- Los Angeles Unified School District
- PLS FAQs
PERSONALIZED LEARNING SYSTEMS |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Administrators | Gradebook | Navigating the LMS | Schoology Access for Students | Schoology Access for Teachers | Submitting Grades | Option Schools | Schoology Access for Parents (Parent Portal) | PLS Website | Summer Term | All Categories
- Will Schoology be available during summer term?
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Yes. Access to Schoology is available for summer school courses that are scheduled through MiSiS.
- Will Schoology be available for Extended Learning Opportunity Summer Program (ELOS)?
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Yes. Schoology will be available for the ELOS program.
- Who has access to Schoology during the summer term?
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Summer school principals, counselors, teachers, students, and parents in summer programs will have access to Schoology.
- Will clerical staff have access?
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Yes. Clerical staff can apply for access to their summer school location, if different from their regular site, through https://oneaccess.lausd.net.
- Will students have access?
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Yes. Student will have access to all courses they are enrolled through their LAUSD student email (MyMail) account. Students will need their student email (MyMail) account login in order to have access to the platform.
- A student forgot their login, how can they reset their password?
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Teachers can use the “MyMail PIN” app from within the course in Schoology. When viewing a course in Schoology, click on “MyMail PIN” on the left navigation menu to view the student roster and associated PIN numbers. Teachers can provide the PIN and instructions to the student for resetting their MyMail/SSO password using this guide: Student SSO Password Reset Guide for Students.
A job aid for using the new “MyMail PIN” feature in Schoology to retrieve student PINs is available here: http://bit.ly/SGYMYMAIL
- Can parents view summer assignments and grades through the Parent Portal?
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Yes. Parents will have access to summer courses through the LAUSD Parent Portal. Parents who do not have an account will need to set up their Parent Portal account as indicated in this how-to video available at http://www.lausd.org/plsresources.
- Will day-to-day substitute teachers have access to Schoology during the summer term?
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No. Day-to-day substitute teachers will not be provided with access to the gradebook.
- Will summer courses be available in Schoology?
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Yes, all summer sections, student section enrollment, and teacher assignments that have been committed to the master schedule in MiSiS will be available in Schoology.
- I have instructional materials and resources for my regular school year courses. Can I transfer them to my summer course?
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Yes. Teachers can use the save a course to resources option in Schoology and then copy course materials into a summer course. Teachers can also access archived courses and then copy the resources to a current course.
- I am teaching a summer term course but I do not see the course(s) I am teaching listed?
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Check with the summer principal or counselor to verify you are assigned to the course in MiSiS. Changes made in MiSiS become visible in Schoology the samel day. If you are assigned to the course in MiSiS correctly and still cannot see the course in Schoology, contact the MiSiS Help Desk for more assistance.
- I am teaching in a split assignment; can I get access to the gradebook the teacher used in the first half of the summer term?
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Yes, the course, student roster, and its gradebook become available to the newly assigned teacher once the summer principal or designee assigns the teacher to the course section in MiSiS.
- When will my summer term course be available?
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Courses and the gradebook rosters will be available to teachers seven (7) days prior to the summer term start date when the teacher is assigned to a course in MiSiS.
- Which Schoology features will be available?
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All core features of Schoology will be available during the summer term including, the online gradebook, course rosters, Grade Passback, school and course updates, calendar, etc.
- Will MiSiS Grade Passback (MGP 2.0) be available?
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Yes. The MGP 2.0 app will be available to submit grades. Only the teacher of record that is assigned to the section in MiSiS can use
- Where can I find more information about Schoology and learn about its features?
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A variety of resources are available at the PLS website at http://www.lausd.org/pls, including “how-to” videos, FAQs, and job aids.
- Where can I go for technical support using Schoology?
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The MiSiS Help Desk is available to provide technical assistance if needed. Please call (213) 241-5200 (select Option 5, Option 1) or visit the PLS website at http://www.lausd.org/plssupport.
- Should substitute teachers apply for Schoology Access?
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Yes. Substitute teachers may apply for a Schoology account if they do not already have one. Most substitute teachers already have accounts. If subs are able to log in to https://lms.lausd.net, then an account already exists. Long-term substitutes (in assignment for 21 days or more) can be added to MiSiS and will have access to the Schoology Course and Gradebook
- Can a student join a course using an access code?
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No. Students cannot join courses with an access code. Students are automatically provisioned in courses through MiSiS.
- Do all of my certificated staff members have "teacher" access?
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Yes. All certificated staff members are automatically provisioned as teachers. As a principal, you may grant “School Support” or any other available Schoology role access to other certificated/classified staff members at your school site via oneAccess at https://oneaccess.lausd.net.
- Is the Principal the only administrator that can grant/approve access?
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Yes. The principal can grant access to other certificated staff members at your school site via oneAccess. If the principal would like other staff members to be able to approve role requests, they can apply for an approver role in oneAccess. - As the school Principal, what is my Schoology role?
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As a Principal you have a Principal user role. All other administrators may apply for a "Principal" role through oneAccess. - How do I review a gradebook?
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Principals have Read-Only Access to view any course at their school site.
Teachers can also give you access to their gradebook using a course access code. Please refer to the "Monitoring Instruction and Engagement" section at https://www.lausd.org/plsresources for more information. - How can I see a student's grades?
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On the top navigation menu, click on the “Tools” link and select "Advisor Dashboard" to search for a student. You may search by first name, last name, or district ID number. Grades will populate for all courses, past and present, the student is enrolled in. Grades can also be found in Whole Child and in the Schoology FOCUS Dashboards reports.
- Some of my teachers are not able to email their whole class. How does that work?
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Teachers have two options. Option 1 is to use ‘Update’. Option 2 is to use the Course Options > Send message. Both methods generate an email but the first option appears on the student’s homepage, course page, message, and email. The second option generates a message and email only. Teachers may also need to apply for access to all location codes for their campus. - We are moving students around like crazy and their grades are being lost once they are moved. How can we get into something called an "Archive" to retrieve the form grade from the former class?
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Please refer to this video: How to Retrieve Student Grades
- How do teachers print their gradebook? I heard they 'export' their gradebook to an Excel and then print from there. Any other way?
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Teachers can click on the 'waffle' icon in Schoology to access the Gradebook Report. Teachers can download a report for their entire class or for an individual student. The report downloads as a PDF file. Principals can also access these reports for any section offered at their school site. Please refer to the "Monitoring Instruction and Engagement" section at https://www.lausd.org/plsresources for more information. - Is every school required to do Schoology? My teachers have heard that some schools are not doing it and they are using Jupiter Grades.
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Yes. Schoology is the official gradebook for L.A. Unified. Please refer to the following documents::
Online Gradebook Notification Letter
MEM-5788.6 PD Priorities and Banked Time Tuesdays Secondary Schools
- Can a student join a group using an access code?
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Yes. Students can join groups with an access code.
- How does a substitute enter grades into Schoology?
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Long-term substitutes (in assignment for 21 days or more) can be added to MiSiS and will have access to the Schoology Gradebook within 1-6 hours. Short-term subs must have the Office Manager, Scheduling Administrator, or Counselor enter grades in the Manage Grades by Class screen in MiSiS.
- How do I filter my students by Last Name, First Name in the gradebook?
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In the Gradebook, click on the "Last Name, A-Z" drop down arrow and select one of the following options.
1. First Name A-Z
2. First Name Z-A
3. Last Name A-Z
4. Last Name Z-A - How can I see the grades of a student that dropped my course?
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In your course, proceed with the following: 1. Click Members
2. Select Inactive
3. Click on the Bar Graph by the student's name - How do I remove a flagged exception, excused, incomplete, or missing from a student's grade?
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To remove an exception, excused, incomplete, or missing, from your gradebook, click on the exception icon, and deselect your exception from the menu.
- If a student is dropped from my course what happens to their grades?
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Students who are moved to another course are inactive in the dropped course. If you need to access their grades follow this procedure:
1. Select the course where student dropped
2. Click on members
3. Click on inactive tab
3. Locate the student's name
4. Click on the bar graph to generate their grades - If I manually add a student to a class, can I PassBack grades?
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Only students who have officially been scheduled to the course in MiSiS will have their grades published with the Grade PassBack App in Schoology.
- What are some of the gradebook features I will be able to use?
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Student assignments can be copied to multiple periods. Create tests/quizzes that can be administered online, then automatically graded and recorded in the system.
Course and student rosters are automatically provisioned and updated nightly for teachers. Mobile app for devices is included.
- When the users login, will a "Sandbox" be available to learn how to set up and customize the gradebook?
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Yes, when Schoology was launched district wide, a "Sandbox" course was provided to every teacher. If your account is missing a sandbox, please contact the help desk at 213-241-5200 (option 5 then option 1) to have one created for you.
- Where can I find the seating chart in Schoology?
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Schoology does not have a seating chart feature. A seating chart can be found in MiSiS as part of the attendance screen.
- How do I set up my assignments to recur automatically?
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Schoology does not have a feature to automatically recur assignments. Suggestion:
- Create a generic assignment with your preferred settings in Resources
- Add the assignment to your course(s)
- Make edits to the copied assignment
To see more information on how to create an assignment, see the following link:
https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/eaktpfi291?videoFoam=true - Will teacher's courses and student rosters be available once they are inputted into MiSiS? If not, what steps must we take at the school site to make this happen?
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Courses and student rosters will be available in Schoology once they are inputted into MiSiS. Nothing is required from school sites other than creating an accurate master schedule. - Will I enter all grades in the Online Gradebook?
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All teachers will be able to enter assignments and grades into the Online Gradebook. Secondary teachers will use the MGP 2.0 App to sync grades into MiSiS.
Elementary teachers will use the EGP - Elementary Grade Passback app to sync grades into MiSiS. Elementary teachers will follow the LA Unified's Policy Bulletin BUL 2332.7
Grade Passback is only available to roster carrying teachers.
- How does a substitute enter grades into Schoology?
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Long-term substitutes (in assignment for 21 days or more) can be added to MiSiS and will have access to the Schoology Gradebook within 24-48 hours.
Short-term substitutes must have the Office Manager, Scheduling Administrator, or Counselor enter grades in the Manage Grades by Class screen in MiSiS.
- If I manually add a student to a class, can I PassBack grades?
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Only students who have officially been scheduled to the course in MiSiS will have their grades published with the Grade PassBack App in Schoology.
- Do I have to create assignments and grades in the Schoology gradebook to submit grades?
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No, you can submit your grades using the grade passback MGP 2.0 (secondary) or the EGP (elementary) App even if you have not created assignments or given your students grades for those assignments.
For more information, visit the MGP 2.0 or EGP webpages at:
MGP 2.0: https://www.lausd.org/mgp2
EGP: https://www.lausd.org/egp - Can I use the Grade PassBack App to submit grades for a non-MiSiS created course?
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No. You can only PassBack grades from courses that were created in MiSiS.
- Can I submit grades with the Grade PassBack App to MiSiS at any time?
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No. You can only submit grades during the MiSiS open grading windows.
For more information, visit the MGP 2.0 or EGP webpages at:
MGP 2.0: https://www.lausd.org/mgp2
EGP: https://www.lausd.org/egp - Can a co-teacher or administrator submit grades on the behalf of a teacher?
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Only the teacher of record, who is officially scheduled in MiSiS for the course, can submit grades.
- Which grade passback app do I use?
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All secondary teachers should use MGP 2.0 app. For more information, visit https://www.lausd.org/mgp2.
Elementary teachers should use the Elementary Grade Passback (EGP) app. For more information, visit https://www.lausd.org/egp.
- Can I publish some grades using the EGP app and finish publishing the rest of my grades with the MiSiS Grade Entry screen or vice versa?
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It is not recommended. Doing this will require all previously published grades to be entered once again.
- How do we (or will we be able to) set up access for our students so they can view their grades? Is this access through the PASSport system?
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Student access is already set. Students can login at https://lms.lausd.net using their MyMail username and password or a Schoology QR code provided by their teacher. Students can also log in to the Parent Portal to view published grades. - Can a student join a group using an access code?
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Yes.
- Can a student access open groups?
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No. - Can a student access public groups?
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No.
- Can a student access a group outside my organization?
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No. - Can a student join a course using an access code?
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No
- How do parents access Schoology to view their child's grades?
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There are a few steps parents must take before viewing their child's academic progress in Schoology.
First, parents must set up a Parent Portal account. Please view the following video for assistance on setting up your account: How to Navigate Schoology as a Parent or Legal Guardian.
Once your account has been set up, login to the Parent Portal.
For additional information, visit the Parent Portal website.
Parent Portal Login
Parent Portal website - What is the LAUSD Parent Portal?
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The LAUSD Parent Portal is LAUSD’s Parent Access Support System portal. It is a one-stop online system that connects parents and guardians to important information about their child's education. It is secure...it is personalized to your child...and it is custom-made for YOU, our parents and guardians.
- What will I be able to do with the LAUSD Parent Portal?
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Parents will be able to: • Monitor their child's class assignments, grades, and standardized test scores
• Track their child's progress towards graduation
• Check their child's daily attendance and monitor attendance trends
• Monitor English Learner Reclassification status
• Update Emergency Contact information
• Keep connected with their child's teachers through email
• Apply for District programs such as eChoices and the Free and Reduced Meal Program
- How do I request access to Schoology and the online gradebook?
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Teachers, administrators, and support staff that carry a MiSiS roster already have a Schoology account. New school employees that carry a MiSiS roster must request access to MiSiS via oneAccess. Once the scheduling administrator assigns a MiSiS class schedule to the employee, the employee's Schoology account will automatically be provisioned.
For additional access, go to https://oneaccess.lausd.net
- Will all teacher's courses and students be created in Schoology automatically once they are programmed in MiSiS? If not, what steps must we take at the school-site to make this happen?
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Schoology courses are automatically created from the MiSiS Master Schedule. Students will be automatically assigned to their courses in Schoology. No action is required from school sites other than creating an accurate master schedule.
- Will I continue to use MiSiS?
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MiSiS will continue to be used for all other activities related to student information.
MiSiS is the official student information system for LA Unified. - What are some time saving LMS features I will be able to use?
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- To save an entire course's materials to your Resources:
Navigate to the Materials page of the course. You'd like to save to Resources.
Click Options at the top.
Select Save Course to Resources from the drop-down menu.
Save_Course_to_Resources.png
Select the Resource Collection in which you'd like to house your course content. If you haven't created a collection, you can add the course to your Home collection.
Optional: Select a folder within the collection to which you'd like to save your course material. - The Save as field indicates that your course materials will be saved in a new folder within the selected destination in your Resources. Within that folder, the materials remain organized in the same structure that was used in the course.
Save_entire_course_to_Resources_in_one_folder.png
Click Submit to complete. Student assignments can be copied to multiple periods. Create tests/quizzes that can be administered online, then automatically graded and recorded in the system.
Course and student rosters are automatically provisioned and updated nightly for teachers. Mobile app for devices is included.
- To save an entire course's materials to your Resources:
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Option Schools
- Does the Schoology gradebook apply to Option Schools?
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Yes. The implementation of an online gradebook meets a mandated requirement of the Modified Consent Decree to provide an integrated online gradebook.
For more information go to the District's Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology Letter
- Will I continue to use MiSiS?
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MiSiS will continue to be used for all other activities related to student information.
MiSiS is the official student of record system for LA Unified.
- Can I take attendance in Schoology?
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The feature is not available in Schoology. Teachers will need to take attendance in MiSiS.
- How can I reorder my courses?
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You can reorder your courses by proceeding with the following
- Click on the Courses menu
- Click on My Courses
- Click on the Reorder Courses button
- Drag and drop courses to your preferred order
- Click on the ""X"" when done making changes
- How can I see the grades of a student that dropped my course?
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In your course, proceed with the following:
1. Click Members
2. Select Inactive
3. Click on Bar Graph by the student's name - How do I filter my students by Last Name, First Name in the gradebook?
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In the Gradebook, click on the "Last Name, A-Z" drop down arrow and select one of the following options.
- First Name A-Z
- First Name Z-A
- Last Name A-Z
- Last Name Z-A
- When the teachers login, will a "Sandbox" be available to learn how to set up and customize the gradebook?
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Yes, when Schoology was launched district wide a "Sandbox" course was provided to every teacher. If your account is missing a sandbox, please contact the help desk at 213-241-5200 (option 5 then option 1) to have one created for you.
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PLS Website
- How was Schoology selected?
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Several groups including teachers, unions, and focus groups met to discuss the requirements most needed in an online gradebook. Schoology was then selected through an established district process which uses objective criteria. - Where can I find a copy of the Mandate letter for Schoology implementation?
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View the Online Gradebook Notification here. - Why is L.A. Unified using an online gradebook?
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The implementation of an online gradebook meets a mandated requirement of the Modified Consent Decree to provide an online gradebook. For more information, click here.