Share Immediately* To share the Evidence immediately during the creation of the Evidence, select the checkbox next to Share to Learning Story in the New Evidence form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Snap-2.png) When the Evidence is saved, it will automatically be posted to the student’s Learning Story and will be visible to both the student and their parents. ## *Share Later* To share a piece of Evidence that has already been created, navigate to the All Evidence or Organize page of the Evidence system in a class. Teachers can use the filters to search for Evidence that has not been shared. Additionally, teachers can select specific students from the drop-down. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Snap-3.png) In the All Evidence page, click Share to Learning Story. In the Organize page, teachers can select one or more pieces of Evidence and click Share from the top toolbar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/snap-4.png) Teachers can comment on Evidence in the All Evidence page and comments can be shared to the Learning Story individually. Comments that are shared can be seen by students and their parents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/snap-5.png) Alternatively, teachers can also share the Evidence by editing the Evidence. Double-click a piece of Evidence in the Organize page and select Share to Learning Story. Click save. The Evidence will be posted to the student’s Learning Story. ## *Shared Evidence Arrow* Shared Evidence will include a shared arrow. This is Evidence that appears in the student’s Learning Story and is visible to the student, their parents, and co-teachers. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/snap-6.png) This provides teachers with a quick look at which Evidence items have been shared. ## *What Students and Parents See* Teachers are enabled with a view of what students and parents see when a teacher has shared Evidence with them. Navigate to the Learning Story page of the Evidence system and choose a student from the drop-down list. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/snap-7.png) This provides the teacher with a view of the student’s Learning Story and enables them to know what parents and students can see. Teachers can also comment and reply to discussions on the various posts in the feed to further communicate with the student and parent about the student’s learning. Students can add an item shared in their Learning Story to their Portfolio by clicking the blue Plus icon on the item. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/snap-8.png) To remove the item from their Portfolio, they just click the Plus icon again. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Adding multiple children to a parent account](https://www.edsby.com/help/add-another-child-parent-account/) **Published:** August 17, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** In most cases, parents receive a separate email from the school or district for each student they have in the district. You need each of these emails to link them to a single Edsby parent account. Click the link(s) in the email(s) you were sent and a browser will send you to a screen like the below on the left: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-new-child-to-account.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/adding-new-child-to-account.png) Assuming you’ve already set up an Edsby parent account and are adding an additional student, choose the **Login to your existing Edsby parent account** button in the screen above. Enter your Edsby username and password. Your existing Edsby account will now include your additional child. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Mobile Classes for Teachers Video](https://www.edsby.com/help/mobile-classes-for-teachers-video/) **Published:** June 22, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook Progress Report](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-progress-report/) **Published:** January 27, 2024 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Progress Report enables teachers to create a printed report of their student’s progress to distribute with parents and students. The Progress Report can be used as a helpful tool during parent-teacher interviews, as an indicator of student progress for the students, or even as a report card substitute for private schools. To create a Progress Report, navigate to the Gradebook and click the gear icon, then click Progress Report. Complete the form. A new column will appear in the Gradebook. Click Open to print the report and edit the form.![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Progress-Report-Gradebook-view.png) Teachers have many options within the Progress Report. First, start by creating a title for the Progress Report. In this example, we are going to use the Progress Report to communicate with parents about how their child is doing in week 5 of the school year.![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Progress-Report-Illustrations.png) Teachers can print a report for all students, select specific students to include in the Progress Report, or they can choose to include dropped students. For example, if a few students in the class need extra support in their learning, the teacher can create a Progress Report for just those students and distribute it with their parents so they can support their child’s learning at home. Then, teachers can select the dates for the Progress Report. Choosing ‘Any date’ will include data from the entire Gradebook, choosing ‘In a reporting period’ enables teachers to select a reporting period and will only include data from that reporting period, and choosing ‘Date Range’ enables teachers to select specific dates and will only include data from within that date range. Teachers can choose what to show in the Progress Report. Teachers can choose which, if any, assessments to include in the Progress Report. The list of assessments can be any selection of incomplete, shared, ungraded, and unshared, If shared assessments are included in the printed report, a graph can be included by checking the Graph checkbox. When teachers include summaries, more options will appear on the form. The list will include Overall Average, General Learning Outcomes, and Specific Learning Outcomes. However, the choice of Summary columns is dependent on the curriculum. The Assessments, Evidence, and Include Unshared checkboxes control what data the summary columns will use to pre- calculate the grades. If these fields are left blank, the summary columns will be blank and the teacher can use professional judgment to enter grades. For example, if the teacher has chosen to summarize by Strand, using the mean, and showing as a percentage, any grades from the Gradebook that include Strands will be averaged using the mean and will show in the Progress Report as a percentage. If no assessments have been created using Strands, no grades will appear in the Progress Report. Grades can also be filled in manually and overridden in the Progress Report. For a Progress Report that has multiple fields or strands included, the report will only show what fields have been filled in. If teachers do not wish to fill in each field, they don’t have to. The grades can be summarized using the mean, median, mode, latest, highest, or count. Teachers can choose how the grade appears by using the ‘Show As’ selection. The Class Comment enables teachers to write a general comment for the class and will be used for every student, it can be written or changed using the box. --- ### [Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/) **Published:** February 7, 2024 **Author:** admin --- ### [Parent Onboarding Resources](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/family-onboarding-resources/) **Published:** March 7, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Schools often send home a letter to inform parents about Edsby, such as the below sample “Invitation from Edsby to connect to your child’s school” email: --- Edsby has been chosen by North Central School Board (NCSB) to provide a modern way for parents and guardians to follow their children’s progress at school, receive school updates, and much more. You are receiving this Edsby invitation because you are listed as a parent or guardian of Lily Goddard. To activate a new Edsby account, or to connect this student to your existing Edsby account, please click here to accept. If you have any questions regarding Edsby please contact the school office. To watch a video that describes how to set up your parent account please use the following link: *If this message was sent to you in error, or you do not wish to join Edsby, please click here to decline.* --- Additional text schools and districts may want to consider sharing with parents: --- Edsby pulls together up-to-the-minute information about each of your children and presents it in a clear, easy to understand and comprehensive format. You can see your child’s assigned homework, their attendance and the specifics of what they’re being taught in each class. We invite you to get involved! This will be the only place you need to visit to keep up to date on your child’s school information and progress. The teachers and students will begin using Edsby in September. The next step will involve inviting parents to access Edsby. Now is the time to ensure the school secretary has your current and correct email address. You will receive an invitation from Edsby to connect with your child’s school. Activating your Edsby account is as easy as clicking on a link and choosing your password. If you have children attending other schools within the district, you’ll receive a separate invitation from each school, but your Edsby account will include all your children through a single account. Edsby has a free app for all smartphones, but Edsby works great within your phone’s browser as well. The power of Edsby while using your smart device means you’ll have up-to-the-minute access regarding school information anywhere, anytime. We encourage you to sit down with your sons and daughters and have them show you how Edsby works; where lesson notes are posted, how to access their calendars, and how to find the school news. --- Schools can direct parents to the following Creating your Parent Account video: Edsby site administrators may also wish to provide school offices with a cheat sheet for responding to parent questions, which could include information from the Q&A below: --- **What are the benefits of using Edsby?** Edsby is a great way to support your child at school. Edsby pulls together information about each of your children and presents it in a clear, easy-to-understand format. Parents are an important part of the school’s family. For each of your children – even if they go to different schools – you’ll see all their teachers and classes. Some teachers will assign work through Edsby and if they do, you will be able to see academic progress, upcoming assessments, and current assessments. Each child has a calendar that will display tests and events from their classes and groups, if the teachers are entering the information. Parents may also see what teachers are posting in a class to support their child. **Do I have to use a computer to use Edsby?** Edsby works on all browsers, iOS, and Android devices. [Click here for more information on using Edsby on smartphones and tablets.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/smartphones-and-tablets/) **What is the server address when using the Edsby app?** Insert the letters before edsby.com. For a district whose login page is hpsd.edsby.com, the server address would be hpsd. [Click here for more help on logging in.](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/edsby-login-basics-explained/) **What is the URL when using a browser?** **How will I know that I have been invited to Edsby?** You will receive an email to the email address you have provided the school for each child you have in a school where parents have been invited. The subject is “Invitation from Edsby to connect with (your child’s name)’s school”. The invite is usually a bulk invite, therefore, it may go to your spam or junk mail. **Will I receive only one invite if I have more than one child in the school?** You will receive an invite for each child that is enrolled in the school. **Will I have more than one Edsby account if I have more than one child in school?** You only need one Edsby parent account but will receive a separate email invitation from each school that your children attend. The first invitation will register you for an Edsby account. You’ll then be prompted on a second screen to enter and confirm a password. Your email address and your username will already be entered. Click Create Edsby Account. You’ll be logged into your Edsby Account and a “Welcome to Edsby” message will be sent to your email address. The information for at least one of your children will be immediately visible to you. The other children will need to be linked to your existing Edsby account. To do this, find Edsby invitation email(s) for your addition children. Click the link in the email, and then choose the login to your existing Edsby account button in the screen above. Enter your Edsby username and password. Your existing Edsby account will now include an additional child. [Click here for more information on parent accounts and how they are set up.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/parent-invitation-email/) **Can I schedule an absence for my child using Edsby?** Yes, using Edsby you can schedule an absence for your child. [Click here for more information on Planning Absences.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/parent-planned-absences/) **What do I do if I forget my password? Where do I get help or support on how to use Edsby?** On the Edsby login screen, there is a “Forgot Password?” link. Click this and enter your email address that you used when you registered for Edsby. An email will be sent with instructions to follow. [Click here for more help with forgotten passwords](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/forgotten-passwords/). **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [I just received a great grade on an assessment, but my overall average went down! What happened?](https://www.edsby.com/help/just-received-great-grade-assessment-overall-average-went-happened/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** When this happens it can be confusing, but it doesn’t mean something is wrong. Here’s what’s going on: Edsby gives teachers the ability to use weighting to define what percentage of your overall grade each assessment type is worth. For example, a teacher could define that tests are worth 50% of your overall grade, and everything else (homework, final exam, quizzes, labs, etc.) are worth 50%, for a total of 100%. On top of that, each individual assessment can have its own weighting within each “weighting bucket”. Just because you’ve written two tests doesn’t mean each one is worth 25% of your final grade. The teacher could have set one test to be “worth” more than the other. In an example where tests are worth 50% and everything else is worth 50%, here’s what the teacher’s weighting looks like on their side in Edsby: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/50-50-weighting-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/50-50-weighting-form.png) Your overall average is calculated by first determining your average for all *tests* (and remember, not all tests necessarily carry the same weight, so it’s not as simple as adding up the averages and dividing by the number of tests you’ve written). That number is then multiplied by 0.5, as “tests” contribute 50% of your overall average. All of your other assessments are likewise averaged out and multiplied by 0.5. Those two values are then added together to calculate your overall average. Let’s use some actual numbers here to make this more clear: It’s early in the semester. So far, you’ve had a homework assignment, a quiz and two tests graded and shared in Edsby. Your grades are: Homework Assignment 1: 70% Quiz 1: 80% Test 1: 100% Test 2: 90% For the sake of simplicity, we’ll assume all assessments are weighted equally within their respective buckets, meaning each assessment is worth the same as the other assessments in that bucket. In that scenario, your overall average is calculated by averaging the homework assignment and the quiz then multiplying by .5, averaging the two tests and multiplying by .5, and then adding those values together. Your “Everything Else” average is 75%: (70% + 80%) / 2. This 75% average is worth half of your overall average in the class, or 37.5. Your Test average is 95%: (100% + 90%) / 2. This 95% average is worth half of your overall average in the class, or 47.5. Your overall average is 37.5 + 47.5, which is equal to 85%. This value is what you see in Edsby as your current grade for this class. Here it is from the teacher’s perspective: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Example-1-Weighting-Form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Example-1-Weighting-Form.png) A week passes, and you’ve written a third test. The teacher grades it and shares it, and you’ve done very well – 89%. But wait! Your overall average dropped from 85% to 84%! How is that possible? Let’s go back to the math. Your “Everything Else” average hasn’t changed. You still have two assessments in that bucket with a 75% average. That bucket is still contributing 37.5 to your overall average in the class. The “Test” bucket, however, now has a third assessment in it. Your Test average is now 93%: (100% + 90% + 89%) / 3. This 93% average is still worth half of your overall class average, or 46.5. Your new class average is now 37.5 + 46.5 = 84%. This is now the value you see as your overall average in the class. Here it is from the teacher’s perspective: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Example-2-Edit-Weighting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Example-2-Edit-Weighting.png) As more assessments are added to a weighting bucket, each assessment contributes a smaller amount to the total average of that bucket. So, despite receiving an 89% on your most recent test, your overall average has dropped from 85% to 84%, because that 89% actually lowered your average in the “test” bucket from 95% to 93% and the tests with the higher grade are now contributing less to the average. Here’s the takeaway: when you receive a grade for an assessment, what matters is how that grade compares to your other assessments in the same weighting bucket. If it raised your average in that bucket, your overall average will go up. If it lowered your average in that bucket, your overall average will go down. By how much? It depends on how significantly your average changed within that bucket and how much that bucket contributes to your overall average. The Edsby “My Work” link for each class shows the weighting buckets your teacher has set up and your up-to-the-minute average in each, which helps make this more transparent. However, if you’re still unsure why your overall average is what it is, speak with your teacher and ask them to explain how they’ve set up the weighting for your assessments. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Students --- ### [My grades have disappeared from Edsby. Why?](https://www.edsby.com/help/grades-disappeared-edsby/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Some school districts that observe a quarterly schedule sometimes choose to give students a “blank slate” in Edsby when each quarter begins. This is an academic policy of the district. These districts have configured Edsby to hide students’ previous quarter’s grades when the new quarter begins. It’s not an Edsby bug—it’s how these districts want things in Edsby. Students and parents CAN still access previous quarter’s grades in Edsby. Use a web browser to log in to your Edsby system. Then: 1. In Classes on the left side of the screen, mouse over a class. “My Work” will appear. 2. Click My Work. 3. In My Work, Current Reporting Period will be selected as the timeframe by default. Click the Current Reporting Period pull down and select a previous reporting period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Change-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Change-reporting-period.png) Note: students and parents can only view previous reporting periods through a web browser. Previous periods cannot be accessed yet on the Edsby mobile apps. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Students --- ### [Choosing a strong password](https://www.edsby.com/help/choosing-a-stronger-password/) **Published:** December 2, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby wants to be sure your account is appropriately protected. When you log in to Edsby your password is evaluated to assess its strength. If it doesn’t meet the strength guidelines configured for your system you will be asked to select a new stronger password. Creating a new password is easy. First, you need to enter your current password again. Then, you need to enter your new password twice and press “Continue”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Password-Reset-1-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Password-Reset-1-1.png) Edsby first checks to make sure your current password is correct and will let you know if it isn’t. Edsby next checks that the two entries of the new password are the same and will let you know if the two don’t match. Edsby then assesses the strength of the new password you’ve entered by checking the following, and provides a helpful error message if any of these checks fail: - Must be at least 8 characters in length - Cannot contain more than two repeating characters in a row ( “kitty111” is not allowed) - Cannot contain more than three sequential characters in a row (“kittyabcd” is not allowed) - Cannot match anything in a library of heavily used passwords ( “password” is not allowed) If your new password passes all these tests then Edsby will replace your old password with the new one and log you in and display your home screen. Next time you log in use your new password. ## Forgotten Password You may have saved your password and no longer remember it. In this case, when you are asked to choose a new password, click Cancel to return to the Login screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Password-Reset-2-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Password-Reset-2-1.png) Click the Forgot Password link and we’ll send an email to the address associated with your account. The subject of the email is “Edsby Forgot/Reset Passwords”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/password-reset-3.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/password-reset-3.png) The message includes a link to reset your password. Clicking on the link will take you to this screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/password-reset-5.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/password-reset-5.png) Enter your new password twice. Edsby checks that the two entries of the new password are the same and will let you know if the two don’t match. Edsby then assesses the strength of the new password you’ve entered by checking the following, and provides a helpful error message if any of these checks fail: - Must be at least 8 characters in length - Cannot contain more than two repeating characters in a row ( “kitty111” is not allowed) - Cannot contain more than three sequential characters in a row (“kittyabcd” is not allowed) - Cannot match anything in a library of heavily used passwords ( “password” is not allowed) If your new password passes all these tests then Edsby will replace your old password with the new one and log you in and display your home screen. Next time you log in use your new password. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [Groups - Learning Object Repositories](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Learning Object Repository (LOR) is a powerful tool for teachers. LORs are a type of group used to collect, discuss, categorize and curate content. They are connected to the search engine so teachers can easily find content and use it in their own classes. LORs can be Open or Closed and have Show To controls to control visibility. The collection of all visible LORs across the organization comprises the global content repository. LORs can be made either school or district-wide. This type of group is not available on the mobile interface. ## Creating a Learning Object Repository To create a LOR, click the pop-out in the My Groups panel. Click Create at the top right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Create-group-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Create-group-button.png) Click the drop-down arrow under Type and select Learning Object Repository. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-LOR-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-LOR-type.png) Fill out the Name, Show To, Membership, and Permission fields. When the form is complete, click Create Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filled-out-LOR-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filled-out-LOR-form.png) ## Using a LOR Once inside, LOR groups look similar to normal groups except there is no calendar or knowledge base. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/inside-a-lor.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/inside-a-lor.png) Teachers can post notes or contribute Learning Objects. When a Learning Object is contributed, anyone who enters the group has access to it. Teachers can easily search for Learning Objects pertaining to what they are looking for by using the Search bar on the left side of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/searching-in-lor.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/searching-in-lor.png) Type keywords or phrases in the box under Search this LOR. Suggestions that match the searched words will appear. Teachers can contribute course plans, assessments, textbooks, discussions, etc. to the LOR for other teachers to use. Anything posted in the LOR can be copied by a teacher and pasted into the Content Builder of their own Classes, PD Groups, or Personal Courses. This enables teachers a powerful tool when making their own course plans. They can take an assessment from the LOR here, a discussion there, or take entire Course Content plans or textbooks. The possibilities are endless. ## Copying and Pasting Learning Objects To copy a Learning Object from the LOR, click Copy to the right of the object. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/copy-learning-object-1024x204.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/copy-learning-object.png) Navigate to where the object will be pasted. In this example, Elsa Mullins would like to add a PDF tutorial about Measuring Map Distances to the Geography class she teaches. Navigate to the class, click on the Course Content and click Edit. Once in the Editor, click the drop-down arrow next to the item the object will be pasted below and select Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/pasting-an-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/pasting-an-item.png) Teachers can also preview, reply to, like, download, and view the history of any Learning Object in the LOR by selecting an option from the drop-down arrow next to each object. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/learning-object-dropdown-1024x215.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/learning-object-dropdown.png) ## Contributing Learning Objects To contribute a Learning Object to the LOR, click Add Learning Object at the top right of the LOR. Fill out the form, add any attachments, and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Adding-a-learning-object-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Adding-a-learning-object-form.png) **Tip:** Drag a file into the upload field for easy attaching! [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dragging-into-learning-object-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dragging-into-learning-object-form.png) Other teachers can enter the LOR, copy the content, and paste it into their own courses, PD groups, or Personal Course. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/someone-copying-your-contribution.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/someone-copying-your-contribution.png) For more information on Personal Courses, [click here](/help/personal-folder/personal-courses/). For more information on Professional Development Groups, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ### [Edsby and browser compatibility](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-browser-compatibility/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is a modern web application that uses modern web standards like HTML5 and JavaScript to deliver a powerful and elegant user experience using the web. For this to work properly you need to have a reasonably modern web browser that is designed to support these popular web standards. Browser upgrades are free, and each new version tends to be faster and better than its predecessor, so it is a good idea to keep your browser up to date. Edsby is tested extensively on recent versions of: - Google Chrome - Apple Safari - Mozilla Firefox - Microsoft Edge We know that it is not always possible to run the very latest version of a browser, so we try to make sure Edsby will work with older, less capable browsers. However, we do not guarantee Edsby will work on anything older than two major versions back. ### Cookies Required Like many modern web applications, Edsby stores a local “cookie” on your computer to help speed things up. You need to make sure you have cookies enabled in your browser for Edsby to work properly. Consult the help documentation for your browser if you need to find out how to check this browser setting. ### JavaScript Required The Edsby web user experience is built with JavaScript. You need to make sure you have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Consult the help documentation for your browser if you need to find out how to check this browser setting. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [EdsbyLive for Microsoft Teams](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/edsbylive-for-microsoft-teams/) **Published:** March 3, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** ### About EdsbyLive An organization can choose to enable the Go Live feature within Edsby. Once enabled, a teacher can create a secure Teams meeting on the fly by clicking the Go Live Now button within a Class. Students in the class will be able to join via a button in Edsby (no ugly URL exposed) which will minimize “zoombombing”-like intrusions. ### Teacher experience To launch a new Teams meeting, navigate to the class and click Go Live Now. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Go-Live-Button.png) If the teacher is logged into their M365 account and has the Teams application installed, the teacher can join the Teams meeting immediately. If a teacher is not logged into their account, they can so from the Microsoft Teams landing page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Teams-Landing-page2.png) Once the teacher joins the Teams meeting, the teachers use the Teams interface to manage the meetings. New meetings are created so that only the teacher can present, and the Lobby feature is enabled which requires the teacher to admit each participant. As with any Teams meeting, the Meeting Options can be used by the teachers to change the meeting options. ### Ending the meeting To end the meeting, the teacher chooses End Meeting from within the Teams environment. Students are returned to the lobby when the teacher ends the meeting. Microsoft Teams offers a choice of leaving a meeting or ending a meeting. Leaving a meeting will not return the students to the Lobby, but the teacher can rejoin the meeting through the Teams interface and then choose End Meeting. ### Student experience Once the teacher clicks the Go Live Now button, students enrolled in the class are sent a notification. Students can join the meeting from the notification. If students are logged in with a desktop browser or a tablet browser, students can join the meeting from both the notification and from within the Class . ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GoLiveStudents.png) For students, the “Go Live” button within the notification and class will become inactive and disappear after an hour. If the teacher has already ended the meeting before the hour has expired, students will see the standard Microsoft Teams’ message that appears if the host is not present: “When the meeting starts, we’ll let people know you’re waiting in the lobby” ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Go-Live-Mobile-Student.png) ### Supported browsers For teachers, a meeting can be started from either a desktop or tablet browser. For students using a mobile browser on a phone, they can join the meeting for the notification. For students using the desktop browser or tablet browser, they can join the meeting from the notification or from within the Class. ### Sample text to share with students “We are going to start joining our class Teams meetings from within Edsby. Once I open the Teams meeting, you will be able to join by clicking the Go Live button. If you are joining the meetings from a phone, log into Edsby from a browser rather than the Edsby app. You can join the meeting from the notification. If you are using a laptop or tablet, you can join the meeting from either the notification or from with the class.” ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Go-Live-Student-choices.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Attendance Office Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/) **Published:** May 10, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** In general, the attendance workflow involves: - The Attendance Office approving parent-submitted planned absences - The Attendance Office creating planned absences based on parent emails or phone calls - Teachers submitting class attendance sheets to the Attendance Office - The Attendance Office contacting parents to confirm and record absences in Edsby [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Screen-Shot-2021-06-24-at-10.32.49-AM-1024x402.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Screen-Shot-2021-06-24-at-10.32.49-AM.png) ## Jump to a Section [The Attendance Zoom](#attendancezoomquickstart) [Resolving Attendance Incidents](#resolvingincidentsquickstart) [Admit Slips](#lateslipsquickstart) [Notifying Parents of Incidents](#notifyparentsofincidents) [Submitting sheets on behalf of a teacher](#submittingteachersheetsquickstart) [Other Zooms and Attendance](#otherzoomsquickstart) [Attendance for Substitute Teachers](#attendanceforsubstitutequickstart) [Exporting Attendance Data](#exportingattendancequickstart) [Browser Features for Attendance](#browserfeaturesquickstart) ## The Attendance Zoom The Attendance Zoom is where Attendance Office administrators will perform the bulk of their actions. The Attendance Zoom is located on the right side of the home screen and includes a counter of unapproved parent-submitted planned absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-zoom-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-zoom-location.png) The Attendance Zoom includes four pages: Student, Attendance Sheets, Incidents, and Planned Absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-pages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-pages.png) ### Student Tab When an administrator first enters the Attendance Zoom, the Student Tab is the first screen they see. The Student Tab enables the Attendance Office to view a student’s attendance history as well as quickly perform common attendance actions for specific students including issue an Admit Slip, Sign Out the student, mark the student as Away Today, or create a Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-page.png) Search for a student’s name in the search bar to view their Attendance Summary Report. This report has two views: List View and Year Calendar View. List View displays all attendance incidents associated with the given student and provides common attendance actions for the student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/student-list-view-300x52.png) Year Calendar View displays the student’s Attendance Summary Report for the past year. This view enables faculty to identify any attendance issues. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/year-calendar-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/year-calendar-view.png) For more information on the Student Tab and the various activities that can be performed through it, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/student-tab-and-key-activities/) ### Attendance Sheets Tab The Attendance Sheets tab lists all submitted and unsubmitted attendance for the day. The Status filter enables the Attendance Office to focus on either unsubmitted or submitted attendance sheets. Administrators can also perform bulk attendance actions from this page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-sheets-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-sheets-page.png) For more information on bulk attendance actions like cancelling classes or accounting for school activities, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/snow-days/) ### Incidents Tab The Incidents tab lists all students that have been marked as absent or late by a teacher in the school. As teachers submit their class attendance sheets to the Attendance Office, the student absences will be added to the Incidents list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/incidents-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/incidents-tab.png) ### Planned Absences Tab The Planned Absences tab lists all of the day’s Planned Absences created by both the Attendance Office and through parent submission. This tab also includes the ability to create new Planned Absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absences-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absences-page.png) For more information creating and managing Planned Absences, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/planned-absences-2/) ### Filters and Search Every Edsby Zoom has a Filters panel which is used to narrow down on key information. The filters depend on the information provided in the given Zoom. In the Incidents tab for example, the Teacher filter will only list the teachers who have class Incidents on that given day. If a teacher does not have any incidents that day, they will not appear in the Filters list. Clicking on a filter will update the list to include items that meet the criteria. For example, clicking Issued under Late Slip will provide a count of how many and which students have been issued a Late Slip on the current day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/incidents-page-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/incidents-page-filters.png) Searches can be used to filter to other information even if there is not a pre-set filter. For example, searches can be used to find comments, room numbers, and names. The Attendance Zoom is pre-set to filter to Resolution Required. Click the Reset button to clear all filters. To view a student’s current class, room number, and attendance state, hover over the student’s name to view their Mini-Profile. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hover-to-view-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hover-to-view-mini-profile.png) ### Resolving Individual Incidents Click on an incident’s row to open the Attendance Incident form. The form lists: - Information about the class and teacher who reported the absence - Student information, including age and phone number - Parent contact information listed in the order of contact To complete the form, choose a Reason, the Away time, and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filled-out-incident-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filled-out-incident-form.png) Comments are optional, but when entered, can be seen by teachers, parents, and the student. Resolving the absence will notify all of the student’s teachers for the duration of the absence. ### Resolving Multiple Incidents Students with common reasons and length of absences can be resolved together. For example, all students who are ill for the entire school day can be resolved together. To apply the same reason and absence length to multiple incidents, click the Gear icon. A checkbox appears beside the name of each student. Select which students to include in the Planned Absence. Click Create Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gear-select-create-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gear-select-create-planned-absence.png) Under Existing Planned Absences, click Create New. Enter the time range and reason. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-form-for-multiple-student-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-form-for-multiple-student-planned-absence.png) All selected incidents will be resolved. ### Notifying Parents of Incidents Clicking *Notify Parents* will send an Edsby notification to every parent linked to each student’s account. Parents for specific students can be notified by clicking *Notify* in the student’s row. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/notify-parents-and-notify-button-1024x407.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/notify-parents-and-notify-button.png) In order for parents to receive the notification, they must have an Edsby account and have attendance notifications enabled for that child in their Notification Settings. Once *Notify Parents* is clicked, the Notifications column of the Incidents Page will be updated to reflect the status of each notification. - An **airplane** icon indicates the notification was sent successfully but the parent has not yet responded. - The **“no sign”** icon indicates the notification attempt failed and the parent could not be notified. This is likely the result if the parent does not have an activated Edsby account or does not have notifications enabled on their account. - A **checkmark** indicates the parent has confirmed the absence and the incident is now resolved. - A **circle with an exclamation point** indicates the parent has not confirmed the absence and have responded to the notification saying they did not know about the child’s absence. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/notifications-column-incidents-page-85x300.png) ### Admit Slips The Attendance Office can easily manage students arriving late to school through Edsby’s Admit Slips system found in the Incidents tab. For more information on managing late arrivals, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/handling-late-arrivals/) ## Submitting sheets on behalf of a teacher There may be instances when the Attendance Office needs to submit an attendance sheet on behalf of a teacher. To do this, navigate to the Attendance Zoom and click the Attendance Sheets tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-sheets-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-sheets-tab.png) To open the attendance sheet, click on the Period name in the row. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/click-on-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/click-on-period.png) Identify the late or absent students. Then, click on the title of the Present column to mark everyone else present. Planned Absences are visible on the attendance sheet in the Comments section. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filling-out-attendance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filling-out-attendance.png) Click Share with Office. ## Other Zooms and Attendance The Attendance Zoom is focused on resolving attendance incidents and is the main area the Attendance Office will likely use. However, attendance information is also included in the Students Zoom, the Student Report, attendance sheets, and the Panorama. ### The Students Zoom The Students Zoom includes a link to the student’s attendance summary. To sort the Zoom by attendance, click one of the P, L, A, or O columns. O, which means Other, represents sanctioned absences such as school activities. In the Students Zoom, the Attendance Office can search for a student’s name in the search bar to view their Attendance Summary Report. To view the report, click on the student’s attendance totals. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-summary-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-summary-report.png) The Students Zoom also displays the attendance status and class of the student for the current period. This is based on what has been submitted in each attendance sheet. The information is reset at the beginning of each period. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-status.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-status.png) This information can also be viewed by hovering over the student’s name and viewing their Mini-Profile. **Status****About**FreeThe student does not have a class scheduled. If a class has been canceled, the student will also be listed as free.Extracurricular (School Activity): Class NameThe student is absent for a school activity.Unknown Status: Class NameThe Attendance for the class has not yet been submitted.Excused (Reason Description): Class NameThe student’s absence has been resolved by the Attendance Office as an excused absence.Absent: Class NameThe student has been reported absent, but the Attendance Office has not yet resolved the absence.Present: Class NameThe student has been marked present in the class.For more information about the Students Zoom, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-students/) ### Student Report The Student Report lists a row for each of a student’s classes and additionally includes separate totals for Present, Absent, Late, and Other. The Student Report is accessed by clicking the Students Zoom and then selecting Student Report from the links at the top of the page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report.png) ### The Student Panorama Clicking on a student’s name anywhere in Edsby opens the student’s Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama.png) The student’s Panorama includes an Attendance Summary Report of each student. Click on the attendance totals at the bottom of the Classes Panel to view the report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png) This report can also be viewed by clicking any of the Attendance Totals links in the Students Zoom or from the Student tab of the Attendance Zoom. ## Attendance for Substitute Teachers The Attendance System within Edsby supports attendance-taking by substitute teachers – both within the same school or from another. For resources on how Edsby supports attendance for substitute teachers,[ click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/supporting-substitute-teachers/) ## Exporting Attendance Data Attendance data can be exported for use in a spreadsheet program. For more information about the Attendance Export form and the exporting process, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/exporting-attendance-data/?preview=true) ## Browser Features The following are general browser features that may be useful for the Attendance Office when resolving attendance. ### Using Tabs Open as many Zooms as needed with multiple tabs. Right-click on a browser tab to view the Duplicate option. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/duplicate-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/duplicate-tab.png) Tabs can be pulled apart to create a new window which makes it easier to view screens side by side. Tabs can be joined together by dragging the windows together. Open a new tab by right-clicking on a link and selecting Open Link in New Tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/open-link-in-new-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/open-link-in-new-tab.png) Use this browser feature to open a student Panorama, parent Details or a Class without leaving the current screen. This illustration highlights the steps to open a new tab from the Attendance Zoom’s Incidents tab. 1. Move the mouse over the name of the student. 2. When the Mini-Profile appears, right-click on View Panorama. 3. Select Open Link in New Tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/open-panorama-in-new-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/open-panorama-in-new-tab.png) In this example, an additional Zoom can be viewed by right-clicking the link and selecting Open Link in New Tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/open-new-zoom-in-new-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/open-new-zoom-in-new-tab.png) ### Browser Bookmarks Browser bookmarks can be created for frequently used searches. For example, if the Attendance Office wants to keep track of which students have been issued Late Slips, a bookmark can be created to repeat the search. To create a browser bookmark, set up the search and create a browser bookmark. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/browser-bookmarj.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/browser-bookmarj.png) Bookmarks can be created for any Zoom, page, Group, Class, or the School Page. The tabs of Groups and Classes will include a count of unread messages. Browsers include the ability to organize bookmarks into folders and open all bookmarks with one click. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Learning Story for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/learning-story-parents/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** The focus of Edsby’s learning evidence system is to support the assessment, evaluation, and reporting practices of K-12 teachers. Edsby provides teachers with tools to capture evidence regarding student learning. Once captured, teachers can create Learning Stories to share with parents. Parents can view evidence teachers have shared through their child’s Learning Story. This feed is available on both mobile and browser interfaces and shows shared learning evidence captured by the student or teacher with the newest posts at the top of the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/parent-view-of-learning-story-mobile-and-desktop-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/parent-view-of-learning-story-mobile-and-desktop-copy.png) Each item includes the teacher’s observation, the media – usually one or two pictures -and any conversation with the student. Items also show a list of the learning expectations/standards associated with the item which are displayed when students and parents hover over the item. Finally, there is a conversational feed to enable the teacher, the student, or the parent to reflect and discuss the learning associated with the item. ### Mobile Parents can access their child’s Learning Story conveniently from their mobile device. Once logged into the Edsby app, parents will be shown a list of their children. Under each child is an option to view their Learning Story. Click this to view the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-zoey-lee-learning-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-zoey-lee-learning-story.png) ### Browser Parents can also access their child’s Learning Story on the Edsby browser. Once logged into Edsby, parents will see their children listed. Below the Classes panel for each child is an option for parents to view the child’s Learning Story. Click this to view the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/desktop-learning-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/desktop-learning-story.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Guidance Office Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-overview/) **Published:** August 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [School Administration Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/school-administration-overview/) **Published:** August 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Turnitin LTI Tool Configuration](https://www.edsby.com/help/turnitin-lti-tool-configuration/) **Published:** June 1, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Edsby digital learning and analytics platform has an open architecture designed to connect tightly with many different school district systems. Edsby offers API-level integrations with other popular applications, or through open standards such as the IMS Global Learning Consortium’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). This documentation will walk through how to configure Turnitin with Edsby via the LTI 1.3 standard. #### District or School Configuration Configuring the Turnitin LTI tool at your District or School level will allow all teachers in the District or School to have access to it. Only the District IT Administrator and School IT roles can create a new LTI Tool Provider. To complete the configuration, you will log into both Edsby and Turnitin and copy information between Edsby and Turnitin. #### Step 1 Log into the Administrator Account on Turnitin. From the Home page, click Configuration/Configured under Integration. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/turninit-admin-page.png) Select LTI 1.3 and click Create new registration. Choose Other from the LMS provider drop down. Name the Registration (eg. Edsby). #### Step 2 In Edsby, navigate to the District or School you wish to configure the Turnitin LTI Tool at. In this case it is High Prairie School District. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LTI-choose-District.png) Then, select Manage. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LTI-select-Manage.png) Scroll to the LTI Tool Providers section. Click + to open the New LTI form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LTI-plus.png) Fill in the Edsby New LTI Tool form as follows: - Enter the name of the LTI tool (eg. Turnitin) - Set the configuration type to LTI 1.3 Tool. Turnitin requires LTI 1.3. - Copy the following fields from Turnitin to Edsby’s New LTI Tool form **From Turnitin field name****To Edsby field name**1Tool Public Key set URLTool JWKS URL2Login Initiation URLLogin Initiation URL3Launch URL / Tool Redirect URL (first address in field)Redirect URL(s)4Launch URL / Tool Redirect URL (second address in field)Deep Linking URL Note: For Turnitin, this field is mandatory to create LTI links in the Content Builder. Copy the following fields from Edsby’s New LTI Tool form to Turnitin. **From Edsby field name****To Turnitin field name**5IssuerIssuer6OIDC Authorization EndpointOpenID connect login endpoint7OIDC Token EndpointAccess token URL8JWKS EndpointPlatform public key set URL9Client ID / Deployment IDClient IDTo enable the ability for Turnitin to write back the grades to the Edsby Gradebook, set the Gradebook Access field to Assessment Management. To share student names with Turnitin set the Include personally identifiable information to Include. Setting this field to Include is recommended. Allowed Presentation Types field should be left blank. Save both forms. Both platforms are now linked. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Turnitin-Config-combo-1.png) #### Step 3 To initialize your Turnitin account you need to create a dummy assignment. Click [here](https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/other/lti13/administrator/getting-started/step-2-creating-a-dummy-assignment.htm) to go to the Turnitin help article on creating a dummy assignment. ### ### Teacher and student instructions Teachers create assessment and connect it to Turnitin, follow these steps: 1. Create a LTI link from the Content panel menu. 2. Choose Turnitin from the list of available LTI tools and then click the Launch button. This will log the teacher into the organization’s Turnitin account. 3. In the Turnitin environment, the teacher creates the assignment. Clicking the Submit button returns the teacher to Edsby. 4. A hidden assessment is created. The teacher can toggle the assessment to visible to enable students to submit to Turnitin through Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LTI-step-1.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/step-2.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LTI-step-3.png) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/LTI-step-4.png) For students, once the assessment is made visible, the student sees a Launch button in the Class environment, Recent Activity, or the Calendar. By clicking on this button, Turnitin is opened, allowing the student to conveniently submit their files through the Turnitin platform. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/turnitin-student-combo.png) If the LTI Tool form’s Gradebook field has been set to Assessment management, grades entered in Turnitin will be visible in the Edsby Gradebook. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/June-Turnitin-Gradebook.png) Share this [link](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assessments-and-turnitin/) with your teachers. #### Sample message to share with your teachers We are thrilled to announce that we have integrated Turnitin with Edsby, providing you with a seamless experience for plagiarism detection and grading. This integration allows you to access Turnitin directly from your Edsby account, making it even easier to manage and assess student assignments. When you create an LTI link in the Class Content Builder, you will notice a convenient Launch button right beside it. By clicking on this button, you will be able to open your Turnitin account without any hassle. From there, you can create the Turnitin assignment and enjoy the benefits of its comprehensive plagiarism detection system. The best part is that any grades provided within Turnitin will be visible within Edsby as well. For more details on how to utilize this new feature and make the most of Turnitin within Edsby, click this [link](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assessments-and-turnitin/) for step-by-step instructions. We are confident that this integration will enhance your experience with both Edsby and Turnitin, saving you time and effort while ensuring academic integrity. Should you have any further questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our dedicated IT support team. --- ### [Smartphones and tablets](https://www.edsby.com/help/smartphones-and-tablets/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby is clever. If you try to access Edsby through a web browser on a tablet or smartphone, Edsby notices this and automatically adapts the screen layouts to match the screen size of your mobile device. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edsby-mobile-apps.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edsby-mobile-apps.png) However, most people prefer to have an “app” for their mobile device, and Edsby does that as well. ## Edsby iOS App To install the free Edsby iOS app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, click the icon below that says Available on the App Store. Once the Edsby app is installed, simply provide it with the address of your Edsby server, which is usually similar to “xyzorg.edsby.com”. Get it from your school if you don’t know it. Then, just provide your Edsby user name and password. #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AppStore-Apple-300x102.png)](https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814?mt=8) ## Edsby Android App To install the free Edsby Android app on your Android-based smartphone or tablet, click the icon below that says Get It On Google Play. Once the Edsby app is installed you simply provide it with the address of your Edsby server, which is usually something like “xyzorg.edsby.com”. Get it from your school if you don’t know it. Then, just provide your Edsby user name and password. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AppStore-Google-300x102.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corefour.edsby&hl=en) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students, Administrators, Teachers, Parents --- ### [Attendance Video Playlist](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/attendance-video-playlist/) **Published:** August 17, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Attendance Overview Edsby’s Attendance helps teachers, parents, and the school office to manage daily and period attendance. This overview video highlights the key features for all stakeholders. ## Resolving Attendance Incidents This video includes information on how to resolve incidents for individual students and multiple students. ## Planned Absences This video covers how to create a planned absences for students, groups, and classes. ## Late Slips for Administrators Edsby features a late slip system that makes it easy for administrators to keep track of student absences. Traditionally, a student goes to the attendance office and receives a late slip. Students may take advantage of this system by not showing up to class at all as they will be marked late instead of absent. Edsby closes this loophole by requesting that teachers confirm late slips. A student shows up to the attendance office, receives a late slip, and the teacher confirms that the student did indeed come to class. The late slip system within Edsby helps teachers and administrators to stay organized. It is also a solution to the problem of students taking advantage of the traditional late slip system. ## Printing and submitting attendance sheets on behalf of teacher When a teacher cannot use Edsby to submit their attendance sheets, such as in the case of a substitute teacher, the attendance office can submit sheets on behalf of the teacher. This video covers printing attendance sheets and submitting attendance information on the teacher’s sheet. ## Creating a Planned Absence for a Group Edsby enables teachers to create a Planned Absence for an Edsby Group. Watch this video to learn how. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Class Setup Form](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-setup-form/) **Published:** June 16, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Perspective Analyze](https://www.edsby.com/help/perspective-analyze/) **Published:** June 16, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Assessments and Google Workspace for Education](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assessments-and-google-workspace-for-education/) **Published:** April 21, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers can create an assessment and provide students with a personal copy of a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide. When the student submits their copy of the document, the teacher can use the Grader to annotate the student’s work. When a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide file is submitted through this process, the teacher has access to the same annotation tools as they do within Google Workspace. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-tear-off-process.png) To begin the process, the teacher creates the documents within their Google Workspace. In Edsby, the teacher creates an assessment and enables online submissions of a document or file. In the “Files for students” section of the assessment form, the teacher clicks the Google icon and attaches a live link to the document for the assessment. The teacher then chooses between the following options: - “Read Only” – Students can open the file from the assessment. - “Make a copy for each student” – Students create a copy of the document. The copy of the document is submitted through Edsby. **Read-Only:** On the assessment form, the teacher enables an online submission, attaches a live link document, and selects the read-only option. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-read-only-google-doc-assignment.png) The student then has access to the document but cannot make any changes to it. After completing the assignment, the student submits the document along with their own work. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-read-only-submit-google-doc.png) **Make a copy for each student:** On the assessment form, the teacher enables online submission and in the Files for Students section, the teacher clicks the Google icon to open the Google Drive file picker. The teacher selects the document or documents required to complete the assessment and chooses the “Make a copy for each student” option. To complete the assignment, the student opens the assignment and clicks the Copy and Open button next to the file name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-tear-off-create-assignment.png) The document is copied to the student’s Google Workspace and a tab is opened for the document or documents. Once the required documents have been copied, the Submit button becomes active. The student then edits the document and can access the document anytime from within their Google Workspace or by returning to the assessment form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-student-torn-off-copies.png) When the student is ready to submit their work for feedback or evaluation, the student opens the assessment form and clicks submit. The student does not need to link or attach the documents, nor can the student add any other documents. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-student-torn-off-submit.png) Once the student has submitted the files, the teacher can access them from within the Gradebook. Within the Grader, the teacher can provide feedback within the document and enter a grade for the assignment. The teacher has access to the same set of features as they would have if the document was opened within their Google Workspace. The student and teacher can see any edits, comments, or reactions as soon as they are made, therefore, the Share Annotation button is not necessary when students have submitted a torn-off copy of the Google document. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Edsby-tear-off-grader-annotate.png) The teacher also has the option of accessing the student’s shared documents from within their own Google Workspace. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Approvals](https://www.edsby.com/help/approvals/) **Published:** June 24, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ### [Approvals](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/approvals/) **Published:** June 24, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** Field trips, school opportunities, and requests for volunteers are all simplified using Edsby’s approval feature. Traditionally, teachers send permission slips home with students to give to their parents. Parents will sign the form and send it back to school with their child who will hopefully remember to give it to their teacher. Teachers have to make a list of the parents who have responded. This method of handling permission slips is time consuming and they can very easily get lost. Edsby approvals enable teachers to send requests directly to parents and teachers will receive a list of parents who have responded as soon as the parent responds. Edsby’s approval feature does not let permission slips get lost at any point during the process as they are kept secure within Edsby. ## Requesting Parent Permission Both teachers and administrators can send out requests for parent permission. These requests are sent out using the Students Zoom to coordinate both large and small groups of students. Navigate to the Students Zoom by clicking My Students for teachers, or Students for administrators. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-and-my-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-and-my-students-zoom.png) Use the filters on the left side of the screen to reduce the list of who the requests are being sent to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-zoom-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-zoom-1.png) In this example, all of the Kindergarten students in the school are going on a field trip to the zoo. Additionally, a few extra grade 1 students are also attending the field trip. Add the grade 1 students first. To do this, click the gear icon on the right side of the screen. Search for the name of the students in the search bar. Click the box next to their name to select them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students.png) To select all of the kindergarten students, clear the search and any filters that have been used. Under the Grade filter, select JK and SK. This will bring up a list of all the kindergarten students in the school. Click the top checkbox in the column header to select all of the students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-the-rest-of-the-k-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-the-rest-of-the-k-students.png) Once all the students that require parent permission have been selected, click the drop-down arrow. Select Request Parent Permission from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-parent-permission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-parent-permission.png) This opens up a permission request window. The sample message within the request can be customized. Replace the angle brackets with the correct information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permissions-request-form-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permissions-request-form-filled-out.png) Edsby replaces the tag within the square brackets depending on who it is being sent to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/square-brackets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/square-brackets.png) The options parents can choose from at the bottom of the request form can also be customized. Click the option’s text box to edit it. Additional choices can be added by clicking the plus sign. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/customize-reponse-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/customize-reponse-options.png) Permission request forms can either be saved as a draft or sent out immediately. Click Save Draft. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-safe-draft-or-send-requests.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-safe-draft-or-send-requests.png) The draft will be held in the mailbox until it is ready to be sent out. Drafts can be edited, deleted, or sent. To view the draft, navigate to the mailbox. The request draft will be at the top. Click Edit Request Text to edit the request form, click Delete to remove the request, or click Send Requests when the parent permission form is ready to be sent. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-draft-from-the-mailbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-draft-from-the-mailbox.png) ## Requesting Student Permission Teachers and administrators can view students they teach and students in a group that they are a moderator of. They can both send out requests for student permission by clicking My Students. In this example, Linda Miller is a grade 7 teacher and is looking for volunteers to organize a school fundraiser. She wishes to send an approval form to students in one of her classes. Click My Students to access the Students Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-students.png) Filter to the class. Click the gear icon, select all of the students, click the drop-down arrow and select Request Student Permission from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-student-permission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-student-permission.png) Fill in the form and personalize it. Send the request. Students will respond to the request directly from their mailbox and teachers can monitor the request in their mailbox at any point for up-to-date information on who has responded. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-permission-request-form-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-permission-request-form-filled-out.png) ## Responding to Requests Parents and students receive permission requests directly as a message in their mailbox. Each permission request is customized to their name. Parents and students can answer the approval directly on the request. Teachers and administrators can monitor the request in their mailbox at any point for up-to-date information on who has responded and who has not. Teachers can also choose to resend the requests. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/showing-the-approval-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/showing-the-approval-workflow.png) ## Printing Approval Forms Sometimes, teachers or administrators may wish to use a hard copy of the permission request form rather than an electronic copy. If this is the case, create an approval form by navigating to the Students Zoom, selecting the recipients, choosing either parent or student request, and filling out the form. When the permission request form is complete, click to save it as a draft. In the mailbox, navigate to the particular approval. Click print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/print-hard-copies-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/print-hard-copies-button.png) The form opens with the personalized message, checkboxes for responses, and a place for a signature. There will be a form for each indicated recipient. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permission-form-printout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permission-form-printout.png) To print the forms, click File and then print or Ctrl+P. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-the-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-the-form.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [EdsbyLive for Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/edsbylive-for-zoom/) **Published:** July 19, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** ### About EdsbyLive An organization can choose to enable the Go Live feature within Edsby. Once enabled, a teacher can create a secure Zoom meeting on the fly by clicking the Go Live Now button within a Class. Students in the class will be able to join via a button in Edsby (no URL exposed). ### Teacher experience To launch a new Zoom meeting, navigate to the class and click Go Live Now. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Go-Live-Button.png) If the teacher is logged into their Zoom account, the teacher can join the Zoom meeting immediately. If a teacher is not logged into their account, they can so from the Zoom login page. Once the teacher joins the Zoom meeting, the teachers use the Zoom interface to manage the meetings. New meetings are created so that only the teacher can present, and the Waiting Room feature is enabled which requires the teacher to admit each participant. As with any Zoom meeting, the Security option can be used by the teachers to change the meeting options. ### Ending the meeting To end the meeting, the teacher chooses End from within the Zoom environment. Students are returned to the waiting room when the teacher ends the meeting. Zoom offers a choice of leaving a meeting or ending a meeting for all. If the teacher chooses to Leave Meeting, the students will not be returned to the waiting room. The teacher can reenter the meeting through the Zoom environment or by click the Go Live button within the Edsby class. Once the teacher clicks the Go Live Now button, students enrolled in the class are sent a notification. Students can join the meeting from the notification or from the Go Live button within the class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GoLiveStudents.png) For students, the “Go Live” button within the notification and class will become inactive and disappear after an hour. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Go-Live-Mobile-Student.png) ### Sample text to share with students. We are going to start joining our class Zoom meetings from within Edsby. Once I open the Zoom meeting, you will be able to join by clicking the Go Live button from the Notification or from within our Class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Go-Live-Student-choices.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Group Membership Visibility Controls](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups/group-membership-visibility-controls-2/) **Published:** July 21, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby Groups supports options for limiting the visibility of the Members panel. These options include: only moderators being able to see members of a group, only members seeing other members, anyone being visible as a member of a group, and anyone except parents seeing the members of a group. Although this feature enables limiting which members of the group are visible, it does not control the visibility of names in the group feed. For example, if Lisa is a member of the Senior Girls’ Field Hockey group, she will see who is posting in the group feed. Hiding visibility of members would be redundant as she can see them posting anyway. In groups where only moderators are enabled to post, it is not necessary for members of the group to see other members. ## Selecting a Group Membership Visibility Control Group Membership Visibility Controls are in the Permission section of a group’s Setup form. The permission can be set at group creation time, or by clicking Setup from within an existing group. Click the blue triangle next to Permissions to reveal additional group options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/opening-group-permissions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/opening-group-permissions.png) Group Membership Visibility Control options are found under the drop-down menu of the View Members section. Select one of the options from the menu to allow certain Edsby users to view the members of a given group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-members-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-members-options.png) ## Only Moderators Group moderators can hide the list of members from all members of the group. This is useful for very large groups and for groups where it isn’t desirable to broadcast to members who the other members are. For example, if a district administrator wants to create a group for all high school teachers in the district to provide them with resources for the upcoming school year, the group membership would be very large. Additionally, the administrator simply wants to post in the group feed without enabling teachers to reply or post themselves. For this reason, it is not necessary for teachers in the group to view the other members. The group setup form will look similar to the following: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Only-moderators-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Only-moderators-can-view-members.png) ## Only Members Group moderators can hide the list of members from anyone who has not officially joined the group as a member – those who do not have the group on their home screen. This prevents others from simply observing the group, its members, and its posts without joining it themselves. For example, a teacher at this school is the moderator of the Student-run Carnival Group. He has created the group to enable students to volunteer, help plan, and receive information about the event. He has set the Membership Visibility controls to Only Members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/only-members-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/only-members-can-view-members.png) The group is an open group. This means that anyone can find the group by searching for it using the Find More button in their My Groups panel. Anyone can also enter the group, see posts, and post themselves. However, since the Group Membership Visibility has been set to Only Members, only those that have officially joined the group can see the group’s members. Lisa Lee has joined the group and is now a member. When she enters the group, she can see the Members panel on the left side of her screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members.png) She can also view the full list of members by clicking View All. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/member-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/member-list.png) However, if another student in the school uses the Find More button in their My Groups panel to locate this group, all they will see are the posts in the group. Emma Ali is not a member of the Student Carnival group but she wishes to view information about it. She can enter the group by searching for it, but she will not see its members unless she joins the group and becomes a member herself. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cannot-see-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cannot-see-members.png) Notice there is no members panel visible here like there was for a member’s view of the group. This is the view that will be seen by non-members of a group when the Group Visibility Control is set to Only Members ## Anyone When using the group setup form to create a group, the default group membership visibility is anyone – meaning that anyone who opens the group, regardless if they are a member of the group or not, can view its members. In general, most groups are set up this way. To change this, a group moderator simply needs to select one of the three other options for group membership visibility. This selection is optimal for Open Groups. An Open Group can be found by clicking the Find More button in the My Groups panel and searching for the name of the group. An Open Group enables any user in the school (teachers, parents, or students) to view the group and its content. For example, the principal of this school has created a group dedicated to planning for the annual Terry Fox Run. The group membership visibility has been set to Anyone, so that any user in the school (teachers, parents, or students) can view the group and observe the planning process or get more information on the event. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-can-view-members.png) Since anyone can open the group, anyone can see its members as well. ## Anyone except Parents A group moderator can select to hide the group membership list from parents in the group. This selection is useful in groups such as sports teams or other groups that may have both parents and students in them. For example, the principal at this school has created a Lost and Found group for the school. Parents can join the group to monitor if anything has been posted that belongs to their child. However, the principal would not like to display the membership list that contains other students to the parents in the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-except-parents-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-except-parents-can-view-members.png) This is the view a student, teacher, or other staff member in the school sees when they open the Lost and Found group: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members-panel.png) Notice that they can see the members of the group and can click to view the full list of members. This is the view a parent sees when they open the Lost and Found Group: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/no-members-panel-visible.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/no-members-panel-visible.png) Notice there is no members panel visible like there was for a student’s or teacher’s view of the group. This is the view that will be seen by parents when the Group Visibility Control is set to Anyone except Parents. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Informing Parents through PD Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/informing-parents-through-pd-groups/) **Published:** July 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** When managing a school, it is important to keep parents up-to-date with information regarding parking and drop-off information, managing absences for their children, volunteer information, as well as various resources to support their children in their learning at home. Professional Development groups within Edsby enable senior administrators to display important information to all of the parents at their school. ## Creating a Professional Development Group To create a PD Group, click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-groups.png) Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/create-button.png) Set the group type to Professional Development. William Ham, the principal of Tecumseh High is creating a Parent Information group to inform parents in the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pd-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pd-group-type.png) Fill out the form with a title, image, and description. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fill-out-pd-group-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fill-out-pd-group-form.png) When using a PD Group just to display parent information, collaboration within the group is not needed. Set all permissions to moderators only. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/only-moderators-permissions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/only-moderators-permissions.png) ### Using Automated Membership Senior administrators can automatically subscribe certain roles to a group. In this example, William will automatically subscribe all parents at the school as well as the other senior administrators and the office head of Tecumseh High. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/automatic-membership-pd.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/automatic-membership-pd.png) When the form is complete, click Create Group. ## Using a PD Group Once inside, Professional Development groups look just like normal groups except they contain a Content panel instead of a Knowledge base. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-pd-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-pd-group.png) The Content panel enables moderators of the group to add rich content including images, PDFs, links to videos, pages, and access to a rich text editor. Only moderators of a group can edit or add to the Content using the Content Builder. To edit or add to the Content as a moderator: 1. Click on the Content panel. 2. Click Edit in the top left of the panel. 3. Add sections, pages, links, and files to the group by clicking the + next to the group name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/adding-content-to-pd-group-1140x432.jpg) Consider creating a Page to introduce the Admin Staff at the school, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/meet-the-admin-staff.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/meet-the-admin-staff.png) Or a Page to inform parents how to submit a planned absence through Edsby, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/how-to-submit-an-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/how-to-submit-an-absence.png) A File containing the school’s various bus routes, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bus-route-file.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bus-route-file.png) A Section for parent resources, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-resources-section.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-resources-section.png) Or a link to the parent support section of the Edsby website. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/link-to-help.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/link-to-help.png) Delete items by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting Delete. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/deleting-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/deleting-content.png) ### Viewing Parent Group Engagement PD Groups enable senior administrators to view which parents have been viewing and interacting with the group’s content. To view parent engagement, click the Content Panel. Click Show Progress. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/show-progress.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/show-progress.png) ## The Parent Experience Parents can view the information in the PD Group from their browser or mobile device. If parents have been automatically enrolled in the group, the group will be in their My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-in-my-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-in-my-groups.png) Parents have access to the full group view on desktop with the Content panel on the left side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-view-of-pd-group-desktop-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-view-of-pd-group-desktop-1.png) On a mobile device, parents view the group content by clicking Content at the top of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-content-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-content-mobile.png) They can easily navigate through the information by using the Next and Previous buttons. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/moving-through-mobile-group-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/moving-through-mobile-group-content.png) When parents have finished reading the information, they can mark it complete. This is what is visible to moderators of the group when clicking Show Progress in the Content panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mark-mobile-content-complete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mark-mobile-content-complete.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/professional-development-groups/) for more information on Professional Development groups. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Principal and Senior Administrator Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/) **Published:** July 17, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Principals and Vice Principals play a valuable role on the School Administration team. By managing the activities of both staff members and students at the school, Senior Administrators are responsible for supervising all academic and extracurricular activities, overseeing disciplinary practices, and running the school. Edsby enables Senior Administrators to easily find important information regarding the school, monitor student progress, communicate with the school community, facilitate collaboration between individuals in the school, manage school processes like Report Cards, Parent-Teacher Interviews, and the Parent Onboarding Process. ## Jump to a Section ##### Finding Information [Zooms](#principalzooms) ##### Monitoring Student Progress [The Students Zoom](#principalstudentszoom) [The Panorama](#principalpanorama) [My Work Report](#principalmywork) [Student Report](#principalstudentreport) [Monitor Groups](#principalmonitor) ##### Communicating with the School Community [School Page](#principalschool) [News](#principalnews) [Calendar](#principalcalendar) [Bulk Messaging](#principalmessage) ##### Collaboration within the School [Groups](#principalgroups) [Professional Development Groups](#principalpd) ##### Managing the School [Report Cards](#principalreportcards) [Parent-Teacher Interviews](#principalpti) [Edsby Analytics](#principalanalytics) [Teacher Training](#principalteachertraining) ##### Parent Onboarding and Management [Parent Invitation Process](#principalparentinvite) [Monitoring Parent Engagement](#principalmonitorparent) [Informing Parents](#principalinformparents) ## Finding Information Edsby enables Senior Administrators to easily find important school information through Edsby Zooms, the Panorama, and Edsby’s Search feature. ### Zooms Edsby Zooms are powerful data analysis tools designed to help Senior Administrators manage the school by providing valuable information about people, classes, rooms, and groups in the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/zooms-on-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/zooms-on-home-screen.png) Each Zoom provides a list view of data. These lists can be easily sorted by clicking on the column headers or using the Zoom Filters. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/inside-a-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/inside-a-zoom.png) Senior Administrators have access to 7 main Zooms: Students, Staff, Parents, Student Contacts, Classes, Groups, and Rooms. Click the links for additional information on each. [Students Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-students/)The Students Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all students in the school and information pertaining to them including name, grade, risk indicators, attendance information, and parent activity.[Staff Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-staff-2/)The Staff Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all staff members in the school and information pertaining to them including their role, title, current location, and the classes they teach, if any.[Parents Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-parent/)The Parents Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all parents and guardians associated with students at the school as well as information about them including their name, contact information, which students they are linked to, and the time of their last login to Edsby.[Student Contacts Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/student-contacts-zoom-4/)The Student Contacts Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all contacts associated with students in the school like parents, guardians, doctors, or babysitters. Office administrators can invite parents and guardians to activate their Edsby accounts from this Zoom.[Classes Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-classes/)The Classes Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all classes being taught in the school as well as various types of information regarding them including the class name, grade, subject, teacher, number of students, and who has access to the class.[Groups Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-groups/)The Groups Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all groups created at the school and various types of information regarding them including the name, type, membership style, visibility settings, number of members, and how many posts have been made in the group.[Rooms Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-rooms/)The Rooms Zoom provides office administrators with a list of all rooms in the school and information about their occupancy like the room number, capacity of the room, the room type, and whether or not the room is currently in use.[Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/zooms/) for more information on Zooms. ### The Panorama The Panorama enables Senior Administrators to access parent information, academic progress, and attendance history. The Panorama is accessed by clicking a student’s name anywhere in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png) Parent information is found on the upper left corner of the Panorama. Clicking on a parent’s name opens the parent’s Profile. To access additional parent information, click Student Admin at the top right of the Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png) Click Caregivers. Here you can see the student’s parents and contacts, their relationship to the student, contact order, if they have access to Edsby, additional information, and the time of their last activity on Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png) Click the parent’s name to open their Parent Details form. Here you can change their information or reset their password. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/edit-caregiver.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/edit-caregiver.png) In addition to viewing Caregivers in the Student Admin, view the student’s info. Administrators can make changes to the student’s information by clicking the arrow. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-student-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-student-info.png) Any changes made are visible in History along with any planned absences or group invites regarding the student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-history.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-admin-history.png) Message the student, their parents, or their teachers by clicking the drop-down arrow next to Message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-message.png) ### Searching in Edsby Senior Administrators can search for people, groups, posts, or anything else in Edsby by typing in the Search box at the top of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/search-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/search-bar.png) ## Monitoring Student Progress Senior Administrators work with teachers and other staff members to monitor and promote student success within the school. Edsby enables Senior Administrators to determine how a student is doing in school as well as provides ways to collaborate with educators and Guidance staff on how to best support a student through their personal and academic development. ### The Students Zoom The Students Zoom provides Senior Administrators with a list of all students in the school and information pertaining to them including their current class, risk indicators, their current average, and their total number of absences and lates in the current term. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/students-zoom.png) Risk indicators help Guidance staff identify students who may be struggling at school. These include failing classes, receiving a Needs Improvement for their subjective performance indicator in a class, and repetitive lates or absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/risk-indicators.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/risk-indicators.png) The filters in the Students Zoom can be used to narrow down the students into a specific sub-set. Filter based on gender, average, grade, homeroom teacher, tags, or last activity in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-zoom-filters.png) For example, Senior Administrators may be interested in filtering the list to students with a failing average or on the verge of failing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/failing-average.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/failing-average.png) The Students Zoom enables Senior Administrators to find students with high absenteeism by clicking on the Attendance column headers to sort. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absence-columns.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absence-columns.png) Senior Administrators can view when students and their parents were last active in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/last-active.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/last-active.png) Hover over a student’s name in the Students Zoom to view their mini-profile. Senior Administrators can view the student’s current class and attendance state, the student’s last activity on Edsby, and the last time their parent or guardian accessed Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mini-profile.png) The Mini-Profile also provides quick access options for Senior Admin to view a student’s Perspective, Panorama, or Portfolio as well as send the student a message. Click View Panorama on the Mini-Profile or click a student’s name in the Students Zoom to access their Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/View-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/View-panorama.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-students/) for more information about the Students Zoom. ### The Panorama The Panorama provides Senior Admin with the information they need to plan for student success. The Panorama is a secure area, available only to teachers and administrators. Here, Senior Admin can see everything Edsby knows about the student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png) View the classes the student is enrolled in along with their current averages and subjective performance indicators in the Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classes-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classes-panel.png) Senior Admin can also view the student’s Progress Report and Learning Story from this panel. The Progress Report found in the student’s Panorama provides a detailed breakdown of each of the student’s classes including their Perspective graph, a list of incomplete, graded, and ungraded assessments, as well as their specific-class attendance history. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/detailed-progress-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/detailed-progress-report.png) At the bottom of the Classes panel lists the student’s attendance totals. Click the totals to view the student’s Attendance Summary Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png) The Attendance Summary Report provides an overview of a student’s attendance history. The report has two views: List View and Year Calendar View. List View displays all attendance incidents associated with the given student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/list-ciew.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/list-ciew.png) Year Calendar View displays the student’s attendance history for the past year. This view enables Senior Admin to identify any attendance issues. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/year-calendar-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/year-calendar-view.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/panorama/) for more information about the Panorama. ### My Work Senior Administrators can view detailed information on a student’s progress in a class with the My Work report. Students have a My Work report for each class they are enrolled in. Hover over a class name in the Classes Panel of the student’s Panorama to reveal the My Work button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-work-button.png) The student’s Perspective graph is first shown. This graph depicts the student’s academic progression in the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-my-work-graph.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-my-work-graph.png) View a detailed breakdown of the student’s assessment results and upcoming assessments in the Assessments tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assessments-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/assessments-tab.png) The Expectations tab shows how a student is doing on each expectation for a class, attendance incidents are listed in the Attendance tab, and previous report cards are visible through the Previous Report Cards tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/tabs-in-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/tabs-in-my-work.png) For more information on the My Work Report, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/class-panel/how-did-you-do-on-that-english-project-2/) ### Student Report The Student Report Zoom enables Senior Admin to view valuable attendance data and information specific to each class and group a student is enrolled in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-1.png) Access the Student Report by clicking into a Zoom and clicking Student Report at the top of the Zoom. #### Classes Tab The Student Report defaults to the Classes tab and generates a line for each student’s classes. The information includes the student’s name, ID, and number, as well as the class ID and name, the section ID, each class’ teachers, and the student’s attendance totals and average specific to the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-info.png) The data in the Student Report can be exported by filtering to and selecting the desired information, clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-student-report-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-student-report-info.png) **Note:** The information displayed is similar to the Students Zoom. However, the Students Zoom displays the student’s attendance totals for all classes combined as well as their cumulative average across all of their classes. Use the Student Report for class-specific student information. #### Groups Tab The Groups tab of the Student Report generates a line for each group each student is a member of. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png) This displays similar information as the Classes tab except Section ID indicates the specific group and the group moderators are listed in the Teachers column. ### Monitor Groups After utilizing the Students Zoom and Panorama and observing the academic and attendance habits of students at the school, Senior Admin will likely have a list of students they want to monitor and guide towards success. Edsby enables Senior Admin to do just this with Monitor Groups. Monitor Groups are used to monitor a list of students. However, students and their parents never see they are a member of a Monitor Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-a-monitor-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-a-monitor-group.png) Monitor Groups provide the Senior Admin, the Guidance Office, teachers, and other administrators with access to the Students Zoom information for a particular group of students to monitor and identify at-risk students based on attendance incidents or grades. There are two different views within a Monitor Group: Tabular and Feed View. Tabular View provides the Students Zoom information for the students in the group. Feed View provides a classic group feed view. Here, moderators and other staff members in the group can collaborate and discuss the students being monitored. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/feed-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/feed-view.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/monitor-groups/?locale=en#:~:text=Free%20Demo-,Monitor%20Groups,a%20member%20of%20the%20group.) for more information on Monitor Groups and their capabilities. #### Exporting Monitor Group Information Monitor Group information can be exported for use in an external system through the Student Report. In the Student Report, navigate to the Groups tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png) Filter to the Monitor Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-monitor-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-monitor-group.png) Click the drop-down arrow in the top right of the Zoom and select Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-monitor-group-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-monitor-group-info.png) ## Communicating with the School Community School Principals and Senior Admin coordinate and organize all academic and extracurricular activities in the school. This requires communicating with and informing the greater school community of staff, students, and parents. Edsby enables School Administrators to easily display important information, news articles, and events for the school community to access. ### The School Page The School Page, accessed from the top left of the Home Screen in Edsby, provides a great way for Senior Admin to share a wide range of school-specific information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-page.png) **Note:** This content is only available to authenticated individuals of a school, so Senior Administrators can share more than they might choose to do on a public website. Edsby provides a panel on the School Page called Important. This enables access to a two-level page publishing system that can be used to publish information to the school community. It is ideal for things like policies and procedures, volunteer information, committee information, or a code of conduct. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/important-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/important-panel.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/the-school-page/?locale=en) for more information on the School Page. ### News River In Edsby, schools and districts can publish news to the News River. When individuals log into Edsby, they will see the News River at the top of their Home Screen with news that is relevant to them. A teacher teaching at one school will receive news from the district and school. A parent with children at two different schools in the district will receive news from both schools and the district. Staff working at multiple schools will receive news from each school they are associated with. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/news-river.png) Consider posting an article reminding the school community about Valedictorian Nominations, the upcoming Bake Sale, or to celebrate a team’s recent win. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/news-river-posts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/news-river-posts.png) To add an article to the News River, click Submit an Article at the top of the School page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-article-button-school-page.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-article-button-school-page.png) Staff and students can submit articles, however, only school administrators can approve them. This enables teachers and students to contribute to the school news, while giving the school administration team the opportunity to edit, and perhaps reject, an article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approve-edit-reject.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approve-edit-reject.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/managing-the-news-river/) for more information on the News River. ### Calendar The School Calendar is used to create school-wide events. Holidays, Professional Development days, and school breaks are added automatically when Edsby is first set up. However, Senior Admin can add additional school-wide events easily through the Calendar on the School Page. These events will appear on everyone’s Home Screen Calendar in Edsby with a purple dot beside them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-calendar.png) Inform the school community of the All-School Assembly, the upcoming Student Council election, or the annual Track and Field Meet. To add a new event to the School Calendar, click on the blue plus icon to open the New Event form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-event.png) Click the Calendar icon on the School Calendar to open the full Calendar and access all scheduled events. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/full-page-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/full-page-calendar.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/managing-the-school-calendar/) for more information on the School Calendar. ### Bulk Messaging Senior Admin can easily send bulk messages out to staff, students, and parents in the school community. Message students, their parents, or both through the Students Zoom. Filter the list as necessary, click the gear icon and select which students to message. Click the drop-down arrow and select who to message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/students-zoom-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/students-zoom-message.png) Message a specific student’s teachers by clicking the drop-down arrow next to Message in the student’s Panorama. Select Current Teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/panorama-message.png) Message staff through the Staff Zoom. Use the gear icon to select which staff members to message. Click the drop-down arrow and select Message Staff. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-staff-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-staff-1.png) Message members of particular groups through the Groups Zoom. Use the gear icon to select which group members to message. Click the drop-down arrow and select to message all group members or just the moderators of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-messages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-messages.png) ## Collaboration within the School ### Groups Edsby Groups are a powerful way for groups of people to collaborate with each other in a convenient, secure, and effective way. Most schools using Edsby quickly end up with 50-100 groups as they create groups for sports teams, clubs, teacher professional development, or student council. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups.png) Groups can be closed or open to the entire school. They can be shown to everyone or only to people of certain roles. Members can be invited or automatically added to a group based on their role. As part of every standard Edsby deployment, the following groups are automatically set up: - A **School Talk** group is created at each school and includes all staff and students at the school. It provides a space where topics of interest can be discussed like upcoming events, sports team results, or school initiatives. - A **Staff Room** group is created at each school. It is only available to staff members at the school and provides a place for staff collaboration on matters they prefer not to share with students or parents. - An **Edsby Feedback** group is created at the district level and all staff members in the district are added as members. This group enables staff members to ask questions, report bugs, and provide feedback to the Edsby team. We try to respond to all posts the same day they are posted. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/initial-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/initial-groups.png) The school can request for these groups to not be automatically set up. **Note:** It is recommended that the school principal or other members of the administrative team make an initial post in the School Talk and Staff Room groups to welcome people in. In the case of School Talk, Senior Administrators may want to add a reminder for students to use their best judgement when deciding what to share with their school community. Consider creating a group to manage the school budget with other school staff, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-budget.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-budget.png) or a Student Volunteer Opportunities group to post opportunities for students to gain leadership experience or community service hours, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-volunteers.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-volunteers.png) or a group to plan the school’s upcoming Semi-Formal Banquet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/semi-formal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/semi-formal.png) To create a group, click Find More at the bottom right of the My Groups panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/find-more-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/find-more-groups.png) Click Create Group and fill out the form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-button-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-button-1.png) Use the Group description to specify when the group meets and any other important details regarding the group. This makes it easy for individuals in the school to search for the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-description.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/group-description.png) Lisa Lee has Wednesdays free to join a club or team. After clicking Find More in her My Groups panel, she will search Wednesday in the search box. Any groups with Wednesday in their description will be found. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/wednesday-search.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/wednesday-search.png) The Cross Country team practices Wednesday after school. Looks like the perfect fit for Lisa! [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/wednesday-in-group-description.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/wednesday-in-group-description.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/groups-management/) for more information on managing Groups within Edsby. ### Professional Development Groups Senior Admin can create and facilitate the use of Professional Development Groups in Edsby. These groups have a Content Builder that members of the group can work through as they would a class to provide training or further development in a specific area of interest. They can be school or district-wide. Consider creating a PD Group for Science teachers to equip them in proper Laboratory Safety techniques, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/laboratory-training.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/laboratory-training.png) Create a PD Group for staff and students to raise awareness of school bullying and promote a safe school community, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bullying-pd.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bullying-pd.png) Or, create a PD Group to display and broadcast important information to parents in the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-view-of-pd-group-desktop.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-view-of-pd-group-desktop.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/professional-development-groups/) for more information on creating and managing Professional Development Groups. ## Managing the School A large part of a Senior Admin’s role is to manage all of the processes happening in the school like report cards, parent-teacher interviews, and school engagement on Edsby. ### Report Cards Report Cards are often the final stage of the reporting process once teachers have assessed and recorded student performance in the classroom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/report-card.png) The process of creating reporting periods and reviewing report card sheets is made easy within Edsby. Senior Admin have access to the Report Cards Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/report-cards-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/report-cards-zoom.png) The Report Card Zoom appears when the first reporting period is created. Report Cards can then be printed directly from within Edsby or by exporting data to another system. Report Cards can also be published and made available to students and parents on their Edsby Home Screens. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-report-cards-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-report-cards-zoom.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/report-card-creation-and-management/) for more information on creating reporting periods and managing the Report Card process. ### Parent-Teacher Interviews Edsby knows about every class in the school including who the teacher is, who the students are, and who their parents are. Edsby Parent-Teacher Scheduling considers the needs of all school administrators, teachers, and parents. The process involves four key steps of creating a schedule, opening it to teachers, opening it to parents, and completing the bookings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pti-steps.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pti-steps.png) Senior Admin can manage bookings on behalf of a parent or student contact. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/booking-slots-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/booking-slots-1.png) For more information on creating and managing parent-teacher interviews, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/parent-teacher-interview-schedules/) ### Edsby Analytics Edsby Usage Dashboards are analytical tools built right into Edsby that provide insight into overall Edsby Usage across a district as well as per-school dashboards that provide insight for each school in the district. Senior Admin have access to the dashboards for their particular school. The Edsby Usage Dashboards are available at the bottom of the Home Screen below Recent Activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edsby-usage-dashboard.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edsby-usage-dashboard.png) The default view shows the total number of unique users active in Edsby over the previous seven days. Hover over a section of the graph to display additional details. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hovering-over-data.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hovering-over-data.png) For a more detailed view on the school’s Edsby Usage, click the Edsby Usage Link in the upper left corner of the initial dashboard or click the Dashboard button in the top right corner and select Edsby Usage. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/accessing-edsby-usage-details.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/accessing-edsby-usage-details.png) Additional dashboards are displayed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-dashboards.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/full-dashboards.png) For more information on Edsby Usage Dashboards, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrators/edsby-usage-dashboards/) ### Teacher Training With Edsby’s wide selection of purpose-built tools, teachers often benefit from training that shows them all of Edsby’s capabilities. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-edsby-training-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-edsby-training-group.png) Senior Administrators can use PD Groups for self-paced training material that informs and shows teachers everything they can do in Edsby. For more information on using PD Groups in this way, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/training-teachers-through-pd-groups/?preview_id=19239&preview_nonce=0e014ef12e&preview=true) ## Parent Onboarding and Management Senior Administrators can oversee the parent onboarding process as well as manage parent engagement throughout the year. ### Parent Invitation Process The Parent Invitation process within Edsby is designed to help the school district create Edsby accounts for parents by using information in the existing school databases. When the district is ready to invite parents to create an Edsby account, it is usually the office administration team that issues invitations from the Student Contacts Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-edsby-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-edsby-1.png) Invitations are sent by email. Parents complete the registration process by clicking a link in the email. When parents complete the registration process, they are added to the Parents Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edsby-invitation-email.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edsby-invitation-email.png) The Student Contacts Zoom displays the up-to-date information about which parents have registered, have declined, or have invitations pending. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-contacts-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-contacts-zoom.png) Parents can be reissued invitations or have their invitations revoked from the Student Contacts Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/resend-invitation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/resend-invitation.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/parent-invitation-process-2/) for more information on the Parent Invitation Process. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/student-contacts-zoom-4/) for more information on the Student Contacts Zoom. ### Monitoring Parent Engagement Senior Admin can view which students have parents with active accounts in the Students Zoom. As well, information on when the parent or guardian last logged into Edsby is available. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-activation-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-activation-students-zoom.png) Hovering over a student’s name to view their Mini-Profile displays this information as well. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-activity-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-activity-mini-profile.png) Senior Admin can also view recent parent activity from the Parents Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/activity-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/activity-parents-zoom.png) ### Informing Parents In addition to informing parents through the News River or Edsby Messages, Senior Admin can use PD Groups to display important information for parents. As well, PD Groups enable Senior Admin to see which parents have read the information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-view-of-pd-group-desktop.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/parent-view-of-pd-group-desktop.png) For more information on using PD Groups in this way, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/?post_type=help&p=19216&preview=true) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Using Portfolios for Student-Led Conferences](https://www.edsby.com/help/using-portfolios-for-student-led-conferences/) **Published:** July 7, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Student-Led Conferences involve students leading a discussion about their progress and learning with their parents. This unique method of conferencing encourages students to take responsibility and ownership for their learning by engaging them in an assessment and goal-setting process, empowers student voice, and involves families in richer and more transparent conversations about student progress. Student-Led Conferences provide opportunities for students to prepare, reflect on, and discuss evidence of their learning through the creation of student portfolios. Edsby richly supports the process of student-led conferences through Edsby Portfolios. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Danny-Portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Danny-Portfolio.png) Each student has their own Edsby Portfolio – similar to a personal blog. In the Portfolio, students can create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular success. Each submission is posted to a board which makes it easy for students, teachers, and parents to quickly glance at the student’s proud moments, learning goals, or future aspirations. When preparing for a student-led conference, consider asking your students to share a proud assignment, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/proud-assignments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/proud-assignments.png) A learning goal, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-goal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-goal.png) A career plan, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/career-plan.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/career-plan.png) An area for growth, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/area-for-growth.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/area-for-growth.png) Something they advocate for, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/advocating.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/advocating.png) A success story, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/success-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/success-story.png) A high-school ready trait they possess, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/high-school-ready-trait.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/high-school-ready-trait.png) A time they showed leadership, [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/leadership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/leadership.png) Or a timeline of their learning. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-timeline.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/learning-timeline.png) Encourage them to take the time to reflect on each item shared in their Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/reflecting-on-goal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/reflecting-on-goal.png) Edsby richly enhances a student’s Portfolio by enabling the use of teacher-curated evidence of learning. Students can use evidence their teachers have shared with them in their Portfolios to prepare for a student-led conference. This includes evidence students have captured through the Edsby Capture App themselves. Teachers share evidence to the student’s Learning Story. Students click the blue plus icon on a piece of evidence to add it to their Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portfolio-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-to-portfolio-button.png) Edsby Portfolios enable students to create a rich display of their learning journey for use in their Student-Led Conference. Encourage students to take some time and explore all that Edsby can do in this area to display their proud moments, learning goals, or future aspirations. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/portfolio/) for more information on Edsby Portfolios. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Sending Bulk Messages](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/sending-bulk-messages/) **Published:** July 7, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Have a parent-teacher interview or a field trip coming up and need to quickly send a reminder for parents to book appointments or submit permission slips? Teachers can send bulk messages to groups of students and their parents. Messages sent in bulk are pre-addressed with the selected names and the BCC label indicates each recipient will only see their own name. Other recipients of the message will not see who else is included in the message. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bcc.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bcc.png) Teachers can remove a name from the message by clicking the X beside it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/delete-name-in-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/delete-name-in-message.png) Messages teachers send to parents via Edsby automatically redirect to parents’ email addresses, even if the parent hasn’t registered for or set up an Edsby parent account. Parent email addresses come from your school or district’s official system of record. Edsby keeps teachers’ class and parent lists updated as students in your classes come and go through the year. And similarly, when individual parents’ access to information changes (e.g. divorce, court orders) through the year, Edsby manages this for you, too. ## Messaging Students and Parents Teachers can message students, their parents, or both through the My Students Zoom, My Parents Zoom, Classes Zoom, and from within a class or group. In a Zoom, filter and use the gear icon to select who to send the message to. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Zoom and select the recipients. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-students-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/my-students-message.png) In a Class, click the view all students link. Then, click More and select the recipients. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-class.png) In a Group, click the view all members link. Then, click the drop-down arrow and select the recipients. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-a-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/message-in-a-group.png) Fill out the message and click Send. Recipients will receive the message in their Edsby mailbox and/or their email inboxes if a parent. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Guidance Office Overview](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/) **Published:** July 6, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Guidance Office is a valuable part of the school administration team. The Guidance Office manages academic issues, career questions, college prep, as well as personal or social issues staff, students, and parents at their school may encounter. They monitor student academics to provide guidance, collaborate between teachers, parents, and students regarding best practices for student success, as well as communicate with and inform the broader school and district community. ## Jump to a Section ###### Academic Monitoring [The Students Zoom](#studentszoomguidance) [The Panorama](#panoramaguidance) [Student Report](#studentreportguidance) [Monitor Groups](#monitorguidance) [Portfolios](#portfolioguidance) ###### Collaborating with Students, Teachers, and Parents [Groups](#groupsguidance) [Messages](#messagesguidance) ###### Communicating with the School and District Community [News](#newsguidance) [Calendar](#calendarguidance) [Professional Development Groups](#pdguidance) ###### Optional Applications [Credit Recovery](#creditrecovery) [Community Service](#communityservice) ## Academic Monitoring Edsby enables the Guidance Office to monitor the academic progress of students in their school and identify if a student may be struggling. The Guidance Office can also view the attendance history of students in their school and monitor if students are engaging with Edsby regularly. ### The Students Zoom The Students Zoom provides the Guidance Office with a list of all students in the school and information pertaining to them including their current class, risk indicators, their current average, and their total number of absences and lates in the current term. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/students-zoom.png) This Zoom is accessed on the right side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/students-zoom-location-for-guidance.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/students-zoom-location-for-guidance.png) Risk indicators help Guidance staff identify students who may be struggling at school. These include failing classes, receiving a Needs Improvement for their subjective performance indicator in a class, and repetitive lates or absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/risk-indicators.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/risk-indicators.png) The filters in the Students Zoom can be used to narrow down the students into a specific sub-set. Filter based on gender, average, grade, homeroom teacher, tags, or account status. For example, Guidance Staff may be interested in filtering the list to students with a failing average or on the verge of failing. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/students-zoom-filters.jpg) The Students Zoom enables Guidance staff to find students with high absenteeism by clicking on the Attendance column headers to sort. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absence-columns.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/absence-columns.png) Guidance staff can view when students and their parents were last active in Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/last-active.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/last-active.png) Edsby enables the Guidance Office to view and print Progress Reports. These can be beneficial when setting up a meeting with students and their parents. Select which students to print Progress Reports for by clicking the gear and selecting the checkboxes. Click the drop-down arrow and select Progress Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/select-students-for-progress-reports.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/select-students-for-progress-reports.png) The Progress Report provides a printable report summarizing each student’s classes as well as their average, attendance totals, and subjective performance indicator for each class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/progress-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/progress-report.png) For a more detailed Progress Report, navigate to the student’s Panorama and click the link found in their Classes panel. Hover over a student’s name in the Students Zoom to view their mini-profile. Guidance staff can view the student’s current class and attendance state, the student’s last activity on Edsby, and the last time their parent or guardian accessed Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mini-profile.png) The Mini-Profile also provides quick access options for Guidance staff to view a student’s Perspective, Panorama, or Portfolio as well as send the student a message. Click View Panorama on the Mini-Profile or click a student’s name in the Students Zoom to access their Panorama. ### The Panorama The Panorama provides Guidance staff the information they need to plan for student success. The Panorama is a secure area, available only to teachers and administrators. Here, Guidance staff can see everything Edsby knows about the student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/student-panorama-1.png) View the classes the student is enrolled in along with their current averages and subjective performance indicators in the Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classes-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/classes-panel.png) Guidance staff can also view the student’s Progress Report and Learning Story from this panel. The Progress Report found in the student’s Panorama provides a detailed breakdown of each of the student’s classes including their Perspective graph, a list of incomplete, graded, and ungraded assessments, as well as their specific-class attendance history. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/detailed-progress-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/detailed-progress-report.png) Choose what to display in the report using the checkboxes at the top of the screen. Click the Print icon to print the report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/what-to-include-in-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/what-to-include-in-report.png) At the bottom of the Classes panel lists the student’s attendance totals. Click the totals to view the student’s Attendance Summary Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/attendance-summary-from-panorama.png) The Attendance Summary Report provides an overview of a student’s attendance history. The report has two views: List View and Year Calendar View. List View displays all attendance incidents associated with the given student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/list-ciew.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/list-ciew.png) Year Calendar View displays the student’s attendance history for the past year. This view enables the Guidance Office to identify any attendance issues. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-summary-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-summary-report.png) Suspend the student’s account or reset their password under the Account section. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/account-section-of-panorama.png) To understand a student’s current workload, review the student’s class schedule, assessments, and events located in the Calendar on the right side of their Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/student-calendar.png) ### Student Report The Student Report Zoom enables the Guidance Office to view valuable attendance data and information specific to each class a student is enrolled in. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-1.png) Access the Student Report by clicking into a Zoom and clicking Student Report at the top of the Zoom. #### Classes Tab The Student Report defaults to the Classes tab and generates a line for each student’s classes. The information includes the student’s name, ID, and number, as well as the class ID and name, the section ID, each class’ teachers, and the student’s attendance totals and average specific to the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-info.png) The data in the Student Report can be exported by filtering to and selecting the desired information, clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-student-report-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-student-report-info.png) **Note:** The information displayed is similar to the Students Zoom. However, the Students Zoom displays the student’s attendance totals for all classes combined as well as their cumulative average across all of their classes. Use the Student Report for class-specific student information. #### Groups Tab The Groups tab of the Student Report generates a line for each group each student is a member of. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png) This displays similar information as the Classes tab except Section ID indicates the specific group and the group moderators are listed in the Teachers column. ### Monitor Groups After utilizing the Students Zoom and Panorama and observing the academic and attendance habits of students at the school, Guidance Staff will likely have a list of students they want to monitor and guide towards success. Edsby enables the Guidance Office to do just this with Monitor Groups. Monitor Groups are used to monitor a list of students. However, students and their parents never see they are a member of a Monitor Group. Monitor Groups provide the Guidance Office, teachers, and other administrators with access to the Students Zoom information for a particular group of students to monitor and identify at-risk students based on attendance incidents or grades. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-a-monitor-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/inside-a-monitor-group.png) #### Creating a Monitor Group The Guidance Office can create Monitor Groups by clicking Find More in the My Groups panel and then clicking Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-and-cerate.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/find-more-and-cerate.png) In the group creation form, set the group type to Monitor Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/monitor-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/monitor-group-type.png) **Note:** Monitor groups are initially set to be private and have closed membership. This is recommended, as Monitor Groups are not intended to be seen by students or parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/private-and-closed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/private-and-closed.png) In this example, Taylor Barling, head of Student Success at Tecumseh High, is creating a Monitor Group for a handful of 9th grade students with an average in the range of 50-60% who may be at risk of failing a course. She would like to be able to monitor them throughout the rest of the semester and discuss with other Guidance staff in order to provide the students with the necessary tools to succeed. Identify the students to be added to the group using the filters in the Students Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/filter-for-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/filter-for-students.png) In the Monitor Group, click Add Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-students.png) Type in the names of the students and click Add Student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-student.png) The students will automatically be added to the group, however, they will not see the group in their My Groups panel and will not know they are a member of the group. Additional staff can be added to the group by clicking Add Staff and typing their names. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-staff.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-staff.png) #### Inside a Monitor Group There are two different views within a Monitor Group: Tabular and Feed View. Tabular View provides the Students Zoom information for the students in the group. Here, Guidance staff can click the drop-down arrow and select from a menu of options including to message the parents, create a planned absence, or invite to a group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/tabular-view-of-monitor-group-850x344.jpg) Feed View provides a classic group feed view. Here, moderators and other staff members in the group can collaborate and discuss the students being monitored. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/feed-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/feed-view.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups-management/monitor-groups/#:~:text=Free%20Demo-,Monitor%20Groups,a%20member%20of%20the%20group.) for more information on Monitor Groups and their capabilities. #### Exporting Monitor Group Information Monitor Group information can be exported for use in an external system through the Student Report. In the Student Report, navigate to the Groups tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png) Filter to the Monitor Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-monitor-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-monitor-group.png) Click the drop-down arrow in the top right of the Zoom and select Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-monitor-group-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-monitor-group-info.png) ### Portfolios Each student has their own Edsby Portfolio – similar to a personal blog. In the Portfolio, students can create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular success. Each submission is posted to a board which makes it easy for students, teachers, and parents to quickly glance at the student’s proud moments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/portfolio.png) Access a student’s Portfolio by hovering over their name and clicking View Portfolio on their Mini-Profile or by clicking the link in their Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/accessing-portfoli.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/accessing-portfoli.png) Portfolios also make for a great conversation starter when having a meeting with students and their parents. Portfolios are a great way to encourage students to participate in Edsby, showcase their learning, and display their proud moments. They are a beneficial tool for students to look back on and be reminded of the success they have already experienced at both school and home. ## Collaborating with Students, Teachers, and Parents Edsby enables the Guidance Office to collaborate with students, their teachers, and their parents on how to best support students succeed academically, personally, and socially both at-home and in-school. ### Monitor Groups Monitor Groups allow Guidance staff to collaborate with teachers on specific students of concern. Share tips, ideas, and best practices to help support at-risk students. Parents and students can also be messaged from the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/drop-down-in-monitor-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/drop-down-in-monitor-group.png) ### Panorama The Panorama enables Guidance staff to post observations about a student and collaborate with other staff members. These observations are visible to staff in the school but not students or parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/panorama-observations.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/panorama-observations.png) ### Groups The Guidance Office may consider creating other groups in the school for collaboration between students, teachers, and parents. Consider the following groups: - A district-wide Student Success group for all Guidance Staff in the district to collaborate on best practices for supporting their school community. - A Career Opportunities group for staff members to provide direction, guidance, and ideas for students pursuing a career following their education. - A Studying and Exam Tips group for students to collaborate with each other and share their best studying and exam-taking practices. - A Parent Support group for parents and staff to collaborate with each other on how to best support their children at home. ### Messages The Guidance Office can easily message parents or students individually or together from their Edsby Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/messages.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/messages.png) ## Communicating with the School and District Community Edsby enables the Guidance Office to communicate with the broader school and district community through broadcasted news articles and community events posted on the school Calendar or through professional development courses that equip students and teachers with tools for academic and personal success. ### News On the News River, Guidance Staff may wish to promote school or district-wide anti-bullying campaigns, post sign-up forms for peer tutors, or share helpful studying tips for students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/guidance-news-ideas.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/guidance-news-ideas.png) To post an article to the school News River, navigate to the School Page and click Submit an article. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-an-article-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/submit-an-article-button.png) Fill out the form. Attachments are supported. Once the Office Administration team approves the post, it will be posted to the News River of all students, parents, and staff at the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fill-out-article-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fill-out-article-form.png) To post an article to the entire school district, contact a district administrator. ### Calendar On the Calendar, Guidance Staff may wish to remind members of the school community about the upcoming Student Success Seminar or Staff Appreciation week. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/events-on-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/events-on-calendar.png) To add an event to the school Calendar, contact the Office Administration team. ### Professional Development Groups Guidance Staff can create and facilitate the use of Professional Development Groups in Edsby. These groups have a Content Builder that members of the group can work through as they would a class. They can be school or district-wide. Consider creating a Professional Development group for teachers to equip them for handling bullying situations that may arise between students in their class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bullying-pd.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bullying-pd.png) Or, consider creating a Professional Development group for students to equip them for applying to Colleges or Universities. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/application-pd.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/application-pd.png) To create a district-wide Professional Development group, contact a district administrator. For more information on creating and using Professional Development groups, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) ## Optional Applications Schools and districts using Edsby have the option to use various applications at an additional cost. These include the Credit Recovery Application and the Community Service Tracker Application. Applications are visible on the left side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/applications.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/applications.png) ### Credit Recovery Many high schools support a process known as Credit Recovery. This process focuses on students who did not achieve a passing grade in a course for credits. Credit Recovery typically identifies which failing students would be good candidates for a focused one-on-one teaching experience to address key areas where the student’s achievements in the class fell short in order to improve their final grade enough to earn a credit in the course. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/full-credit-recovery-application.png) In addition to the powerful and convenient way Edsby has provided teachers to submit reporting information, Edsby enables a workflow for managing all aspects of the Credit Recovery process through the Credit Recovery application. The Guidance Staff can partner with teachers on managing this process. For more information on the Credit Recovery Application, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/credit-recovery/#:~:text=Credit%20Recovery%20typically%20identifies%20which,a%20credit%20in%20the%20course.) ### Community Service Hours The Community Service Tracker Application enables students to electronically submit details regarding their community service hours including the date, hours worked, the organization where the student worked, the supervisor, and even an electronic copy of an approval form. This prevents the possibility of students losing the papers that contain all of their community service hours. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/community-service.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/community-service.png) The Guidance Office can manage and approve these hours. For more information on the Community Service Tracker Application, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/community-service-tracker-application-2/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Sharing Personal Folder Items with Other Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/sharing-personal-folder-items-with-other-teachers/) **Published:** July 6, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers create rubrics, online tests, and courses in their Personal Folders and collaboration is a key part of any school community. Edsby enables teachers to share the items they have created in their Personal Folder with other teachers at their school and across the district. ## Using Libraries Teachers can copy content from their Personal Folder and paste it directly into the Library of a group for other teachers to use. Navigate to the Personal Folder. Select the content to copy by hovering over an item and clicking the circle in the top right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png) Click Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/copy-personal-folder-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/copy-personal-folder-item.png) Navigate to the group library to paste in and click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/paste-in-library.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/paste-in-library.png) The content is now accessible by other members of the group. Consider creating a specific group for sharing purposes with teachers who wish to collaborate with each other. Groups can be district-wide as well. ## Using the Content Builder Teachers can copy content from their Personal Folder and paste it directly into the content panel of a Professional Development Group, if they are a moderator. Navigate to the Personal Folder. Select the content to copy by hovering over an item and clicking the circle in the top right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png) Click Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/copy-personal-folder-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/copy-personal-folder-item.png) Navigate to the content builder of the PD Group. Click Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edit-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edit-content.png) Click the drop-down arrow next to the item to paste under, and select Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/paste-in-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/paste-in-content.png) [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) for more information on the Content Builder. ## Using Learning Object Repositories Learning Object Repositories are a powerful tool for teachers that enable teachers to collect, discuss, categorize, and curate content. Teachers can contribute Learning Objects like course plans, online tests, or rubrics and can use Learning Objects that have been contributed by others in the group. LORs can be school or district-wide. ### Contributing Learning Objects Teachers can simply upload notes, files, or PDFs to the LOR to contribute a Learning Object, or they can contribute content created in their Personal Folder. To contribute Personal Folder items to an LOR, navigate to the personal folder. Select the content to copy by hovering over an item and clicking the circle in the top right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png) Click Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/copy-personal-folder-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/copy-personal-folder-item.png) Navigate to the LOR and click Add Learning Object in the top right corner of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-learning-object.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/add-learning-object.png) Fill out the form with details on what the content is and who it will be most useful for. Click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Learning-object-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Learning-object-form.png) Click the object in the feed or click the drop-down arrow and select Preview to open its content panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/preview-object5.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/preview-object5.png) Click Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edit-in-LOR.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/edit-in-LOR.png) Click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the object and select Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/paste-into-learning-object.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/paste-into-learning-object.png) The object is now accessible by others who enter the LOR. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/#:~:text=The%20Learning%20Object%20Repository%20(LOR,it%20in%20their%20own%20classes.) for more information on Learning Object Repositories. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Student Report](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/the-student-report/) **Published:** June 26, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Student Report Zoom enables school administrators to view valuable attendance data and information specific to each class and group a student is enrolled in. Administrators can access the Student Report by navigating to any Zoom and clicking the Student Report link at the top right of the Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-1.png) The Student Report has two tabs: Classes and Groups. ## Classes Tab The Student Report defaults to the Classes tab and generates a line for each student’s classes. The information includes: - Student Name - Student ID - Student Number - Class ID - Section ID - Class Name - Teachers - The student’s Attendance Totals - The student’s class average [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-info.png) **Note:** The information displayed is similar to the Students Zoom. However, the Students Zoom displays the student’s attendance totals for all classes combined as well as their cumulative average across all of their classes. Use the Student Report for class-specific student information. ## Groups Tab The Groups tab of the Student Report generates a line for each group each student is a member of. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png) This displays similar information as the Classes tab except Section ID indicates the specific group and the group moderators are listed in the Teachers column. ## Filters and Exporting Information Use the filters on the left side of the report to narrow down which student records are displayed. Filter based on term, average, lates or excused incidents, teachers, or class section. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-report-filters.png) The data in the Student Report can be exported by filtering to and selecting the desired information, clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-student-report-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-student-report-info.png) ### Exporting Monitor Group Information School Administrators may wish to export the important student information contained in a Monitor Group to use in an external system. To do this, navigate to the Groups tab of the Student Report. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/groups-tab-of-student-report.png) Filter to the desired Monitor Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-monitor-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filter-to-monitor-group.png) Click the drop-down arrow and select Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-monitor-group-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/export-monitor-group-info.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Supporting the Guidance Office with Monitor Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/supporting-the-guidance-office/) **Published:** June 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Office Administrators can support the Guidance Office through the creation of Monitor Groups that can be used for various monitoring purposes such as identifying at-risk students based on attendance incident, grades or other factors. Monitor Groups are Edsby groups that students and their parents never see they are a member of but appear as a normal group for administrators and teachers if they are a member of the group. In the Group Setup form, set the group type to Monitor Group. Name the group and provide a description. Select moderators, permissions, and membership for the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/monitor-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/monitor-group-type.png) ***Note:*** *Monitor Groups are initially set to be private and have closed membership. This is recommended, as Monitor Groups are not intended to be seen by students or parents.* Consult with the Guidance Office on which students to add to the group. It may be useful to use the Student Zoom for this. In this example, a Monitor Group is being created for a handful of grade 9 students with an average of 50-60% who may be at risk of failing a course. The Guidance Office would like to be able to monitor them throughout the rest of the semester and discuss with other student success staff in order to provide the students with the necessary tools to succeed. Use the filters and search in the Students Zoom to access the target students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filtering-student-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filtering-student-zoom.png) Add students to the group by navigating to the group and clicking Add Students in the upper right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-students.png) Type in the names of the identified students. Click Add Student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-student.png) The students will automatically be added to the group, however, they will not see the group in their My Groups panel and they will not know they are a member of the group. Add Guidance staff to the group by clicking Add Staff in the upper right corner of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-staff-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-staff-1.png) Type the names of the staff members. Click Add Staff. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-staff-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-staff-members.png) This will send an invitation to the staff member for them to Accept or Decline in their My Groups panel. Upon accepting, staff can enter the group and view the academic information regarding the students in the group. Only staff members who have been invited to the group will have access to student academic information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/accept-decline.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/accept-decline.png) For more information on Monitor Groups, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups-management/monitor-groups/#:~:text=Monitor%20Groups,a%20member%20of%20the%20group.) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Supporting Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/supporting-parents/) **Published:** June 18, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** School office administrators are the first point of contact for parents with Edsby questions or concerns. ## Jump to a Section [Edsby Login Basics](#loginbasics) [Activating a Parent Account](#activatingaccount) [Choosing a New Password](#choosenewpassword) [Edsby Mobile App for Parents](#mobileapp) [Parent Groups](#parentgroups) [Messaging Parents](#messageparents) [Requesting Parent Permission](#requestpermission) [Managing Parent Bookings for Parent-Teacher Interviews](#manageparentbookings) ## Parent Frequently Asked Questions School office administrators can assist parents in activating their parent accounts, choosing a new password, navigating the Edsby Mobile App, and viewing their child’s academic progress. ### Edsby Login Basics The school or district Edsby server has a unique URL, or Edsby server address, like https://your-server.edsby.com, where your-server is unique to the school or district. Parents may not know this address so ensure it is shared with them. Parents may consider bookmarking the server address in their browser for easy access. This is the same server address required by the Edsby Mobile App. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mobile-login-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mobile-login-screen.png) A parent’s Edsby username will likely be their email address or some other unique identifier assigned by the district or school. Ensure parents know their usernames and passwords, which are likely already assigned. Edsby does not handle usernames or passwords itself. All access to Edsby is controlled by the school or district’s systems. Remind parents to contact the school if they have forgotten their username or password or if they have been locked out from trying incorrect combinations of them. ### Activating an Edsby Parent Account The school sets up all parent accounts by issuing parents an email with a link unique to them. Parents follow the instructions in the email to quickly set up their account. Parents must be connected to their child in the school system to be issued an invitation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/edsby-invitation-email-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/edsby-invitation-email-1.png) Inform parents on the specific setup instructions unique to the given school or district. Invitations can be reissued to parents through the Student Contacts Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/resend-invitation-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/resend-invitation-1.png) For more information on the parent invitation process, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/parent-invitation-process-2/) ### Choosing a New Password Parents can reset or choose a new password at any point in Edsby. In the mobile app, this is done under Settings under the parent’s app hamburger menu. On a web browser, settings is under the parent’s name in the top right of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-settings.png) Select Login Information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-login-info.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-login-info.png) Type the current and new password. The new password must be at least 8 characters long. Once saved, the new password is effective immediately. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-change-password.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-change-password.png) ## The Edsby Mobile App Edsby enables parents to keep up-to-date with their children’s schooling at the convenience of their mobile devices by using the Edsby Mobile App. The mobile apps are available for download in the App Store and Google Play. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/app-store-logo.png)](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/edsby/id548642814) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AppStore-Google-300x102-1.png)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Edsby&hl=en_CA) Upon opening the app, the school or district’s server address is required. This is the same address as the code in the url parents use to access Edsby on the browser. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mobile-login-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mobile-login-screen.png) When a parent account is logged into from the Edsby App, the Home Screen will be the first screen the parent sees. This screen displays the News River as well as options to access the parent’s personal information, account settings, profile and launchpad. Parents can also logout of the app from this screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-home-screen-with-phone-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-home-screen-with-phone-1.png) Additionally, parents will see a list of their children for them to scroll through on their Home Screen. Under each child’s name, parents are provided with quick access options regarding their children. From here, parents can plan absences and view their child’s Portfolio, Learning Story, Classes, Recent Activity, and Calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-children-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/parent-mobile-children-list.png) Along the bottom of any screen in the Edsby app is the Navigation Bar with icons to access the Home Screen, the parent’s Groups, Calendar, and Notifications. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mobile-nav-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mobile-nav-bar.png) For more information on the parent experience of the Edsby Mobile App, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/navigating-the-edsby-app-2/) ## Creating Groups for Parent Collaboration Office Administrators can create groups to enable parents to collaborate with each other or with other teachers in the school. For example, a Parent Volunteer Opportunities group may be created to enable parents of the school to stay informed about volunteer opportunities and collaborate with the staff members responsible for facilitating the activities. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/parent-volunteer-opportunities-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/parent-volunteer-opportunities-group.png) Invite individual parents by clicking Invite within a group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-in-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-in-group.png) Invite groups of parents through the Parents Zoom. Select the desired parents. Click the drop-down arrow at the top right of the Zoom and select Invite to Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-group-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/invite-to-group-parents-zoom.png) Choose the group and click Invite to give the parents the option to join the group or Add to automatically add them to the group. **Note:** Teachers may also wish to create groups for the parents of their students to collaborate with each other. This is particularly common in classes with students of a younger age. Office Administrators can message all members of a group at once through the Groups Zoom. Select the Group in the Groups Zoom and click the drop-down arrow. Select Message Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/message-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/message-group.png) Type the message and click Send. All members in the group will receive the message. ## Messaging Parents In addition to messaging groups parents are a member of, office administrators can individually message parents through their Messages or send bulk messages to groups of parents through the Parents Zoom. To individually message a parent, click the Compose Message button in the Mailbox. Enter the parent’s name and the message. Click Send. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/message-parent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/message-parent.png) To message groups of parents, navigate to the Parents Zoom. Filter to the desired set of parents by clicking the gear icon and using the checkboxes to select the parents. Click the drop-down arrow next to the gear icon and click Message Parents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/message-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/message-parents-zoom.png) The New Message form will be pre-filled with the parent names. Type the message and click Send. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bcc-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bcc-message.png) Bulk messages sent to parents are BCC messages. This means parents receiving the message will only see it as being sent to them and will not see the names of the other parents who the message was sent to. Parents will receive all of these messages in their Edsby Mailboxes. ## Requesting Parent Permission Edsby Approvals enable office administrators and teachers to send requests directly to parents and then receive a list of parents who have responded as soon as they do. Edsby’s Approval feature does not let permission slips get lost at any point during the process as they are kept secure within Edsby. To send out request for parent permission, navigate to the Students Zoom. Use the filters on the left side of the screen to narrow down the list. Click the gear and select the students requiring parent permission. Click the drop-down arrow and select Request Parent Permission. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/request-parent-permission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/request-parent-permission.png) This opens up a permission request window. Customize the request and click Send Requests. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/permissions-request-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/permissions-request-form.png) Parents will receive the permission request in their mailbox and can answer directly on the request. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/parent-view-of-approvl.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/parent-view-of-approvl.png) Office administrators can monitor the request in their mailbox for up-to-date information on who has responded to the request. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approval-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/approval-workflow.png) ## Managing Parent Bookings for Parent-Teacher Interviews Edsby enables office administrators to easily create and manage Parent-Teacher Interview periods. They can also assist parents in booking and editing their interview slots, if for example, they do not have access to Edsby. Once teachers have had the opportunity to set up their slots, the schedule can be opened to parents. When bookings are open to parents, they will receive a Parent-Teacher Interview workflow item in their Edsby mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/interview-in-mailbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/interview-in-mailbox.png) Parents will have the opportunity to book an interview time for each of their children’s teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/booking-slots-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/booking-slots-1.png) Once booked, parents can change their booking time or remove it. However, there are some cases when parents may need assistance with managing their bookings. Office administrators can book and cancel the booking on behalf of a parent or student contact who may not have an active Edsby account. In the Parent-Teacher interview schedule, click the Parents tab. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/click-parent-.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/click-parent-.png) Search for a parent’s name and click Manage. Book, change, or remove the bookings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/book-for-parent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/book-for-parent.png) Once bookings are complete, parents will see their appointment summary in their Mailbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/appointment-summary.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/appointment-summary.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Supporting Substitute Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/supporting-substitute-teachers/) **Published:** June 12, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers working at the same school can take attendance from the Classes zoom on the teacher home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/take-attendance-through-classes-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/take-attendance-through-classes-zoom.png) A teacher cannot open a class of another teacher, but the attendance sheet and student roster is available. The person who submits the attendance is listed on the attendance sheet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Person-who-submitted.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Person-who-submitted.png) However, a substitute teacher may not be associated with the school. Therefore, printing a class list may be necessary. Navigate to the Classes Zoom and type in the teacher or class name. Click on the number of students to open the class list. Select List View and print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/print-list-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/print-list-view.png) The Attendance Sheet can also be printed from the Attendance Zoom’s Attendance Sheet page. Like all web pages, selecting Ctrl + P will display the browser’s print dialog. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/print-attendance-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/print-attendance-sheet.png) ## Assigning a Substitute Teacher Role In the Class Settings, Substitute teachers can be assigned to a class. For example, if there is a specific teacher who often covers for another. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assigning-the-substitute-role-1024x320.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assigning-the-substitute-role.png) Substitute teachers have the most minimal class access of any of the teacher roles. Their main role is to take attendance. They are able to open the attendance sheet, mark students as absent, late, or present, and can change any attendance states. For more information on assigning teacher roles, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assigning-teacher-roles/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Adding Additional Teachers to a Class](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/assigning-teacher-roles/) **Published:** May 28, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** To support team-teaching, teachers and school administrators can add additional teachers to Classes. To add another teacher to a class, navigate to the Class Setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/navigating-to-class-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/navigating-to-class-setup.png) Under Teachers and Assistants, search for the name of the teacher to add. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/searching-for-teacher-names.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/searching-for-teacher-names.png) Select the role they will have in the class by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting a role – either Teacher, Support, or Substitute. Each of these roles have varying levels of access to the class and its content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-role-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-role-options.png) Click the trash icon to remove the teacher from the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/remove-teacher-from-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/remove-teacher-from-class.png) ### Teacher The Teacher is the default role assigned to those specified as teachers from the SIS. Teachers have full access to all classroom content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teacher-role.png) This is the only role that can access the class Report Card or the Class Setup form. ### Support The Support Teacher has similar access as the main Teacher of the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/support-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/support-role.png) They can view all aspects of the class, add notes, events, and journal entries, view evidence within the class, take attendance, and update the Gradebook. However, Support Teachers do not have access to Report Cards in the Class. Think of the Support Teacher as an assistant to the main Teacher. Both the Teacher and Support are listed in the Teachers panel of the Class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teachers-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teachers-panel.png) ### Substitute The Substitute teacher has the most minimal Class access of any of the teacher roles. The main role of the Substitute is to take attendance. They are able to open the attendance sheet, mark students as absent, late, or present, and can change any attendance states. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/substitute-role.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/substitute-role.png) They can view the class feed and the seating plan, but are unable to make any changes. While they have the same view of the Planner as students, Substitute teachers do not have access to Evidence, the Gradebook, or the Perspective. ## Rearranging the Teachers Panel The Teachers Panel is located at the top left of the class screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teachers-panel-location-in-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/teachers-panel-location-in-class.png) The Teachers and Assistants section of the Setup Form can be used to control the order teachers are listed in the Teachers Panel. Move the mouse over the teacher name to reveal the handle, then click and drag the teacher name to the new location. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/rearranging-teachers-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/rearranging-teachers-panel.png) In the Teachers Panel, Teachers are listed first, then Support. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Bulk Actions on Attendance Sheets](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/snow-days/) **Published:** March 6, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Attendance Sheets tab in the Attendance Zoom enables the Attendance Office to modify the attendance sheets of multiple classes or an individual class through the Modify Sheets feature. ## Jump to a Section [School Closures](#schoolclosure) [Canceling Classes](#cancelingclasses) [School Activities](#schoolactivities) [Cancelled School Buses](#cancelledbuses) To access the Attendance Sheets page, navigate to the Attendance Zoom on the right side of the Home Screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-zoom-on-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-zoom-on-home-screen.png) Click Attendance Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-sheets-page-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/attendance-sheets-page-1.png) The Modify Sheets button enables the Attendance Office to submit the attendance sheets for the entire school day. 1. Click *Modify Sheets* at the top of the Attendance Sheets Tab to modify all sheets or those of selected Classes. 2. Hover over the Status of an Attendance Sheet and click *Modify Sheet* to modify a single Attendance Sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/modify-sheets-buttons.jpg) Schools occasionally close due to weather or other unforeseen events, inclement weather delays bus loads of students, a subset of classes are cancelled, or field trips require the Attendance Office to submit on behalf of teachers. All of these are made easy with attendance sheet bulk actions. ## School Closure It’s a snowy, wet, icy, or foggy day and school has been cancelled for the day. To accurately track attendance, the attendance sheets need to be submitted for all scheduled classes. ***Note:** Attendance can be customized for a specific organization. The following instructions apply to organizations using Edsby’s default attendance codes.* To submit the attendance sheets for all scheduled classes, navigate to the Attendance Zoom and click Attendance Sheets. To include classes that begin later in the day, set the Include Future Classes for Today filter to Yes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/include-future-classes-for-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/include-future-classes-for-today.png) Click Modify Sheets. The form appears. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/modify-attendance-sheets-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/modify-attendance-sheets-form.png) Select Submit sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submission-status-submit-sheets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submission-status-submit-sheets.png) Select Replace code on sheet. Students may have planned absences for the day, but they no longer apply when the school is closed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/replace-code-on-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/replace-code-on-sheet.png) Under the Mark all Students section, choose Absent. The Reason field appears. Choose School Closure. Click Modify Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mark-all-students-absent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mark-all-students-absent.png) ***Note:** For Ontario school boards, the Modify Sheet form includes the General Absence choice.* To submit attendance sheets for a school closure: 1. Navigate to the Attendance Zoom and click Attendance Sheets. 2. To include classes that begin later in the day set the Include Future Classes for Today filter to Yes. 3. Click Modify Sheets. The form appears. 4. Select Submit sheets. 5. Select Replace all codes on sheet. Students may have planned absences for the day, but they no longer apply when the school is closed. 6. Under the Mark all Student section, choose General Absence. The Reason field appears. 7. Choose the applicable reason. 8. Click Modify Sheets. ### Mid-Day School Closure If a school closes mid-day, navigate to the Attendance Zoom and click Attendance Sheets. To include classes that begin later in the day, set the Include Future Classes for Today filter to Yes. Use the Period filter to select the remaining periods for the day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Filter-to-periods-for-rest-of-day.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Filter-to-periods-for-rest-of-day.png) Click Modify Sheets. The form appears. Select Submit sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submission-status-submit-sheets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/submission-status-submit-sheets.png) Select Replace code on sheet. Students may have planned absences for the upcoming periods, but they no longer apply when the school is closed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/replace-code-on-sheet.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/replace-code-on-sheet.png) Under the Mark all Students section, choose Absent. The Reason field appears. Choose School Closure. Click Modify Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mark-all-students-absent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/mark-all-students-absent.png) ## Cancelling Classes If a class is cancelled, hover over the Status state and click Modify Sheet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/modify-sheet-for-single-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/modify-sheet-for-single-class.png) Select Cancel Class. No Code is required. Click Modify Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cancel-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cancel-class.png) To cancel more than one class, click the gear to reveal the checkboxes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gear-to-reveal-checkbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gear-to-reveal-checkbox.png) To select classes that are scheduled for later this day, set the Include Future Classes for Today filter to Yes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/include-future-classes-for-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/include-future-classes-for-today.png) Select the classes to be cancelled. Select the Modify Sheets on the toolbar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selected-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selected-classes.png) Select Cancel Class. No Code is required. Click Modify Sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cancel-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cancel-class.png) ## School Activities In many organizations, school activities are accounted for differently than other types of absences. Creating a planned absence for a school activity creates a potential absence for all the students involved in the school activity. The submission of the attendance sheet confirms that the student is not in class because of a school activity. A submitted attendance sheet records which students are on a school activity, which are present, and which are ill. If the Attendance Office needs to submit attendance sheets for classes involved in a school activity, click the gear to reveal the checkboxes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gear-to-reveal-checkbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/gear-to-reveal-checkbox.png) To select classes that are scheduled for later this day, set the Include Future Classes for Today filter to Yes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/include-future-classes-for-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/include-future-classes-for-today.png) Select the classes to be submitted. Select the Modify Sheets on the toolbar. The form appears. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selected-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/selected-classes.png) Select Submit sheets. Select Leave existing code on sheet. This will capture absences that prevented the student from participating in the school activity. Select Absent. The Reason field appears. Choose School Activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/school-activity.png) ***Note:** For Ontario school boards, the form will include an Excused category. When this is selected, a Reason field appears that includes all the Excused reasons.* ## Cancelled School Buses If the school remains open but school buses are cancelled, the Students Zoom or List Groups can be used to create a planned absence for the students on the cancelled school bus routes. Student Information Systems may include tags that identify the bus route a student takes. The Students Zoom will include filters for Bus Routes, if this is the case. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bus-route-tag.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bus-route-tag.png) To create a planned absence for bus routes, navigate to the Students Zoom. Select the bus route. The list is reduced to students on the particular bus route. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filtering-by-bus-route.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/filtering-by-bus-route.png) From the drop-down menu, choose Create Planned Absence. Complete the Planned Absence form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-planned-absence-for-bus-route.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/create-planned-absence-for-bus-route.png) Planned absences are potential absences. When a teacher submits the attendance sheet, the absence and its reason code will be recorded. If the student finds alternate transportation, the teacher marks the student as present and the planned absence for the class is cancelled. ### Creating List Groups for Bus Routes If your Student Information System does not include bus route information, schools can create Groups in order to create planned absences for bus routes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bus-route-group-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bus-route-group-icon.png) For information on how to create and set up List Groups, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups-management/list-groups/) To use a group to create a planned absence, navigate to the Attendance Zoom. Click Planned Absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absences-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absences-tab.png) Click the Create Planned Absences button. In the Who field, enter the name of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/select-group.png) Complete the Planned Absence form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bus-issue-absence-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bus-issue-absence-form.png) For more information on creating Planned Absences, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/planned-absences-2/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Student Tab and Key Activities](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/student-tab-and-key-activities/) **Published:** December 12, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** When the Attendance Office opens the Attendance Zoom, the Student Tab is the first screen they see. When the Attendance Office searches for a student, they are provided with the student’s complete attendance history. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-tab-breakdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-tab-breakdown.png) 1. Student information including grade, age, and the current class information. If the teacher has taken attendance, the current state is shown. If attendance has not been taken, a question mark is visible. 2. Current Attendance Totals. The Other category represents sanctioned absences such as school activities. 3. Parent/Guardian contact information. The parents/guardians are listed in contact order, if provided by the Student Information System. 4. The most frequent Attendance Office work items can be completed from the Student Tab. The Admit Slip is used when the student is late, Sign Out is used when the student is leaving early, Away Today is used to report the student as absent today, and Planned Absence is used to record a future absence. 5. A list of all absences and lates is provided. Incidents without a reason have not yet been resolved. The items can be resolved by clicking on the item and completing the Incident form. 6. To move onto the next student, click Search for another student. ## Jump to a Section [Away Today](#awaytoday) [Planned Absences](#planabsencesstudenttab) [Late Arrivals](#latearrivalsstudenttab) [Early Departures](#earlydepartures) ## Processing emails, phone calls, voice mails, and notes The Attendance Office often starts the day by processing emails, phone calls, voice mails and notes from parents. Use the Attendance Zoom’s Student tab to work quickly through parent communication regarding absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-tab-before-search.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/student-tab-before-search.png) Click on the Attendance Zoom and search for the student’s name. Search by first name or last name, or partial names. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-student-in-student-tab.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-student-in-student-tab.png) ### Away Today If the parent is reporting that their child will be away today, Click the Away Today button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/away-today.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/away-today.png) The Planned Absence form will appear. The date and time are pre-set for a one day absence but can be changed as needed. Choose the reason for the absence and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fill-out-planned-absence.png) To manage the next student, click Search for another student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-another-student-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/search-for-another-student-1.png) ### Planned Absences If a parent is reporting an absence for dates in the future, search for the student’s name and click Planned Absence. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absence.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/planned-absence.png) The Planned Absence form will appear. Set the start date and starting time of the absence. For a full day absence, click Beginning of Day. For a partial day absence, choose the return time or period. If the absence spans multiple days, set both the start and end dates. The Calendar includes a Beginning of Day and End of Day choice. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/beginning-and-end-of-day-choices.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/beginning-and-end-of-day-choices.png) For more information on planned absences, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/planned-absences-2/) ### Late Arrivals If a student arrives late, search for the student’s name and click Admit Slip. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/admit-slip.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/admit-slip.png) The Admit Slip form will appear. Set the time the student arrived and select a reason. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/admit-one-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/admit-one-student.png) There are two choices to accommodate the school’s preferred workflow. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/issue-or-issue-and-print.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/issue-or-issue-and-print.png) If the school uses premade late slips that act as an entrance ticket, click Issue. The student is then given a premade late slip. If the school wants to print Admit Slips with date and time information, choose Issue and Print. **Note:** If the school has not used the Admit Slips System found in the Incidents tab, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance-office-2016/handling-late-arrivals/) for additional information. ### Early Departures When a student is leaving school before the end of the day, search for the student’s name and click Sign Out. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sign-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sign-out.png) The Planned Absence form will be prefilled to mark the student absent for the remainder of the day. The time is prefilled with the current time and marks the student absent for the current and remaining periods. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sign-out-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sign-out-form.png) The Incidents and Planned Absences tabs can be used to manage attendance events that involve multiple students. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Report Cards - Printing Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/printing_ontario_office/) **Published:** November 7, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** School and district administrators can use Edsby to print the school or district’s official report cards issued at the end of reporting periods. ### Printing by Grade Level Edsby report card sheets can be filtered by school or district administrators using the filters on the left side of the screen when logged into Edsby with a web browser. 1. Click Student View. 2. Choose a print template. 3. Select a grade or grades. 4. Click Print. 5. The browser Print dialog appears. 6. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-filter.png) ### Printing by Teacher 1. Click Student View. 2. Click on the teachers column to sort by teacher. 3. Choose a print template and Click Print. 4. The browser Print dialog appears. 5. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teachers-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teachers-filter.png) ### Printing by Selected Students 1. Select Student View. 2. Choose a print template. 3. Click the gear button in the top right corner of the page. Click the boxes beside each student’s name whose report card will be printed. 4. Click Print. The browser Print dialog appears. 5. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students-1.png) ### Printing All Sheets 1. To print all sheets, Select Student View from the top right of the report cards screen. 2. Choose a print template. Click the Print button. A print preview of the report card is opened. 3. Click print to print the report cards. 4. The browser Print dialog appears. 5. Set the browser print options and click Print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/clicking-print-in-student-view-1024x453.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/clicking-print-in-student-view.png) This process is also shown at 0:42 in the video above. ### Setting Print Options School administrators can choose to set the print options for all Report Cards at their school. Navigate to the Student View of the Report Cards Zoom and click Print Options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/clicking-print-options-1024x453.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/clicking-print-options.png) A menu opens to customize the printed Report Cards. Add a school statement, school logo, principal signature, or school council chair. Each field is optional. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/set-report-card-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/set-report-card-options.png) When the print options are customized, click Save. The printed report cards will include the information specified in the Print Options. ### Chrome Print Options and removing the header/footer The Chrome browser, depending on local settings, may add a header and footer to the printed report card. Expand the printer settings, then disable Headers and footers. ## Report Cards Zoom District and School administration have access to the Report Card Zoom, which provides up-to-the-minute information on a reporting period. Report Cards has two views. The Sheet View is focused on providing information about classes, while the Student View concentrates on reviewing and printing student report cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-vs-sheet-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-vs-sheet-view.png) ### Sheet View toolbar & columns [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sheet-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sheet-view.png) ToolbarReporting Period listUsed to navigate to a selected reporting period.Add Group or Class buttonAdd a class or a group to the selected reporting period. Classes and groups require student members. An empty class or group without students will not be provisioned a report card sheet.Edit Details buttonReporting Periods provisioned at the schools level will include the ability to change the Reporting Period Setup form. District level reporting periods will not include an Edit Details button.ExportExport report card sheet data to a csv file.Gear iconDisplays Change Template, Cancel Sheet buttons and enables the ability to select individual classes.PublishIf at least one report card sheet has been submitted, the Publish button appears. Clicking Publish will enable students and parents to view the report card on the home screen.RetractIf report cards have been published, the Retract button will appear. Clicking the Retract button will unpublish all report cards.Column NameSheet NameClicking on the sheet name will open the report card sheet. The report card sheet can be open if the State is Submitted, Overdue, Approved, Returned for Correction, Published.Class / Group NameThe short name of the class.GradeGrade is displayed if provided by the Student Information System.Teacher(s)A list of teacher names.TemplateThe name of the report card template provided to the class.Student StatusThe number of students in the class.Sheet StatusUnsubmitted[![grey circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)Teacher has not yet submitted the sheet. Percentage of completed required fields is displayed. Represented by a gray circle.Submitted[![yelllow circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)During the submission period, teachers can unlock and modify report card sheets. Represented by a yellow circle.Approved[![green circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)Indicates the Office has approved the sheet. Once a sheet has been approved, the teacher can no longer edit the sheet. Represented by a green circle.Published[![blue circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/blue-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/blue-circle4.png)The report card is visible to a student and parents. Represented by a blue circle.MeanThe class mean based on the Grade column. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.MedianThe class median based on the Grade column. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.\# FailThe number of students who fall below expectations. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.AlertIndicates if a grade has been adjusted more than 5 points. Only appears after the report sheet has been submitted.### Student View The Student View enables school or district administrators to view report card records by student. Clicking a student’s name opens the Review Report Card form. The form lists the teachers and classes that make up a student’s report card. The form also includes the current state of each report card record. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-view.png) [![grey circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grey-circle4.png)Unsubmitted --- [![yelllow circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/yelllow-circle2.png)Submitted --- [![green circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/green-circle4.png)Approved --- [![red circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/red-circle1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/red-circle1.png)Returned for Correction --- ![blue circle](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/blue-circle4.png)Published --- **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Report Card Video Playlist for Ontario Principals](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/report-card-video-playlist-for-ontario/) **Published:** October 2, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Report Card Review Process Using the report card zoom, which works like any other zoom on Edsby, keeps administrators organized as they can filter report card sheets to their status: approved, not submitted, published, returned for correction, submitted for review, and unlocked for editing. With a system that is so simple to use, it is easy to stay organized. Administrators can enter the report card sheet directly from the zoom and make corrections directly on the sheet, or they can ask teachers to make corrections. Administrators can unlock a sheet at any time, even after it has been published. ## Printing Report Cards It is easy to customize the way report cards are printed within Edsby. Report cards are always printed in the order that they are found in the zoom, but the order can be changed by clicking the headers in the columns: student name, homeroom teacher, grade, etc. They can also be printed by grade. In this video, an example is included in which only the grade 4 students report cards are being printed. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Printing a Roster](https://www.edsby.com/help/printing-a-roster-3/) **Published:** August 8, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Report Card Comment Categories](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/report-cards/report-card-comment-categories/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby provides support for comment categories. Comment categories can optionally be turned on for a report card data entry template with the specific set of categories defined in the template. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/different-comment-libraries.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/different-comment-libraries.png) Each category then provides a shortcut method to filter whatever comment library(s) are set up with the tag associated with the category. In this example, clicking Learned will show all comments that have been tagged with the term Learned. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filtering-library.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filtering-library.png) Click a comment to add it to the report card. If a library comment is chosen, the category checkmark is set automatically and becomes green. This indicates the comment has successfully covered the category. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/green-checkmark.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/green-checkmark.png) Clicking Strengths or Next Steps would show comments associated with those specific tags. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/other-comment-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/other-comment-filters.png) Note: Teachers can also type in a comment and manually click the category checkmark to help keep track of which categories have been covered by the comment entered. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Report Card Find and Replace](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/report-cards/report-card-find-and-replace/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby provides teachers with a “Find/Replace” button on all report card data entry sheets. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/findreplace-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/findreplace-button.png) This feature enables teachers to quickly change one word or phrase into another across the entire sheet. Options enable the teacher to control whether it is case sensitive or not, and whether only whole words should be matched or not. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/findreplace-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/findreplace-options.png) For example, James Harris, an English teacher, has multiple students who were involved in a co-op term this semester and he would like to mention their learning experience from it in their report card comments. He has entered multiple comments regarding the work experience they gained at their co-op workplaces. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/example-of-co-op-comment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/example-of-co-op-comment.png) However, he would like to replace the term “work” with “job” anywhere it appears in the report card. He will use the Find/Replace button to do this. Click Find/Replace. In Find this text, he types “work”. In replace with this text, he types “job”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/replace-work-with-job.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/replace-work-with-job.png) ### Ignore Case He clicks Ignore Case so that regardless of where the term “work” is found (whether at the beginning of a sentence and capitalized or in the middle of a sentence and not capitalized) the term will get properly replaced. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ignore-case.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ignore-case.png) The Ignore Case checkbox is in regard to the text in the Find section. If it is selected, regardless if the word is capitalized in the report card, Edsby will be able to find it and properly replace it. To illustrate this, let’s imagine Mr. Harris did not check the box next to Ignore Case and he types “Work” in the Find section. Edsby will search the report card for anywhere the term “Work” with a capital W is used and replace it with “job”. This means if the term “work” is used in the middle of a sentence without a capital W, it will not be properly replaced. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/when-ignore-case-is-not-used.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/when-ignore-case-is-not-used.png) Notice how the sentence where work is not capitalized was not corrected to job. Only the sentence that had work capitalized was correctly replaced with job. Now, since Mr. Harris did, in fact, check the box next to Ignore Case, anywhere the term “work” is found, regardless if it is capitalized or not, it will be properly replaced with “job”. Selecting the Ignore Case option is also recommended in case there are any instances in the report card where the teacher accidently types a capital letter randomly in the middle of a word. For example, woRk. If Ignore Case is on, Edsby will still properly replace it with job. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/mistyped-capitalized-words.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/mistyped-capitalized-words.png) ### Match Whole Word Only Mr. Harris also clicks the box next to Match Whole Word Only. This means that only the whole word “work” will get replaced and other words that contain work will not. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/match-whole-word-only-option.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/match-whole-word-only-option.png) To illustrate this, let’s imagine Mr. Harris did not check the box next to Match Whole Word Only. Edsby will search the report card sheet for any time where “work” is typed – regardless if this is a word on its own or part of another word – and replace it with “job”. At another location in the report card, Mr. Harris had typed the word “worked”. Since he did not specify whole words only, “work” in worked was changed to job and therefore, in the report card, the word shows up as jobed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/when-you-dont-use-match-whole-word.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/when-you-dont-use-match-whole-word.png) Now, since Mr. Harris did, in fact, check the box next to Match Whole Word Only, words containing “work” like worked or working, have remained correct, and places where only the whole word “work” is found are replaced with “job”. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/properly-using-match-whole-word-only.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/properly-using-match-whole-word-only.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Parent Invitations - Resending](https://www.edsby.com/help/resending-parent-invitations/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** When schools first deploy Edsby, parents are sent invitations to activate their account. However, sometimes the invitation may need to be reissued and teachers have the ability to do this for parents linked to their classes. This is especially useful in cases when the teacher is speaking directly to a parent and encouraging them to connect with Edsby. Additionally, this eliminates the need for the teacher to contact the office in order to have the invitation reissued. To resend an invitation, search for the student whose parent needs a reissued invitation and click on it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/search-for-student-and-click.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/search-for-student-and-click.png) This brings the teacher to the student’s panorama. On the top right of the screen, click Student Admin. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/click-student-admin.png) Click Caregivers. Here you can see the student’s parents and contacts, their relationship to the student, contact order, if they have access to Edsby, additional information, and the time of their last activity on Edsby. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/caregivers-in-student-admin.png) Click the name of the parent who needs a reissued invitation. This opens their Parent Details form. At the bottom of the form, click Resend Invitation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/resend-invitation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/resend-invitation.png) The parent will receive a new Edsby invitation in their email. If a parent has not been issued an invitation, the status will be set to Inactive. Please contact your school office and request that the parent be issued an invitation. **Edsby Support Note:** Edsby Support cannot issue invitations to parents, this decision can only be made by the school or district. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Mobile - Posting to Portfolio](https://www.edsby.com/help/portfolio/mobile-posting-to-portfolio/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Students can access their Portfolio from their mobile device through the Edsby App. The Portfolio is accessed from the home screen of the App. Here, posts curated by the student themselves are displayed in the Portfolio feed. The Edsby app enables students to capture their work in their Portfolio by using the camera on their mobile device. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/student-mobile-portfolio.jpg) Students wishing to add a post to their Portfolio in the mobile app should: 1. Click the Add button in the top right corner of the screen. 2. Decide who the post will be visible to. 3. Fill out the form and click Browse to use an image. Select either an existing image or take a new image by mobile camera to document the work. 4. A Portfolio post can be saved as a draft or saved and then published immediately. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mobile-portfolio-posting.jpg) Once published, the post appears in the student’s Portfolio feed. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Inviting Parents to a Group](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/inviting-parents-to-a-group/) **Published:** July 10, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** If teachers would like to parents to communicate with each other and the teacher they can invite them to a parent group. First, create a group to invite parents to. In this example, Christopher Nelson, an Art teacher, would like to create a group to collaborate with the parents of his 6th Grade Art students. He has named it The Arts\_GR6 Parent Group so he can easily tell it apart from other groups he may have. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group.png) The group is closed and private so only the parents specifically invited can access the group. To invite parents associated with a specific class to the group, navigate to the My Students Zoom. Filter to the correct class or classes. In this example, Mr. Nelson would like to collaborate with the parents of all of his 6th grade Art students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filtering.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filtering.png) To invite all of the parents associated with the classes, click the drop-down arrow and select Invite Parents to Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-all-parents-to-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-all-parents-to-group.png) To invite select parents associated with the classes, click the gear icon and select the students whose parents you want to add to the group. Click the drop-down arrow and select Invite Parents to Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-select-parents.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/invite-select-parents.png) Click the arrow under Choose Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/choose-group-dropdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/choose-group-dropdown.png) Click the checkbox next to the name of the desired group. The filters can be used to narrow down the selection. Click Select. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/selecting-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/selecting-group.png) Click Add. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-1.png) Christopher Nelson can now collaborate with the parents of his 6th grade Art students. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Edsby Usage Dashboards](https://www.edsby.com/help/principal-and-senior-administrator-quickstart/edsby-usage-dashboards/) **Published:** July 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby Usage Dashboards built into Edsby provide insights into overall Edsby usage across their district as well as per-school dashboards that provide insights for each school in the district. District IT and District Administrators in Edsby have access to the district-wide dashboards and can drill-down into specific schools. School Administrators have access into the dashboards for their particular school. ## Default Summary View When an administrator logs into Edsby, they will see the Edsby Usage dashboard available at the bottom of their home screen below Recent Activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edsby-usage-below-recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/edsby-usage-below-recent-activity.png) This view shows the total number of unique users active in Edsby over the previous seven days. By hovering on a section of the graph, the actual counts for that section are displayed along with the percentage the segment represents. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hovering-over-segment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hovering-over-segment.png) In this example, each segment represents a role category and the hover text for the “parent” segment is shown here. ## Launching Full View The full view of the Edsby Usage dashboard can be accessed by clicking on the Edsby Usage link in the upper left corner of the initial dashboard or by clicking on the Dashboard button in the top right corner and selecting Edsby Usage. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/launching-full-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/launching-full-view.png) This launches the full page Edsby Usage view. The first bar chart shows usage by role per day over the last seven days. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/full-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/full-view.png) The second bar chart shows usage by school per day over the last seven days. Administrators can narrow in on the usage of a specific day by clicking on its bar and applying the filter. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/narrowing-in-and-applying-filter.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/narrowing-in-and-applying-filter.png) ## Selecting Other Views When viewing the Edsby Usage dashboard in full screen, the drop-down menu in the upper right provides additional dashboard options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/additional-options-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/additional-options-1.png) A 30-day view would look similar to the one below: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/30-day-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/30-day-view.png) ## Feature Usage Dashboards On the full page Edsby Usage dashboard, a graph of major feature usage is provided. This displays: - Evidence items added - Gradebook assessments created - Gradebook views - Group posts and replies - Messages composed - Portfolio posts, opens, and comments [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/usage-by-action.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/usage-by-action.png) The actual count and percentage of overall counts is shown when hovering over a particular segment of the graph. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hovering-over-action.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hovering-over-action.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Credit Recovery](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/credit-recovery/) **Published:** July 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Many high schools support a process known as Credit Recovery. This process focuses on students who did not achieve a passing grade in a course for credits. Credit Recovery typically identifies which failing students would be good candidates for a focused one-on-one teaching experience to address key areas where the student’s achievements in the class fell short in order to improve their final grade enough to earn a credit in the course. In addition to the powerful and convenient way Edsby has provided teachers to submit reporting information, Edsby enables a workflow for managing all aspects of the Credit Recovery process. ## Accessing the Credit Recovery Application School and district administrators with access to the Credit Recovery workflow will see a Credit Recovery application in their Applications panel on the lower left side of the home screen. This provides the administrator with access to the appropriate set of credit recovery reports. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/where-credit-recovery-is-located.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/where-credit-recovery-is-located.png) School administrators will see credit recovery reports for students at their school while district administrators will have access to the credit recovery reports across the entire district. ## Inside the Credit Recovery Application When the Credit Recovery application is opened, administrators are shown the set of credit recovery reports regarding their school or district. Each report contains the name of the student, their ministry ID, the grade and course, the student’s final grade in the course, the subject, original teacher, whether the student has been recommended for credit recovery at the present time, the assigned credit recovery teacher (if one has been assigned), the reporting period, and the current status of the credit recovery report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/credit-recovery-entries.png) The Filters panel on the left makes it easy for administrators to narrow the list of reports shown to a specific subset including by status, recommendation, reporting period, course, grade, subject, original teacher, and assigned teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filters-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/filters-panel.png) Click on a row to view the specific Credit Recovery report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/click-on-specific-row-in-credit-recovery.png) When the administrator opens a report, the top of the form includes the information administrative staff need in order to track the recommendations and the outcome of the credit recovery process for the particular student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/credit-recovery-report.png) The initial Credit Recovery report information provided by the original teacher of the student is included below the administrative information under Failure Report. Administrators can make any necessary corrections to the form or add notes as they see fit. ### Credit Recovery Status Inside the application, administrators can view the status of each Credit Recovery report by looking at the Status column. Administrators can also use the Status filter to narrow the list of reports down to the status they would like to observe. **Unsubmitted**Unsubmitted is the initial status of a credit recovery. This occurs when a teacher has submitted a report card sheet with failing students but has not yet submitted failure reports regarding the students. **Awaiting Approval**When a teacher has properly submitted failure reports regarding any students that did not successfully pass a course, the status of the credit recovery will change from Unsubmitted to Awaiting Approval. This status will remain until the administrator has decided how they would like to proceed with the recovery. **In Progress**If the administrator has decided the student should proceed with the recovery and has selected the appropriate option on the report form, the status of the recovery will change to In Progress. This status will remain until the student has completed the recovery. **Assign to Summer School**When an administrator has received an initial Credit Recovery Report from a given teacher, they must review it to decide if the student should proceed. If the administrator wishes to send the student to summer school rather than enrol in Credit Recovery, the status of the report will change to Assigned to Summer School.**Declined**If the administrator has decided a particular student should not proceed with the Credit Recovery process, they can choose to not approve the Credit Recovery report. This will change the status of the report to Declined.**Completed**When a student has successfully completed the Credit Recovery and the teacher or administrator has changed the status on the form, the status of the report will change to Completed. **Unsuccessful**If a student has not successfully completed a credit recovery, the teacher of the recovery course or an administrator can change the status of the report to Unsuccessful. This means the student was unable to complete a credit in the given course.## Approving Requests for Credit Recovery After report cards have been submitted, teachers are expected to fill out a form with a recommendation as to whether or not a failed student should be allowed to attempt Credit Recovery. Administrators must review the recommendation and decide whether the student should begin the recovery process. Click on a row to view the credit recovery report. Administrators can approve or reject a student for recovery or transfer them to summer school by selecting the appropriate option under Credit Recovery Status. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/admin-selecting-credit-recovery-status.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/admin-selecting-credit-recovery-status.png) In this example, Mr. Mathu Harishan has submitted a recommendation for credit recovery on behalf of his student Dane Wiersum who was diagnosed with a concussion near the end of the semester and was unable to complete his Biology final exam. The principal of the school, William Ham, has decided to approve the recommendation and will allow Dane to progress through his credit recovery. He does this by selecting Assigned/Credit Recovery in progress. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/assignedcredit-recovery-in-progress.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/assignedcredit-recovery-in-progress.png) ## Assigning a Credit Recovery Teacher Administrators have the ability to review the credit recovery report and decide if the student should proceed with credit recovery. Click Assigned/Credit Recovery in Process to assign the student to the recovery process. This reveals a name entry box that can be used to pick a teacher to assign the credit recovery to. Type the teacher’s name in and click Enter to assign them. William Ham will assign Dane Wiersum’s credit recovery to another Biology teacher in the school, Mr. Isaac Powell. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/assigning-a-teacher.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/assigning-a-teacher.png) Administrators can reassign a previously assigned recovery to a different teacher if necessary. Click on the row with the report that will be changed. In the text box with the assigned teacher’s name, type the name of the new teacher who will be assigned. Click Save. The new teacher will now be assigned to the credit recovery and the previously assigned teacher will no longer have access to information regarding it. ## Completed Credit Recoveries When a student has successfully completed their Credit Recovery, the assigned teacher will change the status on the report form to Completed. Administrators can review the status of the recovery reports by using the status filter on the left side of the application. Click Completed to view all completed recoveries. When the teacher has updated the status on the report form, the status the administrator sees will change from In Progress to Completed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Picture1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Picture1.png) Note: Administrators can also change the status of the credit recovery to Completed. ## Exporting Credit Recovery Reports The list of Credit Recovery Reports can be exported into a csv file by clicking Export. The csv file will include the same fields as those displayed in Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/export-credit-recovery-reports.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Groups - Badge](https://www.edsby.com/help/groups/badge-groups/) **Published:** July 9, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby provides support for badge groups. These groups support the awarding and tracking of certifications and badges for both students and staff. These groups are useful for a range of applications including tracking student accomplishments and staff professional development. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Badges-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Badges-panel.png) Badge groups can be configured to be open to members to collaborate in which provides a great way for the members to engage on the topic even after being awarded the badge. A badge is granted to a person by a badge moderator or multiple moderators. Each badge has its own set of badge moderators. When someone is awarded a badge, it is added to their Badges panel located below the Applications panel on the Home Screen. Badges can have different categories, and each is labeled accordingly in the Badges Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/where-badges-are-located.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/where-badges-are-located.png) For example, Lab Safety is under the category Certification. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-category.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-category.png) As soon as someone has one badge, the badges panel appears. If they are removed from the only badge group they are part of, the badges panel is removed from their home screen as well. To enter the group, click the name of the badge in the panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/clicking-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/clicking-group.png) Inside a badge group looks the same as a regular group with pinned items, a knowledge base, members panel, group schedule and a library. Additionally, members of the badge group can post notes and polls. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-badge-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inside-badge-group.png) ## Creating a Badge Group To create a badge group, click the pop-out in the My Groups panel or click Find More at the bottom of the My Groups panel. Click Create. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/create-group-copy.png) Set the group type to Badge. Name the group and enter a badge category, if desired. These will be visible in the Badges panel of all who have been awarded the badge. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-setup.png) Select moderators, permissions and membership for the group. Automated membership can be used to ensure the necessary people are being awarded the right badges. Once the setup form is complete, click Create Group. Creating a badge group automatically puts it in the Badges panel of the group moderator and anyone who has automatically been added to the group through automated membership. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-added-to-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-added-to-panel.png) ## Adding Members to a Badge Group Moderators can choose to add members to the badge group both during group creation and after. During group creation, moderators can choose to automatically add certain user types to the badge by specifying the Automated Membership settings. This will automatically add the badge to the Badges panel of those automatically added. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/automated-membership.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/automated-membership.png) However, moderators can continue to add members to the group even after it has been created. Navigate to the group and click Invite from the top right corner of the group screen. Type the names of the people who will be added to the group. Click Add Members. Clicking this automatically adds the badge to the badges panel of those invited. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-members.png) ## Integrating Badge and Professional Development Groups Administrators may wish for their staff to complete necessary professional development. Upon completion of the professional development course, administrators may want to award staff with a badge. In this example, William Ham, the principal of Tecumseh High has created a Professional Development group for all the science teachers at the school to complete necessary Laboratory Training prior to the start of the semester. He would also like to award teachers with a badge upon completion of the training. To do this, he will first create a new Badge group and then attach the badge to the setup form of the Professional Development group. Create a new group. Select Badge for the group type. Enter a name for the badge. This will be visible in the Badges panel of all who have completed the training. Enter a category, if desired. Mr. Ham has specified this Laboratory safety badge as a certification. Enter a description of the badge. This will also be visible in the Badges panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-setup.png) Mr. Ham would like this to be a private group that is closed to all except those who have been specifically invited to it. In this case, it is not necessary for other teachers in the school to be able to search for the group or enter it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-permissions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/badge-group-permissions.png) Once the setup form is complete, click Create Group. This will add the badge to the Badges panel of Mr. Ham’s home screen. Navigate to the setup form of the Professional Development group requiring the badge. In the setup form of the PD group you can select a badge for the group. The options for the badges are based on the badge groups that have been created at the school. Select the correct badge, in this case, Laboratory Safety. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/selecting-badge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/selecting-badge.png) Select whether the content in the PD Group will be marked complete manually or automatically. Staff will be awarded the badge in their Badges panel once they have 100% completed the content in the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/mark-content-complete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/mark-content-complete.png) Note: Badge and Professional Development Groups can also be created at the district level as well. For more information about creating and using Professional Development Groups, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ### [Forgotten Passwords](https://www.edsby.com/help/forgotten-passwords/) **Published:** May 21, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** If a parent forgets their password, they should click “Forgot password?” on their Edsby login screen and follow the instructions on the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/forgot-password-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/forgot-password-1.png) In some cases, a parent may not have access to the email associated with their Edsby account or the Forgot Password button may be unavailable. In this case, teachers, the principal, guidance counselors, and any IT staff can reset parent passwords. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Parent Intro - Mandarin](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-intro-mandarin/) **Published:** November 5, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Personal Courses](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/personal-courses/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** A Personal Course is an Edsby object which can be created in a user’s Personal Folder for the purpose of developing rich content using the Content Builder. This content can then be copied to Classes, Learning Object Repositories (LOR), and Professional Development (PD) Groups so that it can be re-used. If content is developed in a class, LOR, or PD Group it can be copied back to the Personal Course for later re-use. ## Creating a Personal Course To create a Personal Course, navigate to the Personal Folder from the navigation bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-folder-in-nav-bar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-folder-in-nav-bar.png) Once inside, click New, then click Course. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-course.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-course.png) Choose a name for the Personal Course. Click Create Course. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-personal-course.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-personal-course.png) Once inside, a teacher will see a Content panel similar to that in their classes. Click Edit and use the Content Builder to create a course. Add units by clicking the + next to the course name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/content-editor.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/content-editor.png) Add additional sections, assessments, pages, links, discussions, polls, and files to the course by clicking the + next to a unit name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-under-unit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adding-under-unit.png) Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete content by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the name of the item. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cut-copy-delete.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cut-copy-delete.png) For more information on using the Content Builder, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/content-builder/) ## Copying Content Content created in a personal course can be copied to Classes, Professional Development groups or Learning Object Repositories so that it can be re-used. To copy a specific item of content, click the drop-down arrow next to it and select Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/copy-single-item-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/copy-single-item-1.png) To copy all content, click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the Personal Course and then select Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/copy-all-the-content-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/copy-all-the-content-1.png) Navigate to the content panel of the class or PD Group the item will be pasted in, click Edit, click the drop-down arrow next to the item the object will be pasted below and select Paste. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pasting-from-personal-course-1024x236.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pasting-from-personal-course.png) ## Copying Content into the Personal Course If content is developed in a class, it can also be copied back to the Personal Course for later re-use. For example, Beth Archer, a grade 9 science teacher has created lots of content in her class. However, she wants to make this easy to access in the following school year so she can re-use it. To do this, navigate to the Course Content panel in a class. Click Edit at the top of the left panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/edit-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/edit-button.png) If she wants to only copy a few items for re-use, she will use the drop-down arrows next to the items she would like to re-use and select Copy. She will then navigate to her Personal Course, click the drop-down arrow next to the item she wishes to paste the content under, and click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pasting-from-personal-course-1-item-1024x205.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pasting-from-personal-course-1-item.png) If she wants to copy the entire course for re-use she will click the drop-down arrow next to the course name, select Copy, and paste it into her Personal Course. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/copy-all-course-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/copy-all-course-content.png) For more information about Learning Object Repositories, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/) For more information about Professional Development Groups, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Groups - Professional Development](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) **Published:** August 28, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** A Professional Development Group (PD group) is a class for teachers, or anyone. It is a type of group with a Content Builder in place of the Knowledge base. The moderator of a PD Group can add members so they can take the course. These groups can be made both school and district-wide. For example, Scott Beasley, Superintendent of High Prairie School District, is making a PD Group for all science teachers in the district to complete in order to learn how to properly manage laboratory situations. ## Creating a PD Group To create a Professional Development Group, click the pop-out in the My Groups panel. Click Create at the top right. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-group-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-group-1.png) Click the drop-down arrow under Type and select Professional Development Group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-PD-group-type.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-PD-group-type.png) Fill out the Create Group form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-group-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/create-group-form.png) PD Groups have a Content panel instead of a Knowledge base. For this reason, there is a Mark Complete option in the setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/mark-content-complete-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/mark-content-complete-options.png) Automatically means that as soon as someone views an item of content in the list, it will be marked complete. Manually means that the person viewing the content must click Mark Complete when they are finished viewing the content – it is not done automatically for them. Fill out the Show To, Membership, and Permission fields. When the form is complete, click Create Group. ## Using a PD Group Once inside, Professional Development groups look just like normal groups except they contain a Course Content panel instead of a Knowledge base. Only moderators of a group can edit or add to the Course Content using the Content Builder. If someone in the school will be creating content in a PD Group, ensure they are a moderator of the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/inside-PD-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/inside-PD-group.png) To edit or add to the Course Content as a moderator, click on the Course Content panel. Click Edit in the top of the left panel. Add units, sections, assessments, pages, links, discussions, polls, and files to the course by clicking the + next to an item of content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/editing-course-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/editing-course-content.png) For more information on using the Content Builder, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/content-builder/) ## Copying Content The content created in a PD Group can be copied to Classes, Learning Object Repositories (LOR) or the Personal Course of teachers so that it can be re-used. To copy a specific item of content, click the drop-down arrow next to it and select Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-one-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-one-item.png) To copy all content, click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the PD Group and then select Copy. The name of the PD Group is the first item in the list of content. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copying-all-items.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copying-all-items.png) Navigate to the content panel of the class, LOR, or personal course the content will be pasted in, click Edit, click the drop-down arrow next to the item the object will be pasted below, and select Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/pasting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/pasting.png) For more information on Personal Courses, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-courses/) For more information on Learning Object Repositories, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ### [Using Evidence in Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/using-evidence-in-report-cards/) **Published:** August 27, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Guidance Reading and Video List](https://www.edsby.com/help/guidance-office-quickstart/guidance-reading-and-video-list/) **Published:** August 14, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** People who work in a Guidance role may want to review the following help resources. [Zooms](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/) provide a way to find out information quickly. The [Students Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-students/) is particularly helpful to Guidance Teachers. The [Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/help/panorama/) gathers everything Edsby know about a student in one place. Guidance Teachers can learn about the [Parent experience here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents-see-log-edsby/). To learn about the student experience by watching the following video. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Approvals](https://www.edsby.com/help/approvals-3-2/) **Published:** June 25, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Field trips, school opportunities, and requests for volunteers are all simplified using Edsby’s Approvals feature. Edsby Approvals enable teachers to send requests directly to students and teachers will receive a list of students who have responded as soon as they do. Edsby Approvals does not let permission slips get lost at any point during the process as they are kept secure within Edsby. ## Responding to Requests You will receive permission requests directly as a message in your mailbox. Each permission request is customized to your name and you can answer the approval directly on the request. To view the request, navigate to your mailbox by clicking the envelope icon in your mobile Navigation Bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/permission-request-mobile-mail.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/permission-request-mobile-mail.png) The approval will be at the top of your mailbox with a notification. Click the message to view the request. All information regarding the event will be available to you. At the bottom of the request are options for you to choose. Select one of the options and click Submit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/answer-mobile-request.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/answer-mobile-request.png) The request will be submitted to the person who created it with a record of your name and how you responded. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/review-request-answer-mobile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/review-request-answer-mobile.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Approvals](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/approvals-2-2/) **Published:** June 25, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Field trips, school opportunities, and requests for volunteers are all simplified using Edsby’s approval feature. Traditionally, teachers send permission slips home with students to give to their parents. Parents will sign the form and send it back to school with their child who will hopefully remember to give it to their teacher. Teachers have to make a list of the parents who have responded. This method of handling permission slips is time consuming and they can very easily get lost. Edsby approvals enable teachers to send requests directly to parents and teachers will receive a list of parents who have responded as soon as the parent responds. Edsby’s approval feature does not let permission slips get lost at any point during the process as they are kept secure within Edsby. ## Requesting Parent Permission Both teachers and administrators can send out requests for parent permission. These requests are sent out by teachers or administrators using the Students Zoom to coordinate both large and small groups of students. Navigate to the Students Zoom by clicking My Students for teachers, or Students for administrators. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-and-my-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-and-my-students-zoom.png) Use the filters on the left side of the screen to reduce the list of who the requests are being sent to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-zoom-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-zoom-1.png) In this example, all of the Kindergarten students in the school are going on a field trip to the zoo. Additionally, a few extra grade 1 students are also attending the field trip. Add the grade 1 students first. To do this, click the gear icon on the right side of the screen. Search for the name of the students in the search bar. Click the box next to their name to select them. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-students.png) To select all of the kindergarten students, clear the search and any filters that have been used. Under the Grade filter, select JK and SK. This will bring up a list of all the kindergarten students in the school. Click the top checkbox in the column header to select all of the students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-the-rest-of-the-k-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-the-rest-of-the-k-students.png) Once all the students that require parent permission have been selected, click the drop-down arrow. Select Request Parent Permission from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-parent-permission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-parent-permission.png) This opens up a permission request window. The sample message within the request can be customized. Replace the angle brackets with the correct information. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permissions-request-form-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permissions-request-form-filled-out.png) Edsby replaces the tag within the square brackets depending on who it is being sent to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/square-brackets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/square-brackets.png) The options parents can choose from at the bottom of the request form can also be customized. Click the option’s text box to edit it. Additional choices can be added by clicking the plus sign. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/customize-reponse-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/customize-reponse-options.png) Permission request forms can either be saved as a draft or sent out immediately. Click Save Draft. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-safe-draft-or-send-requests.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cancel-safe-draft-or-send-requests.png) The draft will be held in the mailbox until it is ready to be sent out. Drafts can be edited, deleted, or sent. To view the draft, navigate to the mailbox. The request draft will be at the top. Click Edit Request Text to edit the request form, click Delete to remove the request, or click Send Requests when the parent permission form is ready to be sent. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-draft-from-the-mailbox.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-draft-from-the-mailbox.png) ## Requesting Student Permission Teachers and administrators can view students they teach and students in a group that they are a moderator of. They can both send out requests for student permission by clicking My Students. In this example, Linda Miller is a grade 7 teacher and is looking for volunteers to organize a school fundraiser. She wishes to send an approval form to students in one of her classes. Click My Students to access the Students Zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-students.png) Filter to the class. Click the gear icon, select all of the students, click the drop-down arrow and select Request Student Permission from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-student-permission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/request-student-permission.png) Fill in the form and personalize it. Send the request. Students will respond to the request directly from their mailbox and teachers can monitor the request in their mailbox at any point for up-to-date information on who has responded. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-permission-request-form-filled-out.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-permission-request-form-filled-out.png) ## Responding to Requests Parents and students receive permission requests directly as a message in their mailbox. Each permission request is customized to their name. Parents and students can answer the approval directly on the request. Teachers and administrators can monitor the request in their mailbox at any point for up-to-date information on who has responded and who has not. Teachers can also choose to resend the requests. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/showing-the-approval-workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/showing-the-approval-workflow.png) ## Printing Approval Forms Sometimes, teachers or administrators may wish to use a hard copy of the permission request form rather than an electronic copy. If this is the case, create an approval form by navigating to the Students Zoom, selecting the recipients, choosing either parent or student request, and filling out the form. When the permission request form is complete, click to save it as a draft. In the mailbox, navigate to the particular approval. Click print. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/print-hard-copies-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/print-hard-copies-button.png) The form opens with the personalized message, checkboxes for responses, and a place for a signature. There will be a form for each indicated recipient. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permission-form-printout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/permission-form-printout.png) To print the forms, click File and then print or Ctrl+P. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-the-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/printing-the-form.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Ideas for the News River](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/ideas-for-the-news-river/) **Published:** June 19, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Everyone likes to be up to date with the latest news. Edsby makes that easy. After logging in to Edsby, there is an engaging News River across the top of the home screen. In the News River, news items come from multiple streams, including each school as well as from the district. Creating News events and submitting articles is easy, but what kinds of things should be posted in the News River? Edsby enables a multitude of different news articles to be broadcasted to schools and districts. The possibilities are endless with Edsby. ## Ideas for using the News River [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/News-river-with-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/News-river-with-content.png) Here’s a few ideas for the News River: Advertising volunteer opportunities for students to complete their required community service hours [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Community-service-idea.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Community-service-idea.png) Exam information and study tips for students [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/tips-for-success.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/tips-for-success.png) Upcoming fundraisers for the school to get involved with [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fundraiser-idea.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fundraiser-idea.png) School concerts and plays for the school to come to and support [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/play-idea.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/play-idea.png) Tryout times for various sports teams in the school [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/baseball-tryouts.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/baseball-tryouts.png) Other suggestions for broadcasting on the News River include: - Field trip reports - After school programs - School drop-off procedures - Kindergarten registration information - Parent newsletters - Contest winners - Bus information - Summer reading lists - Cafeteria menus ## Creating links in News articles The News River in Edsby can also be used to post links for additional information about a topic or to bring students, teachers, or parents to an important webpage. To create a link in a News article for the News River, navigate to the school or district page that the link will be shared to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/where-the-school-is-located.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/where-the-school-is-located.png) Once in the school or district feed, click the Submit an Article button at the top of the feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-an-article-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-an-article-button.png) Fill out the form with a title, content, and an image. Navigate to the page that will be linked to in the news article. Copy the link from the URL bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy-link-url.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy-link-url.png) In this example, Jason Walter, head of the Physical Education department, is making a post to the News River that provides a link to the school’s spirit wear group. To add the link into an article for the News River, navigate back to the Edsby Submit an Article form. Click the Link icon in the options bar of the article setup form. Select the Add/Edit Link button to open the Insert Link form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/addedit-link-in-article-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/addedit-link-in-article-form.png) Paste the URL from the page that will be linked. Fill in a title for the link and text. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/insert-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/insert-link.png) The text will be used to click on for access to the link in the post. Click confirm to save the information. The link will be added to the article and displayed as the text from the setup form in blue writing with an underline beneath. This will be what students, teachers, or parents must click on to open up the linked page, so be sure to make it clear that they must click on it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/link-in-the-article-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/link-in-the-article-form.png) Click Submit. The article will be submitted with pending approval. When approval has been granted, the article will be posted to the school feed and the News Rivers of teachers, parents, and students associated with the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/article-in-the-news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/article-in-the-news-river.png) Clicking on the post from the News River will open up the full post. It is from here that the link can be accessed. Click the link to access the linked webpage. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/full-article-with-link.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/full-article-with-link.png) This same process can be used to post links at a district level. For more information about posting district-level news articles, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/creating-district-level-news-articles/) For more information about managing the News River, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Rubrics - Creating Stranded Rubrics](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/creating-stranded-rubrics/) **Published:** June 19, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Strands are consistent threads running throughout the duration of a course that are used to indicate the disciplines within a learning area. Edsby enables teachers to use strands in their classes and keep assessments within each strand organized. As a teacher creates assessments for a class that uses strands, they can cover just one strand, multiple strands, or all strands in the given class. The strands are covered throughout the duration of the school year and assessments can be added to them at any point. Teachers often wish to use rubrics to evaluate students on their performance in the different class strands. A rubric can be created manually through Edsby or be imported into Edsby as a .csv file. For more information on how to import rubrics into Edsby, click here. ## Creating Stranded Rubrics in Edsby Madison Bryan is a grade 4 teacher. In the Language Arts class that she teaches, she reports on each students’ progress in four strands: Media Studies, Oral Communication, Writing, and Reading. She is adding a Final Book Presentation to the class that covers all four strands and she wishes to evaluate the students on each strand in the assessment by using a rubric. To create a stranded rubric, navigate to the Personal Folder in the navigation bar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-personal-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-personal-folder.png) Click New and select Rubric from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-rubric.png) Provide the rubric with a name. Click the drop-down menu under Scheme and select either Stranded Four Level or Stranded Four Level +/-. The list of schemes varies by organization. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/stranded-rubric-schemes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/stranded-rubric-schemes.png) Choose a strand list from the drop-down menu. As this rubric is for Madison’s Language Arts class, she will select Language Arts as the scheme. Edsby will use the scheme for a particular class provided by the specific organization. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-strand-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-strand-list.png) Madison is now ready to create the rubric. Give the row a name. Select the strand each row applies to by clicking the drop-down menu beside Strand. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-strand.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-strand.png) Fill in the rubric boxes for each level of a particular strand. To add a row and a new strand, click Add Category on the bottom left corner of the rubric. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/add-category-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/add-category-1.png) Provide the new row with a name and the associated strand. Fill in the boxes for each level. Categories can continue to be added to the rubric in order to cover all relevant strands for a particular assessment. Rows can also be deleted from the rubric by clicking the X in the top right corner of the given category box. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-x-and-completed-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/delete-x-and-completed-rubric.png) When the stranded rubric is complete, click Save. The rubric will be added to the teacher’s personal folder, can be used for any class the teacher teaches, and will remain there indefinitely unless the teacher chooses to delete it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rubric-in-personal-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/rubric-in-personal-folder.png) ## Adding Stranded Rubrics to an Assessment To attach a stranded rubric that was created in the personal folder to a particular assessment, navigate to the class the assessment will be created in. Click to add an Assessment from the class page or from inside the Gradebook. Class page: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-from-class-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessment-from-class-feed.png) Gradebook: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessemnt-from-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/assessemnt-from-gradebook.png) Fill out the Assessment form. Under Method of Assessment, select Rubric. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-scheme.png) Click Choose Existing. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choose-existing.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choose-existing.png) A list of rubrics from the teacher’s Personal Folder will be available. Click the desired rubric and it will be added to the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-from-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-from-list.png) The expectations the teacher added to the rubric in the personal folder are automatically added to the assessment setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/expectations-added-to-assessment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/expectations-added-to-assessment-form.png) If the assessment is summative, Edsby will require the weights for each strand. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/weighting-for-strands.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/weighting-for-strands.png) If the assessment is formative, the strands do not need weights added to them. For more information on weighting strands, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/using-strands-2/) When the assessment form has been filled out, click Save. ## Grading Stranded Rubrics To grade an assessment with a rubric, navigate to the assessment in the Gradebook. Click a cell under one of the strands. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/click-cell-under-strands.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/click-cell-under-strands.png) The rubric will appear. In each row, click a level to assign a grade and add any comments, if desired. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-rubric.png) To grade another student, click on the student’s name from the list on the left side of the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/navigate-to-another-student.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/navigate-to-another-student.png) To return to the regular Gradebook view, click the X in the top right corner. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Strands](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/using-strands-2/) **Published:** June 19, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Strands are consistent threads running throughout the duration of a course that are used to indicate the disciplines within a learning area. Edsby enables teachers to use strands in their classes and keep assessments within each strand organized. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Using-Strands-724x1024.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Using-Strands.png) Madison Brant is a grade 4 teacher. In the Language Arts class that she teaches, she has to report on each students’ progress in four strands: Media Studies, Oral Communication, Writing, and Reading. As she creates assessments for the class, they can cover just one strand, multiple strands, or all four strands. In her grade 4 class, assessments are valued and ranked the same – there are no major projects or exams that are worth more than others. The strands are covered throughout the duration of the school year and assessments can be added to them at any point. Formative and summative assessments can be used to indicate a students’ performance in each strand. Teachers can also capture Evidence of Learning and students can curate their own portfolio as a means to document the capability of a student in particular strands. ## Setting up the weighting form To see averages in each strand, Edsby needs to know how the strands are valued. To setup weighting for the strands in the class, navigate to the Gradebook of the specified class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gradebook-link-in-class-1024x105.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gradebook-link-in-class.png) Click the gear in the top right corner of the screen and select Edit Weighting from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/access-edit-weighting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/access-edit-weighting.png) In Madison’s Language Arts class, all the assessments are currently in the Everything Else bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/all-assessments-in-everything-else-bucket-1024x320.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/all-assessments-in-everything-else-bucket.png) To add weighting for the strands, a new bucket must be added. Click the drop-down arrow to choose what the new bucket will contain. Select from the options under Strands. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choosing-stranded-scheme-1024x646.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/choosing-stranded-scheme.png) The four strands have been added to the bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-in-buckets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-in-buckets.png) Edsby provides a warning when a bucket contains assessments but no weight. To add the weight, enter the percentage each strand will contribute to a student’s average. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/giving-weights-to-stranded-buckets.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/giving-weights-to-stranded-buckets.png) In this example, the strands are all weighted equally and are each contributing 25% to a student’s average. When the weighting form is complete, Click Save. ## Copying Strands to other Classes Strands and their weightings for one class can be copied to another class. Madison Brant teaches two Language Arts classes and wishes to have the same weighted strands in both. To do this, click Copy in the top right corner of the Edit Weighting form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/copy-stranded-weighting-1024x563.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/copy-stranded-weighting.png) Navigate to the Gradebook of the other class by using the class picker in the top left of the Gradebook. Click the drop-down arrow to view the list of classes the teacher teaches. Click the name of the class that the weighted strands will be copied to. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dropdown-navigate-to-other-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dropdown-navigate-to-other-class.png) Once in the Settings of the new class, select Weighting from the menu. Click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/paste-copied-stranded-weighting-1024x518.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/paste-copied-stranded-weighting.png) The strands and their weights from the previous class have now been copied to another class. ## Adding Assessments with Stranded Schemes Depending on the organization, there may be different lists of strands within a class. Madison Brant’s Language Arts Class contains four strands: Media Studies, Oral Communication, Writing, and Reading. As she creates assessments for the class, they can cover just one strand, multiple strands, or all four strands. For example, a cumulative assignment where the student was to read a book, write a report on the book and communicate it in a media broadcast, would cover all four strands. The strands are covered throughout the duration of the school year and assessments can be added to them at any point. To add an assessment to a particular strand, click Assessment to open the Assessment’s Setup form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assessment-form-with-stranded-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/assessment-form-with-stranded-scheme.png) Fill out the form with an assessment type, the name of the assessment, the unit it belongs to, any expectations, and its due date. Choosing to add the assessment to a stranded scheme is done by clicking the drop-down menu under Scheme. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/stranded-scheme-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/stranded-scheme-options.png) Look for the word stranded or strands next to the method in which the assessment will be evaluated. This list will differ from organization to organization. ### Out Of Assessments with Strands Summative assessments will contribute to a student’s average. For this reason, Edsby requires their weighting to be set up for each strand the assessment covers. Madison Brant is adding an essay to the class that will be out of 20. To create an Out Of assessment with strands, select Strands from the Scheme menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-scheme.png) The test will cover both the Reading and Writing strands. In order to calculate an average, Edsby needs to know how much this assessment is worth compared to other assessments. This information is supplied through the weighting value. In elementary grades, teachers may not place an emphasis on weights. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/weighting-strands.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/weighting-strands.png) Edsby will use this information to calculate how much each strand is contributing to the test. Since both strands are Out Of the same amount, they will contribute equally to the total value of the test. ### Stranded Assessments with Levels Madison Bryan is now adding a presentation to the class that will use a 4-level scheme. To create a 4-level scheme assessment with strands, select Stranded Four Level from the Method of Assessment menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/stranded-four-level-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/stranded-four-level-scheme.png) The presentation will cover both the Oral Communication and Media Literacy strands. In order to calculate an average, Edsby needs to know how much this assessment is worth compared to other assessments. This information is supplied through the weighting value. The teacher can now decide how much each strand is contributing to the total value of the presentation. If they are both equally contributing, both the Oral Communication and Media Literacy strands would receive a weighting of 5. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/stranded-four-level-weighting.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/stranded-four-level-weighting.png) If the teacher thought, for example, that the presentation involved the Oral Communication strand more than Media Literacy, she could weigh the Oral Communication strand more heavily by adjusting the Weighting values. ### Formative Assessments with Strands Formative assessments do not contribute to the calculated average. For this reason, the strands associated with a particular assessment do not require weighting. Madison Bryan is adding a formative Homework assignment to the class to see how her students are handling the material. The quiz will cover all four learning strands and will be assessed using a 4-level scheme. To create a formative assessment, select the assessment type and choose Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning) under Purpose of Assessment. Under Method of Assessment, choose Stranded Four Level. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/formative-stranded-assessment.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/formative-stranded-assessment.png) Notice that the weighting form does not show up. This is because formative assessments are not part of the calculated average and therefore, do not require weighting. ## Grading Stranded Assessments Grading stranded assessments is done in the same way any other assessment is graded. Click the Gradebook in the specified class. When an assessment has strands, there will be separate columns in the Gradebook for each applicable strand. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-in-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-in-gradebook.png) Input the grade for each strand using the appropriate method of assessment for the particular assignment – Four level, Out Of, etc. The strand columns in the Gradebook will be used to calculate a student’s overall grade in each strand. ## Viewing Strands on the Perspective Graph The Perspective is a great way for teachers to observe their students’ progress throughout a class. Edsby enables teachers to see the progression of a student specifically through the strands of the class. To view how a student is performing in each strand, click Perspective from the class screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/perspective-link-in-class-1024x104.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/perspective-link-in-class.png) Navigate to a student by clicking their name from the drop-down menu. Under the Graph tab, click the box next to Show By Weighting Bucket. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/perspective-graph-click-show-by-weighting-bucket-1024x734.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/perspective-graph-click-show-by-weighting-bucket.png) This provides the teacher with a graph overview of the student’s progress across each Strand of the class – indicated by the different colours on the graph that correspond to a strand. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/weighting-buckets-on-perspective-1024x737.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/weighting-buckets-on-perspective.png) ## Strands in Report Cards When teachers are inputting grades into the Report Card of classes with strands, the Report Card will have sections for each strand. Under each strand, the report card can include a level, letter grade, or a percent by level depending on the preferences of the given organization. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-in-report-card-1024x533.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/strands-in-report-card.png) ## The Class Setup Form Calculated averages are only one factor in formal reporting. In Madison Brant’s grade 4 Language Arts class, calculated averages are not relevant because she wishes to see the progress of each student across each individual strand rather than them all calculated together. For this reason, she does not want to show calculated averages to the parents and students. To do this, click the drop-down arrow in a class and select Setup from the menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/accessing-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/accessing-setup.png) Under Show Averages to Students and Parents, select Don’t Show. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dont-show-averages-1024x358.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dont-show-averages.png) In her grade 4 class, assessments are valued and ranked the same – there are no major projects or exams that are worth more than others. For this reason, it is also not necessary for her to show assessment weightings to students and parents in the class. To enable this, access the Class Setup Form. Under Students and Parents, ensure the *Show assessment weightings to students and parents* box is deselected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dont-select-show-assessment-weightings-1024x358.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dont-select-show-assessment-weightings.png) As the teacher of the class, Madison Bryan can also decide which assessments are shared privately with the students and parents. Teachers can also choose to suppress the averages in the Gradebook and Perspective. In the class setup form, Set Show Averages in Gradebook and Perspective to Don’t show. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dont-show-average-in-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dont-show-average-in-gradebook.png) On top is when the teacher has chosen to show the averages in the Gradebook and Perspective. On the bottom is when the teacher has selected Don’t Show averages in the Gradebook and Perspective. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/averages-and-no-averages-in-gradebook-901x1024.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/averages-and-no-averages-in-gradebook.png) ## Stranded Rubrics Teachers often wish to use rubrics to evaluate students on their performance in the different class strands. [Click here to learn how to create a stranded rubric.](https://www.edsby.com/help/creating-stranded-rubrics/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edsby Mobile App for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/navigating-the-edsby-app-2/) **Published:** June 11, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables parents to keep up-to-date with their children’s schooling at the convenience of their mobile phones by using the Edsby mobile app. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1-Edsby-Login-screen-edit.png) For help logging in, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/edsby-login/). For more information about using Edsby on smartphones and tablets and how to download the app, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/students/smartphones-and-tablets/). ## Jump to a Section [Home Screen](#Parentmobilehomescreen) [Children](#Parentmobilechildren) [Planning Absences](#Parentmobileplanningabsences) [Child’s Classes](#Parentmobilechildsclasses) [Groups](#Parentmobilegroups) [Messages](#Parentmobilemessages) [Calendar](#Parentmobilecalendar) [Notifications](#Parentmobilenotifications) [Settings](#Parentmobilesettings) [Launchpad](#Parentmobilelaunchpad) [School and District Pages](#Parentmobileschoolpages) [Searching in Edsby](#Parentmobilesearching) ## Home screen When parents log into the Edsby App, the Home Screen will be the first screen they see. This screen displays the News River as well as a list of their children to scroll through. Under each child’s name, parents are provided with quick access options regarding their children. From here, parents can plan absences and view their child’s Classes, Portfolio, Learning Story, Attendance, Recent Activity, and Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Home-Screen-edit.png) ### The News River The News River runs along the top of the Home Screen when parents first log in. The newest posts will be visible first, however, parents can access older posts by swiping to the left. To read the full article, click on the picture of the article in the News River. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3-Edsby-News-River-snaps-edit-final.png) ## Children On the Home Screen, parents will see a list of their children that they can scroll through. Under each child’s name, parents are provided with quick access options regarding their children. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Child-overview-edit.png) ### Planning Absences Edsby enables parents to inform their child’s school of an absence quickly and easily right from their mobile devices. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Absent-buttons-edit.png) ### Planning an Absence Parents can report future absences, partial day absences, and multi-day absences through Edsby. The Plan an Absence button on the Home Screen should be used if a child will be absent at a time other than the current day or for multiple days. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Planning-an-absence-edit.png) After selecting this, the child’s name will be automatically filled in. Fill out the form by specifying the dates and times the child will be absent for, providing a reason, and an optional comment. When finished, click Send to School Office. The Office will be notified and can approve the Planned Absence. Absence requests can be found in Edsby Messages and the requests will indicate if the request has been approved. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Absent-Request-in-Messages-edit.png) ### Absent Today If a child is going to be away the whole current day, click Absent Today to open the Planned Absence form. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Absent-today-edit.png) The child’s name will be automatically filled in the form. Select a reason for the absence, the comment is optional. When the form is complete, click Send to School Office. The Office will review and approve the absence. Absence requests can be found in Edsby Messages and the requests will indicate if the request has been approved. ### Portfolio Each student has their own Edsby Portfolio, which is similar to a personal blog. In the Portfolio, students create posts about themselves and their academic or extracurricular success. Parents can view their child’s Portfolio as a feed by clicking Portfolio on the Home Screen under the child’s name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Portfolio-edit.png) ### Learning Story Parents can view Evidence teachers have shared regarding their children through their child’s Learning Story. This feed is available by clicking Learning Story on the Home Screen under the child’s name. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Learning-Story-edit.png) Parents can Like and Comment on posts their children’s teachers have shared in the Learning Story. Parents can also capture Learning Evidence for their child using Edsby Capture. For more information about using Edsby Capture, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/helping-your-child-with-edsby-capture/#:~:text=Using%20the%20App,your%20child%20wish%20to%20capture.). ### Attendance Parents can view their child’s attendance records by clicking Attendance under their child’s name on the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Attendance-edit.png) ### Recent Activity Parents can view posts made by their child’s teachers by clicking Recent Activity under their child’s name on the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Recent-Activity-Edit.png) Here, new posts, events, and assessments made by any of the child’s teachers will be visible. This enables parents to keep up-to-date with all that is happening in the Classes of each of their children. ### Calendar Clicking Calendar under a child’s name on the Home Screen will bring parents to the Personal Calendar of their child. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Childs-calendar-edit.png) This Calendar summarizes all overdue, current, and upcoming events and assessments from all Classes and Groups this child is a part of, as well as events from the school, district, and those made personally by the child themselves. Parents can also plan absences for their child through the Calendar. To plan an absence for a child, select either Absent Today or Schedule Absence from the top of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Calendar-absent-buttons.png) For more information on submitting Planned Absences from your mobile device, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-quickstart/parent-planned-absences/?locale=en#:~:text=Edsby%20enables%20parents%20to%20inform,right%20from%20their%20mobile%20device.&text=To%20submit%20a%20planned%20absence,Today%20and%20Plan%20an%20Absence.). ## Child’s Classes Parents can see an overview of the Classes their child is taking by clicking Classes below the name of their child on the Home Screen. A list of their child’s Classes is visible along with their averages in each class if their teacher has chosen to show them. A Report Cards button showing current and past report cards will appear at the bottom of Class lists in the mobile app if the school or district is electing to share report cards via Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Class-list-edit.png) Parents can view their child’s grades in a class by clicking My Work below each Class. From here, parents will see overdue, incomplete, upcoming, ungraded, and graded assessments. Below each assessment listed, parents can see their child’s submissions, a teacher’s private notes and annotations, and grades for that assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-My-work-edit.png) If the teacher has enabled parents to enter, parents can click on any Class to view the posts the teacher has made in the Class Feed. If parents have enable notifications, they can be notified each time the teacher makes a new post in the Class Feed. Parents never see the list of students enrolled in any Class to protect the privacy of other students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Class-feed-edit.png) Click Content to view all class Content the teacher has provided for the Class. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Class-content-edit.png) Parents can also view Journals on what was covered each day in class and the Class Library by navigating to these from the menu bar across the top of the Class Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Journal-and-library-edit.png) ## Groups Clicking Groups along the bottom of the screen will bring parents to a screen that shows all the Groups they are a member of. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Groups-edit.png) From here, click on the icon of any Group to view the Group Feed. If enabled by the Group moderator, members can post either a Note or Poll in the Group by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Group-feed-edit.png) The unread counter indicates new posts in the Group. Click Calendar in the top menu bar of a Group to view past, current, and upcoming events specific to the selected Group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Group-calendar-edit.png) Parents can also view the Knowledge Base, important Pinned Items, and the Group Library by navigating to these from the menu bar across the top of the Group screen. ## Messages Parents can view messages by clicking the Messages icon in the navigation bar across the bottom of the screen. The screen will show a parent’s messages along with options to: 1. Search through them 2. View a message 3. Compose a new message ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Messages-edit.png) Click a message to view the conversation. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Conversation-edit.png) To compose a new message, click the New Message icon in the top right corner of the main messages screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Messages-icon-edit.png) Fill out the form and click Send. ## Calendar Clicking the Calendar icon from the bottom navigation bar brings a parent to the Personal Calendar. This Calendar summarizes all past, current, and upcoming events from any Groups that parents are a member of. This calendar is only visible to the parent and is also the place where personal events can be added to the Calendar for the parent. To add a personal event, click the Add button on the right side of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Personal-Calendar-edit.png) Fill out the form and click Save at the bottom. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-New-Personal-Calendar-event.png) The event will be added to the parent’s calendar and it will only be visible to them. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Event-in-Calendar-edit.png) ### Changing Calendar Settings Click the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen to select what is displayed on the calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Calendar-Settings-Button-edit.png) Parents can select certain groups or classes to be displayed on the Personal Calendar. Boxes with a checkmark indicate that events and/or assessments from these sections will be added to the Personal Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Personal-calendar-settings-edit.png) ## Notifications Parents can choose to be notified of various activities in various ways through email, Edsby itself, or Mobile Notifications on mobile through their Account Settings. Edsby notifications are found in Notifications from the navigation bar across the bottom of the screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Notifications-edit.png) Clicking a mobile notification on mobile will place parents in the appropriate context of the Edsby App where the notification came from. For example, Delores Abram received a notification from the Information for Parent Group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Mobile-notification-edit.png) Clicking this notification will bring her to the Group within the Edsby App. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Mobile-notification-location-edit.png) For more information on notifications for parents, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/). ## Settings Parents can access Settings by clicking on the menu icon in the top left corner of the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Settings-overview-edit.png) Here, parents can review their Login Information, Personal Information, Notification Settings, and Other Settings. ### Login Information Parents can view their username and current password by clicking Login Information in Settings. Parent usernames are set by the school or district. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Login-information-edit.png) If this information is incorrect or requires updating, parents should contact the school. However, parents can change their passwords themselves. Type in the new password in Settings > Login Information and confirm it by typing it again under Verify Password. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-New-password-edit.png) The new password is effective immediately. ### Personal Information Parents can review their address and phone and other information by selecting Personal Information from the Settings menu. If this information is incorrect or requires changing or updating and cannot be updated here, parents should contact the school. It is often managed by the school in the school’s master systems and synced to Edsby. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Personal-information-edit.png) ### Notifications Parents can view and update Notification Settings by clicking Notifications in their settings menu. Here, parents can choose to be notified regarding their Messages, Personal Calendar, Organization, Classes, Groups, or Children. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Notification-Settings-edit.png) Click on the row to update. For more information on changing Notification Settings, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/notifications-students-teachers/?locale=en). ### Other Settings Parents can change the language settings by selecting Other Settings in the Settings menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Other-settings-edit.png) Select the preferred language using the drop-down menu. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Laguage-settings-edit.png) For more information on language settings and translating in Edsby, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/language-settings-and-translating-in-edsby/?locale=en). Parents can also change the theme of the Edsby Interface by using the drop-down menu under User Interface Theme. Try out Dark Mode for a fun twist! ## Launchpad Key third-party websites and applications are integrated into Edsby through the Launchpad for quick access. Some examples include Edsby Help Files & Videos, the school website, O365, and Google Docs. The Launchpad can be accessed through the Home Screen drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Lauchpad-edit.png) Parents can also add links to the Launchpad to websites or applications that they would like quick access to. In this example, Delores Abram would like to add a quick link to her child’s Science teacher’s YouTube help channel. Click the Add Link button in the Launchpad. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Edsby-Teacher-Launchpad-Add-Link-edit.png) Give the link a title and paste the website address in the URL box. Add an optional image icon by clicking Browse. Click Save. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/45-Edsby-Add-Link-snap-edit.png) The link will be easily accessible in the Launchpad for quick access. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/46-Edsby-New-Link-in-Launchpad-snap-edit.png) ## School and District Pages The Edsby Mobile App enables access to the school and district pages of the children associated with parents’ account. To access these, click Schools under the Home Screen drop-down menu. Click the name of a school or district to view its page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-School-Pages-edit.png) Parents will be brought to the News Feed of the school where posts made by members of the school can be viewed. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-School-News-Feed-edit.png) Parents can view the School Calendar by clicking Calendar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-Calendar-snap-edit.png) Parents can view the School Information by clicking Info. To be notified when the school posts a new article, click the bell icon in the top right corner of the screen ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Edsby-School-Info-snap-edit.png) ## Searching in Edsby Parents can search for people, Groups, or anything else in Edsby by clicking the Search icon in the top right corner of the Home Screen. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Search-Bar-edit.png) Type a search request into the box and suggestions will appear. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/47-Edsby-Search-Bar-snap-edit.png) To refine a search, click the blue button at the bottom of the search options. Searches can be filtered to search through People, Groups, Posts, Documents, or other. Parents can also specify which group to search in or search by who created the content. Additionally, the date range can be refined to narrow down the search. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/48-Edsby-Search-Bar-Filters-snap-edit.png) Once parents have located what they were searching for, click on the result. ## Logout Parents can log out of Edsby from the Home Screen drop-down menu by clicking Logout. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Edsby-Parent-Logout-edut.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Resetting or choosing a new password](https://www.edsby.com/help/choosing-a-new-password/) **Published:** May 29, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Users’ Edsby password may be reset or a new password chosen from within Edsby settings. To choose a new password on a web browser, navigate to the drop-down menu found next to the name in the top right corner of the account and select Settings. On the mobile app, Settings may be found under the app’s hamburger menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Navigating-to-account-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Navigating-to-account-settings.png) Next to the row labeled Password, click Change. This will open a form to choose a new password. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Change-password-in-account-settings.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Change-password-in-account-settings.png) Type in the current account password and then choose a new password. The password must be at least 8 characters long. Type the new password in again to verify it. Click Save. The account password has now been changed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Current-and-new-password.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Current-and-new-password.png) The new password will be required the next time the account is logged into. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers, Parents, Students --- ### [Group Membership Visibility Controls](https://www.edsby.com/help/group-membership-visibility-controls/) **Published:** May 29, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby Groups supports options for limiting the visibility of the Members panel. These options include: only moderators being able to see members of a group, only members seeing other members, anyone being visible as a member of a group, and anyone except parents seeing the members of a group. Although this feature enables limiting which members of the group are visible, it does not control the visibility of names in the group feed. For example, if Lisa is a member of the Senior Girls’ Field Hockey group, she will see who is posting in the group feed. Hiding visibility of members would be redundant as she can see them posting anyway. In groups where only moderators are enabled to post, it is not necessary for members of the group to see other members. ## Selecting a Group Membership Visibility Control Group Membership Visibility Controls are in the Permission section of a group’s Setup form. The permission can be set at group creation time, or by clicking Setup from within an existing group. Click the blue triangle next to Permissions to reveal additional group options. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/opening-group-permissions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/opening-group-permissions.png) Group Membership Visibility Control options are found under the drop-down menu of the View Members section. Select one of the options from the menu to allow certain Edsby users to view the members of a given group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-members-options.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/view-members-options.png) ## Only Moderators Group moderators can hide the list of members from all members of the group. This is useful for very large groups and for groups where it isn’t desirable to broadcast to members who the other members are. For example, if a district administrator wants to create a group for all high school teachers in the district to provide them with resources for the upcoming school year, the group membership would be very large. Additionally, the administrator simply wants to post in the group feed without enabling teachers to reply or post themselves. For this reason, it is not necessary for teachers in the group to view the other members. The group setup form will look similar to the following: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Only-moderators-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Only-moderators-can-view-members.png) ## Only Members Group moderators can hide the list of members from anyone who has not officially joined the group as a member – those who do not have the group on their home screen. This prevents others from simply observing the group, its members, and its posts without joining it themselves. For example, a teacher at this school is the moderator of the Student-run Carnival Group. He has created the group to enable students to volunteer, help plan, and receive information about the event. He has set the Membership Visibility controls to Only Members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/only-members-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/only-members-can-view-members.png) The group is an open group. This means that anyone can find the group by searching for it using the Find More button in their My Groups panel. Anyone can also enter the group, see posts, and post themselves. However, since the Group Membership Visibility has been set to Only Members, only those that have officially joined the group can see the group’s members. Lisa Lee has joined the group and is now a member. When she enters the group, she can see the Members panel on the left side of her screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members.png) She can also view the full list of members by clicking View All. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/member-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/member-list.png) However, if another student in the school uses the Find More button in their My Groups panel to locate this group, all they will see are the posts in the group. Emma Ali is not a member of the Student Carnival group but she wishes to view information about it. She can enter the group by searching for it, but she will not see its members unless she joins the group and becomes a member herself. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cannot-see-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cannot-see-members.png) Notice there is no members panel visible here like there was for a member’s view of the group. This is the view that will be seen by non-members of a group when the Group Visibility Control is set to Only Members ## Anyone When using the group setup form to create a group, the default group membership visibility is anyone – meaning that anyone who opens the group, regardless if they are a member of the group or not, can view its members. In general, most groups are set up this way. To change this, a group moderator simply needs to select one of the three other options for group membership visibility. This selection is optimal for Open Groups. An Open Group can be found by clicking the Find More button in the My Groups panel and searching for the name of the group. An Open Group enables any user in the school (teachers, parents, or students) to view the group and its content. For example, the principal of this school has created a group dedicated to planning for the annual Terry Fox Run. The group membership visibility has been set to Anyone, so that any user in the school (teachers, parents, or students) can view the group and observe the planning process or get more information on the event. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-can-view-members.png) Since anyone can open the group, anyone can see its members as well. ## Anyone except Parents A group moderator can select to hide the group membership list from parents in the group. This selection is useful in groups such as sports teams or other groups that may have both parents and students in them. For example, the principal at this school has created a Lost and Found group for the school. Parents can join the group to monitor if anything has been posted that belongs to their child. However, the principal would not like to display the membership list that contains other students to the parents in the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-except-parents-can-view-members.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/anyone-except-parents-can-view-members.png) This is the view a student, teacher, or other staff member in the school sees when they open the Lost and Found group: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/can-see-members-panel.png) Notice that they can see the members of the group and can click to view the full list of members. This is the view a parent sees when they open the Lost and Found Group: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/no-members-panel-visible.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/no-members-panel-visible.png) Notice there is no members panel visible like there was for a student’s or teacher’s view of the group. This is the view that will be seen by parents when the Group Visibility Control is set to Anyone except Parents. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Edsby for Kindergarten Families](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-kindergarten-families/) **Published:** January 26, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** There’s so much learning and growing happening every day at school and it’s exciting as a parent to get a glimpse into your child’s day. Teachers are sharing wonderful pictures and important information about your child’s learning journey on Edsby. Families have one account for all their children that can be accessed on mobile. Once logged into Edsby, parents will see a list of their children for them to scroll through on their home screen. Under each child’s name, parents are provided with quick access options regarding their child. From this home screen, parents can plan absences, view their child’s portfolio, learning story, and classes. ## Portfolio Sara Lee would like to see her daughter Zoey’s portfolio to view posts Zoey has uploaded to showcase her. Sara can do this by selecting Portfolio under Zoey’s name on the home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/portfolio-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/portfolio-2.png) ## Learning Story Parents, like Sara, can also view evidence teachers have shared regarding their children by viewing their child’s Learning Story. This is accessed from the home screen as well and is useful for observing their child’s progress and growth as captured by the teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/learning-story-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/learning-story-1.png) ## Classes Sara would like to now see what is happening in Zoey’s Kindergarten class. She can do this by clicking ‘Zoey’s Classes’ and clicking the name of the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/zoeys-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/zoeys-classes.png) Scroll to view more posts. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/class-feed.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/class-feed.png) Click My Work to see information about the child’s progress and growth. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-work.png) For more information on navigating the Edsby App as a parent, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents/navigating-the-edsby-app-2/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Report Card Video Playlist for SDHC](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/report-card-playlist-sdhc/) **Published:** August 24, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Report Card Maintenance Edsby features a way of enabling administrators to change the details of report cards, even after the reporting period has been created. Ideally, there will be no need to make a change, but Edsby enables a change to be made with no difficulty. This video covers how to change templates after they have been assigned, how to cancel sheets that have been incorrectly added to a reporting period and how to add them back, how to edit the details of the reporting period and how to add additional classes to the reporting period, both individually and multiple classes at once. ## Report Card Review Process Using the report card zoom, which works like any other zoom on Edsby, keeps administrators organized as they can filter report card sheets to their status: approved, not submitted, published, returned for correction, submitted for review, and unlocked for editing. With a system that is so simple to use, it is easy to stay organized. Administrators can enter the report card sheet directly from the zoom and make corrections directly on the sheet, or they can ask teachers to make corrections. Administrators can unlock a sheet at any time, even after it has been published. Administrators have the ability to publish, retract, export, and print report cards from the Report Card Zoom. ## Printing Report Cards It is easy to customize the way report cards are printed within Edsby. Report cards are always printed in the order that they are found in the zoom, but the order can be changed by clicking the headers in the columns: student name, homeroom teacher, grade, etc. They can also be printed by grade. In this video, an example is included in which only the grade 4 students report cards are being printed. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Online Testing Video Playlist](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing-playlist/) **Published:** August 17, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Creating a Question Sheet This video covers how to create a question sheet from the personal folder as well as the differences between multiple choice, paragraph, choose all that apply, and short answer questions. Teachers and administrators have the option of creating an online test that exists entirely within Edsby. Tests are created and stored within the personal folder, delivered to students via the class, and graded within the gradebook. Edsby’s online testing feature is simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly! ## Creating an Online Assessment This video covers how to attach a question sheet to an assessment form, setting the testing options, and grading and sharing online tests. Question sheets are attached to the assessment form by selecting the online test option then choosing the question sheet. The assessment form is completed like any other assessment, except students will see the Take Test button when the test is open. The test options allow teachers to customize when the test will open and close, how many attempts students will have, time limits, and randomizing questions and answers. Teachers can create an online test with the same options for students that an in-class test would have. Students take the test, and teachers can grade the tests through gradebook. Once graded, the grades are shared like any other assessment. Students can click their submission to view their feedback, scores, and the correct answers. Online testing through Edsby is simple, convenient for both students and teachers, and environmentally friendly! Teachers can get creative when testing their students: a traditional quiz, an exit ticket, an assessment of student reflections – the sky’s the limit. ## Online Testing for Students Edsby features a simple way for teachers to assess students through online testing. Teachers create the tests then post the assessment in the class feed. Students click the Take Test button, enter their answers, and click Submit. The teacher then marks the tests and shares the grades with students by delivering the grades directly to My Work. Students can view their submission and see the correct answers, their scores, and any feedback the teacher may have given. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Report Card Video Playlist](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/report-card-video-playlist/) **Published:** August 17, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** ## Creating Report Cards This video covers how to create a report for a school and explains the Reporting Period Setup form. ## Report Card Maintenance Edsby features a way of enabling administrators to change the details of report cards, even after the reporting period has been created. Ideally, there will be no need to make a change, but Edsby enables a change to be made with no difficulty. This video covers how to change templates after they have been assigned, how to cancel sheets that have been incorrectly added to a reporting period and how to add them back, how to edit the details of the reporting period and how to add additional classes to the reporting period – both individually and multiple classes at once. ## Report Card Review Process Using the report card zoom, which works like any other zoom on Edsby, keeps administrators organized as they can filter report card sheets to their status: approved, not submitted, published, returned for correction, submitted for review, and unlocked for editing. With a system that is so simple to use, it is easy to stay organized. Administrators can enter the report card sheet directly from the zoom and make corrections directly on the sheet, or they can ask teachers to make corrections. Administrators can unlock a sheet at any time, even after it has been published. Administrators have the ability to publish, retract, export, and print report cards from the Report Card Zoom. ## Printing Report Cards It is easy to customize the way report cards are printed within Edsby. Report cards are always printed in the order that they are found in the zoom, but the order can be changed by clicking the headers in the columns: student name, homeroom teacher, grade, etc. They can also be printed by grade. In this video, an example is included in which only the grade 4 students report cards are being printed. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Copying content from previous to current classes](https://www.edsby.com/help/copying-content-previous-current-classes/) **Published:** August 16, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Parent Teacher Interviews for Administrators](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-teacher-interviews-admins/) **Published:** July 13, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Student Specific Report Cards](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-card-creation-and-management/student-specific-report-cards/) **Published:** November 1, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** When a student leaves the school district or transfers to another school in the district, school administrators can provision a report card for the student. A report card can be provisioned before the student leaves the school or after the student has transferred. Student Specific Reports Cards can have a maximum of 50 students. ## Provisioning a Student Specific Report Card Open the Student Zoom from the home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-zoom-2.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/students-zoom-2.png) If the student has already left the school, click the drop down button and select Show dropped students. Filter the student list to the name of the student. Click the Gear icon to select a set of students. Once the students have been selected or filtered into a list, click the drop down button and select Student Report Card. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-report-card-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-report-card-1.png) The Student Specific Report Card form appears. Set the Period Start and Period End dates. Set the Report Cards Due date and time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-specific-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-specific-report-card.png) Click Save. Report Cards Zoom will appear. The students’ teachers will see a Report Card button on their home screens. Clicking the Report Card button opens the report card sheet. The teacher can also access the report card sheet by clicking the Report Card link within a Class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/report-cards-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/report-cards-zoom.png) When all the report card sheets have been submitted, the Report Card can be printed. ### Adding additional students Student Specific Report Cards can include more than one student. For a family, filter to the last name before creating the student report card so all the students are included initially. Names can be added after the form is created. To add additional students after the report card has already been created, go to the Report Card zoom, select the report card from the list, and click Edit Reporting Period to add additional students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-special-reporting-period.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-special-reporting-period.png) ### Adding Additional Classes or Groups Sometimes Classes need to be added manually to a special reporting period. Classes can be manually added after the special reporting period has been created by navigating to the Report Card Zoom and selecting the Report Card from the list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/navigate-to-special-report-card-1024x331.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/navigate-to-special-report-card.png) Click the *Add Class or Group* button. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/add-class-or-group-to-special-report-card-1024x327.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/add-class-or-group-to-special-report-card.png) Search for the class name and select the Report Card template to use. Then click Save. The Class will be added to the special Student Specific Report Card. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/select-classes-or-groups-to-add.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/select-classes-or-groups-to-add.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Teacher report card comment libraries](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/report-cards-comments/) **Published:** November 1, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Organizations can choose to support report card comments in Edsby in the following ways: - Teachers type new ad-hoc comments in the report card sheets. - The organization provides a set of pre-approved report comments and teachers choose from the pre-approved set. Teachers do not have the option of adding new ad-hoc comments. - The organization enables teachers to add ad-hoc comments and to create their own private bank or library of report card comments, or - The organization provides a set of report card comments that teachers can use if they wish. In addition, teachers can add ad-hoc and create their own private set of comments. ## My Comments If the school or district has enabled unique teacher report card comments in their Edsby system, teachers may use My Comments to create and manage a set of comments that can be applied to a report card comment field. My Comments is an Edsby teacher’s private report card comment bank or library. Comments can include automatic substitutions for names and pronouns. Noun gender substitution is also supported. Teachers access My Comments by selecting My Comments from the drop down menu under their Edsby name menu. If the organization has not enabled teacher level report card comments, the option will not be included in the drop down menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-my-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-my-comments.png) ### My Comments Examples The teacher has the following comments in My Comments. **Comment****Tags****Phrase Type****Grade****Subject****Course Code**This is evident in <> writing portfolio.WritingEvidence10EnglishENG2DThis is evident in <> literary essay.WritingEvidence10EnglishENG2D<> identifies strengths and areas to improve performance.ReadingStrengths10EnglishENG2DThrough <> independent work skills, <> is able to plan communications which suit <> audience and purpose.ReadingStrengths10EnglishEND2D<> recognizes and respects different viewpoints.ReadingStrengths10EnglishENG2D<> uses a variety of in-class resources and strategies to increase <> vocabulary.VocabularyLearned10EnglishENG2D<> uses decoding strategies to understand unfamiliar words.VocabularyLearned10EnglishENG2D<> is encouraged to plan out an essay by using a variety of strategies.WritingNext Steps10EnglishENG2DOnce in a report card sheet, the teacher can click a comment box and use the filters on the left side of the comment form to search through their comments. Comments can be filtered by Library, Tags, Phrase Type, Grade, or Subject. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Edsby-Comment-bank-search.png) Additionally, teachers can search for comments by typing a word or phrase in the search box. Clicking reset all filters will clear the search box and any filters selected. The comment field has a character limit and only comments that are less than the available characters will be displayed. For example, only comments that are 128 characters or less will appear in the search. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Edsby-Remaining-Characters-snap.png) Click on the X to exit the comment search. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Edsby-Exit-Comment-bank-search-snap.png) ## Adding comments to My Comments Comments can be added by clicking Add New Comment or by importing a set of comments from a CSV file. A CSV is a comma separated values file, which allows data to be saved in a table structured format. CSVs look like a garden-variety spreadsheet but with a .CSV extension. Most spreadsheet programs include the option to save a file in the CSV format. To create a new comment: 1. Click Add New. 2. Enter the comment in the text field. The comment can include automatic replacements. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/New-comment-snap-edit.png) When using the above comment on a report card sheet the <> is replaced with the student’s first name, and <> is matched to the gender listed in the student’s [Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/?help=the-panorama). The gender is set in the organization’s student information system. A student whose gender field has not been provided or has been set to X, will use the third value in the substitution string. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Comment-filled-in.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Comment-filled-in.png) Substitutions for other words can also be included, for example, <> or <>. Text to the left of the first / will be used for male students, between the first and second / for female students and the last / for other or undeclared gender students. ### About the Comment form The Comment field is the only required field on the form, and for most teachers, the other fields are not necessary. The additional fields are used to rank the available comments and display comments in a more helpful way. When the Subject field matches the Subject on the Class Setup form, the comment will appear higher in the list, but comments are never excluded from the search. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/same-subject.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/same-subject.png) Typing “fractions” in the English class’ report card sheet, will display all comments containing the string “fractions” even if the comments are tagged as Mathematics. The Tags field can add additional classifications to comments. For example, levels, terms, or a comment number. Multiple tags can be added by tapping the return to tab key. To view the comments that match the tag, select the tag from the filters. Phrase Types can further classify comments, making progress reports even easier for teachers. For example, if teachers want to find a comment for a level 4 student about Next Steps, they can tag the comment with level 4 and use the phrase type next steps when creating their comments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/tags-field.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/tags-field.png) ## Importing comments from other sources Teachers can copy and paste from a document or spreadsheet, but a teacher can also import the comments from a CSV file. Most spreadsheets can open CSV files and save in the CSV format. The comments need to be in pre-defined columns, and the most reliable way to ensure the columns have the correct names is to export the comments. Click on the gear icon and choose Export from the drop-down list. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Report-card-exporting-commentsz.png) The teacher has a set comments in a document. Within the document software, search and replace has been used to insert <> where appropriate. The text was copied from the document into the spreadsheet then saved as a CSV file. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/report-card-comments-save-as-csv.png) Some spreadsheets make a bit of a fuss about saving in the CSV format, hold fast and insist that CSV is the format of choice. The file can be called anything as long as the file extension is CSV. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/csv-save.png) To import a CSV file, choose My Comments from the drop down menu under a person’s name. If the organization has not enabled teacher level report card comments, the option will not be included in the drop down menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-my-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/accessing-my-comments.png) Click the gear icon and choose Import. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/importing-report-card-comments.png) Click Browse and select the CSV. The comments are added to My Comments. Teachers can update their existing comments by exporting the comments. The comments can be opened in a spreadsheet program and search and replace can be used to update the substitutions. The teacher then deletes the existing comments and imports the updated comments. If the Student Information System only supplies two values for the Gender field, the gender can be set in the Panorama’s Student Admin page. ## Saving Report Card Comments to My Comments When teachers are filling in report card comments, they can easily add them to their My Comments Library in Edsby for future use in report cards. When a teacher writes a comment in the report card sheet and adds it to the personal comment bank, the three pronouns will be added automatically. In this illustration, Beth Archer has added a comment for a male student. Clicking Add will create a comment that can be used for all students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Edsby-add-to-comment-library.png) Teachers can add additional tags to the comment, if desired. When the comment form is complete, click Save. The comment can be found in the teacher’s My Comments. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/comment-in-library.png) Additionally, the comment is easily accessible within another report card. Navigate to a report card, click in the comment box, and use the comment filters to locate the newly added comment. The Add feature makes adding new comments and using them in future report cards quick and easy. ## Deleting Comments At any point, teachers can delete any comments in their My Comments. To delete individual comments, click the trash can icon to the right of the Comment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/deleting-single-comment.png) Confirm the deletion. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/confirm-delete-comment.png) Teachers can choose to delete all of their Comments by clicking *Delete All Comments* at the top right of My Comments. This action cannot be undone. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/deleting-all-comments.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [My Parents Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/my-parents-zoom/) **Published:** November 1, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** The My Parents Zoom lists all parents of students enrolled in the teacher’s classes and part of groups where the teacher is the moderator. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/my-parents-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/my-parents-zoom.png) 1Use the filters to view parents linked to students in a specific class or group.2Move the mouse over the name to view the mini-profile. Clicking Send Message creates a pre-addressed message.3Create a message to multiple parents by choosing Message these parents. Use the filters to reduce the list to a specific class or group. The message is sent as a BCC message and parents do not see who else is included in the message. Parents can be added or invited to an existing group. The teacher must be the moderator of the group. The list can be exported to a CSV file. CSV files can be opened by a spreadsheet program. 4To select any parent from the list, click the gear icon to reveal the selection boxes.Individuals can be removed from the pre-addressed message by clicking the X beside the name. The BCC label indicates the addressees only see his or her own name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-message.png) ### **Sample CSV file** The file can be used to provide key information for a mail merge or a custom checklist. Use a spreadsheet program (Excel or OpenOffice) to open the file. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Sample-CSV-file.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Sample-CSV-file.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Standards, Expectations, Outcomes](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/standards-expectations-outcomes/) **Published:** October 31, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby enables teachers to easily keep track of which expectations, standards or outcomes have been addressed in assessments, units, and lessons. ## Adding Expectations Teachers can use the expectations picker to browse all expectations for a course and choose expectations that relate to the nature of the assessment. Expectations can be added by choosing from the Topic View, All Codes View, and by searching for a code or text contained within the expectations. Click the pop-out icon beside the Expectations field. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/expectations-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/expectations-popout.png) Click Topic View. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/topic-view.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/topic-view.png) Choose from a list of topics and sub-topics to view specific expectations in Topic View. A green check mark appears beside expectations that have been covered. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/selecting-expectations.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/selecting-expectations.png) Expectations that have been added to the form appear beside Selected Expectations. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/selected-expectations.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/selected-expectations.png) Click Done at the bottom right of the picker to add all selected expectations to the assessment. Expectations can also be selected from the All Codes View. A green check mark appears beside expectations that have been covered. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/all-codes-view-1024x599.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/all-codes-view.png) Teachers can search for an expectation by typing keywords, phrases or the codes. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/keyowrds-phrases-codes-1024x328.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/keyowrds-phrases-codes.png) ## Adding expectations from other courses. Edsby automatically links classes to the expectations based on the course codes, grade, or subject. Teachers can choose expectations from any other course by clicking the plus and searching for the course name. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/choose-a-new-course-expectations.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/choose-a-new-course-expectations.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Personal Folder](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/) **Published:** October 31, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers have a Personal Folder on their Edsby navigation bar. The Personal Folder is used by teachers to: - Create [rubrics](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/rubrics-2-2/) - Create [online tests](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing/) - Upload files Rubrics, online tests, and uploaded files remain in the Personal Folder until deleted by the teacher. Teachers can copy content from their Personal Folder into the [Content panel](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/content-builder/) of classes and [Professional Development](https://www.edsby.com/help/professional-development-groups/) groups as well as into [Learning Object Repositories](https://www.edsby.com/help/learning-object-repository/). Teachers can also copy content directly into the Library of a class or group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-folder-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-folder-1.png) To upload files, click Upload. Add files from the local drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/upload.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/upload.png) Folders can be created to organize files. To create a folder: 1. Choose New Folder from the New drop-down menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-folder.png) 2. Enter the name of the folder, then click Create Folder. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/name-new-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/name-new-folder.png) To copy files from the Personal Folder to a Class Library or Group Library: 1. Select the files to be copied. The Copy button will appear. 2. Click Copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/select-and-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/select-and-copy.png) 1. Click Home or the Edsby icon to return to the home screen. 2. Open the Class or Group. 3. Click Library. 4. Click New Folder, and name folder. (optional) 5. Click Paste. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/paste-into-library.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/paste-into-library.png) For information about Online Testing, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing/). For information about rubrics, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/rubrics-2-2/). ## Sharing Personal Folder Items with Other Teachers Teachers can share tests, rubrics, or courses they have created in their Personal Folder with other teachers by copying and pasting into Libraries, Content Builders, or Learning Object Repositories. Select the content to copy by hovering over an item and clicking the circle in the top right corner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/selecting-item.png) Navigate to the Library, Content Builder, or LOR to paste the content. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/sharing-personal-folder-items-with-other-teachers/) for more information on sharing personal folder items. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Report Cards: Preapproved report card comments](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/report-cards/preapproved-report-card-comments/) **Published:** October 7, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Organizations may choose to provide a set of pre-approved comments from which teachers can build a student’s report card comments. For example, teachers have been provided with a PDF listing of the available comments. Here’s an excerpt from the pre-approved comments. **Code****Comment****Tags****501**<> has difficulty reading to gather information.Reading**502**<> is unable to read to gather information.Reading**503**<> reads effectively to gather information.Reading**504**<> reads very effectively to gather information.Reading**601**<> has difficulty writing using appropriate structures.Writing**5108**<> should identify a purpose for reading.Next Steps**5110** <> should make connections to own life when reads new material.Next StepsOnce in a report card sheet, the teacher can click in a comment box. They can filter through their comments based on if they are Learned, Strengths, or Next Steps. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/filter-through-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/filter-through-comments.png) Or, teachers can search through all of their comments by clicking All. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/all-comments.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/all-comments.png) Teachers can search by: - Typing in a word. The teacher typed “difficulty”. Use the down arrow key or mouse to select the comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/type-word.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/type-word.png) - Typing in multiple words. The teacher typed “difficulty” and “read”, then used the down arrow key to select the comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/type-multple-words.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/type-multple-words.png) - Typing in a tag. The teacher typed “Next Steps”, then clicked the comment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/type-tag.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/type-tag.png) Text that doesn’t match the pre-approved comments is discarded. The comment field has a character limit. Only comments that are less than the available characters are displayed. For example, only comments less than 21 characters will be displayed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/character-limit.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/character-limit.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Parent-Teacher Interviews for Teachers](https://www.edsby.com/help/parent-teacher-interview-teachers/) **Published:** May 16, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers receive an up-to-the-second schedule of which meetings have been booked. They can print their final schedule so they know where they need to be, and when. Parents book their own appointments, but the teacher has the option of booking on behalf of a parent. Teachers can also enter the room number where the meetings will take place. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Teacher-PTI-Workflow.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Teacher-PTI-Workflow.png) Teachers will receive a Parent-Teacher Interview form in their Edsby Messages in advance of parents. Click Manage Schedule to view the schedule. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/manage-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/manage-schedule.png) ### Setting the room number For each day of the Parent-Teacher Interview schedule, enter the room number or the room name. Parents will see this information on their schedules. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/enter-a-room.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/enter-a-room.png) For online meetings, URLs of meeting links can be used in place of a room number by copying and pasting the link. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/meeting-link-in-room-number.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/meeting-link-in-room-number.png) ### Blocking appointment slots If teachers are not available for all appointment slots due to prior engagements teachers can block appointments slots by clicking on the slot. Teachers can unblock the appointment slot by clicking blocked. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/block-and-unblock.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/block-and-unblock.png) ### PTI Notes Teachers can also add notes to blocked and booked appointment slots. The note could include information about why the slot is blocked or relevant information the teacher may need to know for a given booked appointment. These notes are only visible to teachers and administrators and can be included in a printout of the Schedule. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/teacher-adding-note.png) Additionally, parents can supply notes to the teacher with any information related to the interview. Open parent notes by clicking *View Parent’s Note*. These notes can also be included in a printout of the Schedule. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/viewing-parent-note.png) ### Booking for a Parent or Student Contact When the interviews have been opened for parents and guardians to book, teachers can book on behalf of a parent or student contact, a parent/guardian without an active Edsby account. To do this, hover over a slot and click book for a parent. Choose a class, choose a student, choose the name of the parent or contact. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/book-slot-for-parent.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/book-slot-for-parent.png) ### Printing a Schedule To print the PTI Schedule, click the printer icon. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/printing-list-of-parent-appointments.png) To include both teacher and parent notes in the printout, select the checkbox next to *Include Notes.* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/include-notes-in-appointment-summary.png) ## PTI Information in Calendar Teachers can view information regarding interview schedules in their calendar. If the interviews are further than 2 weeks away, teachers can view them by navigating to their full-screen calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/interview-in-full-screen-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/interview-in-full-screen-calendar.png) Clicking on the interview brings the teacher to the workflow in their mailbox. From here, they can manage their schedule. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manage-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manage-schedule.png) If the interviews are coming up soon, teachers will see them in their personal home screen schedule. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/pti-in-homescreen-schedule-teacher.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/pti-in-homescreen-schedule-teacher.png) Hover over the event and click Open Workflow. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-workflow-from-schedule-teacher.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/open-workflow-from-schedule-teacher.png) This brings the teacher to the workflow in their mailbox. From here, they can manage their interview schedule. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Rubrics](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/rubrics-2-2/) **Published:** May 15, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Rubrics are a scoring scale that provide a set of criteria for achievement and the descriptions of levels of achievement, used to assess and evaluate students’ work and to guide students to desired performance levels. When a rubric grading scheme is defined at an organizational level, the assessment form’s Grading Scheme drop down menu includes Rubric as a choice. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-scheme.png) ### Personal folder and Rubrics Rubrics can be created in advance in the Personal Folder. Once created they can be associated with any assessment in any class. Rubrics, and other content created in the Personal folder, will be retained for all time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-personal-folder.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-personal-folder.png) **To create a rubric:** - On the navigation bar, click Personal Folder. - Click New, select Rubric from the drop down menu. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/new-rubric.png) - Enter the name of the Rubric and select the scheme. The list of schemes vary by organization. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-rubric-select-scheme.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/edit-rubric-select-scheme.png) - Enter the Row Name, and choose a strand if applicable. Then, enter the descriptions for the levels of achievement. Click Add Category button to add a new row or Click X to remove a row. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/add-category.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/add-category.png) Click Save. Click Home to return to the home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/save-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/save-rubric.png) ## Sharing Rubrics with Other Teachers Teachers can share Rubrics they have created in their Personal Folder with other teachers by copying and pasting into Libraries, Content Builders, and Learning Object Repositories. [Click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/sharing-personal-folder-items-with-other-teachers/) for more information on how to do this. ## **Creating Assessments with Rubrics** 1. Navigate to a class and create a new assessment and enter the name and due date. 2. In Scheme drop down menu, choose Rubric. 3. Click the Choose Existing button. 4. Choose a rubric from the list. The rubric is added to the assessment. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-in-assessment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choosing-rubric-in-assessment-form.png) Note: Changing the contents of a rubric in the Personal Folder does not affect existing assessments. 5. For a summative assessment, enter the weight or weights. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/enter-weighting-points-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/enter-weighting-points-1.png) ### Changing the rubric If an assessment does not have any grades or comments entered or student submissions, the rubric can be changed by clicking on the Choose Existing button and then selecting another rubric from the list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choose-existing-to-change-rubrc.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/choose-existing-to-change-rubrc.png) Note: Once a student uploads a submission or a grade or comment is entered, the assessment is locked and the rubric can no longer be changed. ### Grading an assessment with a rubric To grade an assessment with a rubric: - Navigate to the gradebook and click a cell. - The rubric appears. In each row, click the level to assign the grade. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-a-rubric.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/grading-a-rubric.png) - To grade another student, click the on the student’s name. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/selecting-new-student-to-grade.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/selecting-new-student-to-grade.png) - To return to the regular gradebook view, click on the return arrow. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/return-to-regular-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/return-to-regular-gradebook.png) ### Student view of an assessment with a rubric In every class, students have a My Work link. The Assessment page lists all visible assessments. To view the rubric, students navigate to the Assessment page and click on the View Rubric button to view the rubric’s categories and levels of achievement. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/student-view-rubric-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/student-view-rubric-button.png) When the assessment grade and optional comment have been shared with the student, the student sees the grade. Students can also view the rubric of an assessment by clicking the name of an assessment, then clicking the name of the rubric in the lightbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/opening-rubric-from-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/opening-rubric-from-name.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Submitting a Planned Absence for your child](https://www.edsby.com/help/submit-planned-absence-child/) **Published:** May 6, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Parents --- ### [Online Testing](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/online-testing/) **Published:** March 18, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby features a convenient way to test students online. Delivering an online test to your students has two key steps: 1. Create a Question Sheet 2. Create an assessment and attach a copy of the Question sheet. Question Sheets can be created within the Personal Folder, a Class Content panel, or within the Knowledge panel of Professional Learning Community group. Question Sheets can be copied between the Personal Folder and Content/Knowledge panels. If teacher doesn’t anticipate the need to share Question Sheets, creating them in the Personal Folder involves the fewest steps. If the teacher wants to keep all the Course Content together, including Question Sheets, they can create them within the Class. If teachers want to work together to create Question Sheets, a Professional Learning Community group can be created for this purpose. ## Jump to a section [Creating a Question Sheet](#createquestionsheet) [Question Types](#questiontypes) [Using the Rich Text Editor](#richtexteditor) [Adding Questions from the Question Bank](#addfromqb) [Sharing Online Tests with Other Teachers](#sharetestwithteachers) [Creating an Online Assessment](#createonlinetest) [Using a Sub-Set of Questions](#subsetofquestions) [Setting Retake Attempts for Specific Students](#specificstudentattempt) [The Student Experience](#studentexperience) [Grading Online Tests](#gradingonlinetest) ## Creating a Question Sheet To create a question sheet, first navigate to the Personal Folder. Click New and select Question Sheet from the drop-down menu. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Personal-Folder-New-Question-Sheet.png) Alternatively, Question Sheets can be created directly within the Content Builder of a Class. In a Class, click Content, then Edit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Content-Builder-edit.png) Click the + icon under the item you want to add the sheet and select Question Sheet. **Note:** It is best to keep Question Sheets hidden from students in the Class. Ensure the toggle next to the sheet is turned off. **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Content-Builder-new-Question-Sheet.png)** Enter the title of the test. Add any relevant expectations to the test by clicking the pop-out. When the test is added to an assessment, the expectations will automatically be linked to the assessment form. Choose a scheme, if desired. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Question-sheet-title-scheme-expectations.png) Once a question sheet has been created, it remains in the Personal Folder and can be used in any current or future classes. **Note:** To speed up the use of standards/expectations/outcomes within a question sheet, question sheets remember previously used courses. ### Creating Sections To create sections, for example, a section for multiple choice questions and another for paragraph questions, click +New Section. Edit the section name and description as well as the questions included in the section by clicking the Edit Section button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Question-Sheet-section-edit.png) ### Adding Questions When it’s time to add questions to the sheet, the first question in the test will be blank. First, choose the type of question from the drop-down menu. The default question type is Multiple Choice, however, this can be changed as desired. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-default-question-type.png) Edsby Question Sheets support eleven types of questions. They are described below. #### Multiple Choice Multiple Choice is the default question type set when a new question is added. 1. Enter the question stem and the set of possible answers. 2. Click the circle to identify the correct answer. 3. Set the Out Of value. The default is for each Multiple-Choice question to be worth one mark. 4. Optional: Enter partial or negative marks into the box to the right of each answer. The percentage indicates the percentage of full marks each answer is awarded – ranging from 0% meaning zero marks to 100% meaning full marks. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-steps-of-question-creation.png) #### True/False 1. Enter the question and click the circle to identify whether the question is True or False. 2. Set the Out of value. The default is for each True/False question to be worth one mark. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-true-false-question.png) #### Choose all that apply 1. Enter the question stem and the set of answers. 2. Click on the checkboxes to select the answers that correctly apply to the question. 3. Set the Out of value. **![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-choose-all-that-apply.png)** **Note:** Answering Choose All That Apply questions means the student must correctly select the answers that apply and not select any answers that do not apply. Students are graded both on the boxes they select and those that are left blank. In this example, the student has correctly selected the 4 answers that apply and has left the 2 answers that do not apply unselected. When their test is graded, they will see checkmarks next to each possible answer – they properly selected the correct answers and left the incorrect answers unselected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/perfect-CATA-answer.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/perfect-CATA-answer.png) In this example, however, the student has correctly selected the 4 answers that apply, but they have also selected an answer that does not apply. When their test is graded, they will see checkmarks next to each of the answers that do apply, but an x next to the answer they selected that did not apply. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/checked-wrong-answer-cata.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/checked-wrong-answer-cata.png) In this last example, the student has correctly selected 3 out of the 4 answers that apply and left the rest of the answers unchecked. When their test is graded, they will see checkmarks next to the 3 answers they selected as well as next to the answers they correctly identified as not applying, however, they will see an x next to the last answer that applied but the student did not select. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/didnt-choose-answer-they-shouldve.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/didnt-choose-answer-they-shouldve.png) #### Short Answer 1. Enter the question stem and enter the acceptable answers into the boxes. When students take the test, they will not see these answers. The question can have more than one correct answer. When students take the test, they must produce an answer that exactly matches one of the acceptable answers chosen during the question sheet’s setup. 2. Set the Out of Value. 3. Optional: Enter partial or negative marks into the box to the right of each answer. The percentage indicates the percentage of full marks each answer is awarded – ranging from 0% meaning zero marks to 100% meaning full marks. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-short-answer.png) #### Paragraph 1. Enter the instructions for the students. Paragraph questions are manually graded by the teacher after students have submitted their completed question sheet. 2. Set the Out of value. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-paragraph.png) #### Likert Scale The Likert Scale is a multiple-choice question test with pre-filled choices. A common use includes gathering feedback from students on a formative assessment. The text of the choices can be changed by the teacher on a question-by-question basis. #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-likert-scale.png) #### Drag and Drop 1. Create the question. 2. Add the choices in the correct order. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-drag-drop.png) When students take the test, they will see the list of choices in a random order. Students drag the choices by clicking, holding, and moving the label to the correct order. #### Match With Match questions, the teacher supplies a list of items that must be matched against another list of items. Decoy answers can be supplied for added difficulty. 1. Enter a list of prompts 2. Enter the corresponding correct answers next to each prompt 3. Set the Out Of value 4. To supply a decoy answer, type the decoy into the answer box and leave the prompt box empty #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-match.png) #### Label The Label type enables the teacher with a space to provide instructions to students. This can be at the start of the test, at the start of a new section, or in between questions. These instructions will not count as questions. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/label-type-1024x152.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/label-type.png) #### Numerical Numerical type questions enable teachers to ask students questions that require a numerical answer. Numerical questions can also have an tolerance range assigned with which a student can give any number within the range, including the upper and lower limits of the range, and the answer will be marked as correct. 1. Type the question text 2. Type the correct numerical answer into the box 3. Assign a tolerance range (the range of correct numerical answers) using the box to the right of the answer box. The range will apply in both the positive and negative directions of the correct answer. 4. Set the Out Of value #### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-numerical.png) #### Fill in the Blanks 1. 1. Enter a question with blanks defined by square brackets, with the correct answer inside the brackets. In this example, *civil* is the correct answer. 2. Choose how to display the answer. With *Fill in the Blanks* selected, the student will see an empty box where the blank was specified in the question and will be required to type the correct answer without seeing options. With *Drop Down* selected, additional distraction answers can be added and the student will be required to choose the correct answer from the list of drop-down items. 3. If *Drop Down* is chosen, supply distraction answers below the question. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-fill-in-the-blanks.png) ### Using the Rich Text Editor When creating each question and answer, teachers can use a Rich Text Editor to enhance their questions. Rich Text can include bold and italics, colours, tables, and equations. To open the Rich Text Editor, click the thumbnail icon in the question box. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/rich-text-editor.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/rich-text-editor.png) Rich text can be used in the answer options as well. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/rich-text-answer.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/rich-text-answer.png) Type your question and experiment with different fonts, alignments, lists, etc. #### Adding Tables To add a table to the question, open the Rich Text Editor and click the Table drop-down. Hover over Table and select the number of rows and columns you would like. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/adding-table.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/adding-table.png) The table will be added to the question. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/editing-table.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/editing-table.png) Fill the table in and use any of the options to add or delete rows and columns or merge cells. #### Adding Equations Edsby enables teachers to enter mathematical symbols or equations to their questions. To do this, open the Rich Text Editor and click Equation. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/equation-button.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/equation-button.png) This opens the Equation Editor. Choose from the various types of symbols and equations provided. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/equation-editor.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/equation-editor.png) When the equation is complete, click Submit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/submit-button-on-equation.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/submit-button-on-equation.png) The equation will be added to the question. ### Adding Attachments and Removing Questions Questions can have images, videos, or other links attached to them. To do this, click one of the icons below the question box to take a photo, browse for a photo, or add links from various locations. Remove any questions from the Question Sheet by clicking the X in the top right corner of each question. Confirm the deletion. The question is removed from the sheet. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-attatchments-and-delete-a-question.png) ### Reordering Questions Questions within the Question Sheet can be reordered using the Cut, Copy, and Paste feature. Click the gear icon next to the question you wish to move. Select Cut. Navigate to the question you would like to paste before or after. Click the gear icon. Select *paste before* or *paste after* depending on the order you would like the questions to appear. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-cut-and-paste-question.png) Questions can be cut and pasted within a section or into other sections. ### Providing Feedback In online tests, teachers can choose to provide feedback to students for specific responses on questions. If you want to provide the correct answers to students, feedback needs to be enabled. The feedback is visible after the results of the test have been shared. At the top of the Question Sheet, click the box next to Feedback. Under each answer for each question is a box where feedback can be entered. Feedback can be used to explain why the specific answer chosen in an online test is either correct or incorrect. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-provide-feedback.png) ### Adding Questions from the Question Bank Edsby enables teachers to quickly reuse questions they have used in the past in new Question Sheets by adding from their Question Bank. Any questions the teacher has created in a previous Question Sheet, either in their Personal Folder or directly within a Class, is automatically added to their Question Bank. Additionally, the Question Bank also contains Question Sheets posted in groups the teacher is a member of. To add a question from the Question Bank, click *+ Add from Question Bank.* A form opens with a list of the Classes you teach, your Personal Folder, and any groups you are a member of. Select the location of the Question Sheet you would like to use and then select the Question Sheet. A list of the questions in the Question Sheet will be displayed. Select the question(s) you would like to use by clicking the box next to each one, or select all. Click Add. The question will be added to the Question Sheet you are working on. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-question-bank.png) ### Preview as Student To preview how the Question Sheet will look when students go to take the test, click the box next to Preview as Student at the top of the sheet. This provides the view students will see. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-preview-as-student.png) ## Sharing Online Tests with Other Teachers Teachers can share tests they have created in their Personal Folder with other teachers by copying and pasting into Libraries, Content Builders, or Learning Object Repositories For information on how to do this, [click here.](https://www.edsby.com/help/personal-folder/sharing-personal-folder-items-with-other-teachers/) ## Creating an Online Test After the Question Sheet has been created in the Personal Folder, it can be linked to any assessment form. On the Assessment Form, under Online Submission, click Online Quiz. Click the +Choose Question Sheet button and select from the list. The list will contain any question sheets the teacher has created in their Personal Folder. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-create-an-online-test.png) **Note:** *A copy of the current version of the Question Sheet is added to the assessment. If changes to online test are required after the assessment is created, a new assessment needs to be created.* *It’s no different than handing out paper tests to your students. Changing the Word document wouldn’t magically change the test sheets that have already distributed. Your student would need a new copy of the paper test.* Set the Online Test options including the time limit, number of attempts, and whether the questions or answers are randomized. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-online-test-options-1.png) **Time Limit**The time the student has to complete the test.**Number of Attempts**The number of times a student can retake the test. The time limit applies to each attempt.**Randomize Questions**Students see the questions in a random order.**Randomize Answers**Students see the answer choices in a random order.Set the Schedule for the Online Test. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-schedule-open-closed.png) **Closed**Students cannot begin the test. The name of the test and student instructions appear in the feed and calendar, but students do not have an option to take the test.**Open**Teachers can specify when to open the test. The default is the current day and time. If teachers do not change this, when the assessment form is saved, the test will be immediately available for students to take. If you would like the test to open at a later date and time, specify this. **Schedule Open/Close**Students can begin the test between the open and close dates and times. The time limit applies based on the test start time. A test that ends at 12:05 with a time limit of 30 minutes, can be started at 11:34 and submitted anytime between 11:34 and 12:04.***Note:** The time an online test is set to open and close as well as an assessment’s due date is based on the time zone the teacher creates the assessment in, not the student’s time zone, if it differs from the teacher.* If a student is accessing content from a different time zone, ensure they are aware of this. ## Using a Sub-Set of Online Test Questions Teachers may wish for students to each receive a unique sub-set of all possible questions in an online test. If teachers have tests with multiple sections, this is done on a section-by-section basis. In the Question Sheet, click the pencil icon next to the section name to edit the section. Under Number of Questions to Use, select the desired amount. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-question-sheet-use-all.png) If the sheet only contains one section, this only needs to be done once. However, if the sheet has multiple sections, select the number of questions to use in each section by using the Edit button. ## Setting Retake Attempts for Specific Students While teachers can increase the attempts for all students by adjusting the Number of Attempts field in the Assessment form, Edsby enables teachers to change the number of attempts for a specific student. In this example, Lisa Lee experienced poor connection while writing her test and was unable to complete it before it timed out. Mr. Archer would like to provide Lisa with an additional attempt to write the test. To do so, navigate to the Gradebook and select the cell with the student’s online test submission, then select Grader. The Grader will open the testing sheet. At the top right of the sheet, click Change Attempts and set a number in the Attempts field. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-change-attempts.png) The student will now see a Retake test button and can retake the test while it is open. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-retake-test-button.png) ## The Student Experience When the assessment is created, students are notified of the upcoming test in all the usual ways – Feed, Planner, My Work, Calendar, and Recent Activity. Students can begin an Online Test anywhere they see the assessment name including in the Content Panel. Students will see the start time, end time, and duration of the test everywhere the assessment is visible. If the assessment’s Schedule field is set to Closed, the Take Test button is not available to the students. When the assessment’s Schedule Field is set to Open or during the scheduled open time, students see the Take Test button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-open-closed-test.png) After clicking the Take Test button, students can view the test duration and are able to start the test. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-online-test-start-test.png) Clicking the Start Test Now button, opens the Question Sheet. The timer displays the remaining time. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-beginning-online-test.png) Once the test is completed, the student clicks the Submit button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-submitting-online-test.png) If a student submits a test with unanswered questions, Edsby will indicate which have been left blank for the student to answer. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-blank-question.png) After submitting, the student is provided with the following confirmation: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-online-test-submitted.png) If a student does not complete the test within its specified duration, the test will be automatically submitted and the student will be given this prompt. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-test-out-of-time.png) If the test has more than one attempt available, the student can retake the test by clicking the Retake Test button. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-retake-test-student.png) The student is notified of how many more attempts remain. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-remaining-attempts.png) Students can view their submissions by clicking the submission link anywhere the assessment is visible. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-view-submission.png) ## Grading Online Tests When a student submits an online test, a notification will appear on the Gradebook link and in the Gradebook Sidebar. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-gradebook-link.png) If all the questions on the test can be auto graded, the grade appears in the cell. If the test includes questions that need to be manually graded, a file icon appears in the cell. To view a student’s test sheet, click the cell and choose Grader. The number of unmarked questions is listed at the top of the sheet. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-student-ungraded-question.png) Enter the grade and optional comment. The assessment grade is updated as the question points are added. To override the calculated grade, click the lock icon and enter a number. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-unlock-question.png) ### Modify Grades of an Online Test If you’d like to modify the grade of an online test, e.g. a student received a calculated score of 9/20 but you’d like to bump them up to 10/20, you can unlock a specific question and add a “1” to it. Here’s a more comprehensive way to modify grades, however, in Edsby online tests: When all students who are going to take the test have submitted it, edit the assessment and set the Online Submission from Online Test to None. The submitted tests and results will remain, but you’ll now be able to edit the grades for any students that you wish from this assessment. ### ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-online-test-none.png) ### Sharing Online Tests Like all assessments, the teacher shares the results privately with the students by clicking the Share button. Once shared, the student sees a notification of a new result in the Classes panel. When the student clicks on the link, the My Work report appears. The Retake Test button appears if the test is still open. The student can retake the test by clicking Retake Test. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-student-view-submissions-button.png) Clicking on the number of submissions opens the test. The student sees the feedback, the scores for each question, and the correct answers. ## Suggestions for Using Online Testing for Online Teaching While it is common to use a standard quiz on material at the end of a lesson, unit, or block of material, try using Edsby’s Online Testing feature throughout all stages of learning information! Consider creating a study quiz or guided practice quiz for students to complete during a lesson, unit, or block of material. Allow the students with unlimited time so they can work through the questions as they learn the material to solidify their understanding. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/self-guided-quiz.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/self-guided-quiz.png) Or, you can try creating a quiz before a class discussion to assess whether or not your students worked through any supplementary material you provided outside of your class time. This is a great way to encourage your students to be accountable for the asynchronous work you assign. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/check-if-students-did-work-quiz.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/check-if-students-did-work-quiz.png) [Click here for more suggestions on using Edsby for online learning.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [How do I view a class journal?](https://www.edsby.com/help/view-class-journal/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** The class journal is one of the most effective tools on Edsby for communicating learning objectives and student expectations. As such, it is important that parents on Edsby are able to keep track of Journal entries and see what their children are learning. For parents to view class Journal entries on Edsby, they simply need to click on the Classes panel on their homepage. They will then get an expanded list of the classes – including the most recent journal entry. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-journal-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-journal-popout.png) They can then click on “view full journal” to view the entire journal, even if they don’t have permission to enter the class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-full-journal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-full-journal.png) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Parents --- ### [How do I see previous classes?](https://www.edsby.com/help/see-grades-previous-classes/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Your Edsby homepage only displays classes currently active. Once a reporting period/semester is over, finished classes are archived and new ones take their place. If you would like to view grades, assessments and other materials from a completed class, click the word “Classes” in your classes list, or the blue arrow at the top right corner of the Classes Panel. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-popout-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-popout-1.png) This will bring up a new box with a drop-down menu, where you can choose classes from previous terms. Select from the dropdown menu when you want to view classes from. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-previous-classes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-previous-classes.png) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Parents --- ### [What parents see when they log into Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents-see-log-edsby/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** When parents log in to Edsby, they see a home screen that is similar to a teacher’s that contains: **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-first-login-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-first-login-screen.png)** 1. **Schools** and **districts** their children are part of 2. **Applications** like Registration Campaigns 3. **News River** from all schools and districts their children are part of 4. The parent’s **Groups** 5. The parent’s **Personal Schedule** 6. The parent’s **Children** However, instead of a list of classes like a teacher would see, parents are shown a list of all of their children. Within the section for each child, parents will be shown a condensed version of the same information shown on that child’s home screen: ## **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-view-of-children.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-view-of-children.png)** 1. Child’s **Classes** (and an option to view **Report** **Cards** if available) 2. Link to child’s **Portfolio** and **Learning Story** 3. **Recent Activity** regarding any notes, journal entries, or assignments posted in classes by the child’s teachers 4. Options to schedule child’s **Absence** 5. Child’s **Personal Schedule** ## **The Classes Panel** The Classes for each child panel will display a list of all of the classes that the child is currently enrolled in. For each class, the parent will be shown the name of the class as well as the formal name and picture of the teacher. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-panel.png)** If available, parents will find a button to view their child’s Report Cards at the bottom of the Classes Panel. ## **My Work** When the parent hovers over each of the classes in the Class panel, a “My Work” button will be displayed. When the parent clicks that button, they will see all of the assignments and results in that class. If new results have been shared by the teacher since the parent last logged in, they will be notified on the Classes panel. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-viewing-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-viewing-my-work.png)** ### **The Average grade display** If a teacher has turned on the *Show averages to students and parents* option in the class setup, the average for that class will be displayed at the top of the student’s My Work for that class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/the-average-grade-display.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/the-average-grade-display.png) If the teacher has set *Show averages to students and parents* to None, no average will be displayed. ## **Recent Activity** The child’s Recent Activity will contain all of the postings made by teachers in the classes that the student is a member of. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/recent-activity-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/recent-activity-1.png)** Parents are able to Like posts within a class or from the home screen’s Recent Activity feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parent-liking-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parent-liking-post.png) Parents can see if they have liked a post or not. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-like-on-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-like-on-post.png) Teachers will see if a parent has liked a post, however, students and other parents will not. ## **The Calendar** The child’s calendar will contain the amalgamated view of all the calendars of all classes and groups in which the child is a member. **[![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-schedule-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-schedule-1.png)** ## **Parents Entering Classes** If a teacher of a particular class has turned on the *Parents can enter class* option, then clicking on the class in the student’s Classes list will take them into the class. Once in the class, the parents will see the exact same view of the class as the student would. The teacher may have also set the class up so that parents can enter but only posts from the teacher are made visible. In this case, parents are unable to view any posts made by students in the class. A message at the top of the class screen will notify parents of this setup. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/limited-parent-access-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/limited-parent-access-message.png) If the teacher has not turned on the *Parents can enter class* option or the *Parents can open class but only see teacher posts* option, parents will not be able to enter the class. Even if parents are unable to enter a class, they can still view their child’s My Work, Recent Activity, and Schedule from their home screen. --- ### [How to get an Edsby parent account](https://www.edsby.com/help/create-edsby-parent-account/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** If you’re a parent at a school or district that uses Edsby, ask the office at your school for an account on their Edsby system. You can’t just set up an account yourself. Your account needs to be connected to that of your child, or children. So the school must set up the account for you. In most cases, after the school is satisfied that you’re indeed the parent of your child and are entitled to access your child’s information, they’ll send you a special email with a link unique to you. That special email will allow you to set up your Edsby account in seconds and it will be connected to your children’s information. If you’re having problems receiving this invitation email, contact your school. In short, if you’re interested in using Edsby as a parent and having difficulty, it’s always best to contact your child’s school for specific instructions. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Parents --- ### [My report cards grades are different from my Edsby grades. Why?](https://www.edsby.com/help/report-cards-grades-different-edsby-grades/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Many school districts allow their teachers to exercise professional judgement when assigning students’ final grades. So, while Edsby may have reported certain grades to you throughout the school year based on your assessments and how teachers have been weighting them (not all of your tests and exams get the same weight, i.e. are worth the same to your final grade), teachers ultimately may be getting a say. So, if your final grades are different from what you’ve been seeing in Edsby, it’s not a flaw in Edsby. It’s an intentional decision on the part of your school district. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Students --- ### [How do I update my Edsby profile picture?](https://www.edsby.com/help/update-edsby-profile-picture/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Schools and school districts that use Edsby generally choose not to allow students to manage their own profile pictures as a matter of policy. Some import official school pictures as students’ Edsby picture. Some don’t allow any pictures at all and only use a default icon for every student. If your school or district has imported a picture of you that you’d really like to change, speak to the office at your school and they may be able to help you. However, there is no guarantee. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Students --- ### [How to enable online submissions of assignments](https://www.edsby.com/help/submitting-assignments-online-edsby/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** To enable students to submit a file as their work for an assessment, select File Upload on the assessment’s form. You can enable or disable online submissions at any time. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/file-upload-on-assessment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/file-upload-on-assessment-form.png) Students will see a submit button on their home screens and My Work. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-button-on-home-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-button-on-home-screen.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-button-in-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-button-in-my-work.png) Students access My Work from the home screen by hovering over the class name. Students also see a link to My Work inside the class. Students will also see a submissions button in the Recent Activity feed across all their classes, and in the feed of the class in which it was assigned. ### Viewing the submissions To view the student submissions, click on the file icon to open the Grade Gadget. Click View Submissions to view the file. The exact submission time is listed above the file. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-student-submission.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/viewing-student-submission.png) A green checkmark indicates the assessment was submitted before the Due Date’s day and time. A yellow checkmark indicates the assessment was submitted after the Due Date’s day and time. You can change the assessment tag to Received on time if you don’t want the assessment tagged as Received Late. ### Teachers Making Submissions Teachers can also upload their own submissions to an assessment on behalf of a student or to upload a marked version of their assessment. To make a submission, navigate to the Gradebook and click the assessment state or drop-down arrow within the given student’s cell. Select Make Submission. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/make-submission-in-gradebook.png) Using the upload icons, select the file you wish to upload as a submission. Add a comment. Click Submit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/assessment-submission-on-behalf-of-teacher.png) The file will be submitted. The student can view your submission in their My Work Report. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/student-viewing-teacher-submission.png) Note: Making a submission will automatically mark the student as having completed the assessment, even if they have not made their own submission. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Where are my report card sheets?](https://www.edsby.com/help/where-is-my-report-card/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** For school districts using Edsby for report cards, report card sheets are generated for teachers every reporting period which are pre-populated with Edsby gradebook and attendance data to make completing them easier. Usually, these report card forms are made available to teachers near the end of a reporting period at a time chosen by a district administrator. Once the time has come, teachers will see links to the report card forms appear on their Edsby homepages and within the classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/where-report-cards-are-found.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/where-report-cards-are-found.png) If you are a teacher and you do not see a link to the report card sheet for a particular class, it is likely that the class was not properly added to the reporting period. If this is the case, you will also notice that there is no average column in the gradebook and that you are unable to set the weights for assessments within this period. Luckily, this problem can be easily fixed by a school administrator or an Edsby customer support representative. Just contact them with the name of the school and the class so that they can locate it and add it to the reporting period. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Importing a CSV file into Edsby's gradebook](https://www.edsby.com/help/importing-csv-file-edsbys-gradebook/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby allows teachers to import CSV files into the gradebook to generate graded or ungraded assessments. To use this feature, just open the gear menu in the gradebook and select “Import.” [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-button-in-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/import-button-in-gradebook.png) This will open the following form: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/browse-import.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/browse-import.png) Edsby needs to know which values are which, so you will need to match up the required fields in Edsby’s gradebook with the appropriate columns. Most importantly, you need to identify and match the students from the file with the class roster. You can do this using either the Student ID, GUID (Edsby’s unique identifier), or the Student Name. Keep in mind that if you want to match by student name, you will need both the students’ first and last names present in two separate columns in the import file. The drop-down menus will allow you to select which columns in the file are equal to which fields. If the field does not exist in the file, you can also create them as you import. Simply select: “This is for one assessment and I will specify it…” and this will allow you to enter a text value for this field. As you fill out the form, you will see the numbers at the bottom of the form indicating whether or not Edsby is recognizing the fields. If the message is saying that it will import 0 grades, there may be an error or a mismatch with the file you are using. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/gradebook-import-1024x805.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/gradebook-import.png) Once all the fields are selected, clicking the Import button will merge the file data with the gradebook. If the file imports successfully, you will see the new assessment and grades appear in Edsby’s gradebook, planner, and anywhere else you would normally see them. You can also make changes or delete the assessment using the usual tools. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook: Why can a perfect grade cause an average to drop?](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-can-perfect-grade-cause-average-drop/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** If you have a gradebook on Edsby which has a large number of graded and weighted assessments, you may have noticed some peculiar behavior. Sometimes, when you give a student 100% for an assignment, this can actually cause their overall average to drop! Don’t panic, the gradebook and weighting form are working correctly. Before a grade is entered for an assessment, its weighting value is not being calculated with the rest of the values in the gradebook. When the grade is entered, the new weighting is applied and all the values adjust accordingly. Grades which contributed more to the average earlier may contribute less once a new assessment is graded and cause their value and the overall average to drop. In these cases, you will notice that if you change the grade from 100% to 0%, the average still adjusts down accordingly. It is only when there is no grade at all and then a grade is entered that you may see the average drop. This behaviour is confusing, but because grading is so complicated, it needs to work this way. You can always add more weight to the assessment so that its value actually contributes more to the average. Here is a tutorial video which explains weighting in depth: **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook: Do empty buckets have weight?](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-empty-buckets-weight/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Since the buckets in the weighting form always add up to 100%, you may assume that an empty one would automatically subtract its value from a student’s overall average. In Edsby’s Gradebook, this is not the case. If there is an empty bucket, the grading will not include that percentage when calculating the average. To explain further, if there is a weighting bucket with no assessments (or assessments without grades entered), these will never be applied to the final average. Even though the weighting form is setup to total to 100%, if one of the buckets is empty, the weighting numbers will then be applied against each other. For example, say you have four buckets in your weighting form: quiz, test, homework, and project, all weighted the same at 25% each. All the buckets have graded assessments except for the project bucket. In this case, the other buckets (quiz, test, and homework) will adjust and increase their value (relative to each other) to account for the missing 25% that would have been contributed by the project bucket. Effectively, the other three buckets will actually be contributing 33% to the average. Once a grade for a project has been entered, however, the weighting will reset – all buckets will contribute their shown average and the 25% value of the project bucket will be applied as well. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Gradebook: How do I copy the same grade to multiple students?](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-copy-grade-multiple-students/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** This is often useful when an assessment is of the Yes/No variety or other assessments where many students have the same result. Simply enter the grade for a single student, click and hold the bottom right hand corner of that gradebook cell, and drag down to copy this grade to multiple students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dragging-and-copying-same-grade-to-multiple-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dragging-and-copying-same-grade-to-multiple-students.png) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Can I change my Edsby profile picture?](https://www.edsby.com/help/can-change-edsby-profile-picture/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby normally allows teachers and other school/district staff to change their pictures. By default, this is done by clicking on the picture in your profile (click on your name in the top right of any Edsby screen, and select Profile). However, some districts have intentionally disabled this capability and don’t allow staff to change their photos from the default blank or other official school photo they may have uploaded on your behalf. If you’re unclear which applies to you, ask your Edsby administrator or technical prime at your school. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Flagging overdue assessments](https://www.edsby.com/help/flagging-overdue-assessments/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Using the Grade Gadget in the Gradebook, Edsby allows teachers to mark an assessment as Overdue even if the due date has not yet passed. This will be visible on both the student’s and their parent’s Edsby homepage. If e-submission is enabled for an assessment and the submission date has passed, the assessment will automatically be flagged as Overdue if no grade has been entered in the Gradebook by a teacher. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-gadget.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-gadget.png) To remove or change the overdue flag, simply open the Grade Gadget and select a different flag. To display no flags at all, just select “No Status Flag”. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Creating bonus grades and assessments](https://www.edsby.com/help/creating-bonus-grades-assessments/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby allows teachers to create assessments which either contribute to the student’s overall average, have no effect on the average, or are “bonus” and are only able to contribute to the average in a positive way. To create a bonus assessment, select the bonus option under “Grading” on the assessment form. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-bonus-on-the-assessment-form.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-bonus-on-the-assessment-form.png) Like normal assessments, bonus assessments will need to have a grading scheme and a weighting. The only difference is that the bonus assessment will only ever add to a student’s average and never detract from it. Like normal assessments, you can edit the weighting of the bonus assessment either when creating it or afterwards in the Edit Weighting form in the teacher’s Gradebook. Teachers also have the ability to give students bonuses for individual assessments. Currently, Edsby’s Gradebook allows teachers to enter a grade up to 120%. Any higher than this and the grade will be flagged with a yellow exclamation point. Edsby will assume that the grade is a mistake and not use it when calculating the student’s overall average. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-flagged.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/grade-flagged.png) To override this, simply click on the yellow exclamation point. This will bring up a dialogue box which will enable you to allow the grade as it is entered. Once you click “Allow”, the student’s average will adjust accordingly. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Easy navigation between classes](https://www.edsby.com/help/easy-navigation-classes/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Clicking the blue dropdown arrow next to the name of the course enables you to jump to your other classes while staying on the current view. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/class-dropdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/class-dropdown.png) For example, if you are in the gradebook, you can navigate to other gradebooks. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigating-in-gradebook.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigating-in-gradebook.png) If you are in the planner, you can navigate to the Planner of different classes. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigating-in-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/navigating-in-planner.png) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [How do I copy assessments, lessons, and journals to other classes or dates?](https://www.edsby.com/help/copy-assessment-classes-dates/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** You can copy and cross-post assessments from your class Planner by doing the following: - Click on the Planner link across the top navigation bar in a class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planner-in-class-links.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/planner-in-class-links.png) - Click on the “Gear” icon in the top-right corner of the Planner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/gear-icon-in-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/gear-icon-in-planner.png) - Navigate to the assessments, lessons, or journals you wish to copy and place check marks in the box beside each. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-assessment-boxes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/selecting-assessment-boxes.png) - To quickly select an entire unit, select the checkbox below the unit name. All content within the unit will be selected. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/select-unit-in-planner-1024x456.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/select-unit-in-planner.png) - When you’ve selected all you wish to copy, click the Copy button. If you wish to paste this content to a **different** **class**, navigate to that class Planner. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/copy.png) - Scroll to the date you wish to paste the content to and hover your mouse on it. You’ll see a Paste button appear on that date – click it. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/paste-in-planner.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/paste-in-planner.png) If you copy and paste a single assessment, lesson, or journal, it will appear on the selected date. If copying multiple items of content, the first item copied will be pasted on the selected date and the remaining items will attempt to find logical dates that keep the same range as the original content. For example, a teacher copies two assessments dated for Friday, January 10th and Thursday, January 16th, and pastes to Monday, January 20th. The second assessment is assigned to Friday, January 24th, which keeps the number of school days between assessments consistent. The Planner will always attempt to place assessments into dates when the class is scheduled to take place. [Click here to watch a video tutorial of copying and pasting within the Edsby planner.](https://vimeo.com/134109945#t=2m9s) **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Who has access to my classes, and how do I control this?](https://www.edsby.com/help/access-classes-control/) **Published:** February 4, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Within each class is a Setup menu only available to teachers. To access it, click the three line “hamburger” menu at the right of the Classes’ navigation panel and select Setup. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/accessing-setup.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/accessing-setup.png) Within the Class Settings, teachers will find settings for student and parents that govern their level of access to the class. These settings only affect students enrolled in this class and the parents linked to those students. All other student and parent accounts will not have access to this class regardless of these settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-and-parent-class-options-1024x365.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/student-and-parent-class-options.png) Other teachers will not have access to a teacher’s classes by default. If a teacher wishes to allow another teacher access to one of their classes, list their name in the Teachers and Assistants section of the Class Settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/add-teacher-field-1024x320.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/add-teacher-field.png) This will put the class on the other teacher’s Edsby class list and give them the same control over this class as your own – including the ability to add, edit and delete gradebook content. Accounts with office head, vice principal, principal, and IT administrator roles will always be able to access teachers’ classes. **Sections:** Frequently Asked Questions **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Test](https://www.edsby.com/help/test/) **Published:** September 16, 2015 **Author:** admin **Content:** fdasfdsafasdf fdsamfsalkfhkldsaf sdfdsajklbfsdjSDfklsdahfhlfsjds --- ### [News River](https://www.edsby.com/help/submitting-an-article-to-the-news-river/) **Published:** August 10, 2015 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Reordering Classes and Groups](https://www.edsby.com/help/reordering-classes-and-groups/) **Published:** August 10, 2015 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers, Students, Administrators --- ### [Taking Attendance](https://www.edsby.com/help/attendance/) **Published:** August 10, 2015 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Importing Grades](https://www.edsby.com/help/gradebook-2-3/gradebook-importing-grades/) **Published:** November 7, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers that use software that captures student grades can import the information into the Gradebook. The minimum requirements to import assessments and grades are: 1. The software must produce a csv file that includes student names or student IDs, grade, and scheme. If the export includes a date, multiple assessments can be imported. 2. If the software only produces a list of student names, they must exactly match the names. To import one or more assessments, do the following: 1. Navigate to your Gradebook. 2. Click on the Gear icon, and choose Import. Dates are required to import more than one assessment. 3. Click Browse and locate the .csv file or drag and drop the file to the Import form. The information exported by your software is mapped to the fields required by Edsby. 4. Select a Unit. 5. Click Import. In the example, two assessments will be imported. Teachers can review the grades for each student. [![gradebook import](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gradebook-import.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gradebook-import.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Perspective](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective/) **Published:** September 3, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Perspective provides the teacher with an overview of academic achievement, personal observations, and attendance. The information is provided at a class and student level. The Perspective takes the vast sea of numbers in the gradebook and presents them in a way that enables teachers to identify students at risk and discover learning and behavior trends. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-in-class.png) ## Perspective Analyze The Perspective’s Analyze page takes data from Evidence and Gradebook and enables teachers to see the results of both types of assessments in one place. A teacher can choose to analyze the data by strands, standards, evidence tags, assessment types, units, weeks, or months. The results can be summarized by a variety of methods and the teacher can choose what to include in the data. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-Analyze-overview.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/all-students-perspective.png) For more information about The Perspective’s Analyze page, [click here](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/perspective-analyze/). ## Perspective Graph The Perspective Graph includes all assessments and all students. Hover over the line for more information about the assessment and the student. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-Graph-opening.png) The focus of the graph can be changed with the selection lists. For example, if a teacher wanted to compare how students were doing on tests and on assignments, they would change All Assessment to Test and then to Assignment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-graph-assessment-types.png) Zoom in and out of the graph using the + and – buttons. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/perspective-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/perspective-zoom.png) To zoom in on a specific section of the graph, click the magnifying glass icon and click and drag to highlight a section of the graph. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-graph-zoomed-in.png) Use the hand icon to pan on the graph. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/perspective-panning.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/perspective-panning.png) Click the home icon to return the graph to its default settings. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reset-perspective.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reset-perspective.png) Click the menu icon to save the graph. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/save-perspective.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/save-perspective.png) ## Utilizing the Perspective Graph Teachers can focus on a student by choosing the name from the list of students. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-graph-choose-a-student.png) Just like the class view, use the selection lists to change the focus of the graph. At the student level, teachers have additional options that enable them to compare the student to the class or view the assessments by weighting buckets or assessment types. Click Class Comparison to add the average of all other students to the graph. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-graph-class-comparison.png) Clicking Show By Assessment Type will display a line for every assessment type. Hover over an item in the legend, and the associated data will be highlighted. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-graph-assessment-type-focus.png) Click Show by Weighting Bucket, to view each bucket graphed separately. Hover over the legend to focus on one bucket. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-graph-show-by-weighting-bucket.png) ## Assessments in Perspective The Assessment section of the Perspective lists: – Incomplete assessments – Upcoming assessments – Graded assessments, including the weight the assessment is contributing to the calculated average – Ungraded assessments ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-assessments-overview.png) Below each assessment, teachers can view a student’s submissions, discussions, and any Grader annotations for that assessment. Teachers can also view the student’s grade when the teacher has graded the assessment. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Perspective-assessment.png) The selection lists can be used to filter the assessments list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/selection-lists.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/selection-lists.png) ## Standards The Standards section of the Perspective lists all of the standards, expectations, or outcomes relevant to the course as well as the student’s performance on each one, if they have been assessed by the teacher. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-standards-overview.png) Teachers can assess the student’s performance on each standard directly from this screen by hovering over a standard and selecting a performance level. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-standards-gradinng.png) Teachers can look at the overall standards assessed in a class for all students by selecting All Students from the drop-down list. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-all-students-standards.png) Each standard will show how many students have been assessed on it, how many assessments have been linked to the specific standard, as well as any lesson plans that have been linked. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/students-assessed-assignments-lesson.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/students-assessed-assignments-lesson.png) Teachers can assess all students on a particular standard quickly by clicking on a standard and selecting a performance indicator as well as typing an optional observation for each student. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-standards-grade-all-students.png) ## Attendance in Perspective The Attendance section lists the days the student was marked late or absent. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-attendance.png) Teachers can look at an overview of the lates and absences for all students in their class by selecting All Students from the drop-down list. ## ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Edsby-Perspective-all-students-attendance.png) ## Previous Report Cards The Previous Report Cards section lists completed, in progress, and upcoming report card periods. Each student’s Perspective is available when you are preparing report cards for submission. To view the Perspective, click the Perspective button at the bottom of the screen. The Esc key hides and reveals the Perspective. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/previous-report-cards.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/previous-report-cards.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Your parent account and what you can see as a parent](https://www.edsby.com/help/your-parent-account/) **Published:** September 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby collates information about each child and presents it in a way that is clear and easy-to-understand. At the top of the page, parents will see a News River from each of their children’s schools. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/news-river.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/news-river.png) Parents are an important part of the school’s family. They have their own groups and calendar. When an event is added to one of your groups, it will automatically be added to your calendar. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-groups-and-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-groups-and-schedule.png) For each child – even if they go to different schools – parents will see all their teachers and classes on their Edsby homescreen. Hover over the class name to see the My Work button. [My Work](https://www.edsby.com/?p=3718 "My Work") provides information about academic progress, upcoming assessments, and current assessments. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-viewing-my-work.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-viewing-my-work.png) Each child has a Calendar that automatically includes all tests and events from this child’s classes and groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/childs-schedule.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/childs-schedule.png) Parents see teacher notes, new assignments, and journal entries with information about what is being taught in class in Recent Activity. Recent Activity gives parents a great insight into a child’s school day. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/recent-activity.png) Parents are able to Like posts within a class or from the home screen’s Recent Activity feed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parent-liking-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parent-liking-post.png) Parents can see if they have liked a post or not. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-like-on-post.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-like-on-post.png) Teachers will see if a parent has liked a post, however, students and other parents will not. In addition to Recent Activity, many schools permit parents to open Edsby classes to view teacher created content. #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/limited-parent-access-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/limited-parent-access-message.png) ## Example of Parent Homescreen When parents log in to Edsby, they see a home screen that is similar to a teacher’s that contains: #### [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-first-login-screen.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-first-login-screen.png) 1. **Schools** and **districts** their children are part of 2. **Applications** like Registration Campaigns 3. **News River** from all schools and districts their children are part of 4. The parent’s **Groups** 5. The parent’s **Personal Schedule** 6. The parent’s **Children** However, instead of a list of classes like a teacher would see, parents are shown a list of all of their children. Within the section for each child, parents will be shown a condensed version of the same information shown on that child’s home screen: [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-view-of-children.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-view-of-children.png) 1. Child’s **Classes** (and an option to view **Report** **Cards** if available) 2. Link to child’s **Portfolio** and **Learning Story** 3. **Recent Activity** regarding any notes, journal entries, or assignments posted in classes by the child’s teachers 4. Options to schedule child’s **Absence** 5. Child’s **Personal Schedule** --- ### [Managing the School Calendar](https://www.edsby.com/help/administrator-quick-start/managing-the-school-calendar/) **Published:** September 18, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** School Administrators can add events to the School Calendar. The School Calendar is located on the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-calendar-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-calendar-1.png) School events will appear on everyone’s Edsby home screen and on the school page. However, only class events will appear in the class calendar and only group events will appear in a group calendar. This is how School Calendar events appear on a teacher’s home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-events-in-calendar.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/school-events-in-calendar.png) All school events are indicated by a purple icon in personal, class, group, and school calendars. ## Adding a new event to the school calendar Click on the school name in the upper left corner. Click the New Event icon on the school calendar. Fill in the Event form and click Save. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/new-event.png) The event can be edited or deleted by clicking on the Event name or hovering over the Event name and clicking Edit. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-event.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/edit-event.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Managing the News River](https://www.edsby.com/help/managing-the-news-river/) **Published:** September 18, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Everyone likes to be up to date with the latest news and Edsby makes that easy. The News River is located at the top of everyone’s home screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/News-river-with-content.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/News-river-with-content.png) In Edsby, schools and districts can publish news to the News River. When individuals log into Edsby, they will see the News River at the top of their Home Screen with news that is relevant to them. A teacher teaching at one school will receive news from the district and school. A parent with children at two different schools in the district will receive news from both schools and the district. Staff working at multiple schools will receive news from each school they are associated with. ## **Creating News Articles** To add an article to the News River, navigate to the School Page. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-an-article-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/submit-an-article-1.png) Click Submit an Article at the top of the page and fill in the form with a title, content, and image. For best results, select an image with dimensions 1024 px by 520 px. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/submit-an-article-form-234x300.png) News River articles also support attachments. To add an attachment to the article, click one of the attachment icons depending on the style of the attachment. Click Submit. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/add-attachment-to-news-article-300x260.png) The article is added to the School Page pending approval. Until approved, the article is only visible to school administrators. Administrators have the choice of approving, editing, or rejecting news articles: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/approve-edit-or-reject-article-300x203.png) Once it is approved, other Edsby users will see the news headline for this item in the News River like this: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/news-river-icon.png) Articles with attachments have a visual indicator. When users click on the news headline they will see the complete article: ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/full-article-204x300.png) Attachments can be viewed or downloaded from either the desktop browser or a mobile device. Staff and students can submit articles, however, only school administrators can approve them. This enables teachers and students to contribute to the school news, while giving the school administration the opportunity to edit, and perhaps reject, an article. Use the buttons at the bottom of the article to Edit or Unapprove to remove it from the school feed the article. Or, click the gear icon to set a Show or Expire date. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/edit-or-unapprove-300x203.png) To delete a news article, hover over the article, and click the trashcan icon that appears. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [What do parents see when they login to Edsby?](https://www.edsby.com/help/what-do-parent-see/) **Published:** September 17, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** When parents log in to Edsby, they see a home screen that is similar to the teacher home screen, however, instead of a list of classes, parents are shown a list of all of their children. Within the section for each child, the parents will be shown a condensed version of the same information that is shown on that child’s home screen – the child’s Classes, Calendar, and Recent Activity. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/parents-first-login-screen-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/parents-first-login-screen-copy.png) ## **The Child’s Classes Panel** The Classes for each child panel displays a list of all of the classes that the child is currently enrolled in. For each class, the parent will be shown the name of the class as well as the formal name and picture of the teacher. Parents will not be able to enter the class unless enabled to do so by the class teacher in the Class setup form. Parents never see the list of students enrolled in a class for student privacy reasons. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/classes-panel-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/classes-panel-copy.png) ### **The Child’s My Work** When the parent hovers over each of the classes in the Class panel, a “My Work” button will be displayed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/parent-viewing-my-work-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/parent-viewing-my-work-copy.png) When the parent clicks that button,they will see a graph composed visible assessments with shared results. Using the tab above the graph parents can view their child’s upcoming assessments and assessment results, a list of all expectations/standards/observations and their child’s level of success, a record of attendance, and previous report cards. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/perspective-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/perspective-copy.png) If new results have been shared by the teacher since the parent last logged in, they will be notified on the Classes panel. ### **The Child’s Average grade display** If a teacher has turned on the *Show averages to students and parents* option in the class setup, then the average for that class will be displayed at the top of the student’s My Work for that class. If the teacher has set *Show averages to students and parents* to Don’t Show, the average will not be displayed. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-average-to-students-and-parents-option-copy.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-average-to-students-and-parents-option-copy.png) ## **The Child’s Recent Activity** The child’s Recent Activity will contain all of the postings made by teachers in the classes that the student is a member of. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/recent-activity-copy-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/recent-activity-copy-1.png) Parents are able to Like posts within a class or from the home screen’s Recent Activity feed. Teachers are able to see Likes from both parents and students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/viewing-likes.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/viewing-likes.png) However, parents will only see whether they have liked a post or not and students will only see likes from faculty and other students. ## **The Child’s Calendar** The child’s calendar will contain the amalgamated view of all of the calendars of all of the classes and all of the groups of which the child is a member. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-calendar-schedule-copy-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/personal-calendar-schedule-copy-1.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edsby for Students](https://www.edsby.com/help/student-overview-of-edsby/) **Published:** September 12, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Students --- ### [Navigating between classes](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/navigating-between-classes/) **Published:** August 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers can navigate between classes they teach from any screen. Click the drop-down arrow to view the list of classes the teacher teaches. When a teacher navigates to another class, the current view stays for the new class. For example, if the teacher is in the Gradebook, they can navigate to Gradebooks of their other classes. If they are in the course plan, they can navigate to other course plans. Teachers can navigate to the feed of other classes they teach by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the name of their current class in the class feed and selecting a new class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dropdown-arrow-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dropdown-arrow-1.png) Teachers can navigate to the Gradebook of other classes they teach by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the name of their current class in the Gradebook and selecting a new class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gradebook-dropdown.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gradebook-dropdown.png) Teachers can navigate to the Attendance, Planner, Perspective, Course Plan, Seating Plan, and Evidence of other classes they teach by clicking the drop-down menu next to the name of their current class in any of these screens just like the examples above. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Printing a Student List](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/printing-a-student-list/) **Published:** August 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers can view and print rosters of students in their classes. Within each Edsby Class, teachers see a Student panel, which lists students currently enrolled in the class. it is only visible to teachers. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/student-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/student-panel.png) Teachers can click Students to open the panel to access additional actions. The window first shows Portrait View which displays photos or initials of all students in the class. Clicking a student will show the teacher their Edsby Panorama. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Class-Student-Panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Class-Student-Panel.png) Teachers may print a student list by clicking Roster. Teachers can customize the student list to the number of columns they desire. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Student-Panel-choices.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Student-Panel-choices.png) To display the names of the students in a simple list view, try a 1 column roster. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1-column-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1-column-roster.png) To display the names of students with multiple columns, for example, for a checklist, experiment with more columns. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/multiple-column-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/multiple-column-roster.png) Teachers may adjust the height depending on how much space they desire in each row. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/different-heights.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/different-heights.png) Choose how to sort the names in the list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/sort.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/sort.png) To show column titles, click the checkbox. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-column-titles.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/show-column-titles.png) Teachers can add titles or leave them blank to write in later. Once the roster has been customized as desired, click Print. ## [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Student-Panel-choices-print.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Student-Panel-choices-print.png) ## Using Class Lists for Online Teaching Teachers may print a class roster to keep track of who has participated in a class. Teachers may find it useful to copy or export a list of students for use in an external program. For example, try copying the names of your students into a website like classroomscreen.com to quickly make groups of students for breakout discussions in class. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classroom-screen-with-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/classroom-screen-with-groups.png) Set the roster to one column. This creates a simple list of names. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1-column-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1-column-roster.png) Move your cursor to highlight the list and click Ctrl+C to copy. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/highlight-roster-names.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/highlight-roster-names.png) Navigate to a program that makes groups out of a list of names and paste the list. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pasting-names-in-list.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pasting-names-in-list.png) Teachers can also easily export student lists to use as a csv file by clicking Export. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/export-roster.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/export-roster.png) [Click here for more suggestions on using Edsby for online learning.](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/suggestions-for-teachers-using-edsby-for-online-learning/) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [My Students Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/a-guide-for-teachers/my-students-zoom-3/) **Published:** August 19, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** On the Home Screen, just below the Calendar, teachers have a My Students Zoom view for detailed information on the students they currently teach. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/my-students-zoom-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/my-students-zoom-panel.png) The Students Zoom provides teachers with the following information for each student: - Name - Homeroom Teacher - Gender - Grade - Student ID - The current class the student should be in and one of four attendance states: Unknown, Present, Absent, or Late - Risk indicators based on Edsby’s data on the student - The student’s current average, which is calculated across all current classes using all graded summative assessments - The student’s total number of absences and lates in the current term - The total number of portfolio items and a red bubble counter of new portfolio items - The status of parent accounts associated with the student - The student’s total number of approved community service hours - The time of the student’s last login to Edsby [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/my-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/my-students-zoom.png) Teachers’ My Students Zoom includes the Last Active time for students. The Parents column includes the number of parent accounts that have been activated and the last time a parent logged into Edsby. In the below example, Lisa Lee has two parents with activated accounts, and a parent logged in 1 day ago. Amy Handy has three parents, but only one has an active account and the last time a parent logged into Edsby was 6 days ago. Shirley has two parents, one who logged in 3 weeks ago. Robert Patterson’s parents have received invitations to activate their accounts but have not done so yet. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-and-last-active.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/parents-and-last-active.png) This report lists all of a teacher’s current students and enables teachers to monitor academic progress and attendance issues. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/breakdown-of-my-students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/breakdown-of-my-students-zoom.png) 1. Mini Profile Hover over a name get to Send Message button. Click on a name or a photo to go to the Panorama.2. Risk IndicatorsThe red circle highlights the number of classes the student is failing. The red square indicates the number of classes in which the Subjective Performance Indicator has been set to Unsatisfactory. The Subjective Performance Indicator is the first column in the Gradebook. 3. Overall AverageAverage of the calculated average from all classes. Click on a name to go to the Panorama to see individual class averages.4. Attendance totalsClick on the blue link to see a list of dates, reasons and comments.5. PortfolioThe number of articles on the student’s Portfolio. The unread counter indicates articles that the teachers has not seen.## Mini-Profile Teachers may hover over the name of anyone in Edsby to access their mini-profile. Teachers can hover over the name of any of their students from the My Students Zoom to view quick options to send the student a message or view their Perspective, Panorama, or Portfolio. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/student-mini-profile.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/student-mini-profile.png) Teachers can also view the student’s current class, their last activity on Edsby, and the last time a student’s parent or guardian accessed Edsby. ## Attendance Summary Report of Student The Attendance Summary Report provides teachers with a one-page overview of a student’s attendance history. Teachers may view the Attendance Summary Report from the My Students Zoom or from the Panorama’s attendance totals. To view the report, teachers may click on the student’s attendance totals. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/attendance-summary-report-from-student-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/attendance-summary-report-from-student-zoom.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Personal information](https://www.edsby.com/help/account-settings-3/personal-information/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Personal Information displays information about a student that only administrators and the student can see. Students can use it to find their Student ID if they forget it. Information found in the Personal Information window includes: - Full name - Student ID - Address - Phone numbers - Parent names - Locker number ## Accessing Personal Information Students can access through their Settings. Click the menu icon in the top left on mobile and select Settings. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/clicking-student-mobile-settings.png) Click Personal Information. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/student-clicking-personal-info.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [What parents can see in Edsby](https://www.edsby.com/help/parents-can-see-edsby/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** What parents see in Edsby is almost identical to a student’s view of Edsby. There is typically no difference between the student and parent view of an Edsby feature. For example, parents can see their child’s schedule. The default schedule the student sees on their Edsby home screen is identical to the schedule the parent sees. All the images on this page are taken from the parent’s view of Edsby. ## What parents will see The following features in Edsby are always visible to parents, regardless of teacher settings: - Classes panel [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/aspects-of-classes-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/aspects-of-classes-panel.png) - Journals [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/classes-popout.png) - Recent Activity [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/recent-activity.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/recent-activity.png) - Upcoming assessments (My Work) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/upcoming-assessments-in-my-work.jpg) - Graded assessments (My Work) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/graded-assessments-my-work.jpg) - Incomplete Assessments (My Work) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/incomplete-assessments-my-work.jpg) - Private questions asked through My Work [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/looking-at-private-questions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/looking-at-private-questions.png) - Attendance history *(Students do not have access to this view of attendance)* ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/parent-viewing-child-attendance-report.jpg) - Portfolio [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/portfolio.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/portfolio.png) - Learning Story [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-view-of-learning-story.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parent-view-of-learning-story.png) - Schedule (including personal events) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-schedule-1.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/student-schedule-1.png) *Sometimes a school or district will turn off a feature entirely, in which case neither parents or students can view it. However, if any of these features exist in the school’s build of Edsby, parents can view them.* [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Note-Edsby-5.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Note-Edsby-5.png)Note: Parents can see their child’s portfolio, but students can choose which posts their parents see. Students have the opportunity to change who can view a post while creating or editing a portfolio post. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/portfolio-visibility-options.jpg) --- ## What parents might see The following features may or may not be visible to parents depending on district, school or teacher settings: - Class page [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/limited-parent-access-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/limited-parent-access-class.png) - Student’s comments on class posts [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/see-class-discussions.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/see-class-discussions.png) - Overall average [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overall-averge.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overall-averge.png) - Subjective performance indicator [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/subjective-performance-indicator.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/subjective-performance-indicator.png) - Report cards [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-see-report-card.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-see-report-card.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Note-Edsby-6.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Note-Edsby-6.png)Note: If a feature in this list is available to students, it’s generally also available for parents. For example, **if a student can see their overall average, it’s likely their parents can also see the student’s overall average.** The exceptions are the class feed and student’s comments on class posts. Many schools restrict parents’ access to the class feed and student comments. --- ## What parents will not see The following features will never be visible to parents, regardless of school, district or teacher settings: - Mailbox messages [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-cant-see-message.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/parents-cant-see-message.png) - Personal notifications [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notification-icon.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/notification-icon.png) - My Groups [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-groups-panel.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/my-groups-panel.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Note-Edsby-7.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Note-Edsby-7.png)Note: Even though parents can’t see which groups their child is a part of, they can still see the group events in their child’s schedule. They can also see the group page of the child’s groups if they join the group, however, not all groups are visible to parents. There is no way for students to determine within Edsby whether or not a group is visible to parents **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Forgotten passwords](https://www.edsby.com/help/account-settings-3/forgotten-your-password/) **Published:** August 14, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** If a student forgets their password, they should click “Forgot password?” on their Edsby login screen and follow the instructions on the screen. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/forgot-password.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/forgot-password.png) In some cases, a student may not have access to the e-mail associated with their Edsby account or the forgot password button may be unavailable. Luckily, teachers, the principal, guidance counselors and any IT staff can reset student passwords. **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Students --- ### [Journal summary](https://www.edsby.com/help/journal-summary/) **Published:** August 13, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** [![Popout](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Popout.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/?attachment_id=3569)By clicking the pop out at the upper right of the class panel on your home screen, the journal summary will appear. [![Class pop out](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Class-pop-out1-580x258.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/?attachment_id=3541) The journal summary shows you the most recent journal entry from each class, and under the class name lets you know how many lates and absences you have. From the journal summary you can navigate to the full journal of any of your classes or to the classes themselves. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Full-journal-580x167.jpg)](https://www.edsby.com/?attachment_id=3546) --- ### [Groups Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-groups/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Groups Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all groups created at the school and various types of information regarding them. Administrators can access the Groups Zoom from the right side of their home screen in the panel below the name of the school. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/groups-zoom-location.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/groups-zoom-location.png) The Groups Zoom provides the following information regarding each group defined at the school: - The icon of the group - The name of the group - The type of the group (regular, sports, club, professional learning) - The style of membership (open or closed) - Who the group is visible to - Whether or not the group has automated membership - The number of members in the group - A list of the moderators of the group - The number of posts in the group - The time of the most recent post in the group [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-groups-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/overview-of-groups-zoom.png) The Groups Zoom facets are used to select a subset of groups. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/groups-zoom-filters.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/groups-zoom-filters.png) This subset can then be used to create a message addressed to all the selected group moderators or group members. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/different-message-options-for-group.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/different-message-options-for-group.png) The Groups Zoom shows all groups created by anyone at the school. Simply click on the group name to view the group. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/list-of-groups.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/list-of-groups.png) This provides a good mechanism for administrative staff to have visibility into the kinds of conversations that are happening in the groups at the school. Consequently, it would be unwise for a few teachers to create an invitation-only group called “Surprise Party for the Principal” since the principal would likely see that group in the Groups Zoom! **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Staff Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-staff-2/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Staff Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all staff members in the school and information pertaining to them. Administrators can access the Staff Zoom from the right side of their home screen in the panel below the name of the school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Edsby-zooms-overview-175x300.png) The Staff Zoom provides the following information regarding each staff member: - Name - The staff member’s role in Edsby (“principal” for example) - Title (“Grade 5 Teacher” for example) - The grade levels this person is currently teaching - The subjects the person is teaching - The number of classes this person is currently teaching - The number of grades published by the staff member - The time of this person’s last login to Edsby - The current status of the teacher this period (either “in class” or “free”) ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Edsby-Staff-member-overview-300x32.png) The Staff Zoom facets can be used to find a specific subset of staff members (for example, all the teachers teaching Grade 11 students). Administrators can also filter staff members by entering a title, for example, searching Guidance will show a list of all the Guidance staff at their school. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Edsby-staff-zoom-filters-300x165.png) Administrators can then use this specific subset of teachers with options of activities like messaging them or inviting them to a group. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Edsby-staff-zoom-send-message.png) ## Manually Adding Staff Members Administrators can choose to add staff members from other schools in the district to their school. By manually adding staff to the school, it provides them access to school groups, the school page, and other school functions. This can also be used to add co-teachers from the district to classes at their school. To manually add staff members, click the drop-down arrow and select Add Staff. Type the name of the staff member who will be added. In this example, Mr. Ham is adding Tamara Glidewell, who will be a substitute for one of his teacher’s. She teaches at another school, so she will need to be manually added. Click the name of the staff member. Administrators can add multiple staff members at a time. When the correct staff have been chosen, Administrators can choose a from date and an until date. In this example, the from date indicates that this staff member will not be added to the school until June 13th. The until date indicates that this staff member will be removed from the school on June 24th. Click Add. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Edsby-staff-zoom-add-staff-300x161.png) The staff member will be listed in the Staff Zoom with a message that states the staff member was manually added, by whom, and when. ### Removing an added staff member Administrators can remove staff members they previously added manually. For example, if the teacher will no longer be a substitute at the school. Next to their name in the staff zoom, click Remove. Confirm the removal. They will no longer be listed in the staff zoom and will no longer have access to school information. Removing staff members will also remove them from any Groups they are enrolled in. If administrators have included an until date when adding staff, they will be automatically removed from the staff zoom. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/remove-staff.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/remove-staff.png) ## Teacher Details Clicking on the name of a staff member in the Staff Zoom opens their Teacher Details page. This page displays all information imported from the Student Information System for a given staff member including: - Any Classes they teach - Contact Information (address, phone, email) - Username - Account Activity ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/teacher-details-page.png) The page also includes options to suspend the staff member’s account, reset their password, or view their Account History. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/suspend-account-reset-password-show-history.png) Clicking *Show History* displays any changes made by the Student Information System as well as manual changes to a staff member’s Account Settings. Information here can help track down where changes have been made and by what system or person. In this illustration, a Senior Admin can see the teacher updated their Account Settings and changed their profile picture and that William Ham, the Principal, changed fields in the Information section of Julie Breton’s Details page. ![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/teacher-history.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Students Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/help/zooms/zoom-students/) **Published:** February 7, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** The Students Zoom provides school administrators with a list of all students in the school and information pertaining to them. Administrators can access the Students Zoom from the right side of their home screen in the panel below the name of the school. It is only available to school administrators – not any other role. The Students Zoom provides administrators with the following information for each student: - Name - Gender - Grade - Student ID - The current class the student should be in and one of four attendance states: Unknown, Present, Absent, or Late - Risk indicators based on Edsby’s data on the student - The student’s current average, which is calculated across all current classes using all graded summative assessments - The student’s total number of absences and lates in the current term - The total number of portfolio items and a red bubble counter of new portfolio items - The status of parent accounts associated with the student - The student’s total number of approved community service hours - The time of the student’s last login to Edsby [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/students-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/students-zoom.png) [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/risk-indicators.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/risk-indicators.png)Some students have risk indicators, which help teachers identify those who may be struggling at school. This includes failing classes (1), receiving a Need Improvements for their subjective performance indicator in a class (2), and repetitive lates or absences (3). ## Creating filtered student lists The Students Zoom facets can be used by school administrators to find a specific subset of students (for example, all the boys in Grade 9 with averages around 80%). They can then use this specific subset of students to do things like create a message automatically addressed to all the students, the parents of the students, or the parents and the students. Here is an example of how a school administrator can use the Students Zoom to locate a student. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Searching-for-student-name.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Searching-for-student-name.png) To send a message to all 333 of grade 10 students, the school administrator would click the “10” in the Grade Facet. Then click Message Students. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-students.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/message-students.png) The Students Zoom can help school administrators find students with high absenteeism, either by clicking on the Attendance summary column headers or setting a range in Absences. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filtering-by-attendance-states.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/filtering-by-attendance-states.png) The Reason Away section of the Students Zoom Facet lists all the reasons students are away in the current period. Use it to find out who is away now and why. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reason-away.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/reason-away.png) ## Attendance Summary Report of Student The Attendance Summary Report provides a one-page overview of a student’s attendance history. The Attendance Summary Report can be viewed by educators with permissions to see it from the Student tab in the Attendance Zoom, the Student Zoom, or from the Panorama’s attendance totals. In the Student Zoom, administrators can search for a student’s name in the search bar to view their Attendance Summary Report. To view the report, click on the student’s attendance totals. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/attendance-summary-report-from-student-zoom.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/attendance-summary-report-from-student-zoom.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Administrators --- ### [Journal](https://www.edsby.com/help/classes-3/journal-2/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teachers use the Journal to communicate learning objectives and student expectations. Edsby pulls together the Journals from all a student’s classes and creates a summary to enable the student to see everything at a glance. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/student-sees-journal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/student-sees-journal.png) To create a Journal, click Journal. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/journal-in-class.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/journal-in-class.png) Journal entries will appear in the class activity feed and the Journal area of the class based on the date of the journal. Journals with today’s date or a previous date will be shared in the activity feed and Journal area immediately. Journals with future dates will appear in the activity feed and Journal area on the Class Date. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-of-journal.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/view-of-journal.png) Clicking the pop out icon will display a comprehensive list of all journals and their dates. Students can view all Journals, past, present, and future through their Planner link. [![](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/journal-popout.png)](https://www.edsby.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/journal-popout.png) **Sections:** Learn About **Roles:** Teachers --- ### [Edsby for Parents](https://www.edsby.com/help/edsby-for-parents/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Parents --- ### [The Panorama](https://www.edsby.com/help/the-panorama/) **Published:** February 6, 2013 **Author:** admin **Content:** **Sections:** Videos **Roles:** Administrators, Teachers --- ## Case Studies ### [Powering collaboration and education records in New Zealand](https://www.edsby.com/case-study/new-zealand-te-rito/) **Published:** July 25, 2025 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Te Rito, powered by Edsby and Unison, is New Zealand’s national K-12 education data and collaboration platform that securely centralizes learner information and enables seamless support and engagement for students, families, and educators across the country. --- ### [Edsby at The American School in Japan](https://www.edsby.com/case-study/edsby-at-the-american-school-in-japan/) **Published:** March 2, 2023 **Author:** admin **Content:** This 1,700-student private school selected Edsby in 2017 over all other systems, because, in the words of the director of technology, “Edsby checked all the boxes. Teachers got access to info and a gradebook that can do qualitative standards-based feedback. The fact it also had calendaring and messaging was even better.” --- ### [Edsby at Greater Essex County District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/case-study/edsby-at-greater-essex-county-district-school-board/) **Published:** April 28, 2022 **Author:** admin **Content:** This district has been using Edsby since 2016 to give administrators and teachers a simple, powerful way to communicate with students and families, while also fostering collaboration and managing digital instruction. “The messaging service is fantastic,” says one teacher. “Personally, I appreciate it very much. I don’t need to get any more emails. I really don’t.” --- ### [Edsby at Durham Catholic District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/case-study/edsby-at-durham-catholic-district-school-board/) **Published:** July 23, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Leadership of a 22,000-student district was surprised when its teachers rejected freemium LMS apps they’d been using in favor of the district moving entirely to Edsby. Why? Edsby gave them easy ways to assess and report to local educational standards. And because “Edsby’s gradebook is superior to any other gradebook we have seen; it looks like it was created for us.” --- ### [Edsby at Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board](https://www.edsby.com/case-study/edsby-kawartha-pine-ridge-district-school-board/) **Published:** June 6, 2016 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby—the biggest tech rollout this district has ever done—has become core of the cloud strategy of Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, a district of 34,000 students. Educators across the district describe Edsby as a game-changer, helping provide students, parents and teachers with everything they need in one fast, easy-to-get-to place. --- ### [Edsby at St. Andrew's College](https://www.edsby.com/case-study/edsby-at-st-andrews-college/) **Published:** May 3, 2014 **Author:** admin **Content:** “Edsby is the most important application at our school for teaching and learning,” says the IT Director of the one of the leading private all boys’ boarding schools in North America. St. Andrew’s College has been pushing the limits of Edsby since 2012. Students and their parents use Edsby to see their daily schedule, their homework, assignments, grades, attendance and more. Years after the college adopted Edsby, “people still thank me in the halls,” says one of the people responsible for selecting Edsby. --- ## Integrations ### [Entra ID](https://www.edsby.com/integration/entra-id/) **Published:** August 1, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Edsby can integrate with your organization’s Microsoft Entra ID—formerly Azure Active Directory—system to allow known, authenticated users already managed for you by Microsoft to use Edsby without having to sign in separately. Have your technical contacts [work with Edsby support](https://service.edsby.com) to connect the two systems for you. **App Categories:** Authentication --- ### [OneRoster](https://www.edsby.com/integration/oneroster/) **Published:** August 1, 2011 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** 1EdTech’s OneRoster standard solves an education organization’s need to securely and reliably exchange roster information, course materials and grades between systems. OneRoster supports the commonly used .csv mode for exchange and the latest real-time web services mode known as REST. Edsby supports OneRoster as a method of integration with student information systems (SISes) if no richer integration is available. Classes, students, teacher and other information can be obtained from the student information system through OneRoster, and grades from Edsby can be passed back to the SIS. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [TOSM](https://www.edsby.com/integration/tosm/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** The Trevlac Online Student Management (TOSM) system is the 4th generation of the Trevlac software. Trevlac went from being a service bureau in the 1970’s serving schools across Canada to a software developer in the early 80’s providing in-house, MS-DOS-based software for schools to manage their students. The company is proud that one of its major clients has been using either its services or software for over 45 years, and another major client has been using its software for over 30 years. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [SchoolMessenger](https://www.edsby.com/integration/schoolmessenger/) **Published:** October 28, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** SchoolMessenger is a leading system for school districts to deliver high volumes of messages to parents quickly and efficiently. During tough winter months, it’s not uncommon for SchoolMessenger to deliver hundreds of millions of messages via voice, text, email, social media, web, and push notifications. SchoolMessenger integrates with Edsby programmatically. Contact SchoolMessenger or Edsby to connect the two systems together. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [PowerSchool](https://www.edsby.com/integration/powerschool/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** PowerSchool SIS is a dominant student information system in North America and certain other countries around the world. It has evolved over more than twenty years and been expanded with complementary products by a variety of owners. Today, it now offers school districts and other organizations a wide range of functions. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Proctortrack](https://www.edsby.com/integration/proctortrack/) **Published:** April 26, 2021 **Author:** admin **Content:** Proctortrack, a leading online proctoring and trusted identity verification company, offers a live and automated proctoring solution integrated with Edsby to deliver high levels of exam integrity at scale. Proctortrack provides five levels of proctoring: 1. ProctorLock: Web Browser Lock 2. ProctorAuto: 100% Automated Remote Proctoring 3. Proctortrack QA: 99% Accuracy with our QA hybrid model 4. ProctorLive AI: Live Proctoring with AI 5. ProctorDIY: Do-It-Yourself instructor-driven proctoring For more details, visit [www.proctortrack.com](https://www.proctortrack.com/) or book a demo at . To configure Proctortrack to work from Edsby, follow Edsby’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) guidelines [here](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/). **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Follett Aspen](https://www.edsby.com/integration/follett-aspen/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Aspen provides real-time insights to help school districts understand and respond to the needs of their students, classes, schools, and district in an effective and timely manner and communicate with everyone who has a stake in each student’s education. With a single, centralized database, data only needs to be entered once as it populates throughout the Aspen platform. The one database approach saves time for every user – including busy front office and IT staff – by eliminating the need for duplicate data entry or data synchronization. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Mayet](https://www.edsby.com/integration/mayet/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Building positive client relationships translates into building better software. Since its inception, Mayet has focused on listening to its clients and developing a synergy of ideas and methods that drive its product development. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Twine](https://www.edsby.com/integration/twine/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** TwineSIS characterizes itself as the simplest, most cost effective SIS for schools using Edsby. It says it helps schools achieve their goals, making it easy to manage data and enable meaningful online collaboration. TwineSIS is the only data management console purpose-built for schools using Edsby. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [OAuth](https://www.edsby.com/integration/oauth/) **Published:** August 1, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Edsby supports the single-sign-on technology OAuth. In addition to SSO client integration, Edsby is also capable of acting as an OAuth Server. This means that should the district or other organization wish, other services may perform OAuth authentications against Edsby, which enables SSO for those services. **App Categories:** Authentication --- ### [Veracross](https://www.edsby.com/integration/veracross/) **Published:** July 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Trusted by more than 600 private schools around the globe, the Veracross school management platform is designed to support every aspect of an independent school. Streamline day-to-day tasks for teachers, improve student outcomes, and foster transparent communication with families in a user-friendly system with data at its core. The Veracross Open API features 200+ integrations with leading edtech solutions and learning management systems like Edsby, Canvas and Google Classroom. [More about Edsby and Veracross >](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-and-veracross/) **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Edsembli](https://www.edsby.com/integration/edsembli/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Edsembli’s cloud-based SIS allows school districts to streamline the collection and management of student information in a way that empowers their teachers, students, and educators. Built from a deep understanding of K-12 schools, the company’s jurisdictionally-compliant cloud platform integrates with existing tools to transform the learning experience, ensuring teachers have everything required to help their students thrive. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [KAMAR](https://www.edsby.com/integration/kamar/) **Published:** August 1, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** KAMAR, published by [KAMAR](https://www.kamar.nz), is a student management system (SMS) designed by New Zealand teachers for New Zealand Schools. It is a leading SMS system in New Zealand. Staff have almost 50 years of combined teaching experience. KAMAR’s capabilities are so extensive they make some third party products redundant, according to [the company](https://www.kamar.nz). **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Turnitin](https://www.edsby.com/integration/turnitin/) **Published:** April 4, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** Turnitin’s formative feedback and originality checking services promote critical thinking, ensure academic integrity and help students improve their writing. Turnitin provides instructors with tools to engage students in the writing process, provide personalized feedback, and assess student progress over time. Turnitin’s applications are used by more than 30 million students at 15,000 institutions in 140 countries. Turnitin is headquartered in Oakland, Calif., with offices around the world. [Here’s how Edsby sites can connect Edsby to their Turnitin accounts >](https://www.edsby.com/help/turnitin-lti-tool-configuration/) **App Categories:** Originality checking --- ### [Helix](https://www.edsby.com/integration/helix/) **Published:** August 27, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Helix is a cloud-based student management system built for New Zealand secondary schools. With a range of features, Helix provides tools to manage student data, administration, finances and communications, all in one place. It seamlessly and securely shares data with over 200 other systems via application programming interfaces (APIs). **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [NOVA](https://www.edsby.com/integration/nova/) **Published:** July 31, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** ReDirections’ NOVA SIS was created by a school, for a school. It is part of a suite of software specifically for private schools, colleges, and universities. NOVA SIS keeps track of student-family communications history, grades, attendance, reporting and more. It offers all critical SIS features in one easy to use and affordable product. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Maplewood](https://www.edsby.com/integration/maplewood/) **Published:** August 1, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Maplewood’s connectEd was an SIS popular in the Canadian province of Ontario, that, at its height, managed student data for 2,000 schools in the province. Maplewood was acquired by Edsembli in 2019 and was used as the basis for Edsembli’s eponymous SIS. Edsby still has a direct integration with Maplewood for school districts and others that remain on connectEd. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Ravenna](https://www.edsby.com/integration/ravenna/) **Published:** August 1, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Ravenna Student Management helps K-12 private schools serve their students and families with efficiency, transparency, and speed. Formerly BigSIS (which itself was formerly InResonance), Ravenna helps independent schools increase efficiencies, attract more families, and maximize resources by unifying the digital campus. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Custom SISes](https://www.edsby.com/integration/custom-sis-sms/) **Published:** August 1, 2010 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Edsby uses published APIs and open standards to connect to any commercial or proprietary student information (SIS) or student management (SMS) system. For those requiring other approaches, the company employs a [wide variety of other technologies and techniques](https://www.edsby.com/technical-details/integration-not-duplication/). Edsby has more than a decade of experience connecting to esoteric legacy systems, even on mainframes, and asserts that there is no student information or management system that it cannot treat as its source of truth. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Google SSO](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-sso/) **Published:** August 1, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Edsby can integrate with your organization’s Google account to allow known, authenticated users already managed for you by Google to use Edsby without having to sign in separately. Have your technical contacts [work with Edsby support](https://service.edsby.com) to connect the two systems for you. **App Categories:** Authentication --- ### [eTAP](https://www.edsby.com/integration/etap/) **Published:** July 31, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** eTAP is a leading student management system (SMS) used in New Zealand’s primary and intermediate schools. It offers a complete school administration package, with teacher planning, evidence based-assessment, live reports, notifications, mobile apps, and more. It has partnered with the New Zealand Ministry of Education on its [Te Rito](https://terito.govt.nz/) project based on Edsby. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Aeries](https://www.edsby.com/integration/aeries/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Aeries Student Information System is the most widely-used SIS in California, with over 45% of all student population managed through Aeries. Its mission is to deliver industry-leading student data management system software while providing unequaled customer service and innovative solutions for K-12 education. Aeries is constantly enhanced to include new features and functionality to meet the ever-changing needs of K-12 education. The company considers itsrelationship with its clients to be a partnership towards their students’ success. Together, they work to define the goals of the initial project, create a strategic plan for implementation, and establish communication and support for ongoing success. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Xello](https://www.edsby.com/integration/xello/) **Published:** April 18, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Xello, formerly Career Cruising, is college and career readiness software that helps students transform their aspirations into personalized, actionable plans for success. Schools and districts that already have a Xello [subscription](https://xello.world/en/get_started/) can connect their Xello accounts to Edsby. To configure Xello to work from Edsby, follow Edsby’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) guidelines [here](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/). **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Zoom](https://www.edsby.com/integration/zoom/) **Published:** March 12, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Zoom helps schools improve student outcomes with secure video communication services for hybrid classrooms, office hours, administrative meetings and more. Districts that already have a Zoom business or better subscription can connect their Zoom accounts to Edsby for pre-configured electronic video and audio conferencing within Edsby classes and groups. Edsby has [built-in integration](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms-microsoft-teams-zoom-edsbylive/) with Zoom. [Contact Edsby support](https://www.edsby.com/support/) to connect your Zoom account with your Edsby server. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Microsoft Teams](https://www.edsby.com/integration/teams/) **Published:** March 11, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Teams is Microsoft’s unified communication and collaboration system that combines voice and video, text chat, screen sharing, file storage and more. In K-12, Teams can be used to bring real time conversations into Edsby. Extend Edsby classrooms and groups with voice and video, connect with colleagues in professional learning communities through Edsby and more. Teams is part of Microsoft 365. Edsby has [built-in integration](https://www.edsby.com/edsby-k12-lms-microsoft-teams-zoom-edsbylive/) with Microsoft Teams. [Contact Edsby support](https://www.edsby.com/support/) to connect your Teams account with your Edsby server. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Paper](https://www.edsby.com/integration/paper/) **Published:** March 14, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Paper, formerly GradeSlam, is an on-demand, chat-based tutoring service available across all subject areas. Sessions are conducted via chat, creating a learning environment that allows students to interact with their tutor. Schools and districts that already have a Paper subscription can connect their Paper accounts to Edsby. To configure Paper to work from Edsby, follow Edsby’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) guidelines [here](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/). **App Categories:** Other --- ### [netTrekker](https://www.edsby.com/integration/nettrekker/) **Published:** July 5, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** Knovation’s netTrekker makes it easy to find, to organize, and to share free digital content for learning. Knovation’s curriculum experts professionally evaluate, tag, standards-align and continuously maintain a collection of hundreds of thousands of online resources covering all subject areas, all grades and all learning resource types. Since 1999, Knovation has delivered on the promise to do something good for kids, every day by helping districts and organizations that serve them meet the needs of diverse K-12 learners in digital learning environments. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Microsoft Outlook](https://www.edsby.com/integration/microsoft-outlook/) **Published:** December 19, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby users can synchronize their Edsby calendar information from Edsby to their Microsoft Outlook calendar. That means Edsby class, group, school and district events can automatically appear in Outlook’s calendar and any mobile devices synchronized with the Outlook calendar. [Syncing Edsby calendars with Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook >](https://www.edsby.com/help/sync-edsby-calendars-outlook-google-calendar/) **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Google Calendar](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-calendar/) **Published:** December 19, 2018 **Author:** admin **Content:** Edsby users can synchronize their Edsby calendar information from Edsby to their Google Calendar. That means Edsby class, group, school and district events can automatically appear in Google Calendar and any mobile devices synchronized with the calendar. [Syncing Edsby calendars with Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook >](https://www.edsby.com/help/sync-edsby-calendars-outlook-google-calendar/) **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Bark](https://www.edsby.com/integration/bark/) **Published:** June 14, 2017 **Author:** admin **Content:** Bark is an online service for parents that scans children’s digital activity for cyberbullying, sexting and signs of depression or suicidal thoughts. Bark has won awards from The National Parenting Center, Mom’s Choice Awards, and National Parenting Product Awards. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Imagine Everything](https://www.edsby.com/integration/imagine-everything/) **Published:** January 31, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Imagine Everything’s Content Manager helps K-12 schools and districts create and maintain public school websites easily and affordably. When integrated with Edsby, news posts published by staff in Edsby can appear on schools and districts’ websites without any extra work. Just post news to students, staff and parents in Edsby, and designate the news as public, and the same news appears on the official website. Contact Edsby or Imagine Everything to configure integration between the two systems. **App Categories:** Web publishing --- ### [Websby](https://www.edsby.com/integration/websby/) **Published:** April 22, 2019 **Author:** admin **Content:** Websby is an add-on third party system that allows Edsby customers to publish fully featured public websites for their school districts, and even individual schools. Sites leverage the content and approval systems that already exist in Edsby, and their appearances can be as customized or standardized as desired. With Websby, school districts and individual schools can dramatically lower the costs and efforts of keeping their public websites up to date. **App Categories:** Web publishing --- ### [Google Hangouts Meet](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-hangouts-meet/) **Published:** March 16, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Hangouts Meet is Google’s system that combines voice and video, text chat, screen sharing, captioning and more aimed at helping keep learning going outside of school. In K-12, Hangouts Meet can be used to bring real time conversations into Edsby. Extend Edsby classrooms and groups with voice and video, connect with colleagues in professional learning communities through Edsby and more. Hangouts Meet is part of Google’s G Suite for Education. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Cisco Webex Meetings](https://www.edsby.com/integration/webex/) **Published:** April 20, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** One of the original online conferencing systems, Webex is supporting teachers, faculty, parents/guardians and students in their transition to virtual learning. Integrate Edsby with Cisco Webex Meetings to get everyone engaged and comfortable in this new style of learning with virtual classrooms. **App Categories:** Other --- ### [EssayJack](https://www.edsby.com/integration/essayjack/) **Published:** August 11, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** EssayJack is a web-based writing tool that helps students structure written documents and reduce writing anxiety. Educators can customize it, create assignments, use templates, allow peer review and upload resources. Ranked as one of the top English Language teaching digital innovations in the world by the British Council and Cambridge English. Schools and districts that already have an EssayJack subscription can connect their EssayJack accounts to Edsby. To configure EssayJack to work from Edsby, follow Edsby’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) guidelines [here](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/). **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Scholastic Classroom Magazines](https://www.edsby.com/integration/scholastic/) **Published:** December 10, 2020 **Author:** admin **Content:** Scholastic’s well-known print magazines also include powerful digital resources to build knowledge, skills and excitement. A wide variety of magazines are available for different grade levels and in a number of languages. Schools and districts that already have a Scholastic Magazines subscription can connect their accounts to Edsby. To configure Scholastic Magazines to work from Edsby, follow Edsby’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) guidelines [here](https://www.edsby.com/configuring-app-integrations-via-lti/). **App Categories:** Other --- ### [Google Workspace for Education](https://www.edsby.com/integration/google-workspace-for-education/) **Published:** July 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Google Workspace for Education is a suite of Google tools and services tailored for schools and districts to collaborate, streamline instruction, and keep learning safe. It is available in a set of editions, from basic functionality for free to more capabilities in commercial editions available for annual per-student fees. Read more about the [benefits of integrating Edsby with Google Workspace for Education](https://www.edsby.com/google/). **App Categories:** Document platform --- ### [Edge](https://www.edsby.com/integration/edge/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** The Edge student management system (SMS) is a comprehensive solution for management of New Zealand school needs. It simplifies administrative tasks, streamlines communication and creates a better learning journey for staff, students and their whānau. The Edge SMS supports New Zealand schools every step of the way, from streamlining enrolment processes to managing student records, capturing academic performance and everything else in between. Edge is New Zealand’s fastest growing total​​​​​​​ school management package. **App Categories:** SIS --- ### [Microsoft 365](https://www.edsby.com/integration/microsoft-365/) **Published:** July 19, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Eligible institutions can sign up for Microsoft 365 Education for classrooms at no cost. The free bundle includes online Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Copilot plus additional classroom tools. More capabilities are available in commercial editions available for annual per-student fees. Learn about the benefits of [integrating Edsby with Microsoft 365](https://www.edsby.com/microsoft/). **App Categories:** Document platform --- ### [Blackbaud](https://www.edsby.com/integration/blackbaud/) **Published:** July 18, 2024 **Author:** Dallas Kachan **Content:** Gain efficiencies and end data stress with Blackbaud’s student information software solution that enables K-12 private schools to easily manage attendance, academic records, schedules, grading, and much more. Hundreds of private schools are benefiting from Blackbaud’s student management solutions and optimization services. **App Categories:** SIS ---