Be ready to explain how teachers will use the priority levels when creating activities at your school, internal workflows related to Flex, and review expectations for use of the Flex system
Help
Help
All users have access to the “HELP” menu in Flex that provides role-specific training videos and documentation. Click the “preview” button to open the index that contains all of the videos or documents. These indexes are also linked below for easy access.
Videos
Here is the Admin Training Video Index that provides all available training videos. There are separate user-role specific video indexes for teachers/staff and students.
Documents
Here is the Admin Training Document Index that provides all document resources. There are separate user-role specific document indexes for teachers/staff and students.
Technical Information
Please provide the following document to your technical support area. This provides information about IPs and domains that should be added to your allowlist. Flex Technical Information Document
Attendance Import & Export Files
Attendance Import & Export Information explains what is needed to create an attendance file from your Student Information System (SIS) and import this into Flex. It also shows how this data is used and displayed in the Flex system.
Automated Attendance Export takes you to the section of this guide that explains what Flex attendance data is available to export so schools can aggregate data for reporting and/or import this back into their SIS.
Training Information
Training FAQs
It is recommended that a “Core Team” of teachers, or early adopters, be assembled to help guide the Flex implementation and assist with training others on how to use the system. As a system administrator and/or project leader, you may want to pull this Core Team into the decision making process when configuring your system. This might help them understand the intricacies of the Flex system.
Below are some frequently asked questions that come up when clients are preparing to train their teams to use Flex.
How can I train my teachers & staff?
Here are a few suggestions to train teachers and staff who are not part of the “Core Team” mentioned above.
- Hold an in-person training session to demonstrate Flex and share your internal guidelines for how your team should utilize the system.
- You might build in time to have all users login and start creating and scheduling activities.
- Be sure to review the “Help” section in Flex that provides access to many training resources.
- Provide The Five Basic Activity Steps document and ask them to review this and watch the videos. Provide login instructions and then hold a Q&A “work” session where questions can be asked and teachers can set up and schedule their initial activities.
- You may also want to provide the Priority Level Guide or create your own version of this depending on how you plan to utilize these at your school.
Be sure to review the “HELP” section in Flex that provides access to many training resources.
- You may also want to provide the Priority Level Guide or create your own version of this depending on how you plan to utilize these at your school.
- If you are newly implementing Flex, your Client Project Manager (CPM) can hold a virtual “Teacher Training” via Zoom for your entire staff - instead of training just the Core Team. The CPM will make every effort to customize this training to how your school is using Flex but it is always helpful to have a school Administrator involved to answer school-specific questions.
- During the Summer/Fall of 2024 we will be offering Back to School and Open Office Hour webinars. Please see the Flex Webinar Schedule schedule for more details.
If you have training needs beyond what is offered, please reach out to your Relationship Manager to discuss “Professional Development” training options.
- During the Summer/Fall of 2024 we will be offering Back to School and Open Office Hour webinars. Please see the Flex Webinar Schedule schedule for more details.
What resources are available for teachers/staff?
The best place to direct your Flex users to go for training resources is the “HELP” section of the Flex system. All users (admins, teachers, staff, and students) have a “Video” and “Document” list of training resources available to them within the Flex system, accessible from the “HELP” menu.
The primary training resources for teachers and staff are:
- Priority Level Guide
- The Five Basic Activity Steps
- Teacher Quick Reference Guide*
- Teacher/Staff Video Index
Do you have any tips for conducting large group in-person training?
If you are conducting a large group Flex training, you'll want to focus on the teacher and student functionality in the system. To prepare for this, review/distribute the Priority Level Guide, The Five Basic Activity Steps, and the Teacher Quick Reference Guide. You'll then want to set up your user accounts and activity examples ahead of time.
It may be helpful to structure the session so participants are paying attention to your training and then give them time periodically or at the end to “practice” in their system. Remember to start simple and add greater functionality and expectations as everyone becomes familiar with the program. It is also recommended to find a way to manage questions. If you are virtual, you might have a second person managing the chat or Q&A. If you’re running this in-person, maybe ask folks to hold their questions until the end of a section or the session.
What is the best approach for training students?
It is recommended that teachers share Flex with their students during a homeroom or advisory time using the Overview of Flex (for Students) video. (Or this video could be given to students ahead of time to watch on their own.)
Then have students log into the Flex system and have them ‘practice’ or possibly register for the first few flex sessions. Teachers should point out the “HELP” section in Flex to the students and explain any necessary details and expectations related to your school’s flex period and use of the Flex system. (For example: non-registration procedures, what time registration stops, etc.)
How do we handle Flex questions from our teachers and students?
(Do we direct them to the Flex Help Desk?)
Please do not direct teachers or students to contact the Flex Help Desk. This should be used by a few Flex admins at your school to request assistance as needed.
It’s important to come up with a support channel for your teachers and students when they have a Flex question. We would recommend students go to a teacher with their Flex questions. If a teacher doesn’t know the answer or has a question of their own, they should be told “who” the internal contacts at the school are for asking Flex questions.
If the school point of contact is unable to answer the question, they will create a Help Deskticket to get support from the Flex team. In addition to providing details about the question or issue, please include the names of who is involved and examples of what is going on. Screenshots and information about what troubleshooting steps have already been taken are very helpful.