Learning Network System

Abstract

Apparatuses, components, methods, and techniques for facilitating learning and managing an educational environment are provided. In an example, the system includes at least one processing device and at least one computer-readable storage device storing data instructions. The data instructions cause the at least one processing device to generate an online educational portal, the online educational portal including a student information system, a class scheduler engine and at least one of a presentation module, a searchable directory of curricular resources, and an analytics engine. The class scheduler engine is configured to generate class schedules. The presentation module operates to display information about various school entities. The analytics engine operates to evaluate relationships between activities users have engaged in and assessed skills of those users in various other activities.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for use in an educational organization, the system comprising:
 at least one processing device; and   at least one computer-readable storage device storing data instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing device, cause the at least one processing device to generate an online educational portal, the online educational portal comprising:
 a student information system; 
 a class scheduler engine configured to generate class schedules; and 
 at least one of:
 a presentation module that operates to display information about various school entities; 
 searchable directory of curricular resources; and 
 an analytics engine that evaluates relationships between activities users have engaged in and assessed skills of those users in various other activities. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the online educational portal further comprises an extracurricular engine configured to associate students with a plurality of extracurricular activities. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the extracurricular engine is configured to generate alerts for students associated with extracurricular activities based on at least one of grades, attendance, and behavior information stored for the students. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a gradebook engine configured to store grades for students, wherein the gradebook engine is configured to generate an interface including an actuatable interface element, the actuatable interface element being configured to cause the interface to display statistical information about grades for students in a section, including grade distribution and frequency among the students in the section. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the online educational portal further comprises:
 an assessment engine configured to assess understanding of at least one topic by at least one student, the assessment engine being configured to present the at least one student with questions and to receive answers to the questions.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is configured to receive answers in the form of audio recordings. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is configured to receive answers in the form of text. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is further configured to assign materials to a student based on assessing the student's understanding of a particular topic, wherein the materials are generated by another user of the system and are tagged as relevant to the particular topic by that other user. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is further configured to compare the assessment results of students of teachers who have completed a particular professional development activity to the assessment results of students of teachers who have not completed the particular development activity. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is further configured to generate a user interface for assessing reading fluency, wherein the user interface highlights words in textual material for a student to read, the user interface highlighting a variable number of words based on the assessed reading fluency of the student. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is further configured to generate a user interface for generating a visual identification assessment, comprising an image map containing at least one defined region for selection during the visual identification assessment, the user interface being operable to receive a series of user inputs on an image to define a perimeter of the defined region. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the assessment engine is further configured to generate a user interface for generating a textual identification assessment, the user interface operable to:
 receive a directions input and a textual matter input from a user;   divide the textual matter input into a plurality of user actuatable elements for selection during the textual identification assessment; and   receive a grouping input, the grouping input grouping a plurality of the user-actuatable elements.   
     
     
         13 . A method of generating a class schedule for an educational institution comprising:
 receiving a plurality of course requests, the course request being associated with a student and a course;   determining a scheduling order for a plurality of offered courses, the scheduling order being based on expected numbers of sections of the courses;   selecting a course based on the scheduling order;   generating at least one section for the selected course based on the plurality of course requests, the at least one section identifying a teacher and a timeslot, wherein the timeslot for the at least one section is determined based on availability of requesting students; and   enrolling students in the at least one section according to the plurality of course requests.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the expected number of sections of the course is based on the course requests. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the scheduling order is further based on the term length of the courses. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the scheduling order is further based on the number of requesting students a pair of courses has in common. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 selecting a second course based on the scheduling order;   generating at least one section for the second course based on the plurality of course requests, the at least one section for the second course identifying a teacher and a timeslot, wherein the timeslot for the at least one section for the second course is determined based on availability of requesting students;   enrolling students in the at least one section of the second course according to the plurality of course requests;   evaluating the plurality of course requests for scheduling conflicts; and   when a scheduling conflict is determined, enrolling a student in a different section of a previously enrolled course to resolve the scheduling conflict.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 displaying a user interface for scheduling a course, the user interface displaying a scheduling grid;   wherein the at least one section is generated based on receiving a user input on the scheduling grid, and the students are enrolled based on receiving a second user input on the scheduling grid.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the educational institution is a district comprising a plurality of schools. 
     
     
         20 . A system for use in an educational organization, the system comprising:
 at least one processing device; and   at least one computer-readable storage device storing data instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing device, cause the at least one processing device to generate an online educational portal, the online educational portal comprising:
 a student information system; and 
 a class scheduler engine configured to:
 receive a plurality of course requests, the course request being associated with a student and a course; 
 determine a scheduling order for a plurality of offered courses, the scheduling order being based on expected numbers of sections of the courses; and 
 sequentially, based on the scheduling order:
 generate sections for the offered courses based on the plurality of course requests, wherein the sections are associated with a teacher, and a timeslot; 
 enroll students in the at least one section according to the plurality of course requests; 
 evaluate the generated sections for scheduling conflict for a student; and 
 swap the student into a different section of a previously scheduled course to alleviate the scheduling conflict.