Schools that use MyFlexLearning rely on up-to-date data so that flex period operations run smoothly every day. It is important for users to be able to rely on up-to-date data.
During implementation, our team works with districts to securely share certain data elements from the Student Information System to MyFlexLearning on a daily basis. Types of data include minimal Student and Staff, Daily Attendance, Schedule and Grades.
The benefits of tight data integration include:
- Student and Teacher demographics are present and correct, including names, grade level, and advisor
- Master Schedule rosters are in MyFlexLearning for easy searching and scheduling
- SIS Daily attendance is in MyFlexLearning so teachers can quickly see whether a student is absent that day.
- Current term averages can be brought over, depending on the SIS, so that teachers can see how students are doing in their classes when they are scheduling them for flex time.
- Accurate school room list is available for creating flex classes
- School calendar is imported for easy calendar setup
Data Integration Process
At the start of the implementation, we share our standard format for data exports with the district. We work with the technology team to set up a nightly CSV file exchange using scheduled jobs and our SFTP server.
Because of our partnership with Follett, we have a different process for Aspen districts. We partner together with the school technology staff to complete configuration and set up the export and import jobs.
SIS Data
Here is a summary of the type of data that will be shared and what it is used for in MyFlexLearning:
Student and Staff
MyFlexLearning needs very little Student and Staff data, but it does need names, email addresses (for Google Authentication), and a few other data fields. It also needs an established relationship between each student and their Advisor, or Homeroom Teacher. This allows MyFlexLearning to easily load students into Advisories (if your school chooses to offer those).
Daily Attendance
Just as in your SIS, when a classroom teacher is taking class attendance, they can easily reference the Daily Attendance to see whether a student is present or absent for the day. MyFlexLearning displays today’s Daily Attendance from your SIS on every class roster.
Schedule and Grades
We have found it is easier for academic teachers to pull a student into their own flex block offering if they can see the class roster from the SIS, so we brought it in! We also brought in the student’s Current Term Average from the Gradebook so that teachers can quickly determine who needs intervention and in which subjects. This data makes the scheduling more effective for students.
Rooms
During implementation, we set up the school classrooms that could hold a flex block offering. We created an import so that nobody has to hand type all of those details, though you still have the option to hand enter any rooms that aren’t listed in your SIS.
School Calendar
Why enter your calendar dates twice? We created an import so that your Aspen calendar dates can easily be imported into MyFlexLearning. This way all the in-session dates match between the two systems. The calendar in MyFlexLearning can be changed at the click of a button.
MyFlexLearning Data
Flex schedules are created and maintained in MyFlexLearning. Some schools would like flex attendance to be sent back to their SIS. We have done this before and are happy to work with you on that.
Our Aspen schools also enjoy seeing the flex schedule in Aspen. When we use Custom Navigation in Aspen we can give school users visibility into the flex schedule. We’ve even created a Quick Alert (next to the bell icon!) so that Aspen users can see where a student is scheduled for today’s flex block.
Which SIS do we integrate with?
We have worked with several Student Information Systems and continually work with new ones. We are passionate about data integration and are always looking for new SIS to integrate with.
So far we have worked with:
- PowerSchool
- Aspen
- MyEducation BC (MyEdBC)
- SchoolBrains
- Blackbaud
- Tyler SchoolMaster
Please reach out to us (contact@myflexlearning.com) if you don’t see your SIS listed here. We would love to work with you!
In summary, administrators, teachers and students benefit from having their SIS and MyFlexLearning tightly integrated. Our proven data integration process ensures that data is up to date in both the SIS and MyFlexLearning.
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