PSU 2012 System Administrator: System Settings System Administrator: System Settings PowerSchool and its Oracle database have many powerful tools and features. As the system administrator, your job is to maintain the server, manage settings, and set up the tools that your site will use. By the end of this session, you will learn how to:
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Describe the basic architecture of the PowerSchool application
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Set up security groups and user settings
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Configure settings for PowerTeacher Administrator and ReportWorks
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Run Special Operations
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Set up Family Management and Address Management features
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Enable and configure PowerSchool mobile web pages access, and Parent Single Sign-on
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Configure ODBC access, and set up your own ODBC queries
PowerSchool Architecture Users interact with and get data from PowerSchool through a web browser. The PowerSchool application uses Java to serve information and functions to the browser. PowerSchool also uses Tomcat to serve web-based applications, including PowerTeacher gradebook, PowerTeacher Administrator, ReportWorks, and System Management. The data is held and managed in an Oracle database. Users may interact with the data in the Oracle database more directly using Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) and a query client like SQL Developer (available free from Oracle).
Security Setup You set up and maintain your PowerSchool security settings for individuals in two main areas. The first area is in Security Settings on the System Administrator page, and the second area is on the Security Settings page of each staff member.
Activity 1 – Work with Security Groups Several security groups are set up by default. Each group is assigned a level of access based upon the members’ presumed job functions. In this activity, you will edit groups and group access to PowerSchool functions. Your presenter will give you a PowerSchool address and sign-in credentials. 1.
On the Start Page, click System > Security > Groups
2.
Select Administrator and Counselors, and compare the groups’ settings Notice that you can edit the Group Name and other settings from these pages, and choose which Incident Types and which Student Screens a group may see.
3.
In the main menu, click New Staff Entry, and enter your personal information to create a new staff member Your trainer will give you a staff ID.
4.
Click Submit
5.
Click Security Settings, and enter values for your new staff member as directed by the trainer (remember the username and password you use; you will need it later in the class)
System Administrator: System Settings Note that you can choose whether the individual may sign in to the Administrative site, and whether he or she can switch to other schools. Place this person in the security group called Administrator (9). You can also restrict the IP address from which a user can sign in and the time of day during which users can access PowerSchool. 6.
Click Submit > PowerSchool
7.
Return to the Start Page, and click System > Security > Users by Group The Users by Group page shows all your staff members and the security group to which each member is assigned. To change the access level of an individual staff member whose job role has changed, click that staff member’s name, edit the security group, and submit.
8.
Select the staff member you recently added, and change the assigned security group to Counselors (3)
9.
Click System > Security > Access to Page Permissions
10. Choose Turn Modify Permissions On, and click Submit Now, any page you visit has a link at the bottom that reads “Modify access privileges for this page.” 11. From the main menu, click Attendance to restrict counselors’ access to this page 12. Click Modify access privileges for this page 13. Find the Counselors (3) group, and select None for the Level of Access 14. Do not click Submit unless instructed by your trainer After adjusting your groups’ access to the pages, you could turn off the Access to Page Permissions function; however, when you sign out of this session, PowerSchool turns it off automatically. 15. Click System > Security > Access to Page Permissions to turn off page permissions 16. Choose Turn Modify Permissions Off, and click Submit
Activity 2 – Set Up IP Restrictions and Other Security Settings Specify which IP addresses have access to PowerSchool. Use the IP Address Restrictions feature to prevent off-campus access to the server. Also, set PowerSchool to automatically block an IP address’ access after a specified number of failed sign in attempts. Use the Database Security page to set the passwords for ODBC access. 1.
Click System > Security > IP Address Restrictions > New (You may enter IP addresses, but please do not submit, or you may accidentally block this class’ access.)
2.
Click System > Security > Sign In Attempts Restrictions Here you can set a number of failed sign in attempts, and set an email address for the server to send a notification of the event. (Please do not submit this page if you make changes. Several persons submitting this page at once may cause problems.) To see a list of disabled IP addresses, click Sign In Attempts Restrictions. Also, choose Locked Accounts or Report of Invalid Sign in Attempts. Sometimes a user gets locked out because he or she has forgotten a password and exceeded the maximum number of failed attempts allowed. To reinstate the disabled IP address, click the address, and then click Delete.
3.
Click System > Security > Database Security Access the Database Security page to change the ODBC passwords. At installation, these
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System Administrator: System Settings passwords are set by default. As a best practice, change the default passwords on your own server.
System-Wide Security PowerSchool has security settings that are configurable to apply system-wide and, hence, are set in the server settings. These include automatic session logout, concurrent session restrictions, and default access to student pages.
Activity 3 – Set Up System Security Settings For each of the fields, enter the settings you think are appropriate at your site. (Please do not submit. If many people enter different server settings simultaneously, the result may not be good.) 1.
Navigate to System > System Settings > Security Refer to the table below for an explanation of each field. Field
Description
Maximum number of concurrent user sessions
Enter the maximum number of user sessions that can occur in PowerSchool simultaneously.
Maximum number of concurrent student sessions
Enter the maximum number of student sessions that can occur in PowerSchool simultaneously.
Maximum number of concurrent parent sessions
Enter the maximum number of parent sessions that can occur in PowerSchool simultaneously.
Log Off Administrative Users After This Many Minutes Of Inactivity
Enter the number of minutes of inactivity that can pass before administrative users are logged off PowerSchool automatically.
Log Off Parent Users After This Many Minutes Of Inactivity
Enter the number of minutes of inactivity that can pass before parent users are logged off PowerSchool automatically.
Unless Specified Otherwise for an Individual Screen, Groups Have This Level Of Access
Enter a default value for the level of access groups are assigned.
Enable Parent Single Sign-On Security
Check to turn on the system to allow parents to see all their students’ information with one login.
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Your Values
The values are: * 0 1 2
Group Default No Access Read Only Full Access
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System Administrator: System Settings
2.
Field
Description
Enable PowerSchool Session Cookies to span Subdomains
Check to allow cookies storing using settings to be used by the system when users sign in to different portals.
PowerSchool Domain
Enter the domain name of the server in which PowerSchool is running.
Remote Support
Select your setting for Remote support. Remote support allows PowerSchool Tech Support to sign in and help you with issues.
Your Values
You must enter your PowerSchool domain for this to work properly.
In the third column of the table above, write the values you would use on your own server Check with support or your implementation team for recommendations for your district’s needs.
Tomcat User Interfaces Users can connect to PowerSchool for special functions through Tomcat-hosted Java applications (for example, PowerTeacher gradebook, PowerTeacher Administrator, and ReportWorks.) When PowerSchool is installed, Tomcat, an application server, is also installed and is used to serve these connected Java applications. Tomcat is a project of the Apache open source group; it is a powerful, secure, and widely-used tool to deliver Java applications through web browsers. Tomcat may run on the same machine with PowerSchool or on a separate machine. Tomcat can run independently of PowerSchool, and vice versa. At installation, Tomcat is set up as a service on your server. This means that Tomcat starts automatically whenever your server starts. System administrators manage settings for the users with access to these features. With PowerTeacher Administrator, you and your site’s curriculum leaders manage and push content and settings to PowerTeacher.
Activity 4 – Set Up PowerTeacher Administrator Access Users of the administrative site will see a link to PowerTeacher Administrator in the main menu on the Start Page. In the following activity, you will give a staff member access to PowerTeacher Administrator. 1.
Navigate to the Staff page, and find the record of the staff member you added earlier
2.
Click Security Settings Use the admin username and password that you set up earlier for this user.
3.
Scroll down to “PowerTeacher Administrator user?” and select Yes
4.
Click Submit
5.
Sign out of PowerSchool, and sign in again, this time as the staff member whose settings you have updated When PowerTeacher administrators click the PT Administrator link, their credentials will be passed to Tomcat, and they will be logged in to PowerTeacher Administrator automatically. If they have a PowerTeacher account, they will also see PowerTeacher Administrator under their gradebook link.
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System Administrator: System Settings 6.
To confirm your change, click PowerTeacher Administrator Stay logged in for the next activity.
PowerTeacher Administrator Functions PowerTeacher Administrator has three main types of functions, all organized into their own sections of the program. These sections are Administration, Gradebook Features, and Reports. Use Administration to manage accounts, set up security groups, and edit account settings. Use Gradebook Features to push preferences, grade scales, standard-based grading calculations, and class content to groups of teachers. Use Reports to check final grades and run a Section Readiness report. System administrators perform most of their tasks in the Administration section. To learn more about PowerTeacher Administrator, sign up for the PSU PowerTeacher Administrator class.
Activity 5 – Manage PowerTeacher Administrator In this activity, manage accounts, and edit security groups and account settings for PowerTeacher Administrator users. 1.
Return to the PowerTeacher Administrator window you opened in the last activity
2.
Click Administration You can access the Administration area from the tab, the link in the main pane of the page, or in the menu on the left.
3.
Select your username
4.
Configure the account permissions and then associate the user with a school
5.
Click Update
6.
Click Security Groups > Add Group
7.
Enter a name, enter a description for a new group, and set permissions
8.
Click Update
9.
Click Account Settings Configure PowerTeacher Administrator’s system-wide account settings in Account Settings. Here you can set a timeout duration for inactive sessions and activate an Administrator Login. Do not submit changes to this page—if several users submit system-wide changes at once, it may cause server problems. Data Exchange is not active, and SIS Configuration is read-only.
10. Sign out of PowerTeacher Administrator, and sign out of PowerSchool
ReportWorks Settings Report developers use ReportWorks to build and share reports. ReportWorks uses Java codes to retrieve data from the database. To find reports made in ReportWorks on the Reports page, click System Reports > ReportWorks. Users with access to ReportWorks can launch the application by clicking ReportWorks in the main menu. Usually, system administrators give users access to ReportWorks.
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System Administrator: System Settings Activity 6 – Grant ReportWorks Access In this activity, you will edit security settings to give users access to ReportWorks. 1.
Sign in to PowerSchool with your original assigned credentials, and navigate to the Security Settings page of the user you created in Activity 1
2.
Towards the bottom of the page, find “ReportWorks Developer user?” and choose Yes
3.
Click Submit
4.
Sign out, then sign in again as the user you have edited
5.
On the main menu, click ReportWorks Developer
6.
Launch ReportWorks, and use the same user credentials to sign in
7.
Exit ReportWorks (if you never go beyond the initial screen, click X to exit ReportWorks)
Special Operations At times, you will need to engage some server functions to change settings or synchronize tables and fields in the database. Although you will not use these functions frequently, knowing how to use them is important. To locate Special Operations, select System > Special Operations. Open the menu to select an operation. Some operations require parameters, which are passed in the fields below the menu. Some of these operations require a code, and should be run only in consultation with Tech Support, which will provide the code. Some of the more commonly used parameters are listed in the following table: Operation
Description
Parameters
Check for Invalid Student IDs
Scans CC table for records from the current year that have a student ID associated with a student not enrolled during that year.
None
Clear Orphaned Student Schedule Records
Clears records from the CC table that have the same entry and exit date, or that does not have a StudentID. This is a weekly maintenance task that can be invoked with this procedure.
None
Data Validation reports
Loads reports that identify synchronization errors so that you can correct the data and have successful synchronization.
None
Realign Section/Schedule Enrollments
Scans the Sections table for sections at the selected school and the current year. It then locates these sections in the CC table and will change the TeacherID, Section_Number, TermID, Course_Number, SchoolID, and Expression in the CC table if it does not match the data in the Sections table. This report may be run if changes to sections have been made and are not showing up correctly in teacher schedules and class rosters.
None
Enable Custom Fields ODBC Access
Opens custom fields to queries by ODBC clients.
Code: cfldenable
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System Administrator: System Settings Operation
Description
Parameters
Disable Custom Fields ODBC Access
Turns off access to custom fields by ODBC clients.
Code: cflddisable
Rebuild Custom Page Links
Scans the student pages directory and creates a link (based on the page title) for any page found there.
None
Remove Teachers with No Sections
Sets status of teachers to 2 (inactive) if that teacher is not associated with any sections in the current year.
None
Reset Class Counts and Rebuild Schedules and Rosters
Counts the number of records in the CC table for each section and updates the Sections table with that value as total enrollment.
None
Select Students with Overlapping CC enrollments
Creates a selection of students who have CC records with overlapping section enrollments so that you can fix these errors.
None
Set Sync to Atomic Mode
Sets synchronization between the main PowerSchool tables and the PowerTeacher gradebook tables to run in Atomic Mode.
None
Set Sync to NonAtomic Mode
Sets synchronization between the main PowerSchool tables and the PowerTeacher gradebook tables to run in Non-Atomic Mode.
None
Resynchronize PowerTeacher
Runs synchronization between main PowerSchool tables and the PowerTeacher gradebook tables.
None
Activity 7 – Special Operations Demonstration In this activity, you will see how to run Special Operations. It is not safe for multiple users to run Special Operations simultaneously, so this will be done as a demonstration. 1.
Watch as your presenter runs some special operations
2.
Which operations do you think would be most important for you to use at your site?
______________________________________________________________________ 3.
When would you likely use these operations?
______________________________________________________________________
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System Administrator: System Settings Family Management The Family Management feature makes it possible for school personnel to enter data once and share that data among family members. So if Julie, James, and Joseph Adams move from one house to another, the school needs to update the address in only one record to apply to all siblings. Once the feature is configured in PowerSchool, the software will search for matches whenever a new student is enrolled, and the registrar can choose whether to match the student to a family. In order to use Family Management at the schools, configure the Family Management fields. Perform this task in the District Office. Then, decide if you will allow users to view and copy data from related students at other schools to students at the user’s school. Second, decide if you will allow users to copy data from students at that user’s school to students at another school. Finally, you need to decide which fields to copy and share between related students.
Activity 8 – Set Up Family Management Set up Family Management in the District Office. 1.
Sign in to PowerSchool with your original assigned account
2.
Switch to the District Office, then click District > Family Management
3.
Choose whether to allow schools to view and copy records from other schools
4.
Choose whether to allow schools to copy data to records at other schools
5.
Examine the default list of Student Fields to Copy; remove or add any fields as appropriate
6.
Normally, you will click Submit, but please don’t for this class
Mass Create Family Links Using the Mass Create Family Links group function, you do not have to create family links between students one by one. Select a group of students to create family links based on the family ID or the home phone number. Use this feature to set values for all students in the district, all currently enrolled students, or any other group you select.
Activity 9 – Create Family Links Create a family link between three students using the home phone number. 1.
On the Start Page, in Apple Grove High School, click the letter of the alphabet assigned to you by the trainer
2.
From the group functions menu, choose Select Students By Hand
3.
Select three students, click Functions, and select the current student selection number at the top of the page
4.
Select the first student and view his home phone number
5.
Change the other two students home phone to match the first student’s
6.
Navigate back to the Start Page, and click Special Functions > Group Functions > Mass Create Family Links
7.
Set the match criteria to be Student Phone (DO NOT use both Family Id and Student Phone at the same time)
8.
Click Submit The students included and the number of relationships created will appear.
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System Administrator: System Settings Address Management Address Management works with Google Maps to define geographic boundaries for schools and districts. Define the boundaries in the District Setup. Once you set up the boundaries, you can verify that the addresses of newly enrolled students are in school boundaries and that the addresses are valid.
Activity 10 – Define District Boundaries Your school system is going to start using Address Management, and you are given the assignment to set it up. In this activity you will set up a District of Residence. This is not necessarily a school district. 1.
Sign in to the District Office, and click District > Districts of Residence
2.
Click New
3.
Enter an ID and a name for the new district
4.
Put in an entry for sort order
5.
Click Edit Boundary
6.
Zoom in to the area of your own district Use the tools on the map or the search tool to look for a zip code or city name.
7.
Click the map to set a boundary point The latitude and longitude of the point will appear in the fields on the left.
8.
Click Add Point to record that point
9.
Continue until you have drawn the boundaries for your district, and click Accept
10. Click Submit
Mobile Web Page Management School personnel who have an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android phone or tablet can view PowerSchool via mobile pages. However, before they can view mobile pages, you must give them access. By default, the district level has no access. You can set mobile pages access school-by-school and user-by-user. Mobile pages are specially-designed web pages that look like the PowerSchool application. You can view mobile pages for PowerSchool, PowerTeacher, and PowerTeacher Substitute. In addition to mobile web pages, you can also use Mobile Apps on iPhones and iPads to work with PowerTeacher gradebook. To enable PowerSchool mobile services for people in your schools, complete a PowerSource registration. If you do so, users will choose your school’s server by entering the zip code. Also, you can disable registration, and tell staff how to connect to the server manually (see PowerSource documents 62222 and 61107 for more details). After you enable access on at the District Office, you can control access school-by-school in the School Setup settings (School > Mobile Settings).
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System Administrator: System Settings Activity 11 – Enable Access to Mobile Pages: School and District Excited about accessing your PowerSchool implementation on your phone, you decide to set up mobile pages for your school. 1.
Sign in to the District Office, and click District > Miscellaneous
2.
Check Enable Mobile Web Pages
3.
For PowerSource registration, do one of the following:
4.
a.
Check Disable PowerSource Registration to require users to enter the server address, port number, and SSL information
b.
Clear the Disable PowerSource Registration check box, and enter your app server address, port number, SSL, and postal code information in the corresponding fields to enable users to configure PowerSchool mobile apps automatically
Do not click Submit unless instructed by your trainer After you enable Mobile App Services, restart Tomcat. For more information, refer to Knowledgebase article 62222 on PowerSource.
5.
Switch to a school of your choice, and navigate to the School Setup page
6.
Under General, choose Mobile Settings
7.
To disable Mobile Web Pages for this school only, do one or more of the following: a.
Check Disable Mobile PS (Admin) to disable Mobile Web Pages for all administrative staff at this school
b.
Check Disable Mobile PS (Teachers) to disable Mobile Web Pages for all teachers at this school
c.
Check Disable Mobile PS (Subs) to disable Mobile Web Pages for all substitutes at this school
8.
From the Default Class Sort menu, choose to sort sections by Course Name and then Expression, or by Expression and then Course Name
9.
Check Hide Bus Route to prevent the display of transportation information on Mobile Web Pages
10. To choose which transportation information to display on Mobile Web Pages, do one of the following: a.
From the “Show Bus Info From Transportation or Student Fields” menu, select Transportation to display bus route information from the Transportation table
b.
From the “Show Bus Info From Transportation or Student Fields” menu, select Students to display bus route information from the bus_route field in the Students table
11. Check Hide Student Photos to prevent student photos from displaying on Mobile Web Pages 12. Check Hide Lunch Count (Subs) to disable the lunch count feature on Mobile Web Pages for all substitutes at this school 13. Check Hide Lunch Count (Teachers) to disable the lunch count feature on Mobile Web Pages for all teachers at this school 14. Do not click Submit unless instructed by your trainer
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System Administrator: System Settings Activity 12– Enable Access to Mobile Pages: Staff 1.
Navigate to the Security Settings page for the staff member you created in Activity 1
2.
From the “Access to mobile version of PowerSchool” menu, select Allowed
3.
Click Submit If you have a compatible mobile device (iPhone or Droid, as described above), try logging in using the staff account you created and edited.
Parent Portal Administration As the system administrator, you can choose and control what data staff can access and who can access the PowerSchool Parent portal. You can add or subtract items from the portal, and you can search and manage parent users and information. The Parent Portal Administrator guide covers all aspects of these features. In the following activity, you will see how the basic settings are managed for these features.
Activity 13 – Set Up Parent Access Display Options Control what users will see in the public portal by navigating to the District Setup’s Miscellaneous page to select the display settings. 1.
Sign in to the District Office, and click District > Miscellaneous
2.
Enter the text you want in “Name of district that parents see on login screen”
3.
Select Do not show the balance on parent/student pages if you do not want parents to see fee and lunch balances in the parent portal
4.
Select Allow public access to school bulletin if you want members of the public with PowerSchool access to be able to view school bulletins
5.
Do not click Submit unless instructed by your trainer
6.
Switch to a school, and click School
7.
Click Current Grade Display
8.
Set the term to display in Parent/Student Access term by entering a valid term abbreviation (blank will default to current grades)
Activity 14 – Create a Parent Account Before explaining to parents how to create their portal accounts, practice creating one for yourself. 1.
Navigate to a school of your choice
2.
Select a student and click Access Accounts
3.
Write down the access ID __________________ The access password is “parent” for every parent.
4.
Click Sign Out
5.
Change the URL to navigate to the public portal
6.
Click Create Account
7.
Complete the account information fields
8.
In the Student Name field, enter your student’s first and last name
9.
Enter your access ID and access password
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System Administrator: System Settings 10. Choose your relationship to the student 11. Click Enter If you receive any errors, make corrections and click Enter again. 12. Sign in using your new parent account
Data Validation Enable data validation so that users receive a warning when submitting date and text field values. If the day, month, and year for a date field is outside a valid range or missing, then a warning appears. Users can submit the invalid date, but PowerSchool sets the date to 0/0/0. If a text field contains characters with ASCII codes between and including 1 and 31, then a warning appears, too. Access the Data Validation settings on the System Settings page. Then, use the administrative tools to configure district-wide data validation rules. Apply rules to almost any default or custom field in the Students or Teachers tables. Use any of the three rule types: text, number, or date. Apply multiple rules per field, including specifying a data type for custom fields. The rules work whether you are updating information in PowerSchool, performing a quick import, or processing the AutoComm function.
Connecting Directly with ODBC Use Open Database Connectivity to extract data while bypassing the web interface. This is possible by connecting to the database using query clients. To do this, write SQL statements. Two classes at PSU, Introduction to SQL Queries and Advanced SQL Queries in PowerSchool, cover this topic in detail. For this session, you will learn how to set up the query client and make a simple query. The default port for ODBC connection is 1521. You will need to be sure that this port is open on your network. You can also change the port if your network technicians will not open that port. To use many third-party clients, including MS Query, you will need to get an ODBC or JDBC driver from a third party. In this course you will use SQL Developer, which is available free from Oracle, and comes with drivers installed.
Activity 15 – Configure ODBC Access Set your server’s access to ODBC clients. 1.
Navigate to System > Security > Database Security By default, the password for psnavigator is psnavigate
2.
Leave the password as is so that you can access it with the default password in the next activity
Key Points •
System Security – Format security system-wide using groups
•
Tomcat User Interfaces – Control access to PowerTeacher gradebook and ReportWorks
•
Special Operations – Invoke server processes to manage the database
•
Family Management – Set up links between students and their family members
•
Address Management – Verify if addresses are correct and in the district boundaries
•
Mobile Pages and Parent Portal – Configure settings for parental access and mobile device access
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