STARS HELP

How can I help you?

Tell me how to manage students’ work.

STARS is an ambitious student tracking system devised and created by Mike Appleyard and Jon Priest in ICT. It replaces the previous tracking system, a highly successful reporting and assessment package created by Mike in 2006 and used in ICT and elsewhere between 2006- 2010: ask any member of the ICT staff if you want to know how much easier it made all aspects of their jobs!

STARS has been enhanced and improved from the ground up to enable teachers, students and managers to use it quickly and efficiently. It has been linked to the college registers and CIS to produce one of the most advanced student tracking systems in the UK.

The rollout of the system is agreed between Jon, Mike and a cross-college steering committee who meet every month to discuss priorities and progress.

Mike and Jon are always happy to receive suggestion as to how STARS could be improved further: they have created a forum where you can suggest enhancements to the current system, or simply agree with other peoples ideas. Follow this link to go to the forum.

This STARS help system is being created by Chris Thomas in ICT. Currently there are only tutorials available for managing assignments and assessments: in time, he hopes to have a series of tutorials for all aspects of the system, and a help screen for every screen of STARS.

Chris is always happy to receive suggestion as to how the help system could be improved further: in the forum, you can suggest enhancements to the current help system, or simply agree with other peoples ideas. Follow this link to go to the forum.

Does the work you plan to set your students result in them attaining criteria?

Yes No

How should I explain about assessments?

I want interactive

instructions. Detailed. Take me through it

screen by screen.

I want you to print a series of

annotated screen shots that tell me what to

do, step by step ( 9

pages)

• Concise instructions for assessments

• Concise instructions for assignments

You’ll find it a lot easier if you close down all programs apart from STARS and this tutorial.

On your keyboard, hold down [Alt] and press [Tab] to move between the tutorial and STARS.

Try it now!

If you want to leave at any time, press [Esc].

The full monty.

Just like in real life, you go through a number of steps with assessments. As STARS is so user friendly, none of these take very long: do you want to do something specific, or just go through everything?

Creating assessments.

Launching assessments.

Receiving assessments.

Marking assessments.

Choose the first course and tutor group for

whom you are setting an assessment.

From the Staff Hub, click on

the STARS link.Click

Manage Assessments

Click ‘create a new

assessment’

You can see the assessments you

have already

created here.

Add your assessment number, a

description and press [create now]

Your new assessment

appears here.Do you want to issue it to your

students?

Yes Not yet.

Choose the first course and tutor group for

whom you are setting an assessment.

From the Staff Hub, click on

the STARS link.Click

Manage Assessments

Select the assessment you

are going to issue.

Tell STARS when you are going to

issue the assessment and

when you expect it to be

submitted, then click [issue now].

STARS confirms that you have

issued this assessment to

your tutor group.

If the assessment needs to be linked to an assessment

point, tell STARS here.

The next step is to tell STARS which students have submitted the work. Are you ready?

Yes Not yet.

See those tabs at the top of your browser? If you move your

mouse over each one, one of them should display a little

message box like this one – click on it.

If this doesn’t work for you, don’t worry – just click on the STARS

link on the Staff Hub again.

Choose the course and tutor group from whom

you are receiving an assessment.

Click on ‘Manage Submissions’

Choose which assignment you

are receiving.

You should get a screen like this: if STARS tells you

that you haven’t yet issued the

assessment to the group, click here.

Just like on the register system, it is usually

fastest to tell STARS that all students have

submitted work then click on the red buttons to un-submit the naughty ones.Alternatively, just press the Record Now button

for the students who have submitted work.

By default, all these dates are

set to the current date. You can change them

using the arrows to tell STARS that

students submitted earlier

or later.

The next step is to mark the students’ work. Are you ready?

Yes Not yet.

See those tabs at the top of your browser? If you move your

mouse over each one, one of them should display a little message box like this one. If this doesn’t work for you,

don’t worry – just click on the STARS link on the Staff Hub

again.

Choose the course and tutor group for whom you are marking an

assessment.

STARS now shows you the students in the

tutor group and the

assessments. Click on the assessment you want to

mark.

Click Marking

Screen (basic)

Now you’ve selected the assessment, you can

mark the students’ work – but only those who

have submitted it.

Use the dropdown boxes to mark

students as Pass, Merit or Distinction. This allows STARS to record the level

to which the student is currently

working.

Click On this icon

to add written

feedback

Add the feedback and press [save]

How should I explain about assignments?

I want interactive

instructions. Detailed. Take me through it

screen by screen.

I want you to print a series of

annotated screen shots that tell me

what to do, step by step (10

pages)

You’ll find it a lot easier if you close down all programs apart from STARS and this tutorial.

On your keyboard, hold down [Alt] and press [Tab] to move between the tutorial and STARS.

Try it now!

If you want to leave at any time, press [Esc].

The full monty.

Just like in real life, you go through a number of steps with assessments. As STARS is so user friendly, none of these take very long: do you want to do something specific, or just go through everything?

Creating assignments.

Launching assignments.

Receiving assignments.

Marking assignments.

Choose the first course and tutor group for

whom you are setting an assignment.

From the Staff Hub, click on

the STARS link.Click

Manage Assessments

Click ‘create a new

assignment’

You can see the assignments you

have already

created here.

Add your assignment number, a

description, and the first criterion it

offers- then press [create now]

Your new assignment

appears here.Do you want to issue it to your

students?

Yes Not yet.

Choose the first course and tutor group for

whom you are setting an assignment.

From the Staff Hub, click on

the STARS link.Click

Manage Assessments

Select the assessment you

are going to issue.

Tell STARS when you are going to

issue the assignment and

when you expect it to be

submitted, then click [issue now].

STARS confirms that you have

issued this assignment to

your tutor group.

If the assessment needs to be linked to an assessment

point, tell STARS here.

You have already told STARS about the first

criterion included in your assignment. Click these buttons to add more .

The next step is to tell STARS which students have submitted the work. Are you ready?

Yes Not yet.

See those tabs at the top of your browser? If you move your

mouse over each one, one of them should display a little

message box like this one – click on it.

If this doesn’t work for you, don’t worry – just click on the STARS

link on the Staff Hub again.

Choose the course and tutor group from whom

you are receiving an assignment.

Click on ‘Manage Submissions’

Click the assignment you

are receiving.

You should get a screen like this: if STARS tells you

that you haven’t yet issued the

assignment to the group, click here.

Just like on the register system, it is usually

fastest to tell STARS that all students have

submitted work then click on the red buttons to un-submit the naughty ones.Alternatively, just press the Record Now button

for the students who have submitted work.

By default, all these dates are

set to the current date.

You can change them using the arrows to tell

STARS that students

submitted earlier or later.

See those tabs at the top of your browser? If you move your

mouse over each one, one of them should display a little message box like this one. If this doesn’t work for you,

don’t worry – just click on the STARS link on the Staff Hub

again.

The next step is to mark the students’ work. Are you ready?

Yes Not yet.

Choose the course and tutor group for whom you are marking an

assignment.

STARS now shows you the students in the

tutor group and the

assignments. Click on the assignment you want to

mark.

Now you’ve selected the assessment, you can mark the

students’ work – but only those who have submitted it.

NA = not attemptedMK = awaiting markingNM = not metPM = part metMET = met.

Use the dropdown boxes to mark

students as Pass, Merit or Distinction. This allows STARS to record the level

to which the student is currently

working.

Click On this icon

to add written

feedback

Add the feedback and press [save]