Administrator Manual Updated Summer 2012

Transcription

1 Administrator Manual Updated Summer 2012 Page 1 of 28

2 Rights Appraisal Administrator Principal/Manager District Appraisal Viewer Vice Principal/Limited Appraiser District Appraiser Campus Walkthrough Appraiser District Walkthrough Appraiser District Walkthrough Viewer Campus Walkthrough Viewer PDAS Management Roles and Rights Roles Appraise Staff X X View Appraisals X View All Appraisals X X Appraise All Staff X Create Walkthrough Templates Create Appraisal Templates Create District-Wide Comments X X X Conduct Campus Walkthroughs X X X Conduct District Walkthroughs X X View District Walkthrough Evaluations X X X View Campus Walkthrough Evaluations X X X X Upload Documents to Blank Documents Report Area Create Group Evaluations Assign Group Evaluations to Appraisers X X X Page 2 of 28

3 General Options The general options allow Appraisal Administrators to customize and set district level options for PDAS. Go to the Manage Tab > General Options. Message Options Tab Evaluation Available Message: Use this to customize messages that are sent once an evaluation is available to view. This affects every evaluation in the district. Principal Confirmation s: Check here to send a confirmation to the primary appraiser when evaluations are completed by a different appraiser. Notification Sender: Click here to send s as "NOREPLY" instead of emulating the evaluator or using the appraiser s address who created the evaluation. Appraiser Status s: Select this option to give appraisers the ability to set up status reminders. Staff Reminder s: Select this option to send weekly reminders to staff members that have not viewed or signed evaluations. PDAS Exempt Options Self Report Option: Choose whether or not your district requires the self-report to be completed by every teacher. Exemption Tracking: Enable PDAS Exemption tracking for principals by checking this option. If checked, principals will be able to choose the next available school year that the staff member will need a full evaluation. Page 3 of 28

4 Appraisal Options Appraisal Attachments: Give appraisers the option to attach external documents (file attachments) by checking this. In addition, checking the box gives staff members the option to attach external documents. Appraisal Comments: Enable evaluator and staff comments to be added to evaluations using this option. Evaluation Locking: Check this box to lock evaluations once teachers have viewed them. Locking prevents any changes and deletion. Report Logo District Report Logo: Use the Browse button to locate a file to upload. Click Upload to set that file as the logo for reports. This logo will appear on all reports, walkthroughs, and custom evaluations. Make sure the image has a white or transparent background and 1 inch by 1 inch dimensions. Image File: The uploaded logo will display here to show which file you have uploaded. Document Removal The document removal utility will allow you to remove documents for a given user. Removed documents cannot be recovered. This utility is only active for users with the PDAS Appraisal Administrator security role. 1. Click the Select User button. 2. Search for a user by entering a first or last name. 3. Highlight the selected user s name and click Select User button. 4. Select a document and then click Remove Document. Page 4 of 28

5 Electronic Signatures Enabling Electronic Signatures in System Management The first step to enabling electronic signatures is to choose the option in System Management. Only System Administrators have the capability to enable or disable electronic signatures. First, check the box I have read and accept the above agreement. Then toggle the Enable Electronic Signatures button. This is the acceptable use agreement text: The electronic signature feature enables the district to implement a substantial paperless process in participating SchoolObjects applications. The process is outlined below, although eduphoria! strongly advises that the district consult with their legal counsel regarding the appropriateness of using electronic signatures. The electronic signature process: 1. Electronic signatures are enabled under SchoolObjects management by a person granted administrative access rights. 2. A person granted administrative access rights for that application then enables the feature in applicable SchoolObjects applications. 3. Staff members must select a security question and provide an answer, which is encrypted and stored in the district s SchoolObjects database. Staff members should not share this information with other staff members. 4. To sign a document, a staff member must authenticate against Active Directory, edirectory or using SchoolObjects authentication, as well as provide the answer to the security question. 5. Electronic signatures are stored in an archive table, which does not allow updates or deletions. A complete removal of the database table will cause the electronic signatures to be erased. A solid backup solution should be implemented by the district. The district is responsible and indemnifies and holds eduphoria! harmless for any and all losses, liability, or damages arising out of, or incurred in connection with, the district s use of SchoolObjects electronic signatures. Page 5 of 28

6 Once enabled and used, system administrators can view PDFs of specific signed documents. Search by signature ID, staff member name and/or start and end dates. Then click Search. All documents meeting the search criteria will appear in the list. Double-click on a document to open the PDF version. Note: Enabling electronic signatures in System Management will make the feature available in PDAS and FormSpace. However, just like in PDAS, electronic signatures have to be enabled within the specific FormSpace application. Enabling Electronic Signatures in PDAS Once Electronic Signatures are enabled in System Management, they can then be made available within SchoolObjects:pdas. Electronic Signatures: Use the first option to enable or disable electronic signatures for evaluation documents. If enabled, you can then select which types of evaluation documents can be electronically signed. Signature Refusal: Enabling these options will allow staff members and evaluators to indicate a refusal to sign. The first option allows a staff member to refuse to sign a document. The second option allows an evaluator to indicate that the staff member has refused to sign. Essentially the evaluator is signing a refusal for the staff member. NOTE: Electronic signatures must be enabled by a system manager for the above options to appear. An agent of your district must enable this feature for you. Page 6 of 28

7 Using Electronic Signatures in PDAS Once evaluation documents have been created and marked viewable, the electronically sign icon will appear for both evaluators and staff members being appraised. This icon allows both the evaluator and the teacher to sign the document electronically. Either party can sign the document first. Click on the icon to electronically sign the document. A pop-up box will appear with the names of the two parties who need to sign the document. Page 7 of 28

8 Each party needs to provide the following data: 1. SchoolObjects UserName 2. SchoolObjects Password 3. Unique Security Question Answer Click Electronically Sign Document to submit data. Report Alert In the Reports Tab for Administrators and Principals, an Unsigned Documents Report can be created. The unsigned documents report lists appraisals that have not been electronically signed and have been marked viewable by the appraiser. Preset Evaluation Comments Preset Evaluation Comments are district-wide comments that allow appraisers to automatically add text to Comment sections within PDAS observations and summatives. To create preset evaluation comments for observations and summatives, go to the Manage Tab > Preset Evaluation Comments. To enter comments: 1. Expand a domain to show the three areas: Comments, Strengths, and Areas to Address. 2. Click on one of the three areas to create comments for that area. 3. Enter a comment in the top text box and click Add Comment. 4. Select a comment in the bottom list to edit or remove that comment. Page 8 of 28

9 Note: Comments can be copied and pasted from other electronic documents. Within observations and summatives, administrators can click on the dialog bubble icon to view and then add these pre-loaded comments. Page 9 of 28

10 Upload Documents Upload documents enables you to load blank appraisal documents to the Blank Reports for Appraisers. This is a storage location for documents related to appraisals. Examples of documents might include a waiver form, scoring guide, etc. 1. Give the document a title. 2. Check whether this document should show on the Blank Documents Report. 3. Click Upload New Document and browse for the file. NOTE: These documents are not available for teachers to download within SchoolObjects:pdas. eduphoria! Community The eduphoria! Community is a shared space that allows school districts to share their templates with other districts. This refreshes the most current templates shared from the server. Browse the templates and if you want to use one in your district, click the Import Template button. Once imported, edits and changes can be made for your own document. Page 10 of 28

11 Manage Appraiser Alerts PDAS enables you to send a mass to district appraisers regarding appraisal deadlines or other notifications. You should not enter new alerts for dates that have already occurred. To Add a New Alert: 1. Click New Alert under Appraiser Alert Options. 2. Enter the Subject of the alert. 3. Select the Alert Date, or date the alert will be ed. 4. Enter the Alert Text. 5. Click Save, and the alert will appear under 'Upcoming Alerts.' 6. Once an alert has been sent, it will appear under 'Past Alerts.' NOTE: This is only an for appraisers. Appraisers then can forward the reminder to their staff as needed. Archiving Appraisals & Summer Actions Archive Appraisals allows you to reset self reports and archive evaluation documents. This is an important maintenance item after ending a school year and before starting a school year. The evaluations will be converted to PDF, and they will not be able to be modified. The archived documents will stay connected to each teacher. These documents can be viewed alongside documents for the current year under separate headers that will be labeled with the previous school year. Caution: Documents converted to PDF cannot be changed once the archive process runs. Before your Archive: In the System Management Application, create a new school calendar for the upcoming year. This can be completed by any system administrator. School Calendars > Create a New Calendar The most important information to enter in the calendar is the first instructional day and the last instructional day for the upcoming school year. Page 11 of 28

12 To Archive Evaluations or Reset Self Reports: 1. Select the Items to Reset. **See note below.** 2. Select the Items to Archive. 3. Choose the correct start and end dates to include documents you would like to archive. NOTE: When you reset the Teacher Self Report submit dates, it will return all self reports to teachers and the information they filled in will remain. If you reset the Teacher Self Report Content, the information on the self reports will be erased and the teacher will need to fill out the report again. Click the Schedule Archive Process button in the top toolbar. NOTE: The process will run overnight, to save your server connection time. To cancel the process, click the Cancel Archive Process before the next day. To run the process immediately, you can click the Run Nightly Process Now button and the items chosen will immediately be archived. Page 12 of 28

13 Walkthrough and Evaluation Templates PDAS allows districts to create multiple walkthrough templates for staff members, custom evaluation forms for classified personnel, and group evaluations for staff to evaluate administrators or programs anonymously. Building Walkthrough Templates The district can create two types of walkthrough templates: 1. Simple templates that are not scored. These walkthroughs include basic data collection of check boxes, matrix ratings and text boxes. 2. Advanced templates with calculations. These walkthroughs include data collection where values are associated with a rating and scores can be calculated. Simple Walkthrough Templates Creating a new template: 1. Click Manage Tab > Walkthrough Templates. 2. Click on New Template under Walkthrough Options. 3. When the wizard appears, type a title for the new template, and click Next. 4. Choose whether or not to copy an existing template. If you decide to copy from an existing one, select it from the list. Otherwise click Next without selecting one. 5. Click Finish to create the new template. Page 13 of 28

14 Select the template from the Walkthrough Templates list. Three tabs appear: Template Information Edit the title. Change the template icon by clicking on the image to open a window of icon options. Change template scoring options. Edit Template Build the walkthrough template. Preview View the template as appraisers will see it. Edit Templates Tab 1. Add a New Group A group is like a section. Items exist within a group, so you have to create a group first. Give the group a title. Select the title to edit it as needed. Add a New Matrix Group This type of group will include a title, rows, and columns. Add a New Item These are items to be added to a New Group only, not a Matrix Group. Delete select a group or item to remove it. 2. Up and Down arrows Use these to change the group order. Select the group. (The title will become bold.) Move up or down in the list. Page 14 of 28

15 1. First, add a New Group. Name it and click update. 2. Add a New Item These are items to be added to a New Group only, not a Matrix Group. Items include: Check Box - allows the appraiser to make selections by clicking the box Check Box with Text - allows the appraiser to type text next to the Check Box. A common example would be when you have an 'Other' option and the appraiser needs to enter text. Comment Box - allows the appraiser to enter text Instructions non-interactive, general instructions (The appraiser does not enter any information.) 3. Select the group to add items. 4. Choose New from the drop-down list and choose New Item. 5. Type the name of the new item under Item Name and choose the type of item from the drop-down list. 6. Enter the appropriate text and make sure to click Update after each change. Matrix Group 1. Add a New Matrix Group. 2. Enter the name and instructions which are optional. 3. Click on Columns button. Add the titles. There can be a maximum of five (5) columns. Click Update. 4. Click on the Rows button. Type the item in the text box, and then click Add Row. There can be any number of rows added. Use the Edit Row and Remove buttons to modify rows. Page 15 of 28

16 Preview Tab Once you have added all of the necessary groups and items for the template, click on the Preview tab to view the appraisal as apprasiers will see it. Save changes to the template. Print - view a PDF version of the template. Delete Template - delete the entire walkthrough template including all groups and items. If you edit a template, you can click Update Existing Walkthroughs to update any walkthrough templates already completed. Note: Use caution when updating an existing template, as any additions/changes will be automatically added to previously created templates that are active and not archived. Weighted Walkthrough Templates Weighted Templates work best when using Matrix Groups and Check boxes in a walkthrough. There are several options when choosing scoring, such as averaging and totaling groups and the entire template. Setting up the calculations takes some trial and error. Before deploying a template, it is best to test your scored template out on a practice staff member to confirm that it is built correctly. In order to assign weights to a template, first create a new template and add groups and items to the template as described in the Simple Walkthrough Templates section. Page 16 of 28

17 Template Information Tab: 1. Choose advanced, with calculations. 2. Select the score method you would like to use on the walkthrough template. Edit Template Tab: On this tab, you can edit the Walkthrough Scale and assign weights to each item. Once you change a template from simple to Advanced with Calculations, the Walkthrough Scale will appear in the Edit Template tab. The Walkthrough Scale allows you to generate a value (either number or text) for the entire walkthrough template if you choose to calculate a score for the evaluation (in Template Scoring.) This feature is optional. 1. Click on Walkthrough Scale. 2. Enter the Scale Items, Lower Number, and Upper Number. 3. Click Update Page 17 of 28

18 .. Assign weights to items (check boxes) within a group:. 1. Click on the group name. 2. Click on the item. 3. Enter the item value. 4. Click Update. 5. Repeat the process for each item in each group. Assign weights to columns in a matrix group: 1. Click on the matrix group name. 2. Click on Columns. 3. Enter the value for each item in the list of columns. 4. Click Update. Page 18 of 28

19 Building Custom Evaluations Custom Evaluations can be created to evaluate non-pdas staff and classified personnel, such as paraprofessionals, counselors, nurses, librarians, administrators, and almost any other position in the district. Custom evaluations can be built with two sections: one for the evaluator to complete and one for the staff member to complete. The key is to make sure all staff members have SchoolObjects accounts to be able to access their evaluations electronically. If you are transferring a paper document to this electronic format, remember you may have to make some adjustments to the template when creating it in SchoolObjects:pdas. To create a custom evaluation form: 1. Click Manage Tab > Custom Evaluation Forms. 2. Click New Form. 3. Type the form title. 4. Select whether to create a new form or copy an existing form. Classic editor - gives more question templates to use when creating the form. Advanced editor - uses the same walkthrough interface form editor and allows the evaluation form to contain calculations. 5. Click Next, then Finish. The form editing process is divided into three main views. You can change between these views using the Form View button on the left side of the toolbar. Publish View is the default view. Use this view to Save the form for future editing Publish or Un-Publish the form to finalize it and make it available for appraisers to use, or Delete Form to permanently remove this form. Staff Form View is used to create the evaluation section the staff member will complete. Evaluator Form View is used to create the evaluation section the appraiser will complete. Page 19 of 28

20 Classic Editor Creating and editing questions: 1. Click on Add Question to create a new question, and then choose the type of question. 2. To begin editing the new question, select the "Click to edit question" text. 3. Depending on the type of question, fill out the necessary options such as the question text and options text. Click Save to complete the question. Use this whenever any changes are made to a question. The new question will appear in the list exactly as it will appear in the form. This is your Preview. You can create as many questions as needed. Delete Question removes question from template. Up and Down Arrows change the order of the questions. Repeat the same process for the Evaluation Form View. If both the staff member and evaluator are to complete the same questions, use the Copy Questions to Evaluator Section or Copy Questions to Staff Section rather than recreating the questions. When completely satisfied with the form, return to the Publish View and Save the form. When the form is ready for use, click Publish to make it available for appraisers to access. If you need to make changes, you can click Un-Publish to return the form to its un-published state. Advanced Editor The advanced editor uses the same interface as described in the Building Walkthrough Templates section. To create, edit, and score evaluation documents, please refer to the instructions on building simple or weighted walkthroughs in this section of the manual. The same views and functions apply as the classic editor. Page 20 of 28

21 Group Evaluations Group evaluations can be created in the Manage Tab by Appraisal Administrators. The templates are created using the same editor as Walkthrough templates. These evaluations are then assigned to specific staff or appraisers. Group evaluations can be used to evaluate administrators based on who they appraise (Reciprocal/360) and to evaluate programs or specific staff. These evaluations are completely anonymous; the software only calculates totals and percentages of the evaluations submitted. Only the total number of people that completed the evaluation will be tracked not individuals. Create New Group Evaluation 1. Manage Tab > Group Evaluation Templates 2. New Group Template > Complete Wizard 3. The same options are available here as when creating and editing a Walkthrough template. (Please refer to the Building Walkthrough Templates section for instructions on how to create the evaluation.) Page 21 of 28

22 Assign Group Evaluations 1. Click Manage Tab > Assign Group Evaluations. 2. Select New Group Evaluation > Select type of evaluation. Both group evaluation types provide the options of naming the group evaluation, choosing an evaluation template, and setting the beginning and ending dates for the evaluation time period. The differences between the two include: Mass Evaluation of Appraisers All appraisers will be listed and can be selected based on who needs to be evaluated. Appraisees will be able to evaluate their formal appraiser. Selected Staff Member This will give the option of choosing a staff member to be evaluated by searching for and selecting their SchoolObjects account. 3. Give the Group Evaluation a title and optional description. 4. Select the template first created in Group Evaluation Templates. 5. Select start and end dates for the evaluation period. This limits staff to complete the evaluation within the time period set. 6. Select the user(s) as the target for the group evaluation. 7. Select any other options in the wizard. 8. Complete by clicking Finish. General Information Tab 1. Select the Group Evaluation you want to edit. 2. Edit the title, description, and start/end dates. 3. Use the check box to send a daily reminder to staff members who have not completed the evaluation. Page 22 of 28

23 Participants Tab The orange banner displays the total number of staff members who could complete the evaluation and the number of staff members who have completed the evaluation. You can choose who participates in the group evaluation based on everyone who is appraised by the target evaluator or you can select staff based on their profile criteria. Force Complete Click to automatically end the time period for completing group evaluations. Staff members who haven t completed the form will not be able to access or complete it. Refresh Participants Click to refresh the participant list according to the selected criteria. Send an notice that a group evaluation is available for possible Participants to complete. Completing a Group Evaluation All staff, including appraisers, will have a tab called My Evaluations (if using group evaluations.) Simply click on Documents to Complete to access, complete and submit the group evaluation. Page 23 of 28

24 Results of Group Evaluations The results of group evaluations are only available to the administrator and are completely anonymous. Go to My Evaluations Tab > My Evaluations > Current Files. Results of group evaluations can be viewed by the administrator being evaluated once the evaluation end date has occurred or an Appraisal Administrator has chosen to Force Complete. Page 24 of 28

25 Reports Walkthrough Analysis The Walkthrough Analysis report will give you a summary of which items are most commonly observed based on a particular walkthrough template. The report interface will require you to select one specific template. It cannot compare data across different walkthrough templates. Choose a walkthrough template from the Document option. To filter the report: Use Campus to select a single campus or group of campuses. Note: If you do not choose anything to filter, you will get all campuses available. Use Staff to narrow the report down to one particular staff member. You can search for that staff member using their address or last name. You can also limit the report to staff groups. The District Groups option will allow you to narrow the report down to one or more district wide user groups. Use Appraisal Dates to limit the report to a specific date range. If no dates are set, the report will stay within the current school year. Lastly, you can narrow the report down to specific questions. Every option you select from Questions must be flagged in order for the walkthrough to be included in the report. Click Print in the upper right to view the three print options. Print Document will generate a cumulative report regardless of appraiser. For instance, across all walkthroughs that were included, the first item may have been checked 10 times. Print Document (Percentages by Group) will generate pie charts representing the percentages by group. Print Document with Appraisers will break down the total by appraiser. Page 25 of 28

26 Observation & Summative Analysis The Observation & Summative Analysis report will show a total for each domain item denoting how many staff members were scored a particular way for all eight domains. This report will be a district or campus wide cumulative report unless filtered down. Use Campus to limit the report down to one or more campuses. Use Appraisal Dates to limit the report to a specific date range. Use Staff to filter based on staff positions, grade level, etc. Use District Groups to view one or more specific district wide groups. Use Domains to limit the report to staff that scored a certain way on a certain domain. The logic statement will allow you to filter based on domain score for one or all domains. Click Print to generate the report. Page 26 of 28

27 Evaluation Status Evaluation Status Reports give administrators a variety of options to choose from in order to see the status of appraisals on their campus or in their district. Choose a report type, start and end dates, and campus (if appropriate). All reports can be exported to Excel Spreadsheets. Report Types Evaluation Totals by Appraiser This report will show what evaluations a particular appraiser has completed. Evaluation Log by Appraiser This report will show a detailed log of each appraisal including the type, date created, date sent to staff, and date viewed by staff member. Evaluation Totals by Week This report will show all evaluations created for staff members regardless of who the appraiser was with totals each week. Evaluation Totals by Month - This report will show all evaluations created for staff members regardless of who the appraiser was with totals each month. Staff Evaluation Totals by Appraiser This report will show a total number of evaluations that have been completed for each staff member, sorted by appraiser. This report includes custom evaluations as well as PDAS documents. Appraiser Totals by Staff Member This report actually shows the data flipped from the Staff Member s perspective. This will show you which appraiser created each evaluation by staff member. Page 27 of 28

28 Blank Forms The Blank Forms option is not really a report, but it will allow you to print any walkthrough template, PDAS form, or custom evaluation form that is currently in the system. To print a blank form: 1. Choose the evaluation type. 2. Select the form. 3. Click Submit Report. Portable PDAS Currently, eduphoria! supports a variety of handheld devices for Portable PDAS. As we make further developments with the changing markets of devices available, check the online Help found in all of our applications for even more current information and links on Portable PDAS. Page 28 of 28