Teacher training

Before you start

Three things to do once. Your school office has already added you; if sign-in says you are not linked to a school yet, ask them.

1. Sign in

   High2 min

   Use the email address your school has for you.

   1. Open pilot.beta.samas.school.
   2. Press Continue with Google if your school email is a Google account. Otherwise type your Email address and press Continue.
   3. On Check your email, type the 6-digit code we sent you and press Sign in.
   You'll seeYour dashboard: today's lessons, registers to mark, your students and the latest notices.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

2. Check your name, role and subjects

   High2 min
   1. Press your picture at the top right. Your name, email and school are shown there.
   2. On the Dashboard, look at My sections: each section shows whether you are its class teacher and which subjects you teach there.

   Something wrong or missing? Only the school office can change your sections and subjects. Tell them before you start.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

3. Set up your two-step code

   Medium3 min

   A code from your phone keeps your class records safe even if someone learns your email. You need an authenticator app: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator or 1Password all work.

   1. Press your picture at the top right, then Account and security.
   2. Press Set up two-step. You may be asked to confirm it's you first.
   3. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app and type the 6-digit code it shows. Press Turn on two-step.
   4. Save your backup codes with Copy or Download, then press I have saved them.

   Each backup code works once, for a day your phone is not with you.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

Your first week

In this order. The High tasks take about 15 minutes in all; do them before your first lesson.

1. See your timetable

   High2 min
   1. Open Timetable from the menu. My week shows the subject and section for every period you teach.
   2. Press My classes and pick one to see that class's whole week.
   3. Press Colleague and type a name to see a colleague's lessons. Free right now lists who has no lesson at this moment.
   You'll seeYour week as the office published it. "Not on the timetable yet" means the office has not mapped you to your subjects; "Nothing published yet" means it has not published the timetable for your sections. Ask them either way.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

2. Put a live-class link on a lesson

   Low3 min
   1. Open Timetable from the menu. Under My week, find Live class links and press Show.
   2. Paste the Zoom, Google Meet or Jitsi Meet link beside the lesson (it starts with https) and press Save. There is no need to publish again.
   3. To take a link off, press Clear.
   You'll see"Live link saved". The class's students and families see Join on that lesson from 10 minutes before it starts until it ends.

   Only links on zoom.us, meet.google.com or meet.jit.si are taken. saMas does not host the video and cannot see who joined: you take attendance as usual, unless the school has turned on I'm here for students.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

3. Check your class lists

   High5 min
   1. Open My classes from the menu and pick a section.
   2. Check each name. The list shows Roll, Name, Admission no, the Primary guardian and their Phone (tap it to call).
   3. Do the same for every section you teach.
   You'll seeAt the top, how many students there are, whether you are the class teacher or a subject teacher, and how many have no guardian phone ("Ask the office to add one").
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

4. Know what to do if a student is missing

   High1 min

   Class lists are kept by the school office. If a student who sits in your class is not on your list, or is in the wrong section:

   1. Do not mark them in another section's register.
   2. Tell the office their name and the section they belong in. The office admits students and places them in sections.
   3. Once the office moves them, they appear on your list and in your register.
   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

5. Mark attendance for one class

   High1 min
   1. Open Attendance from the menu. Pick the section; today's date is already chosen and everyone is marked present.
   2. Press A on anyone absent, L on anyone late, or E for an excused absence, and pick a note from the chips (Sick, Family, No reason yet). Everyone present starts again.
   3. Press Done for today. Or press Same as yesterday to copy yesterday and change only who is different.
   4. Marking on paper first? Press Photo of the paper register, take the picture, check the rows it read (amber ones were hard to read), and press Apply to the register.
   You'll see"Attendance saved", then "Saved by" with your name and the time. Changes are also saved as you go, two seconds after the last tap. Parents see their child's attendance in the app.

   An Excused student needs a reason. You can't mark a future date, a holiday or a closed day; the next school day is offered. A register more than 3 days old can only be changed by the office. Nothing from a photo is saved until you apply it and press Done for today.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

6. Write your goals for next week's plan

   Medium5 min
   1. Open Weekly plan, press Next week and pick your class.
   2. Under Goals, write one sentence for your subject and press Save. Or press Copy last week's goals.
   3. Class teachers: write the note, a line for each day under The plan, day by day, and anything to bring, then press Save note and Publish.
   You'll seeThe right side shows the week as families will see it: your line for the day, lessons, homework due, tests and what to bring.

   A goal is optional. Only the class teacher writes the note and publishes; families are told in the app and by email.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

7. Offer a Flex session and take its register

   Low5 min
   1. Open Flex, pick Today or Tomorrow, and press Offer a session in a Flex block. Give it a title, a room and seats, then press Offer it.
   2. Press Students on your session to Request a student who needs you, or on the day to mark them and press Save register.

   Students choose until the school's cut-off. A requested seat stands. Only schools with a Flex block in their bell times use Flex.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

8. Plan small groups and work plans (Montessori classes)

   Low10 min
   1. Open Work cycle. Press Plan a small group, name the lesson, the material and the place, pick the children and press Plan it.
   2. Under Work plan and journal, pick a child, add subjects as Must do with a count or May do, and press Save work plan.
   3. Add work a child did with the minutes and press Add for today.

   Small-group lessons start inside the work cycle. Children add to their own journal during the work cycle.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

9. Share out class duties (class teachers)

   Low5 min
   1. Open Weekly plan, pick your class and find Class duties.
   2. Press Add a duty, name it and choose how many students a day. Press Save duties.
   3. Pick the dates and press Make the rota. You do not pick names: the app goes through the class roll in order.
   You'll seeA table of who does each duty on every school day.

   Up to 8 duties and 12 weeks at a time. A class with fewer students than duty places fills the first duties only. An absent student's duty passes to the next name for that day only. Families see only their own child's duty.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

10. Set your first homework

    Medium5 min
    1. Open Homework, pick the class and subject, and press New homework.
    2. Fill in Title, Instructions, Due date, Due time and Total marks. Add Files for the class if you have a worksheet.
    3. Choose whether to Take late work and whether it Counts toward grades.
    4. Press Set for the class. Or Save draft to finish it later; a draft is only seen by you.
    You'll see"Homework set. Students and parents have been told." Students can hand in photos or files, or on paper.

    Up to 5 files of 20 MB each (photos, PDF, Word, Excel or PowerPoint). The due time must be in the future. Total marks 1 to 1,000.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

11. Mark homework and return the grades

    Medium5 min
    1. Open the homework from your Homework list and choose the To mark tab.
    2. For each student type the marks, add Feedback (optional) and press Save. Work handed in on paper can be marked too. To change a mark before you return grades, type the new number and press Save again.
    3. When you are ready, press Return grades and confirm.
    You'll see"Grades returned. Students and parents can see the marks now and have been told." If the homework counts toward grades, the marks also appear as a published column in the gradebook.

    After you return grades, only the office can change a mark. Check before you press it.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

12. Add a column and enter marks in the grid

    Medium3 min
    1. Open Gradebook, pick the section and the Subject.
    2. Press New column. Give it a Title, a Type and the Maximum marks, then press Add column.
    3. Type the marks down the column: Enter moves down, Tab moves across. Type A for absent and X for exempt; leave a box blank if it is not marked yet. The total and grade show live.
    4. From a spreadsheet? Press Paste from Excel, paste the block with the part names in the first row, read what matched, and press Fill the grid. From paper? Press Photo of the mark sheet and check the rows before Apply to the column.
    5. Marks are saved as you type, so Save changes turns grey and reads All saved once everything is kept. When the column is final, press Publish beside its name (it is in the column menu too).
    You'll see"Marks saved". A column stays Draft, and families see nothing, until you press Publish. A mark over the maximum is refused the moment it is typed, with the reason under the grid. After publishing, students and parents see the marks and feedback.

    Publishing locks the column; ask the office to change a published mark. Exam columns are published by the principal or school admin under Exams, not by you. Nothing from a paste or a photo is saved until it is in the grid.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

13. Reply to a family in Messages

    Medium3 min
    1. Open Messages. Open a conversation, type in Write a message and send.
    2. To start one yourself, press New conversation, choose About a student, find the student, tick who it is To, add a Subject and your message, and press Send.

    Every conversation is about one child, and that child's parents can always read and reply. You can delete your own message within 5 minutes. Words the school does not allow are refused. Families get one email if a message is still unread after 30 minutes; it never contains the text.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

14. Know your leave and how to ask for it

    Medium2 min
    1. Open My leave. Each leave type shows how many days you have left.
    2. To ask, press Ask for leave. Pick the Type, the First day and Last day (or turn on Half a day and pick the Day), add a Reason, and attach a note if needed.
    3. Press Ask for leave.
    You'll seeThe periods you teach on those days, so the office can arrange cover. You'll hear by email when your request is decided.

    Sundays and school holidays don't count. You can't ask twice for the same day. You can cancel a request until its first day.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

15. Teach a live sabaq

    Low10 min

    Live Sabaq is an add-on next to the Quran Madrasa: one-to-one audio, always recorded, with the guardians able to listen in.

    1. Open Live sabaq under Madrasa and press Schedule a session. Pick the student, date, time and length, then press Save.
    2. From 10 minutes before the time, press Start. The red Recording label shows for everyone.
    3. Tap a word to mark it, pick the kind of mistake, then pick the results and press Save result and end.

    A student joins only after a guardian gives consent. Until the school turns Live Sabaq on, the page says it is not on.

    Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

When you have time

1. Post to your sections

   Low3 min
   1. Open Announcements and press Post to my sections.
   2. Write a Title and Message, tick the Sections, and press Post.

   Students, parents and teachers of the ticked sections see it. School-wide posts are for the office.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

2. Look at insights for your classes

   Low3 min

   Open Insights. It lists students who may need support and why: an average below 60%, attendance below 85%, or 3 or more homework missing. Talk to them early, and to their parents.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

3. Send a permission slip

   Low5 min
   1. Open Permission slips and press New slip.
   2. Add a Title, the Last date to sign, tick Who it is for, add up to 5 questions for parents and a letter if you have one.
   3. Press Send to parents.

   You can send to the sections you teach. If your school set slips to office only, the button is off. Reminders go at most every 12 hours, plus one automatically 2 days before the last date.

   Try itAsk Smarty about this task Done

Class teachers: once a week, look at your sections' attendance bars under My sections on the dashboard.

Teach in the Quran Madrasa

Watch the one minute film, then keep the one page guide open while you try it.

When something goes wrong

Check yourself

Three levels of five questions. Pass a level with 4 right to open the next. Your answers stay on this device.