AutismPro
version 2.5
Release Notes for
AutismPro Resources, Resource
Manager and Workshops
July 2010
Contact
Us:
Toll-free 1.866.462.0991
(option #3)
Fax 506.474.8137
Email support@autismpro.com
About
AutismPro 2.5 (July 2010)
Virtual Expert Clinics is proud to
announce the release of new updates for the AutismPro software,
including new features for AutismPro Resources, AutismPro Resource
Manager and AutismPro Workshops. These enhancements are designed to
positively affect all AutismPro users by making your experience more
productive and enjoyable.
We recommend every user read the
enclosed release notes to become familiar with the new features and
understand how these features will allow you to use your AutismPro
account more effectively.
The AutismPro team strives to meet
the needs of its customers and this feature release is largely based
on feedback received from our current user community. If you would
like to suggest additional enhancements for any of our products, we
would appreciate hearing from you:
To all of our users who have
contributed ideas in the past – THANK YOU!
Important Notice About Internet
Browsers
To ensure that AutismPro 2.5 displays
properly on your computer, we advise that all users clear the cache
of their internet browser (i.e., Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer,
Safari, etc.). The cache retains previously downloaded files, which
can interfere with the new layout.
The cache is accessed differently
depending on your browser of choice, so specific instructions may
vary. Please refer to your browser's help files for more information.
AutismPro Resources/Resource Manager
Look and Feel
The user interface of AutismPro
Resources and Resource Manager has been given a complete overhaul to
make it easier to navigate and more aesthetically pleasing. This
includes changes to color schemes, text formatting, icons, and menus.
Login Credentials
Upon account activation users will be
asked to provide several new pieces of information to help us provide
a more customized experience. Users will be asked to provide the
following information:
verify their user credentials
select a school/site location
select notification preferences
for messages
select a time zone preference
Dashboard
AutismPro's new dashboard provides
access to a multitude of new functionality, including:
messaging between team
members and organization staff
shortcuts to key
resources
personal account information
Each of these three areas can be
accessed using the navigation menu at the left of the screen after
selecting the "Dashboard" tab in the application.
AutismPro Messaging
Sending
user messages
AutismPro now provides users with the
ability to send messages to team members and others within their
organization. All users have the ability to send and receive messages
through the AutismPro Dashboard.
To send a new message, click New
at the top of the "Messages" section of the dashboard. This
will cause a pop-up dialogue to appear where the intended recipients
of the new message can be selected.
Select recipients by clicking the
box(es) beside the name(s) of the organization members you wish to
send your message to and click Add.
If selecting a team, the message will automatically be sent to each
member of the team. Depending on the recipients' notification
settings, they will also receive email notification of the new
message.
Viewing
messages
Received messages and messages you
have sent yourself are both displayed in the messaging panel of the
dashboard, along with any comments attached to those messages.
Messages can be filtered according to their type by using the
drop-down menu at the top-right of the messaging panel.
Messages can be filtered by:
User: messages sent to
you by other members of your organization or team
Classroom: notifications
about changes to cases for which you are a team member
Recommendation: resource
recommendations sent by other members of your organization or team
System: notifications
about changes to your account or access to AutismPro
Messages can also be filtered
according to the name of the student or case with which they are
associated. To view only messages relating to a particular student or
case, choose the student's name from the "Student"
drop-down menu.
Comments
The comment feature enables you to
discuss the content of an existing message with other team members
without needing to create an entirely new message. Comments can be
added to user messages as well as recommendations and case
notifications.
To add a comment to an existing
message, click add comment beside
the message you wish to respond to.
AutismPro Shortcuts
AutismPro now provides users with
shortcuts to a variety of resources within AutismPro. Users can
quickly gain access to:
favorite resources by
bookmarking them
resources that have been
recommended to them by others
resources they have recently
accessed
resources they have customized
themselves
Shortcuts
to bookmarks
Bookmarks can be accessed from the
"Shortcuts" menu by clicking the Bookmarks
link. The bookmarks panel displays a list of all the resources you
have bookmarked along with a description of the type of resource, as
well as an average of the ratings it has received from other
AutismPro users within your organization.
Bookmarks are user-specific, so you
will only see resources you have bookmarked, but not those bookmarked
by others in your organization. Bookmarks can also be filtered by
type to display only bookmarked activities, strategy examples or
teaching strategies.
Bookmarks can be removed from the
list by clicking the icon with the red "x" to the right of
the bookmark you wish to delete.
Shortcuts
to recommendations
Recommendations can be accessed from
the "Shortcuts" menu by clicking the Recommendations
link. The recommendations panel displays a list of all resources that
have been recommended to you by other AutismPro users, along with a
description of the resource type, its average rating, the name of the
recommender and any message the recommender may have added to the
recommendation to clarify their intent. Recommendations can also be
filtered by type to display only recommended activities, strategy
examples or teaching strategies.
To view the original recommender's
message, click the Message
link to the right of the recommended resource.
Recommendations can also be removed
from the list by clicking the icon with the red "x" to the
right of the recommendation you wish to delete.
Shortcuts
to recently accessed resources
Recently accessed resources can be
accessed from the "Shortcuts" menu by clicking the Recently
Accessed link. The "Recently
Accessed" panel displays a list of all resources that you have
recently opened and viewed. The display also includes a description
of the resource type, a record of when you last accessed the
resource, and its average rating. Recently accessed resources can be
filtered by type to display only activities, strategy examples or
teaching strategies.
Shortcuts
to customized resources
Your customized resources can be
accessed from the "Shortcuts" menu by clicking the Custom
Resources link. The "Custom Resources" panel
displays a list of custom resources you have created, as well as any
activities you have modified.
Certain AutismPro users who have been
granted "Resource Publishing" permissions can also use this
page to share their customized resources with other users in their
organization. These users will see a "Shared" checkbox
displayed beside each customized resource. For more information about
sharing resources, see the "Sharing Created Resources"
section below.
Customized resources can also be
removed from the list by clicking the icon with the red "x"
to the right of the resource you wish to delete.
Account Information
The dashboard's account section
includes a link to your profile and a screen for changing your
password.
Profile
Your account profile allows you to
edit your name, select a school, change your notification settings,
and change your time zone.
Change
Password
The Change Password screen allows you
to change the password to your AutismPro account. To change your
password, select the Change Password
link from the "Account" menu -- the "Change Password"
screen will display, allowing you to change your current password.
Bookmark, Recommend and Rate
Resources
AutismPro now allows users to easily
bookmark, recommend and rate a resource while viewing the resource.
Bookmarking
Resources
Bookmarks can be applied to most
AutismPro resources, including activities, teaching strategies, and
support strategy examples. When one of these resources is opened,
click the Bookmark button
at the top of the resource window. The bookmarked resource will be
added to the "Bookmarks" shortcuts menu on your dashboard.
To recall or delete a bookmark, click
the Dashboard tab and
select the Bookmarks
button from the "Shortcuts" menu. To open a bookmarked
resource, click its name. To delete it, click the icon with the red
"x" to the right of the resource you wish to remove.
Recommending
Resources
Users can recommend resources to
their fellow AutismPro users. When an activity, teaching strategy, or
support strategy example has been opened, click the Recommend
button at the top of the resource window. In the resulting pop-up
window, choose the recipient(s) of your recommendation and click Add.
Compose a brief a message for the
recommendation recipient(s) and click Recommend.
The recommended resource will be
added to the recipient(s) shortcuts page for recommendations and
display in their messages. Depending on those users' notification
settings, they may also receive an email notification of your
recommendation.
To view recommendations you have
received, click the Dashboard
tab and select the Recommendations
button from the "Shortcuts" menu. Click the name of any
recommendation from the list you wish to view.
To remove a recommendation you have
received, click the Dashboard
tab and select the Recommendations
button from the "Shortcuts" menu. Click the icon with the
red "x" to the right of any recommendation you wish to
delete.
Rating
Resources
Ratings can be applied to activities,
teaching strategies and support strategy examples to rate their
usefulness to you. This information is averaged with other users'
ratings to help all AutismPro users, as well as our own development
team. Ratings will be visible to all users when they view a rated
resource. Ratings are also displayed beside resources that appear in
your "Shortcuts" menu.
To rate a resource; open it using the
usual method. Next, click the Rate
icon along the top of the window. This opens the "Rate Resource"
dialogue window where you can assign a rating of 1-5 stars (with 5
stars being the best rating) and optionally add a comment.
Creating Custom Resources
Users can now create customized
activity plans to assign to an existing objective in the AutismPro
curriculum. These customized activities might be created to support
the unique needs of a particular student.
Since custom activity plans must be
associated with an existing objective in AutismPro’s curriculum,
you will need to have an objective or developmental area in mind
before creating a new activity plan.
Creating
a new activity
To create a new activity:
Click the Resources
tab
Click on the Developmental Area
tab you wish to make an activity for
Choose a goal from the drop-down
list that you wish to make an activity for
Click the name of the objective
you wish to make an activity for
Click View
Activities for this Objective
Click Create
Activity
This opens the "Create Activity"
window. Simply fill in each of the provided fields with the details
of your new activity and click Save
at the bottom of the window.
Viewing
created activities
Activities you've written yourself
will appear alongside the standard activities included in AutismPro,
but their icon will have a slightly orange tint to make them easier
to spot. Initially, custom resources are only available for viewing
by you; that is, until they have been shared (see "Sharing
created activities," below).
You can also access all of your
custom-created activities from the Dashboard's shortcuts menu. Click
the Dashboard tab and then
select Custom Resources
from the "Shortcuts" menu.
Sharing
created activities
By default, activities you create
yourself will be considered private, meaning that only the creator of
the activity can view it. A "private" activity can be
identified as such by the appearance of a lock on its icon. This lock
indicates that nobody else in your organization has access to this
activity.
|
|
|
|
This activity is
only visible to you. It will not be seen by other users until it
has been shared.
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This activity has
been shared and is now visible to every member of your
organization.
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To share a custom-created activity, a
user must have "Resource Publisher" permissions. These
permissions can only be granted by a system administrator. Once an
activity has been shared, it becomes viewable by other members of the
organization.
To share a custom resource, click the
Dashboard tab and go to
the "Shortcuts to custom resources" menu. Click the
checkbox beside the name of the activity you wish to share.
Please note that shared custom
resources cannot be deleted. To delete the resource, you must first
unshare it by unchecking the "shared" box beside its name.
Modifying Resources
Users can now modify the content of
existing activity plans to make them better suit their particular
needs, or the needs of a particular student. Modifications can be as
simple as a title change or as complex as a complete rewrite of the
entire activity plan.
Once an activity has been opened,
click the Modify button
along the top of the resource window. This will open a copy of the
activity in an editor window. After making any necessary changes,
click the Save button at
the bottom of the window.
Sharing
modified resources
As with custom-created resources,
modified resources are by default viewable only by their creator. In
order to share a modified resource, a user must have "Resource
Publisher" permissions, which must be granted by a system
administrator.
To share a modified resource, click
the Dashboard tab and go
to the "Shortcuts to custom resources" menu. Click the
checkbox beside the name of the activity you wish to share. Click OK
to verify that you wish to share the resource. You will notice that
the icon for the resource will change from a lock to a person-like
shape.
Please note that shared resources
cannot be deleted. To delete the resource, you must first unshare it
by unchecking the "shared" box beside its name.
Archived Students
AutismPro now includes an archiving
function to handle student turnover between school years. At the end
of an organization's school year, students in existing classes are
automatically archived. This reduces clutter in your "Cases"
display by keeping the number of active students to the required
minimum.
Transferring
Archived Students
If you or another member of your
organization wishes to continue working with an archived student, the
student's file can be transferred. Archived students can be
transferred to one of your own classes for the new school year, or to
the class of another user.
To view archived students:
Click the Cases tab
Under the
Tasks menu on the right, click Manage
Classes
Under the
Tasks menu on the right, click Transfer
Archived Students
This will display a list of archived
students, as well as a list of available classrooms in your
organization. To view classrooms from other schools, use the "School"
drop-down menu.
To transfer an archived student:
Click the name of the classroom
you wish to transfer the student to -- if needed, use the "School"
drop-down menu to find classrooms in other schools
Click Transfer
beside the name of the student you wish to transfer
Click OK
in the confirmation dialogue
Nomenclature Changes
Users may notice that some functions
and/or user roles have been changed to better reflect their use in
real scenarios and to provide clarification.
Notably, the "Classroom"
tab on the main interface is now called the "Cases" tab.
The "Team Leader" for a
student's case was previously called the "Teacher."
AutismPro Workshops
New Look and Feel
The user interface of AutismPro
Workshops has been redesigned to make it easier to navigate and more
aesthetically pleasing. This includes changes to color schemes, text
formatting, icons, and menus.
Workshops Progress
The Workshops Progress report has
been revised to provide users with more information at a glance. In
addition to showing the completion status of courses and workshops,
this area now also displays a list of recently viewed workshops. This
makes is easy for users to quickly pick up where they left off in
their most recent session.
Notice that the View Certificate
feature has been moved to the top of the Workshops Progress panel.
