Thank you for visiting the Portland Public Schools PowerSchool Resource Blog. We hope the handouts and tutorials found here will help you through the various tasks in PowerSchool.
You may have notices some changes in your PowerTeacher login page and your PowerTeacher Gradebook. Pearson, the company who manages PowerSchool, listened to our many enhancement requests and have implemented a majority of them. Please read on to find out more.
PowerTeacher login page:
1. You will notice an icon has been added to the side of your “chair” which you click on to take attendance. This is called “Green Dot Attendance Verification.” Simply stated, when you correctly submit attendance, the circle will turn green. Teachers who have had a busy day and cannot remember if they took attendance can verify they did or didn’t by looking for this green dot. (Please note there could be a slight delay during heavy attendance-taking times.)
2. Many teachers have difficulties differentiating their classes on the PowerTeacher home page. Now you can choose to show section numbers on your home page by clicking on the “Personalize” link.
PowerTeacher GradeBook:
When teachers first starting using PowerTeacher Gradebook to track student grades, many felt it was “all right” but lacked in some functionality. We gathered your input and sent it to Pearson and they listened! Your PowerTeacher Gradebook will now have added functionality starting today. Your gradebook will look the same, but many parts have been enhanced, such as Reports, Assignment Codes, and Class Name Views. Attached to this email is a list of New Features in PowerTeacher. Here are some highlights:
1. You can now add “MI” to designate Missing Assignments, but still assign a “zero” so students can see how it affects their grade. The “Missing Assignment” report can be set to pull “blank” grades OR those marked with an “MI”.
2. All reports can be run with Student Number or Student Number displayed.
3. Reports now have a “Print Preview” which does not require you to save immediately.
4. You can change the name of your sections within your gradebook for easier identification.
5. Easier control of the size of boxes within your gradebook.
6. Remembering of the reporting term filter so you don’t need to change it every time you open your gradebook.
7. Quick entry keys for special grade codes (MI, LT, COL) to alleviate mouse clicks.
8. Zoom in or out to make your gradebook easier to see
There are many more additions to make the PowerTeacher gradebook easier to use. See the attached document for a full list of enhancements or see your “Help” menu within your gradebook.
Community of Learners workshops are scheduled which will take users through each of the enhancements. Please look for the Community of Learners emails or contact Suzanne Hardy to sign up.
