The new MINTclass Homework Module is simple to use and is extremely flexible. There are a number of centralised settings you can control and an informative, 'up to the minute' activity feed and Dashboard.
To access the Admin section of the Homework module, you will need Admin access to MINTclass (this may change in the future if schools request it).
Click on the
Homework tab at the top of the screen and you will be taken to the
Admin Dashboard,
as below.
Here you can see the total number of homeworks that have been set this academic year, the percentage of homeworks handed in on time and the percentage of late homeworks!
There are a number of Admin setting for you to consider.
The main one is the Timetable Config. We understand that some schools have a set homework timetable similar to a teaching timetable which allows parents, students and teachers to know what homework is expected for each subject on which days. We have taken this into consideration allowing someone with admin access to MINTclass Homework to set a Centralised Timetable for all year groups and subjects.
Centralised Timetables
Log in as an Admin user and click on Admin > Timetable Config.
The screen below shows that you are not currently using a centralised homework timetable in MINTclass.
Click on Configure.
By default, this is set to a non-centralised timetable which allows each user to create their own timetable if they wish to.
If you need to create a Centralised Timetable (remember, this will delete and replace any personalised homework timetable staff have made), click on the Centralise the timetable button at the bottom of the screen.
And you will see the configuration screen:
You will now need to select a year group from the drop-down on the right-hand side of the screen.
For the purpose of this guide, I have selected Year 7. And as you can see, all the subjects linked to that year group are displayed:
To add a subject to the timetable, simply drag it from the subject list to the day on the timetable.
Continue to build that timetable until you have added all the necessary subjects for the year group, then just change to the next year group and continue.
You can of course add a subject to more than one day, but you cannot add a subject to the same day twice for the same year group.
You may also notice that you can create this for multiple weeks if your school timetable has a two-week timetable and therefore a two-week homework timetable; click on Switch to Week 2 and repeat the above steps. MINTclass saves as you go!
When a teacher subsequently logs on, they will see the classes that they need to set homework for based on the year/subjects you entered and their timetable, similar to the one below:
Mark Schemes
If your school has a whole school or even a Key Stage mark scheme that teachers should use, you can save everyone a lot of time by setting them up within the Admin area. Any mark scheme created here is instantly available to all staff, but cannot be edited by anyone other than admin users.
Centralised Mark Schemes
Log in as an admin user and click on Mark Schemes.
Here you will see a list of all available Mark Schemes. The centralised schemes cannot be edited by teachers, they can only be amended by admin users.
Creating a Mark Scheme
Click on Mark Schemes on the sidebar then click on the Add Mark Scheme button in the top right-hand corner.
You will now be presented with the Add Mark Scheme page.
Give the new Mark Scheme a suitable name and then select the type from the drop-down box.
There are 3 types of marks:
Percent This allows you to enter a numeric character from 0 to 100
Marks This is where you set the maximum marks for the homework, e.g. 10
Text This is where you can add a list of words (limit 50 chars) to choose from when marking the homework, e.g. pass, fail, etc.
Which type you choose will depend on the next screen. Let’s look at each in turn.
Percent
When you select percent, you do not need to complete anything else; MINTclass knows what 'percent' means!
Mark
When you choose marks, you will have an additional box to complete, "Max marks" - in this case, 10.
Text
Here, you can choose words (very short phrases, 50 characters max). When you select it, you will see a blank box in which you need to type your word. If you need more than one word, just click on the Add button, type the next word and repeat.
Once you have all the words you need, click on Create.
