Scheduling

Scheduling Overview

Scheduling Overview The Scheduler lets you plan classroom observations ahead of time. Instead of creating observations on the spot, you can schedule them in advance so both the observer and teacher know when to expect a visit. This is especially useful for instructional coaches managing a full observation cycle across multiple classrooms, or for principals coordinating school-wide observation schedules. Accessing the Scheduler Click Scheduler in the top navigation bar. The Scheduler page is available to anyone with the Scheduler, Observer, Observation Manager, Organization Manager, or Owner role. Teachers (Observee role) can also view their own upcoming scheduled observations from the Home page. The Scheduler page showing the calendar view with scheduled observations Who Can Do What Not all roles have the same level of access to the Scheduler: | Capability | Coaches (Observer) | Schedulers (Scheduler) | APs (Observation Manager) | Principals (Organization Manager) | Owners | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | View Scheduler page | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | View own schedules | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | View all schedules | -- | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Schedule self | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Schedule others | -- | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes | | Edit schedules | -- | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes | | Delete schedules | -- | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes | Coaches can see and create schedules for their own observations, but only Schedulers, Principals, and Owners can create and manage schedules for other staff members. The Calendar View The Scheduler displays a calendar with four view options, accessible from the toolbar at the top of the calendar: - Month (default) -- Shows the full month at a glance. Each scheduled observation appears as a compact event tile showing the observee's name. - Week -- Shows a seven-day view with time slots, useful for seeing how observations are distributed throughout the week. - Day -- Shows a single day with time slots, helpful when you have several observations planned for the same day. - Agenda -- Shows a chronological list of all scheduled observations with full details including the observee, observer, form, and date/time. You can edit these fields directly in the Agenda view without opening a popup. Weekend days (Saturday and Sunday) appear with a gray background on the calendar, while days outside the current month appear slightly faded. Filtering the Calendar A filter panel on the right side of the calendar helps you find specific schedules: - Search -- Type in the search box to filter schedules by name across all fields. - Observee -- Expand the Observee accordion to filter by a specific teacher. You can select multiple observees. - Observer -- Expand the Observer accordion to filter by a specific observer. You can select multiple observers. - Form -- Expand the Form accordion to filter by a specific observation form. You can select multiple forms. Each filter shows a Clear link with the count of selected items when active. Filters work together, so you can combine them to narrow the view -- for example, showing only observations for a specific teacher using a specific form. How Scheduling Fits the Observation Workflow 1. Schedule -- A scheduler or coach creates a scheduled observation for a future date, selecting the teacher, observer, form, and time. 2. Notify -- Aprenta sends email reminders to the observer and/or teacher before the scheduled date (if reminders are configured). 3. Conduct -- When the date arrives, the observer creates and conducts the observation. 4. Review -- The completed observation appears in Results and on the teacher's dashboard. Scheduling is optional. Observers can always create observations directly from the Start Observation button in the navigation bar without scheduling them first. School Context The Scheduler operates within the currently selected school. If you have access to multiple schools, use the school selector at the top of the page to switch between them. Schedules, observers, and observees are all scoped to the selected school.

Creating & Managing Schedules

Creating & Managing Schedules This article covers how to create new observation schedules, edit existing ones, delete schedules, and work with the different calendar views. You need the Scheduler, Organization Manager, or Owner role to create schedules for other staff. Coaches (Observer role) can schedule their own observations. The Scheduler page showing the calendar with New Schedule button and scheduled observations Creating a New Schedule 1. Navigate to the Scheduler page from the top navigation bar. 2. Click the New Schedule button at the top left of the calendar. A sliding panel titled "Add new schedule" opens from the right side of the screen. 3. Fill in the schedule details: - Form (required) -- Select a published observation form from the dropdown. Type to search by form name. - Schedule (required) -- Click "Select date and time" to choose the date and time for the observation using the date-time picker. - Observer (required) -- Select the person who will conduct the observation. Type to search by name. Only users with the Observer role in the current school appear in this list. - Observee (required) -- Select the teacher to be observed. Type to search by name. Only users with the Observee role in the current school appear in this list. When you select an observee, the school is automatically set based on that teacher's organization. 4. Optionally, set reminders for the observer and/or observee (see Reminders & Notifications for details). 5. Click Save to create the scheduled observation, or Cancel to discard it. The Add new schedule panel showing all form fields for creating a scheduled observation A success message confirms "Schedule created successfully" and the new event appears on the calendar. Understanding the Schedule Form Fields | Field | Required | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | Form | Yes | The observation form to use. Only published forms appear in the dropdown. | | Schedule | Yes | The date and time of the planned observation. Uses a date-time picker. | | Observer | Yes | The person conducting the observation (coach, AP, principal). | | Observee | Yes | The teacher being observed. Automatically sets the school context. | | Observer Reminder | No | When to email a reminder to the observer before the observation. | | Observee Reminder | No | When to email a reminder to the teacher before the observation. | Editing a Schedule from the Calendar Popup When you click on a scheduled event in the Month, Week, or Day view, a popup titled "Update event" appears near the event: 1. Click on the scheduled event tile on the calendar. 2. The popup shows the same fields as the creation form -- Form, Schedule, Observer, Observee, and reminders -- all pre-filled with the current values. 3. Update any fields you need to change. For example, you might reassign a different observer, change the date, or select a different form. 4. Click Save to apply your changes. The Save button is only active when you have made changes. 5. Click Cancel or click outside the popup to discard changes and close it. A success message confirms "Schedule updated successfully." Editing a Schedule from the Agenda View The Agenda view provides a streamlined way to edit schedules without opening a popup. Each schedule in the Agenda list displays: - Schedule (date/time) -- Click the date to open a date-time picker and change it directly. - Observee -- Shown as a label with the teacher's name, with a reminder bell icon below. - Observer -- Click the observer name to open a dropdown and reassign to a different observer. A reminder bell icon appears below. - Form -- Click the form name to open a dropdown and select a different form. Changes made in the Agenda view are saved immediately. When you change the scheduled date, any existing reminders are automatically adjusted by the same time offset. If the adjusted reminder time would fall in the past, the reminder is cleared. Setting and Managing Reminders Below both the Observer and Observee fields, you will see a bell icon with the current reminder status: - None -- No reminder is set. Click the bell icon to configure one. - 15 minutes before / 1 hour before / 1 day before -- A preset reminder relative to the scheduled date. - A specific date and time -- A custom reminder time you chose. - A green bell with a date -- The reminder has already been sent. Once sent, the reminder cannot be changed. You must set a scheduled date before you can configure reminders. If no date is set, you will see a message: "Set a scheduled date first." For more details on reminder options and how notifications are delivered, see Reminders & Notifications. Deleting a Schedule To delete a scheduled observation: 1. Click on the scheduled event in the Month, Week, or Day view to open the popup. 2. Click the three-dot menu icon (vertical ellipsis) in the top-right corner of the popup, next to the close button. 3. Click Delete from the dropdown menu. The schedule is removed from the calendar. Deleting a schedule does not affect any observations that have already been created from it. You need the Scheduler, Organization Manager, or Owner role to delete schedules. Navigating the Calendar Use the navigation controls in the calendar toolbar to move between dates: - Today -- Click to jump back to the current date. - Back / Forward -- Use the arrow buttons to move to the previous or next month, week, or day (depending on your current view). - View tabs -- Switch between Month, Week, Day, and Agenda views using the tabs in the toolbar. The calendar loads schedules for the current month plus one month on either side, so you can see upcoming and recent events as you navigate. Working with the School Selector Schedules are scoped to a specific school. The observer and observee dropdowns only show people who belong to the currently selected school. If you manage observations across multiple schools, switch the school selector at the top of the page before creating new schedules. When you select an observee, the schedule is automatically associated with that teacher's school. This ensures the observation appears in the correct school context for reporting and management. Tips for Effective Scheduling - Schedule in batches -- If you are coordinating a school-wide observation cycle, use the Agenda view to quickly review and adjust multiple schedules at once. - Set reminders -- Email reminders help ensure observers and teachers are prepared. The "1 day before" preset gives teachers time to prepare, while "15 minutes before" serves as a last-minute prompt for observers. - Assign forms early -- Selecting the observation form when you create the schedule ensures the observer knows which form to use and can review the elements beforehand. - Use filters -- When reviewing schedules for a particular coach or teacher, use the Observer and Observee filters on the right panel to quickly find relevant schedules.

Reminders & Notifications

Reminders & Notifications Aprenta sends email reminders before scheduled observations so both observers and teachers can prepare. Reminders are configured per schedule and are optional -- you can set a reminder for the observer, the observee, both, or neither. Setting a Reminder When creating or editing a scheduled observation, you will see a bell icon below both the Observer and Observee fields. Click the bell icon to open the reminder options: 1. None -- No reminder will be sent. This is the default. 2. 15 minutes before -- A quick heads-up shortly before the observation. 3. 1 hour before -- Time for the observer to review the form or for the teacher to wrap up preparation. 4. 1 day before -- Advance notice so both parties can plan ahead. 5. Custom -- Choose a specific date and time for the reminder using the date-time picker. The custom time must be at least 5 minutes in the future and before the scheduled observation time. Preset options that have already passed (relative to the current time) are automatically disabled, so you will not accidentally set a reminder in the past. How Reminders Are Delivered Reminders are sent via email. Aprenta checks for pending reminders every minute. When the reminder time arrives, an email is sent to the observer or observee (depending on which reminder was configured). Each reminder is sent exactly once. After a reminder has been delivered, the bell icon turns green and displays the date and time the reminder was sent. Once a reminder has been sent, it cannot be changed or re-sent using the preset options. Reminder Requirements A reminder will only be sent if all of the following are true: - A scheduled date has been set for the observation - The scheduled date has not yet passed - The reminder has not already been sent for this schedule - An observer or observee has been assigned (depending on which reminder) If you have not set a scheduled date yet, clicking the bell icon shows the message: "Set a scheduled date first." Send Reminder Now In the Agenda view, you can send a reminder immediately without waiting for a scheduled time. Below each observer and observee entry, the reminder bell includes a Send Reminder Now button at the bottom of the reminder dropdown. This is useful when you need to notify someone right away about an upcoming observation. The "Send Reminder Now" option is only available when: - A reminder has not already been sent - An observer or observee is assigned to the schedule After sending, the bell icon turns green and shows the delivery timestamp. What the Email Contains Reminder emails are generated from notification templates configured on each observation form. The email content includes details about the scheduled observation, drawn from these template variables: | Variable | What It Shows | |----------|---------------| | Observer name | The assigned observer's name | | Observee name | The teacher's name | | Organization name | The school name | | Form name | The observation form to be used | | Scheduled date | The date of the scheduled observation | | Scheduled time | The time of the scheduled observation | The email is localized to the recipient's time zone, so dates and times display correctly for each person. Reminders When Rescheduling If you change the scheduled date of an observation in the Agenda view, any existing reminders are automatically adjusted to maintain the same offset. For example, if a reminder was set for 1 hour before and you move the observation from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the reminder shifts from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. If the adjusted reminder time would fall in the past, the reminder is automatically cleared to prevent sending a late notification. Customizing Notification Templates Each observation form has its own observer and observee notification templates. Form Managers and administrators can customize the email subject and body for each form. This lets you tailor the message content to different observation types -- for example, a formal evaluation might include different preparation guidance than an informal observation.