How to Support Your GBMS Student Using Canvas & PowerSchool

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Canvas & PowerSchool Provide a Complete Picture

• ASSIGNMENTS

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• Due dates

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• Rubrics (grading criteria)

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• Course materials (articles, videos, etc)

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• Can turn in assignments and take assessments & get feedback

• GRADES

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• Class Schedule

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• Attendance

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• Fees

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• Request Electives (Spring)

Accessing Canvas

How to Register as an Observer on Canvas

1. Use a laptop or desktop computer to register as an Observer in your student's Canvas account.
2. Click on this URL for Canvas: https://op97.instructure.com/login/canvas

(Please bookmark this URL to use going forward.)

• Click on “Parent of a Canvas User?” Complete information including student pairing code.
• IMPORTANT: The username is cap sensitive. For example, if your student’s address is Abc123 you cannot use abc123.
• Pairing code can be found in your student’s account. Click on “Account” and then on “Settings”
• Click on “ Pair with an Observer” and then pairing code will pop up.

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To add another student using the same email address used to register your first student:

1. Go to Settings and then click on Observing.
2. Add an additional username & password for each additional student

What Parents NEED to Know...

What are the key things I need to know about Canvas as a parent/guardian?

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Notification Preferences

• Go to “Settings” to customize your notifications.
• Choose “Notifications” to decide how frequently you would like to receive notifications about activities in your student’s classes.

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Navigation

• From the home screen, choose “Courses” and then choose a course in your student’s class list.
• Once you have selected a specific course, click on “Home” for current class information, and check out “Modules” for class assignments and activities.
• You can also click on CALENDAR and view assignments in an easy-to-read calendar format or view all assignment for all classes in a checklist format by date from DASHBOARD.

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Grades

• All grades that will be used as evidence of learning will be entered into PowerSchool, even through many assignments may have scores or grades displayed in Canvas, not all are counted in the grade.
• Teachers have the ability to grade and give feedback in Canvas for those assignments turned in via Canvas. However, ALL grades that will be used as evidence of learning will be entered into PowerSchool.

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The Focus of Canvas is Assignments

• ASSIGNMENTS

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• Due dates

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• Rubrics (grading criteria)

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• Course materials (articles, videos, etc)

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• Can turn in some assignments and take assessments & get feedback

• GRADES

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• Class Schedule

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• Attendance

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• Fees

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• Request Electives (Spring)

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How to Use Canvas to Stay Organized with School Work

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Parent Role:

• Show your student you care and are supportive of their learning, & remind him/her of your expectations
• Have regular conversations with your student about their learning, progress at school, and possibly areas they need to show improvement
• Set up a Parent Observer account in Canvas to stay informed about learning and assignments
• Check Canvas with your student regularly to find out more your child’s learning experience in school

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How to Use Canvas to Stay Organized with School Work

Student Role:

• Attendance and timeliness to school are important
• This is the time to earn trust to monitor your own performance...
• Check Canvas each day for assignments, class materials, resources
• Make a “to-do” list when doing homework
• Break up long term assignments over multiple nights
• Check Canvas for work missed if absent

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Dashboard - List of all Assignments

Parent Tip : Once an assignment is submitted, it will be checked off on the Dashboard or a line will be struck through it on the calendar, unless it is a paper submitted assignment

The Calendar Gives a Snapshot

Parent Tip: Your student can use Canvas Calendar to see work and due dates for all classes in one place.

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Student Account: Assignment Detail

Can click on assignment in calendar to view more details about assignment.

Assignment Submission

Assignment Submission is where students may turn work in, if turned in electronically.

Assignment Submission

Assignment Detail gives key information. Assignment submission detail would appear here, if turned in electronically.

Assignment Feedback

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The Submission Details link is a place where teachers can share feedback for students on an assignment.

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Feedback is also visible and can be clicked on from the DASHBOARD view.

What Happens if it Doesn’t Work

Canvas Troubleshooting Tips:

• You can use any other web browser on other devices
• Send teacher a note as soon as it becomes a problem:
• Teachers are very understanding as long as they know ahead of time
• Take a photo of assignment and email and/or turn it in via hard copy
• Both Canvas and PowerSchool have extensive “Help” resources you can access within your account.

The Focus of PowerSchool is Grades

• ASSIGNMENTS

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• Due dates

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• Rubrics (grading criteria)

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• Course materials (articles, videos, etc)

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• Can turn in some assignments and take assessments & get feedback

• GRADES

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• Class Schedule

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• Attendance

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• Fees

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• Request Electives (Spring)

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Log-In Information

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• To login, go to the Brooks homepage and find our PowerSchool link in menu on left

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Need to Create a Parent Account?

• Be ready with the information shown here.
• If you do not have your “Student Access Information,” please contact the main office. This is shared with all families at the beginning of each school year.

Click to find lunch balance

Click to email teacher

Review absences and tardies to each class and total

Click to see details behind total grade

Can see due date,

category (formative vs summative) and item description

Can see status of item: whether it has been turned in, was turned in late, is missing, etc.

How to Use PowerSchool to Check Assignment Submission and Grades...

Parent Role:

• Engage in conversation about school each day
• Decide how often your student should check PowerSchool and share with you their performance/progress
• Have a conversation with your student if you notice performance sliding and ask your child to develop a plan, if needed offer suggestions but let them decide the steps to take.

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How to Use PowerSchool to Stay Organized With Homework & Grades...

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Student Role:

• Attendance and timeliness to school are important
• Check PowerSchool on a weekly basis
• Monitor current grades & individual assignments
• Communicate with teachers about missing work
• Develop a plan if student has missing work or low performance on summative assessments

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Best Practices & General Tips

Set aside time each week to talk with your child. During this time, do the following:

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1. Ask your child to share with you their work plan for the week. If they need support developing a plan, walk through the Canvas calendar with your student and provide examples on how to create a work plan for the week ahead. Make a note of what assignments, projects, or assessments are happening and also of tasks your child needs to do in order to be prepared- help to create a task list/calendar for your student to keep them organized.

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• Have your child develop a system for remembering what they should have for school every day. If they are forgetting, discuss alternative strategies and allow student to decide how to adjust their system

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• Decide how often your student should check PowerSchool and share with you their performance/progress and show you examples of work they have completed on their Chromebook.

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• Encourage your student to self-advocate as questions come up

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REMEMBER: Each teacher creates a different learning ecosystem in their classrooms but are always available to help!