Release Notes for PTO V2.1 (January 2021)
Making the setup of your event simpler and cleaner
A refreshed Checklist, reimagined Data Upload, and lots of cool things you asked for!
Jump to:
Refreshed Checklist | New Data Upload Options | Checking Your Data | Review and Proceed | Phone Number or Email Collection | Teacher Video Links | iSAMS CGN (Class Grade) Data | Extract to Spreadsheet Using Wonde | Manual Booking Mode Change
PREPARATION
Refreshed Checklist
Clearer and simplified steps
Direct links into relevant areas of PTO’s Help Documentation to provide quick and easy access to guidance when required.
Links to move you directly to your next work space in PTO.
UPLOADING DATA
New Data Upload Options
Wonde
In case you’ve missed our communications about our partnership with data integration solution Wonde this tool allows you to securely transfer data from many commonly used school management systems to any of Wonde’s family of popular third-party applications used in schools, including but not limited to PTO. Click here to see more information about Wonde.
Excel
The traditional method of importing your event data into PTO but now made simplier and easier with the use of clearer messages when uploading your data, as explained below.
Previous Event
Due to popular demand for access to this function we have added this third data option which will allow you to reuse the data from any PTO event you’ve held in the last 12 months by copying Student/Parent/Class and Teacher data into your new event.
Checking Your Data
Less Cryptic Messaging
We’ve simplified how messages about any issues in your data are presented to you with easy to read messages and clear details of the specific entries requiring attention.
Deal With Things When You’re Ready
Choose to receive an emailed copy of the message information to assist you, or a team member, work on your data.
Where has the old ‘Option 2’ gone?
With the introduction of these improved are more user friendly features we have removed the option to request a Supported Upload by Countrynet Support as the need for this type of support is already rarely used and with these improvements the need for support in this area should now only be in exceptional cases.
These requests can now be submitted as a normal Support Request from your Dashboard > Support > Email but in the future these requests will be a billable service and quoted on an individual basis based on the amount of work required in each case.
Review and Proceed
Review
As is the case now, if PTO identifies there are problems stopping you from proceeding. You’ll still need to fix these, but without the scary wall of text encountered before. Click ‘Show Specifics’ to see exactly what the issue with your data is.
Check things later on
If there’s only things that you need to check and make sure they’re ok, you’ll be able to click ‘Next’ once you’ve clicked the checkbox to acknowledge their existence.
You can them check them in more detail later and make any minor tweaks once the upload is finished. Use the ‘Send these as an email’ option to send yourself a copy of what PTO found, and you can deal with it after the upload process is done.
COOL FEATURES YOU SUGGESTED
Phone Number or Email Collection
TIP
Consider using the Collect Phone Number as a multi purpose alpha-numeric input field. Many schools successfully utilised this field to ask parents to nominate whether they would prefer a Face to Face/Phone/or Video based meeting. This information is then available on various PTO reports and extracts including the Teacher Booking Report.
Mandatory or not?
We’ve listened to your feedback and added a new sub setting to make the provision of information in the Collect Phone Number and Collect/Check Parent Emails input boxes mandatory, or non mandatory.
Go to Settings > Parent Settings:
Teacher Video Links
Have you parents who can’t wait to meet?
The option to hide a virtual meeting URL until shortly before a scheduled booking time is now available.
Go to Settings > Parent Settings:
Let the teachers enter their own video link (if you want)
Both teachers themselves, and PTO Administrators are now able to review and edit individual teacher Meeting Locations and Meeting URLs within the Teacher space in PTO.
PTO Administrators can set if they want to enable teachers to edit their own links or location.
Go to: Help User > Teacher Help
If this is enabled, teachers access their Location and URL information via their normal PTO screen when they log into PTO.
OTHER STUFF
iSAMS CGN (Class Grade) Data
A change has been implemented that will see any Class Grade (CGN) of PS or REC recorded in your data automatically converted to a CGN value of 0.
Naturally, if you wish you can then amend this information within PTO via Data > View & Edit Data > Edit Class.
Extract to Spreadsheet Using Wonde
We have implemented a change to ensure that if you choose to upload data from your school administration system via Wonde to an Excel spreadsheet the data will be delivered in the correct sequencing Student / Parent / Class / Teacher inline with normal PTO Data standards.
Manual Booking Mode Change
Parents trying to select all their preferred times in manual mode, then trying to click the book button for each of them afterwards, won’t lose their selected times - if they’re still valid. If the times overlap, someone isn’t available, or the bookings can’t be back to back, they’ll need to pick another time from the dropdown list, then book it.