Need to organize a study session or a make-up exam? Managing Flex activities allows teachers to provide targeted support, such as tutoring or re-tests, by creating activities which are offered during periods created by school admins in Minga. By following these instructions, you can ensure students are in the right place at the right time while keeping your attendance records accurate. This article will walk you through creating activity templates, adding them to scheduled periods, and checking in students.

Permission Level: Teacher

Some of the FlexTime features or functionality in this article are dependent on school-level settings and use of the FlexTime module.

Creating Activity Templates: Learn how to build reusable templates for your frequent Flex activities.
Adding Activities to Periods: Understand how to place your activities into the specific dates and times set by your school.
Assigning and Registering Students: Discover the difference between mandatory assignments and student-led registration.
Checking Students In to an Activity: Use the check-in tools to record attendance instantly during the session.
Troubleshooting
FAQ
Resources

Creating FlexTime Activity Templates

Teachers can host their own lessons, make-up sessions, or clubs by managing activities within scheduled school Flex periods. To make this quick and easy on a recurring basis, creating an Activity Template once allows you to copy it to every future flex period with a few clicks.

Step-by-Step Guide

Start by selecting the FlexTime module from the sidebar.
Open the Activity Template tab to begin managing or creating flex activities.
Click Create activity to start setting up a new activity template.
Enter a descriptive name for your new activity type.
Add a brief description to help students understand what this activity involves.
Use the Activity Type dropdown to categorize your activity.
Specify where the activity will take place in the Location field.
1. (optional) Adjust how many seats will be available so you can manage attendance.
2. (optional) Set how many points students can earn if desired for schools using Minga's points and rewards features.
3. (optional) Enable 'Limit who can register' if you want to restrict which students can sign up and choose a specific restriction type—for example, by grade or group.
Toggle whether students can self-register, based on your activity needs.
Enable or disable self-check-in so students can check themselves in for attendance.
Toggle whether student photos should be displayed during the check-in process.
Click Create to finalize and save your new activity.

Adding Your Activity to a Flex Period

After creating a template, you must add it to a specific period to make it available for students to register or be assigned to your activity. You can add your saved templates to any upcoming Flex period created by your school admin.

Step-by-Step Guide

Go to the "Periods" tab to manage and review FlexTime periods.
Click the "Add" button beside the FlexTime period where you want to add an activity.
Select from your available activity templates you want to add. You can add multiple if needed.
Confirm your selection by clicking the "Add" button.

Assigning and Registering Students

From My Class, you can use actions to send selected students to any activity. You can add students to activities in two primary ways, depending on whether the activity is mandatory.

Registering Students: Place students in a session (like a study session) while still allowing them to switch to a different activity if they choose. You can assign a student by clicking Register activity in My Class.
Assigning Students: For compulsory activities (like make-up exams). Assigned students cannot unregister themselves. You can assign a student by clicking Assign activity in My Class.

Step-by-Step Guide

In My Class, select a student to begin assigning or registering activities.
Switch to FlexTime actions in the category list.
Choose the 'FlexTime' category to access registration and check-in options.
1. Use 'Register activity' to place students in a session while still allowing them to switch to a different activity if they choose.
2. Use 'Assign activity' to place students in a session they must attend (like a makeup exam).
3. Use 'Register to homeroom teacher's activity' to ensure students without an activity have something to attend for an upcoming period.
Select 'Register activity'.
Press 'Continue' to proceed with activity registration or assignment.
Select the desired activity for student registration.
Click the calendar icon to open the date picker for more options.
When multiple periods in a day exist, choose an appropriate time slot.
Click 'Register' to confirm and finalize the student's activity enrollment.

Student cards in My Class have a FlexTime icon, indicating whether a student is assigned or registered for the next upcoming Flex period (the Flex icon is green) or is not registered or assigned to an activity (gray). For the convienience of ensuring every student has a place to be there is an additional action called "Register to homeroom teacher's activity".

Switching Students to a New FlexTime Activity

Need a student to attend your FlexTime activity? It's easy to pull them in if a student is already registered to another activity. If a student has already been assigned by another teacher or staff, an Admin can assist in re-assigning.

Step-by-Step Guide

Navigate to the Activities tab to view all FlexTime activities.
Use the date range selector if you are registering a student for a future activity on a specific day or within a certain timeframe.
Select the Manage Students icon for the desired activity to view or modify the student roster.
Search or scan the student name or ID.
Select the student you wish to assign.
Click Assign to schedule the selected student for the chosen FlexTime activity.
Confirm the re-assignment to finalize moving the student from their current activity into the new activity.

If a student is already Assigned to a Flex activity, their attendance is mandatory and they cannot be re-assigned by a teacher. Speak with your admin or staff member managing their currently assigned activity to move that student to an alternative activity.

Checking Students In to an Activity

Once a FlexTime period has begun, students can check in and count their attendance to an activity in many ways, depending on what is most convenient for your classroom or application.

Kiosk: A Kiosk can be used at an activity, allowing students to either scan their ID or enter their student number manually for quick entry. Learn how to set up a Check In Kiosk here.
QR Code: Every activity (if enabled in the activity settings) has a unique QR code that can be saved as an image or printed, for students to scan with a device. This QR is found in FlexTime > Activities.
My Class: Before the Flex period begins, a Check In action within My Class becomes available for manual teacher check-in.
From FlexTime: FlexTime > Activities shows every activity in the current period. Each activity has a Check-in button.
My Tools: For other school staff without access to My Class, check-ins to flex activities and other events can be done from My Tools.

There are many ways to automate student attendance in Flex periods, taking manual attendance in My Class is also quick and easy:

Troubleshooting

FAQs

How do I take attendance for my FlexTime activity?

You can take attendance by checking students in via the My Class or My Tools. In My Class, with the Activity selected in the class list, select the FlexTime category, and check the box next to the student's name as they arrive. Alternatively, you can click Assign a Check In under My Tools and use a Barcode scanner or your device Camera to scan student IDs.

Can I limit how many students join my session?

Yes, you can limit the number of seats available when creating or editing your Activity Template. Simply enter the maximum number of students in the Seats Available field. Once that number is reached, the activity will show as FULL, and no more students can register.

How do I see which activity a student is supposed to attend?

You can view a student's upcoming Flex activities directly from the My Class tab. Click the FlexTime icon on an individual student’s card to see their specific activity, time, and location. You can also switch your My Class view to a list format to see the upcoming activities for your entire class at once.

Resources

Create a FlexTime Activity Cheat Sheet

Need a handy reminder when you're in the moment? This PDF will walk you through the process.

Assign/Register FlexTime Activities Cheat Sheet

Another PDF walkthrough to print and keep handy for signing students up for Flex activities.

Create Your FlexTime Activity Video
This short, friendly 3-minute tutorial video will give you the entire teacher and staff role in making FlexTime a success. From activity creation to check-in.