Gradebook Seating Chart

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Overview
• Initializing The Seating Chart
• Taking Attendance
• Updating and Printing your Seating Chart
  • Updating the Seats
  • Printing the Chart
• Alternate Seating Charts
  • Creating Alternate Seating Charts
  • Using an Alternate Seating Chart

Overview

You can access the Seating Chart by clicking on the "Seating Chart" tab on the bottom left of the screen.

The Gradebook>Gradebook>Seating Chart screen is designed for two purposes:

• To give you a printable, graphical view of your students, with the added ability to arrange your class any way you wish.
• To give you the ability to take attendance with this view.

When you are looking at the seating chart, all of the photos and the teacher's desk are laid out in a grey field with a black boundary line.  This is "the classroom".  If you print the chart, all of the photos - and the desk - that are in "the classroom" will be printed.

Initializing The Seating Chart

The first time you use a seating chart for a class, you *must* click the "Save Seating Chart" button.  This initializes the seating chart so that it can be used.

Taking Attendance

When you enter the Seating Chart screen, the Take Attendance functionality is on.

Here are the steps to take attendance:

1. Highlight the student(s) that you wish to update by clicking on their picture.
2. Select the Attendance code from the "Attendance Code:" drop down.
3. Click the "Post Attendance" link.

Once the attendance has been entered, the student(s) name who were updated will be outlined with the color of the attendance code that you selected.

If you put your mouse over the student, you will see the Attendance Description appear in a pop up.

If you would like to update different students to a different code, just repeat the steps above.

Note: This screen allows to take attendance for the current day only.

Updating and Printing your Seating Chart

Updating the Seats

In order to switch your student's seating order, switch the "Seating Chart Mode" on the top of the screen to "Change Seating": 

Once the screen has refreshed, you will be able to drag your student's photos and the teacher's desk into any order or position that you can dream up.    To move a photo or the desk, simply click on it, hold the cursor down, and drag & drop it to anywhere you wish within the gray field.

You can also move the "Teacher's Desk" picture so that your room layout can be as realistic as possible.

Make sure to hit the "Save" button that is next to the "Seating Chart Mode" field on the top of the screen.

Printing the Chart

The Seating Chart screen has a light gray area that is surrounded by dotted lines - "the classroom".

This is the "Print Area" of the screen.

Any student within this area will be able to be printed correctly.

Before you can print the seating chart for the first time, you must click the "Save Seating Chart" button.  This stores the position of the students and the teacher's desk in the default "Class Seating Chart".  

In order to print, just click on the Printer icon at the top of the screen.

Alternate Seating Charts

It is possible to make additional seating charts.  This was initially added to support Rotation Groups debuted during the COVID pandemic, but can be used any time you require alternate seating charts.

Creating Alternate Seating Charts

Use the green plus sign to add a new seating chart:

1. Click the green plus sign:

This brings up the "Add Seating Chart" dialog:

2. Fill in a new "Chart Name".  E.g. "Chart Version 2".

3. Optionally, select the Rotation Group you want to use for the new seating chart.  You can simply leave it at "all groups" if you are not now using Rotation Groups.

4. Click the "Add Chart" button to add the new seating chart.   This immediately opens the new seating chart in "Change Seating" mode:

5. You can now drag and drop the students' photos and the teachers desk to create your new/alternate layout.  If you have selected a Rotation Group, only the students who are members of the selected group will appear.

6. When you are done - even if you have not moved any photo or the desk, click the "Save Seating Chart" button to save the layout:  You must click "Save Seating Chart" at least once to save the layout.

Using an Alternate Seating Chart

The seating chart selection field "Seating Chart" is 'sticky'.  Once you select an alternate seating chart, that chart will appear until you change the setting.  The setting 'sticks' across Genesis sessions:  if you log out and log back in, the last seating chart you selected will still appear.  You must manually select a different seating chart if you want to change which one you see.

However, you can change the seating chart at any time:  it does not affect anything else.