Admin User Tools and Protocols (OEC)

Admin User Tools and Protocols (OEC)

This article is focused on the role and tools of admin users for an Empower site, especially what we call the "Organization's Empower Contact" (OEC).

This article is not necessarily for an "admin" as in a principal. For that, look to our Leadership Article. This is someone who manages the software and its content. Often someone in a curriculum and instruction role.

Because much of the needed knowledge is covered in other places in our Knowledge Base, a large part of this article will be links to other articles. 


Helpdesk

Empower offers a helpdesk for technical tickets and requests. It is not available to all users of Empower. Select lead users at each district will be able to create tickets and interact directly with Empower's team of technicians.

The Helpdesk URL is https://desk.zoho.com/support/empowerlearning1

This is often the best way to get help. Especially with technical needs. Our entire team trolls the helpdesk, so an email to your Empower contact may result in quick answers, but the best policy is to pop in a ticket and if you need special attention on the ticket, email the ticket number to your rep and they can further advocate more easily when the information is already captured in the ticket. 

We need information to diagnose the need. "The button is broken" is not a ticket we can help with. 

A picture is worth 1,000 words
A video is worth 10,000

Include all information needed to replicate the issue such as
  1. User
  2. Group
  3. Target
  4. Workflow
  5. etc.

The District can determine 1-4 people who will interact directly with our technicians on behalf of the organization. They will be provided access to their own account in the Empower Help Desk to create and follow up on tickets. 


  

It is important for tickets to be priority coded appropriately.


 

Support Resources

At the same link as the helpdesk (https://desk.zoho.com/support/empowerlearning1) you can access our entire Knowledge Base.

All users have access to these as shown in the image below. Look for the ? icon in the lower right-hand corner of Empower when you are logged in. 









Site Settings & Configurations

There are some tools in Empower that won't function without a little setup. Some need our technical support and others you can manage and adjust directly. 

Plus Delta

Empower has built into its software a “Plus/Delta” feedback button. This gives every user a simple way to communicate to the site administrator about their needs or feedback. Please note: This feedback goes to someone local, not to the Empower team. However, if needed, the local administrator can elevate the need to Empower's helpdesk. 













This environment provides users a process to provide critical user feedback on:

  1. What is going well
  2. Report technical issues
  3. Ask Questions/Request Support
  4. Share a great idea.
The local site administrator (or his/her assignees) should monitor feedback and respond as appropriate directly to the user. Technical issues in the form of “bugs” are elevated to the Empower Help Desk for remedy.

Setting up the Plus Delta


Plus/Delta is not set up by default. To wire it up, the district will need to submit a helpdesk ticket to Empower letting us know the details of the email to which submissions will be routed.

Fill out and post the following information to the helpdesk request:

  1. Email address where you want to send the feedback: 
  2. SMTP Address:
  3. SMTP Port: Use SSL? (yes, no):
  4. User Name of account to authenticate within SMTP: 
  5. Password of account to authenticate within SMTP: 


User Accounts and Data Management

Create & Manage Targets


Push Notification emails


We are able to "push" emails to guardians for the following: 1) progress reports, and 2) missing work.
 
Push notification emails are only sent to validated emails. When an email comes from the SIS import process, it is considered "valid" by default, but when a user changes it manually, they must validate the email.



When a user validates a manually changed email, Empower sends a verification link to that email, where the user will click on the link to "verify" the email.

    • Related Articles

    • User Data: Groups, Classes, SIS Connections, Load, Check & Distribute User Accounts

      In most cases it is possible for Empower to communicate with your SIS (Student Information System) so that Empower can pull user data at regular intervals. This prevents districts from needing to do double entry as student populations fluxuate. ...

    • Roles & Rights in Empower

      Roles vs Rights As of this writing, when managing a user, admins will see roles and rights listed together and it is not impossible to make a misstep here.  Users can only have a single role in Empower. But they can have a role & additional rights. ...

    • Admin Dashboard

      The Admin Dashboard The admin dashboard gives building leaders a quick snapshot of how their learners and teachers are doing across content areas and grade levels.  Each of the sections on the dashboard is dynamic and updated in real-time. We will ...

    • Can I edit the Tools Menu? The Menu Editor

      Use the Menu Editor to change the tiles.  This video shows an example of how to do that. If you want to do exactly as is shown in this video, you'll find more instructions below.  Attached is the file to post there.  Also attached is the thumbnail ...

    • Key Stakeholder Roles & Responsibilities

      The Short Version: Below are typical outlines of three important roles in Empower's implementation. A main point-person from the district, an IT person, and the Empower representative.       The Full Version: ​ Organization Empower Coordinator (OEC) ...