Transitioning to ALEKS on the Open Learning Platform

Introduction

This document provides helpful information to teachers and administrators using ALEKS on Open Learning and answers frequently asked questions. We also recommend that the switch between platforms happens between school years for the easiest of transitions.

Advantages 

There are several advantages when accessing ALEKS on Open Learning:

• Your login credentials provide you and your students with access to ALEKS and your other McGraw-Hill digital programs on ConnectED and Open Learning.

• Your classes are easily managed through the Open Learning Platform either manually or by your district, and sync directly over to ALEKS.

• You and your students automatically get all feature enhancements developed for programs on Open Learning.

Teacher Resources

Teacher resources for those in a district that uses our SSO and Auto-Rostering Access Service can be found on the Single Sign-On (SSO) and Auto-Rostering Teacher Resources article.

Teacher resources for those in a district that log directly into my.mheducation.com and manually roster their classes can be found on the Direct Login and Manual Rostering Teacher Resources article.

For help using your digital programs, use the links provided in the program or go to the PreK-12 Support Site.

If you need further assistance with your program, please contact our PreK-12 Technical Support team.

Questions about the Customer Experience 

How is ALEKS on Open Learning different from ALEKS on aleks.com?

Teachers and students access ALEKS on Open Learning from their district’s LMS or SSO launch point, or by signing in directly from my.mheducation.com, depending on the district’s Access Service.

For students, ALEKS on Open Learning is very similar to ALEKS on aleks.com.

For teachers, ALEKS on Open Learning is also similar, but there are a few differences. In aleks.com, if a teacher wants to move a student to another class, the data transfers immediately when the change is made. On OLP, the data does not transfer until the student logs into ALEKS. At that time, the data will then transfer over to the new class (following the student).

How can I access historical data from aleks.com?

Data will not be converted from aleks.com to ALEKS on Open Learning. If work was completed previously on aleks.com, you will want to work with an administrator at your school or district who has credentials for aleks.com to obtain historical data and export what is needed.

Are ALEKS reports available on Open Learning?

ALEKS reports are available within the ALEKS product. The reports are the same for ALEKS on Open Learning and ALEKS on aleks.com, but historical data will not be converted from aleks.com. See the New ALEKS Report Resources article for information on the available reports.

To access administrator reports, the user will need to be an administrator in Open Learning and launch the ALEKS LTI tool from their navigation menu. Refer to the New ALEKS Administrator Report Resources article for more information.

Will ALEKS grades be available on Open Learning?

ALEKS offers a program-specific gradebook that calculates grades based on weights assigned to different data points. You can export and download gradebook data. Currently, the grades in the aleks.com gradebook do not sync with Open Learning. For more information about the Gradebook, see the Enable and Manage the New ALEKS Gradebook article.

Questions about Implementation, Rostering, and Courses 

How is rostering, provisioning, and class management handled?

ALEKS on Open Learning can be utilized with auto-rostering, so all user management, class rostering, and content assignments are handled for teachers. Once the change has been made, the ALEKS content can be mapped in Access Manager, as they can with other McGraw Hill products. Organization Administrators can refer to Assign Content on Access Manager for more information, or an administrator can contact Integration Support at 855-315-6417 or integrationsupport@mheducation.com.

For manual rostering districts, teachers are usually responsible for creating and rostering their classes, unless otherwise specified by their Organization Administrator. For more information, refer to the ALEKS Class Management Resources article.

Can I add a teacher to my class or have a co-teacher?

Open Learning supports multiple teachers in a class. Co-teachers need to be added to the roster files for auto-rostering districts. The OneRoster® 1.0 and 1.1 Instructions explain how to add secondary teachers to the roster files. Those needing assistance with adding primary or secondary teachers to the roster files can contact Integration Support at 1-855-315-6417 or integrationsupport@mheducation.com.

For manual rostering districts, teachers can follow the steps on the Add Co-Teachers and Share ALEKS Class Access article to share their ALEKS class with other teachers.

Can I assign a different ALEKS course to a student account or customize ALEKS content?

You can assign students a different ALEKS course after they are enrolled in a primary class that has an ALEKS course assigned. Enrollment and content assignments are handled by the roster files for auto-rostered districts. After the primary class is assigned, you can do the following:

• Create a sub-class – This sub-class gives the flexibility of assigning different content to different students within the same primary class. Your sub-class can be a new, unedited, and uncustomized course, or you can copy a previously made class by class code. Refer to the Create and Move Students to Sub-Classes in the New ALEKS View article for more information.

• Customize the content – Once the primary class is created, the content can be customized. Go into Class Administration and select Class Summary. In the Class Content section, click Edit next to Content Customization. Here you can add and remove topics from the course or decide how you want students to move through the content. These steps can also be found on the Customize the New ALEKS Class Settings article.

• Master Templates – Although Open Learning does not have the Master Template feature, you can still create or copy them using the class code. If you already have template courses that you want to use, create a sub-class by copying the code. Be sure to finalize your course templates prior to copying the code since Open Learning does not support automated course updates. Refer to Create Classic ALEKS Master Templates and Create a Sub-Class Using a Master Template in Classic ALEKS for more information.

Can students be assigned to more than one ALEKS course?

Yes. Students can be dual-enrolled in two separate ALEKS courses simultaneously. For ALEKS on Open Learning, students need to be enrolled in two separate classes, and each class can be assigned a different ALEKS course. Although the student is enrolled in two separate primary classes, they cannot move between the two classes from within ALEKS. If a student launches one ALEKS class and they want to go to the other ALEKS class, they must click Return to MHE Home, which takes them back to the My Classes page where they launch the other ALEKS class. For steps on class creation, see the ALEKS Class Management Resources article.

What happens if a student is moved from one teacher to another?

If a student is moved from one teacher’s class to another, and both classes use the same ALEKS course product, the student’s data will automatically transfer to the new class.  If the new class uses a different ALEKS course product, the student’s data will not transfer, and they will be required to complete a new Initial Knowledge Check. 

What happens if a student is moved from one teacher to another?

If a student is moved from one teacher’s class to another, and both classes use the same ALEKS course product, the student’s data will automatically transfer to the new class.  If the new class uses a different ALEKS course product, the student’s data will not transfer, and they will be required to complete a new Initial Knowledge Check. 

Help and Support

For help using ALEKS, or other McGraw-Hill digital content, contact PreK-12 Technical Support:

Phone: 1-800-437-3715

Email: epgtech@mheducation.com

Chat Support and Self-Service Help: PreK–12 Customer Support | McGraw Hill