Frequently Asked Questions
Technical Issues that Explain why my Student Cannot Move On
- If the student was idle and lost authentication in the system, they may not be able to submit to move on.
- The "unable to submit" error often occurs when a student uses multiple tabs or windows. When a student logs in, they are "authenticated" in the first tab they open. If they open another tab and do not return to the initial tab within 15 minutes, they lose their "authentication." Upon returning to the tab and continuing the test, they may not realize this loss of authentication (some students may miss the pop-up message prompting them to stay logged in). The error message "unable to submit" only appears when they attempt to submit the test. When authentication is lost, only answers up to that point are saved. Additionally, if the "Allow Save and Continue" setting is disabled, the item will be submitted automatically if authentication is lost or the page is navigated away from.
- The student can try opening a new tab and relogging in to PLP, then returning to the first tab to re-authenticate. Encourage students to write down their responses in case answers are not saved during reauthentication. Explain that having multiple tabs or windows open can cause this issue.
- The "unable to submit" error often occurs when a student uses multiple tabs or windows. When a student logs in, they are "authenticated" in the first tab they open. If they open another tab and do not return to the initial tab within 15 minutes, they lose their "authentication." Upon returning to the tab and continuing the test, they may not realize this loss of authentication (some students may miss the pop-up message prompting them to stay logged in). The error message "unable to submit" only appears when they attempt to submit the test. When authentication is lost, only answers up to that point are saved. Additionally, if the "Allow Save and Continue" setting is disabled, the item will be submitted automatically if authentication is lost or the page is navigated away from.
- If a question was added to a lesson and the lesson’s HTML frame was not updated to show that question, the student may not be able to move on.
- The student might receive an error when trying to submit that states they need to answer a question that they cannot see. For example, if the HTML question frame allows 7 questions to be seen and an 8th question was added, the student could not view the 8th question to complete the assessment. If the 8th question is deleted or the question frame is updated, the student will be able to successfully complete a new attempt. The setting to "Require Answers" can also be temporarily turned off to allow the student to advance.
Other reasons why my Student Cannot Move On
Gating: Courses and/or lessons can be gated, requiring students to follow specific completion rules.
- If an auto-scored assessment has a passing score requirement and the student fails to achieve it, they cannot progress. The teacher can choose to Override Complete or Allow Retry in the gradebook to enable the student to proceed or retake the assessment.
- If an assessment includes teacher-graded questions with a passing score requirement, the teacher must grade needed items for a score to be calculated. Failure to meet the passing score will prevent the student from advancing. The teacher can choose to Override Complete or Allow Retry in the gradebook to allow the student to move forward or retry the assessment.
- If the assessment allows Any Score for completion and includes teacher-graded questions, the teacher must grade it for the student to progress. The teacher still has the option to Override Complete or Allow Retry in the gradebook for the student to move on or redo the assessment.
Assignments with Dropbox for Submission
- If an assignment is set to Submission, the student should type in the DropBox/comment box, attach file(s), and click submit to proceed.
- If the assignment is set to Passing Score. The student should type in the DropBox/comment box, attach file(s), and click submit. The student can move on after the assignment is graded by the teacher and earns a passing score. The teacher can click Override Complete or Allow Retry for the student to proceed or redo the assignment.
- If the assignment is gated and set to Any score. The student should type in the DropBox/comment box, attach file(s), and click submit. The student can move on after the assignment is graded by the teacher and earns any score. The teacher can click Override Complete or Allow Retry for the student to proceed or redo the assignment.
- If a gradable assignment was set to "Submission" without a Dropbox, the student cannot proceed until either the submission option is changed or a teacher enters a score on the gradable but not submittable assignment.
Non-gradable Assignments
- If the non-graded assignment is gated and completion is set to minutes, the student must be in the assignment for the required time to move on. 0 minutes allows students to click and move on. For 1 minute, students need to be in the assignment for at least 30 seconds to proceed. The system rounds up, so 0.5 minutes counts as a minute. With a 2-minute setting, 1.5 minutes will round up.
- If the non-graded assignment is gated (or course gating is being used) and the completion requirement is set to "Submission," students can scroll to the bottom of the assignment and click the "Mark this Activity Complete" button on the bottom left to proceed. Note: Multiple scroll bars may be present in a lesson. The far-right scroll bar must be scrolled to the bottom to view the button.
How do parents access the student’s grades?
To view your student's progress, click the checkbox next to "Parent/Guardian log in," then log in with the student's credentials.
Parents may click on any course title to view the student's assignment detail page, which will display grades, items' pace/due dates, time spent on each item, etc. When using the parent log-in option, the parent will not be able to message the instructor or access any coursework.
Is there an 'app' for SchoolsPLP?
There is no “app” to download. Students can access their coursework as long as they have internet access. Please make sure to use a modern browser such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or MS Edge.
Why does the screen look strange/why can’t I click on links?
SchoolsPLP is not compatible with the Internet Explorer browser. If you’re seeing an unusual interface, please make certain that you are using an updated, modern browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari.
How can I view what a student still needs to complete?
If you notice that a student's list is not complete and would like to know what they still need to access or complete, look at their "Assignment Detail Page" by clicking on the course name from the student's dashboard. Anything that is light grey needs to be completed or accessed to trigger completion, which will turn to black text when complete. In addition, completed items have a green checkmark next to them on the far left.
My student is locked out due to too many failed login attempts.
If a student enters incorrect login credentials more than three times within a minute, the student will receive a message indicating that the account has been locked out. To enable the student to make another login attempt, a waiting period of 60 seconds is required, after which the student will regain access to the account.
How do I change a student’s log in or password?
SchoolsPLP will never disclose any user's login/password credentials. In case a student is unable to remember their login details, authorized staff members with the required permission levels are able to access the student's login information, reset the password, or modify the student's user account in the student setup section. To update a student's credentials, simply click on the designated Edit option.
Enter a new logon name or password (in both the Change and Confirm fields), and then click Save.
How Do I Change a Student’s Enrollment Status?
Access the Course Setup by navigating to the "Course Setup" link located at the top-right corner of the course dashboard or access the Student Setup from the student's dashboard. Please note that a certain permission level is required to enter the setup mode.
Scroll down to the student and click on "Edit" located to the right of the student’s name to modify their enrollment status or enrollment end date. Please note that students will no longer have access to the course after 11:59 pm on the end date.
Students can only access their course when they have an active status. An "On Hold" (suspended), incomplete, or complete status will display the following message to students when they attempt to engage with the course.
When a student's enrollment is marked with a status of "Complete", a completion certificate will become available on both the student's dashboard (in the report card tab) and the course dashboard. Students will disappear from the gradebook view with an incomplete or complete status.
Student's without any active course enrollments will disappear from the school's list of students on the school dashboard as well as from the gradebook view, and all reports except the Past Enrollment report.
My student has been automatically marked as complete, but I would like the student to be able to go back and work on previous assignments. How can I make them active?
Some courses are set up such that when a student has completed all activities, the course will automatically be marked as complete. If your student’s enrollment is complete, follow these steps to make the student active again.
Click on the course, and then click Course Setup in the upper right. Click the link to launch the course editor in a new tab.
Mouse over the tool icon in the upper right and select Course Settings.
Scroll to the Enrollment Completion tile and make sure the following setting is enabled:
Remember to save in the upper right before you exit.
How do I archive a course?
1. Click on School Setup
2. Click the Courses tab or the Courses box.
3. For any course you'd like to archive, check the box to the left
4.Scroll to the top and click the Archive Selected button.
Time Tracking in SchoolsPLP - How It Works
There are various reports available in SchoolsPLP that display student time spent. Here is some additional information on the functionality of time tracking:
- The Daily Activity Tab - Minutes Worked feature logs the time spent with a lesson open in a course. It does not track time spent on sending and receiving messages or navigating between courses. This measurement may include periods of inactivity if a student steps away from the computer or accesses a different site while a lesson is open. Work time will be recorded until the system's idle timeout feature logs the student out in such cases.
- The Daily Activity Tab - Login Sessions feature displays the duration between logging into the system and logging out or experiencing a timeout due to inactivity. For example, if a student completes work on one course, takes a break, and remains logged in without any open lessons during the break, they will not accumulate Minutes Worked during that period.
- The Daily Activity Tab - Hours Logged In section, located at the bottom of the chart, aggregates the total time from Login Sessions. Therefore, the total time in Hours Logged In should always exceed the total Minutes Worked.
- The Assignment Details Page- Total Minutes function is similar to Minutes Worked in the Daily Activity section, as it tracks time when a specific assignment is open. However, it captures all time spent with that lesson open across various days, so it may not align with the total Minutes Worked for a single day.
Some important points to consider are that the time totals in the Assignment Details may encompass time from multiple days when a student is engaged in an activity over several days. For example, if a student begins an assignment on the 18th and continues working on it on the 19th, ultimately completing it on the 20th, the Assignment Details will reflect the total number of minutes that the assignment was accessed throughout all three days, not solely the duration of its completion on the 20th.
If you need additional clarification regarding the time tracking reports or need assistance with a specific issue, please reach out to support@schoolsplp.com.