Harmony – Teacher Manual
Last updated on April 6, 2011 by Elaine Parker
Danville Community School Corporation ©
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPIC / PAGEUSING HARMONY (THE BASICS) / 3
CREATE LETTERS, EMAILS, ETC. (FOR ONE STUDENT AT A TIME) / 5
OTHER STUDENT VIEWS (Including Create Form Letters and Mass Emails) / 7
OTHER LINKS / 9
PRINT/PREVIEW OPTIONS and CREATE A PDF DOCUMENT / 10
CREATE/VIEW DISCIPLINE RECORDS / 11
TAKE ATTENDANCE / 12
VIEW STUDENT ABSENCES AND TARDIES (FOR PRIOR SCHOOL DAYS) / 13
SET UP GRADE BOOKS / 14
USE YOUR GRADE BOOKS / 17
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR GRADE BOOKS / 19
CREATE LESSON PLANS/UNITS / 21
CREATE ASSIGNMENT SUMMARIES / 23
NEW! - COMMON GRADE BOOK PROBLEMS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM / 24
HARMONY – USING HARMONY (THE BASICS)
In the Main student view, you can do the following.
1. View Active Students – all active students in your building are listed in the main student view in Harmony. If you want to go back to the list of active students, click Main in the left menu.
2. Search for Students – to search for students, click anywhere in the area where you see student names. Begin typing the student’s last name and you will see a dialog box open (see below). Type the entire last name or just the first few letters and click Search (or hit your Enter key). You will be taken to the first student whose last name begins with the letters you typed.
3. Sort Students – clicking on any column header with a ^ will sort the students by that criteria. In the picture below, the students would be sorted by Grade Level (notice the darkened triangle next to Grade). You can then type any grade level number to be taken to the first student who has that grade level.
Clicking on the Grade column header again would turn off that sort. If no triangles are darkened, the students will be sorted alphabetical by last name.
Note: You will find that different views in Harmony will have different sorting capabilities. Some views cannot be sorted.
4. View Student Personal Information – Double-click on a student’s name to view their demographic information. Click on the tabs across the top to view other information. (Teachers do not have the ability to edit this information.)
a. Demographics tab displays student information such as name, date of birth, address, home phone number, gender, home room teacher, and student picture.
b. Guardian tab displays parent/guardian names, addresses, phone numbers. The Guardian field on this tab displays who the student lives with (i.e. Parents, Foster Parent, Guardian, etc.).
c. Emergency Contact tab displays contact information for additional contacts other than parents/guardians.
d. Medical Info tab displays physician name and phone number, allowed medications, etc.
e. Office Use tab displays locker number and combination, parking permit, vehicle description, and network account information for middle and high school students. Most of the information on this tab is used for state reporting purposes.
f. Guidance tab displays the student’s most recent ISTEP test results (if taken at Danville Schools).
5. View Student School Year Information – double-clicking on a school year under a student’s name will provide an Attendance Report for that school year. Middle and High teachers can also view the student schedules by clicking on the Schedule link in the top blue bar.
Using the Expand / Collapse Feature – by default when you look at the main view, you are seeing student names, school years, and all information under school years (such as letters, emails, discipline). If you want to see only student names, click on the Collapse icon. If you want to see all of the information again, click on the Expand icon.
Note: You can use the Expand and Collapse feature in most views in Harmony.
HARMONY – CREATE LETTERS, EMAILS, ETC. (FOR ONE STUDENT AT A TIME)
The features in this section will generate letters, emails, and phone call records for a single student at a time.)
Create Letters – in the Main view, you can create letters to students and/or guardians.
1. Highlight (single-click) a student name.
2. Select Add New… from the top blue bar.
3. Select Letter to Guardian or Letter to Student from the drop-down menu.
4. Names and addresses will automatically pull into the letter; you do not need to enter this information.
5. Type your letter between the red brackets.
6. Select your name from the drop-down menu.
7. Print and Save your letter before closing. Your saved letter will appear under the student’s school year.
Create Guardian Emails – in the Main view, you can create emails to guardians.
1. Highlight (single-click) a student name.
2. Select Add New… from the top blue bar.
3. Select Email to Guardian from the drop-down menu.
4. All guardian email addresses for the student will automatically pull into the email.
5. You can choose to cc or bcc others on your email.
6. Enter a Subject for your email.
7. Type your email between the red brackets.
8. To send an attachment with your email, you must have your cursor between the red brackets. Go to the icons in the top toolbar and click on the paper clip.
You can then browse to the file you want to attach, select it and click Create. You will now see your document inserted between the red brackets.
9. Share With… – you can add other teachers to share this email with. By default, only office personnel and the person who is creating the email can view the information. Any names added to the Share With… area, will have viewing rights to this email.
Note: When a guardian emails you back, you will receive their email in your school email account; it will not be in Harmony.
Create Phone Calls – in the Main view, you can record details of important phone calls made. Use this feature if you want to save notes about a conversation. Once saved, you will see the phone call listed under the student’s current school year.
1. Highlight (single-click) a student name.
2. Select Add New… from the top blue bar.
3. Select Phone Call from the drop-down menu.
4. Enter Date & Time of phone call.
5. Select your name in the Personnel drop-down menu.
6. Enter the Reason for call.
7. Share With… – you can add other teachers to share this phone call with. By default, only office personnel and the person who is creating the phone call can view the information. Any names added to the Share With… area, will have viewing rights to this phone call information.
Create E-mail to Teachers (Middle and High only) – in the Main view, you can send emails to a student’s current teachers.
1. Highlight (single-click) a student name.
2. Select Add New… from the top blue bar.
3. Select E-mail to Teachers from the drop-down menu.
4. All of the current teacher’s email addresses for the student will automatically pull into the email.
5. You can choose to cc or bcc others on your email.
6. Change the Subject of your email or leave it as-is.
7. Type your email between the red brackets.
8. To send an attachment with your email, you must have your cursor between the red brackets. Go to the icons in the top toolbar and click on the paper clip.
You can then browse to the file you want to attach, select it and click Create. You will now see your document inserted between the red brackets.
Note: When a teacher emails you back, you will receive their email in your school email account; it will not be in Harmony.
Create Miscellaneous Entries – in the Main view, you can record details of important events such as a parent conference/meeting. Use this feature if you want to save notes about your conference/meeting. Once saved, you will see the miscellaneous entry listed under the student’s current school year.
1. Highlight (single-click) a student name.
2. Select Add New… from the top blue bar.
3. Select Miscellaneous Entry from the drop-down menu.
4. Enter Date & Time.
5. Select your name in the Personnel drop-down menu.
6. Enter information in the Comment section.
7. Share With… – you can add other teachers to share this miscellaneous entry with. By default, only office personnel and the person who is creating the miscellaneous entry can view the information. Any names added to the Share With… area, will have viewing rights to this miscellaneous entry information.
Use Spell Check When Creating Letters, Emails, Phone Calls, and Misc Entries
When you create letters, emails, phone calls, and misc. entries using the steps above, you have the ability to check your spelling.
1. Create your letter or email by using the steps listed above.
2. While viewing your letter or email, click on the ABC icon at the top of the page. Your document will now be checked for spelling errors.
3. You can now Save and Close your letter or email.
HARMONY – OTHER STUDENT VIEWS
Described below are other student views that you may find beneficial.
Students by Grade – displays a list of active students by grade level. You can use this view to create form letters and to send mass emails.
1. Create Form Letters – allows you to send letters to all selected students or guardians of selected students.
a. Select the students to receive the form letter by clicking in the blank column to the left of the student names. You can click and drag to select several students in a row.
b. From the blue bar, select Create… and select Form Letter from the drop-down menu.
c. In the Student/Guardian drop-down, select Guardian or Student depending on who you want the letter addressed to.
d. Select your name in the Personnel drop-down
e. If this letter requires approval from someone else, select Yes; otherwise, select No.
f. In the Template drop-down, choose the letter you want to send (if you have already created and saved one). If not, leave this blank.
g. Click OK.
h. You should now either see your template or a blank area where you can type your letter. Don’t forget to give your letter a Subject.
i. Even though there is an Attach File button, you cannot attach a file to letters that you create.
j. Click OK when done with your letter.
k. You will be given the option to save your letter. This will be helpful if it is a letter that you send regularly.
l. You will be asked if you would like to save the letter to the student’s record.
m. You will receive a message stating that your letters have been created and are available for printing by going to the To Be Printed view.
n. To print your letters, select To Be Printed from the left menu. You can select all your letters by clicking and dragging down the select column to the left of the letters. Once your letters are selected, go to the blue bar at the top and select Print Selected Documents.
Note: Spell Check is not available when creating form letters.
2. Create Mass Emails – allows you to send emails in mass to all selected students or guardians of selected students.
a. Select the students to receive the mass email by clicking in the blank column to the left of the student names. You can click and drag to select several students in a row.
b. From the blue bar, select Create… and select Mass Email from the drop-down menu.
c. In the Send To area, select Parents, Students, or Both depending on who you want the email sent to. Note: we currently do not have student emails listed in Harmony but may be adding them at some point in time.
d. In the Template drop-down, choose the email you want to send (if you have already created and saved one). If not, leave this blank.
e. Click OK.
f. You should now either see your template or a blank area where you can type your email. Don’t forget to give your email a Subject.
g. Click on the Attach File button if you want to attach a file to the email you are sending.
h. Use the Insert Field button if you want to personalize your email by adding the student’s name, etc.
i. Click OK when done with your email.
j. You will be given the option to save your email. This will be helpful if it is a email that you send regularly.
k. A list will be generated if you had selected students who do not have email addresses in Harmony.
Note: Mass emails cannot be saved to student records in Harmony.
Note: Spell check is not available when creating mass emails.
Students by Homeroom – displays a list of active students by homeroom teacher. Mass emails can be sent from this view by homeroom.
Bus Roster – displays a list of all active students by the bus they ride.
Birthdays – displays a list of all active students grouped by month of birth by default.
By Family – displays a list of all active students grouped by family (student’s guardians) by default.
Student Search – displays a list of all active students sorted by student last name by default.