PLEASE NOTE: Development of this app has stopped.
I have released a new app called Teachers Planner and Markbook.
All bug fixes and new features will go into this new app, going forward. I recommend that you download and use the new app.
It is FREE on
the app store and works the same as this app, however it has an option for in-app
purchase of the PRO functionality (same price!), and also has support for extra
new features: Markbook spreadsheets for each class, and links to Google
Classroom.
The new app does not
have Dropbox functionality however, as Dropbox have retired their v1 API. The
Dropbox functionality in this app will also cease to work sometime in the
future, I believe. I am researching other cloud-based backup solutions and will
implement in the new app.
The new app can be downloaded here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vinster.planmark
User Manual: Teachers Planner
Welcome to Teachers Planner for Android. This file gives
information on how to setup and use Teachers Planner.
1.
Setup
A.
Set-up the working week for your school. You go through a set of
screens when Teachers Planner first starts to set up the basic working week at
your school.
This includes the first day
of the week, the number of school days, the number of lessons per day, and
break times etc.
You are given the option to
add lesson start- and end- times. You can skip this, but if you enter the
times, then Teachers Planner can highlight the current lesson on the timetable
automatically for you to make it quicker to find your way around the timetable.
If you need to change the
working week later, choose the Settings menu, and choose Setup school
week.
B.
Set up your timetable. You are next asked to enter your
timetable. This is your weekly timetable of each lesson: where it is taught,
which class and which subject.
You can set a period to be
a taught lesson, a regular meeting or free time.
When entering rooms,
subjects or classes, the buttons on the right popup previously used values to
make it quicker. Take care to ensure that the spellings of classes and subjects
are the same for the same class, so Teachers Planner knows that they are linked
The PRO version of the app
allows you to flag a lesson Set homework this lesson. Then Teachers
Planner will remind you to set homework whenever you teach that lesson.
You can change the
timetable at any time. Select Edit timetable from the menu, or from the
button in the settings screen.
C.
Set up holidays. Teachers Planner allows you to set whole weeks
as holiday (vacation). You can set this up initially, or set it from the menu Edit
holidays. Holidays allow the app to jump over weeks when finding homework
set in previous lessons. For example, if you set homework on the last day
before a two week holiday, then the app will show the homework as due on the
first lesson with that class on return from holiday. Also holiday weeks are
shown greyed-out in the timetable display. For single
days holiday, simply leave the timetable empty for those days.
2.
Entering lesson plans and homework
Once the timetable is set
up and saved, you will see your weekly timetable as a grid.
You can move to the
next/previous week via the buttons at the top, and always can return to the
current week via the This week button (arrows pointing to the centre).
The current day will be
highlighted in the timetable, and if you have set lesson start- and end-times,
then the current lesson (or closest) will be highlighted too.
You can click on any lesson
to view that lesson, and enter a lesson plan and/or a homework for it:
In the lesson page, you
will see the following information:
1. This lesson date, day, location, class, subject
2. A
countdown of the time left in the current lesson
3.
Information about the previous and next lessons with this class. The popup menu has a
previous and next lesson button to quickly navigate there (for example, to
check the lesson plan from last time to see where you got to)
4.
A list of any previously-set homework that is due this lesson
5.
An edit-box for this lessons plan - note the free version of the app has
a limited edit size (120-characters), the PRO version has a much larger edit
size. The edit-box will resize larger as you type. In the PRO app, a popup undo
button appears so you can undo any typing.
6.
An edit-box for this lessons homework - note the free version of the app
has a limited edit size (80-characters), the PRO version has a much larger edit
size. Again, it will resize larger as necessary, and undo is available for the
PRO version.
7.
There is a button to set when the homework is due. You can choose any
lesson with this class in the next week. If you do not choose a lesson, the app
defaults the homework to be due on the next lesson, whenever that is. Note that
if a holiday is between now and the due lesson, the homework jumps to the next
available lesson.
The last information shows you
when the next lesson with this class is, and there is a button for quickly
moving there (e.g. to enter a note to remind you about something next lesson).
Any changes are automatically
saved when you go back to the timetable weekly view.
3.
To-do items
To-do lists: click on the
to-do icon on the timetable to add to-do items. You can set as HIGH or low
priority. Click on an item to mark it as done (shown struck-through). You can
delete individual items, or press the button at the bottom of the screen to
delete all completed items. A red exclamation mark on the to-do icon on the
timetable screen indicates that incomplete to-do items exist. You can edit an
existing to-do entry by long-pressing the item. Make any changes and then hit
the back button to save the change.
To-do items for specific
classes. You can add to-do items for a specific class. For example: mark their
books, or get photocopying done. This is indicated on the timetable as a small
to-do list icon. It will show on all lessons with that class, until the to-do
task has been completed or deleted. To add a class-specific to-do item, click
on the lesson, and then in the lesson information screen, click on the to-do
icon. The free version of Teachers Planner only allows one class to-do per
period, whereas the PRO version allows up to ten to-do items per period.
4.
Extra features
You can choose which folder to
save/restore backups on your device.
Save and Load your settings and data to Dropbox from the settings menu (you need a Dropbox account for this).
Swipe left and right on the
timetable to quickly move to the next/previous week.
Registration and
break/lunch periods can be shown/edited in the timetable. Select from the
settings screen. When selected, you can add comments for each registration
period.
ICONS: The icons in the
timetable indicate if the lesson has been planned fully or not. Red = no lesson
plan exists. Orange = some lesson plan information is there, but the lesson
plan is not complete. Green = the lesson is planned. You can set this flag with
the checkbox next to the lesson plan edit area in the lesson view window.
Long-click on a lesson in
the weekly timetable view to quickly view the details of that lesson, or edit
the lesson, or edit the timetable for that lesson. The PRO version has a
formatted display of the lesson details and plan which stays on the screen
until you press the back key. It also displays a photo you have saved with the
lesson plan, if you saved one, and a countdown of the time left in the lesson.
Long-click on the previous-
and next-week buttons to get a list of weeks to quickly jump to a specific week
In the settings screen,
choose the Change timetable font size button to adjust the size of the
font in the timetable, to better make use of larger screened devices
In the settings screen, choose the Reduce button text size or Increase button text size buttons to adjust the size of the font on the buttons in the lesson view page
(PRO) Undo button when
editing lesson plans and homework
(PRO) Click the camera icon
to take a picture associated with a lesson (e.g. A shot of the board - where we
got to etc.). The camera icon changes from a zero (0) to a one (1) if a picture
was taken. You can view the picture and re-take the picture when you wish
(PRO) Move a lesson in the
timetable. Do this from the menu. Choose the lesson to move, and which period
in the timetable to move it to. This must be a FREE lesson. Note that as well
as the timetable information, also all lesson plans and homework notes will be
moved to the new position as well. This includes any photos taken (PRO feature)
for lesson plans.
(PRO) You can remove the
subject from the timetable view (unnecessary to display if you only teach one
subject) - frees up more room in the timetable display. Select from the
settings screen.
(PRO) Save lesson plans and homework data as a CSV file (you can open this in Excel). Select Export as CSV from the settings menu, then choose the start- and end- dates. The file is saved to your sd-card. If you connect your phone to a PC you can open the file directly into Microsoft ŽExcel.
Two-week timetables: When
setting-up the school week, tick the two-week box. You can flip which week you are in the timetable via a small button in
the bottom-right corner of the timetable screen (marked Flip). The two
week timetable is wider than can fit on the screen, so drag the timetable to
the right to view the second week.
4.
Upgrade to PRO
You can upgrade to the PRO (paid)
version of Teachers Planner, by purchasing the Teachers Planner PRO app here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vinster.plannerpro
Why upgrade? PRO has the
following benefits:
* Increased
size of lesson plans and homeworks. Lesson plans go from 120 to 9999
characters. Homeworks go from 80 to 9999 characters
* Save a
picture with a lesson plan - record lesson info quickly without as much typing
* Can
move a lesson (and plans/homeworks set) in the timetable to another period/day
*
Improved quick preview of lesson details on long-click of a lesson in the
timetable (useful during a lesson)
* Add an
optional flag to each lesson to remind you to set homework in that lesson, if
you wish
* No
adverts - more screen space for the app
* Top
priority support / bugfixes
* Backup and restore your settings, lesson plans, homeworks and to-do items to Dropbox
* New
features will get added to PRO as a priority!
How to upgrade: the first time you start the PRO app, it will detect the settings from the non-PRO version, and ask you if you want to use these. Click Yes.
5.
Chromebooks / ChromeOS
Teachers Planner has been adapted to run on Chromebooks. Some features do not work (or do not work the same) in ChromeOS. Dropbox save/restore does not work.
NOTE: When you first install Teachers Planner, a dialog box opens
asking you to choose a file location (folder). This is used by the app as the
root folder where backups can be made to. You can choose an SD-card, or choose
your Google Drive and backups will be made in Google Drive. If you need to
restore your settings later you will find them here.
6.
Get help/support
Follow @teachersplanner on Twitter for updates and support, or email Kevin.stainsby@gmail.com
7.
Privacy
Teachers Planner and Teachers Planner PRO do not collect any personally identifiable data. The apps collect anonymous usage data via Google Analytics which is used to make the app better. Teachers Planner (the free version) also uses Google AdSense to provide clickable adverts and generate some revenue. Users in EU countries must consent to the storing and accessing of cookies and other information, and to the data collection, sharing, and usage that takes place when they use Google products. If you do not consent to this, please uninstall the app.