TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Creating a Plan
- Customizing a Plan in itslearning
- Plan Actions
- Adding Resources to a Plan
- Plan View
Introduction
Plans are a great way for teachers to prepare a course roadmap with structure, scope and sequence, and it can be customized based on the teacher's needs. For example, blocks of information may be set so that only the teacher may view the information.
It is recommended that you build your course through Plans.
But before you start, read this PDF link.
Keep in mind that Plans can be customized to meet your instructional needs. The above sample is from a relatively traditional teaching format.
Also note that from the calendar - on the Plans tab - a student or teacher can see all their current plans from all their courses. This makes it easier for them to see what they have to do without having to go into the different courses.
Creating a Plan
Watch the video
Building a Plan
When you build within Plans, topic/unit folders are automatically created in the resource tab. Then, if you align lessons with learning objectives/standards, the resources and activities that are added from Plans will automatically be tagged with those learning objectives and built into the folder within your resources saving teachers a lot of time.
The Plans block on the Course overview provides direct information to users. Parents, students and teachers will all access information from this block on the Course overview. Parents cannot open the resources tab in a course, so it is key that teachers utilize the lesson outline to share important information. The fields within plans may include text or interactive context.
- Now that you are ready to build your plan, go ahead and click on Plans.
- Next, you can begin by adding a topic (such as a unit) or customize the fields in your plans by going to Plan settings.
Customizing a Plan in itslearning
When you build within Plans, topic/unit folders are automatically created in the resources tab. Then, if you align lessons with standards, the resources and activities that are added from Plans will automatically be tagged with those standards and built into the unit/topic folder.
To customize Plans, first open Plans and then open your settings. The settings can be found by clicking on the ellipsis in the upper right-hand corner.
- Think of the topic as a unit or module. Within each unit or module you will build lessons. Topics are useful in creating structure for your course. Notice that you can choose to create a folder for each new topic and your resources folder structure will be built automatically. (This option is recommended.)
- Resources and activities can be combined in one field or kept in separate fields.
- Activation relates to when plans and the resources are available to students and parents. Using this feature requires the teacher to align appropriate dates to a course. You can do this manually, or automatically.
- Once activation settings have been established, it is important to check the box that will also activate connected elements. Otherwise, a plan may be activated, but the activities will remain inactive.
- There is an option for anonymous access to the plans, providing a public link.
Topic Fields
Here you can change the title of your “topic” to unit, theme, etc. You are then able to add or remove subsections. These sections may such as unit resources or standards. Terms and rubrics may also be included here. Set the visibility for each field.
Plan Fields
Plan fields allow you to create detailed plans that can be used year after year. These plans may be traditional lessons or nontraditional self-paced modules for students.
The default fields for plans are listed below. Each field can be renamed as seen in the image. The visibility settings can also be altered so that are shown to everyone, only the teacher, or no one. Additional fields may also be added as needed.
- Plan: This is the title of a lesson, module, skill, or sub-topic.
- Date: Dates may range from one hour to one year. The dates allow the lesson information to be displayed in the Plans block on the course overview page and they correlate with the activation settings as indicated in the plans settings.
- Class Hours: A numeric field. (Default is set to visible to nobody.
- Description: This section contains a brief description of the lesson, module, skill, etc. Text, video, images, links, or a lesson outline may be included here.
- Learning Objectives: This field will include objectives that will be aligned to the lesson. Resources and activities that are added from Plans will automatically be tagged with these learning objectives.
- Resources and Activities: This field can contain resources and activities that the teacher creates. Please note it is possible to separate this field into two separate fields, one for resources and one for activities. This can be changed in the plans settings.
Plan Actions
When you build within Plans, topic/unit folders are automatically created in the resources tab. Then, if you align lessons with standards, the resources and activities that are added from Plans will automatically be tagged with those standards and built into the unit/topic folder.
To customize Plans, first open Plans and then open your settings. The settings can be found by clicking on the ellipsis in the upper right-hand corner.
- Think of the topic as a unit or module. Within each unit or module you will build lessons. Topics are useful in creating structure for your course. Notice that you can choose to create a folder for each new topic and your resources folder structure will be built automatically. (This option is recommended.)
- Resources and activities can be combined in one field or kept in separate fields.
- Activation relates to when plans and the resources are available to students and parents. Using this feature requires the teacher to align appropriate dates to a course. You can do this manually, or automatically.
- Once activation settings have been established, it is important to check the box that will also activate connected elements. Otherwise, a plan may be activated, but the activities will remain inactive.
- There is an option for anonymous access to the plans, providing a public link.
Topic Fields
Here you can change the title of your “topic” to unit, theme, etc. You are then able to add or remove subsections. These sections may such as unit resources or standards. Terms and rubrics may also be included here. Set the visibility for each field.
Plan Fields
Plan fields allow you to create detailed plans that can be used year after year. These plans may be traditional lessons or nontraditional self-paced modules for students.
The default fields for plans are listed below. Each field can be renamed as seen in the image. The visibility settings can also be altered so that are shown to everyone, only the teacher, or no one. Additional fields may also be added as needed.
- Plan: This is the title of a lesson, module, skill, or sub-topic.
- Date: Dates may range from one hour to one year. The dates allow the lesson information to be displayed in the Plans block on the course overview page and they correlate with the activation settings as indicated in the plans settings.
- Class Hours: A numeric field. (Default is set to visible to nobody.
- Description: This section contains a brief description of the lesson, module, skill, etc. Text, video, images, links, or a lesson outline may be included here.
- Learning Objectives: This field will include objectives that will be aligned to the lesson. Resources and activities that are added from Plans will automatically be tagged with these learning objectives.
- Resources and Activities: This field can contain resources and activities that the teacher creates. Please note it is possible to separate this field into two separate fields, one for resources and one for activities. This can be changed in the plans settings.
Adding Resources to a Plan
While there're many ways to add resources to a course, we recommend adding resources and activities through Plans to help with course organization since Plans is meant to be the hub for all teaching and learning material.
First, align your plans to the appropriate standards/learning objectives.
Then, begin adding resources and activities. You can pull elements directly from the course, library, or create a new element.
Click 'show all' to see more options.
When standards/learning objectives are aligned to a plan, they will automatically align to assignments, tasks, and tests to track mastery. In addition, the library will populate results based on the learning objectives. (You will find more on the library in another section.)
Plan View
Plan View (or play plan) ensures that students can focus on the content contained within plans as a single playlist.
While a ‘Start’ option is not seen from the teacher view, students will select ‘Start’ to play the plan from the overview page.
Students will be provided with a full screen window to progress through the plan, and navigation arrows make the process seamless for students.
