Student Guide
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Contents
Student Guide ............................................................................................................................................... 1
Accessing Buzz .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Buzz Login Page ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Accessing the Buzz Landing Page .......................................................................................................... 4
Logging in to Buzz.................................................................................................................................. 4
Course List ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Buzz Course List ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Course List ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Name Menu Option .............................................................................................................................. 6
Bookmark Menu.................................................................................................................................... 7
Course Home Page .................................................................................................................................... 8
Course ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Understanding Course Information .............................................................................................................. 8
Student Success Dashboard ...................................................................................................................... 8
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 9
Badges ................................................................................................................................................... 9
Help ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Levels................................................................................................................................................... 10
Links .................................................................................................................................................... 10
Objectives............................................................................................................................................ 11
Portfolio .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Scores .................................................................................................................................................. 12
Today's Priorities ................................................................................................................................. 12
Wall ..................................................................................................................................................... 13
Focusing Work............................................................................................................................................. 13
Initial Course View .................................................................................................................................. 13
Course Pacing ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Modules .............................................................................................................................................. 14
Monitoring Progress ................................................................................................................................... 15
Scores Panel ............................................................................................................................................ 15
Assignment Completion ...................................................................................................................... 16
Grades ................................................................................................................................................. 16
Submitted Assignment for Grading..................................................................................................... 16
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Communication Between Instructor and Student .............................................................................. 17
Excused Activities ................................................................................................................................ 17
Student Summary ................................................................................................................................... 18
Summary Panel ................................................................................................................................... 18
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Accessing Buzz
Buzz Login Page
Accessing the Buzz Landing Page
Access the buzz landing page by typing YOURDOMAIN.buzz.agilixapps.com into your
browser's url bar. Select a role to move forward.
Logging in to Buzz
After selecting a role, a login screen will appear with Username and Password fields. Type in a
username and password to access Buzz.
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Course List
Upon successfully logging in, the Course List will appear. Navigate to any course from here by
double clicking on the appropriate course icon.
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Buzz Course List
The first screen visible in Buzz is the course list. This screen presents students with all the
courses in which they have an active enrollment.
Course List
The Course List screen shows all the courses that students are currently enrolled in. At the
bottom of each course, a figure will be visible representing student's current pace (solid figure)
and where the student should be in the course (shadowed figure). From here, students can drill
down into an individual course to further view their pace and progress and complete activities
assigned to them.
Name Menu Option
Clicking on the name in the top right corner of the application will present a drop down with
several options available:
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Change Password: Use this option to change your password.
Choose a Theme: Buzz allows any user to customize their theme and background
image. Use this option to customize Buzz to better fit style preferences.
Logout: Click here to finish the session and log out of Buzz.
Help: Clicking here will open the documentation for Buzz.
About: Clicking here will open an additional window that will give users, among other
things, information on the connection to Buzz and the version number of the
application.
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Bookmark Menu
Click on the squares icon in the top right corner to open the Bookmarks Menu.
The Bookmarks Menu can be accessed from anywhere in the course, so students can easily
return to the course list, view work uploaded to their portfolio, see the levels they currently
hold in courses, or just look at or change the currently-selected background.
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Course Home Page
Opening a course in Buzz shows the Course Home Page. From there, students can see the
modules that need attention and begin working in the course.
Course
Buzz will give a suggested starting place by enlarging a module. This is based on the
sequential order of activities in a course. Note: a student may start working in any module at
anytime.
The blocks visible on a course tile represent lessons or activities to be completed. Solid blocks
show completed activities. Outlined blocks show activities not yet started. Dotted blocks
indicate the activity has been partially completed.
Understanding Course
Information
Student Success Dashboard
The Student Success Dashboard is a tool used to give students continuous feedback and
assistance in courses in which they are currently enrolled. The drop down tab or left and right
arrows will change the view of the dashboard: Summary, Badges, Help, Levels, Links,
Objectives, Portfolio, Scores and Wall.
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Summary
Summary shows Today's Accomplishments, which includes any activities that were
completed today. Progress shows students current progress in the course compared to the
Buzz recommended pace. Assignments shows all current tasks that are coming due or past
due. Badges show any badges earned by the student this week. Self-Assessment allows
students to communicate their level of Understanding, Interest, and Effort with the teacher.
Badges
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The Badges panel displays all badges that have been earned by the student in a course.
Badges can be given by the teacher for any number of reasons at any time during the course to
encourage interaction and show appreciation for student accomplishments.
Help
The Help option shows students that have already completed a module. Students can use this
feature to access assistance from other students through peer tutoring.
Levels
The Levels panel is a quick view of the current level students are working at in each subject.
Students are able to work at their own level to ensure complete mastery of information as they
show readiness.
Links
The Links panel allows instructors to place frequently-accessed links in an easy-to-find
location. The links can be frequently-accessed course items such as the course syllabus or
grading policy. Instructors can also use this space to link to other resources such as an online
calculator for a math course.
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Objectives
The Objectives panel shows all standards associated with a course and the students mastery of
each standard. The percentage and bar to the side of the standard displays the student's
mastery percentages for each standard.
Portfolio
The Portfolio panel allows students to see the activities that have been submitted to their
portfolio. The Portfolio is an ongoing compilation of student work and follows the student
from course to course. Teachers can access any item available in the Portfolio.
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Scores
The Scores panel provides a real-time display of assignments and assessments in a course. As
assignments and assessments are scored, the percentage will be displayed automatically in
this pane. Items that are just completed with a grade are shown with a checkmark rather than
a percentage.
Today's Priorities
Today's Priorities panel will show activities that are past due or coming due soon. This feature
helps to priorities a student's action plan to assist with completing expected tasks in a timely
manner. When the activity is clicked, more detail about the activity and how to complete it will
be visible.
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Wall
The Wall is a feature that enables a continuous feed of open dialogue between teachers and
students. Students can ask and answer questions posed by both peers and instructors.
Focusing Work
Initial Course View
The pacing of a course is set based on how long a module or activity should take a student to
complete it with respect to all other activities within that course. The modules in a course hold
the activities, assignments, and assessments that are available in the course.
Course Pacing
Upon entering the homepage, each course will display a panel at the bottom of the course tile.
There will be two figures displayed: a solid figure and a shadowy figure. The solid figure
depicts the student's actual pace, and the shadow is the student's expected pace in that
course.
Course Pacing Details
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When the solid figure is ahead of the shadowy figure, then the student is ahead of the pace for
the course.. When the shadowy figure is in front of the solid figure, it indicates that the student
is behind the pace for the course. When only one figure is visible then the student is on track
with the expected pace for the course.
Modules
The module tiles give information related directly to the tasks expected for each course. Upon
opening this page, a module will pop out from the rest, indicating that there is still work to be
done in a that module. This is just a suggested starting place, and students may complete work
in any order.
Module Tile Details
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In the module tile, a block that is completely shaded indicates a lesson or activity that has been
completed. A module block that contains a dot in the middle shows that an activity has been
started, but not yet completed. An outlined tile shows that an activity has not yet been started.
Student Choice Activity
When an asterisk is visible in the module tile, that means there is a Student Choice Activity
available. The instructor has decided that students will need to complete an additional activity
in order to complete the module. The students may then choose the activities to be completed
from a list of available options.
Monitoring Progress
Scores Panel
Score is located in the Student Success Dashboard to give students a real-time display of
assignments and assessments in a course. When these are completed or graded they will
automatically appear in this pane.
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Assignment Completion
When an activity is marked with a checkmark it means that the assignment can only be
completed and does not factor into student grades.
Grades
An assignment that has been graded will have a score next to the task. A green percentage
indicates a passing score, while a red percentage indicates a failing score. An asterisk next to a
score indicates that the assignment was submitted past the due date.
Submitted Assignment for Grading
A paper icon next to an assignment means that an activity has been submitted to the teacher
for grading but has not yet been graded. A percentage will be visible next to the paper when it
has been graded.
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Communication Between Instructor and Student
Upon submitting an assignment, a student is able to add a comment regarding the activity, as
well as receive teacher feedback on the assignment.
Excused Activities
Teachers can allow students to be excused from activities. An X next to an activity means a
student does not need to complete.
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Student Summary
Additional sources for students to monitor their progress can be done through the Student
Success Dashboard. This is a summary of student accomplishment.
Summary Panel
Today's Accomplishments shows the number of activities completed today. The Progress
panel shows where a student is compared to the expected of the course. The Assignments
panel shows when assignments are coming due, currently due, or past due. The Badges panel
shows any badges that were awarded to the student by the teacher during the current week.
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