Frequently Asked Questions

Read through these questions and answers in any order you like. 

Get a cup of tea and relax as you explore. 

Here are three steps for a strong beginning:

1. Once you have opened your A Reason to Speak online course, explore your Instructor Resources. 
2. Choose if you’ll be purchasing access for your students by exploring Student Access below. 
3. Need help? Visit General Helps below.

Instructor Resources

Q. What type of support is there for the instructor?

A. You’ll get access to 180 days of support that begins as soon as you purchase:

• Interact with the instructor materials and our global community in our secure online learning academy
• Join in twice monthly support and video connection call
  

Questions About the Course Content

Q. Can I make changes to the content?

A. A Reason to Speak  is shared by instructors around the world. You are all using the same content. Content is not editable by individual instructors. If you have suggestions for improvement, please fill out the form contained in the course "Share your Questions and Suggestions." You may fill it out multiple times throughout your journey.

Q. Can my students get completion certificates?

A. YES! They are found in your Reference Resources in the curriculum resource. You will decide when your student is ready to receive a completion certificate. 

Questions About the ICC Academy Learning Platform

Q. Do you have some basic helps for me to get acquainted with this learning platform?

A. The ICC Academy is hosted by Schoology as our provider. They have created short tutorials that answer typical questions. Click on the links to see!

• Schoology 1st Steps video
• Schoology Next Steps Video

Q. What should I do if I have a question about how this learning platform works?

A. Our learning platform has a helps page with multiple FAQ, video tutorials, and instructional aids. Visit it at Help Center (click on Support found in the black toolbar at the bottom of every page in the ICC Academy). 

Q. I saw that most instructors get access the same day they purchase? Why don’t all instructors?

A. Every online school determines their own philosophy of who gets access to their course materials. We are only able to provide access to the ICC Academy for individuals with an iccinc.org email account or those who are not registered with other Schoology organizations. If you register with a personal email address, make sure it is one not used in a different Schoology-registered school.

Student Access 

Q. Will my student be able to view course materials?

A. In A Reason to Speak , only instructors can view the course materials. Instructors will have the ability to print student sample handouts from the instructor materials.

Q. What should I do if I’d like my student to get access to student materials?

A. Purchase Student Access for the required number of students. 

Q. Can parents view the curriculum?

A. Parents of A Reason to Speak  are not able to view the online  curriculum.

Q. What additional features are available with the Student Access Plan?

A. The Student Access Plan allows online access to the online classroom of A Reason to Speak . Lessons there reinforce and extend the concepts and skills taught in your live classroom setting. Students will need wifi/internet to complete their homework and class preparation outside of structured, interactive class time.

Q. I am only one instructor but will teach multiple groups of students, can they be in different sections of the same online course?

A. YES! The ICC Academy is happy to link individual classrooms (called sections) in the same online course. We can link multiple sections of students to the same online course, separated into distinct sections. Read more at Linked Courses in the ICC Academy. Please request this feature when you purchase the Student Access Plan.

Q. How long does it take for a classroom to be ready for students?

A. In most cases, we should be able to build your customized, completely editable classroom for your students in 3 - 5 days after the Student Access Plan has been purchased. 

• We’ll need unique email addresses for each student enrolled.
• Each instructor will be given an email template for helping students gain access to their course. Instructors will customize the template for their own students.
• Please allow an additional one week, minimum, before your estimated course start date for your students to complete their Academy Orientation.
• 
  

Instructor Helps on Managing the Online Classroom with Student Access 

Q. What features of the ICC Academy do you recommend an instructor use? 

• Read Course Materials to learn the features of your online curriculum.
• Notify your students using Course Updates: Students who sign into their course will always see updates when they arrive. You’ll want them to set up notifications (details included in the Academy Orientation) for this feature to work best.
• Share upcoming important dates for your course on the calendar feature.

Q. Where are my instructor materials?

A. You’ll find your course materials in a folder marked Instructor Resources and in each lesson where they are labelled with TG (Teacher’s Guide).

Q. Are students able to view instructor materials?

A. In A Reason to Speak , both teachers and students have access to the course. There are individual folders marked “Instructor” which should always be kept hidden/unpublished. You do have more options to make folders available on certain dates or for limited times. You can continue reading below for more details. For further understanding, read up on Organizing your Course Materials. 

Using Folder Availability

Folder Availability can be set to Published, Unpublished, Publish on start date, or Published during date range, giving you greater control over when the folder (and its material) is available to students. This way, you can create material ahead of time but keep it hidden from students until you are ready to cover the material.

If a folder is Unpublished, neither the folder nor its contents will be accessible to students. If it is set to Publish on start date or Published during date range, the folder and its contents will only be visible to students after or during the specified dates.

To adjust these settings, follow these steps:

1. Select the Materials tab from the left menu in the Course Profile.
2. In the folder that you wish to modify, click the gear icon  to the right and select Edit.
3. In the Availability menu, choose Published, Unpublished, Publish on start date, or Published during date range.
4. If you choose one of the latter two options, choose the appropriate dates in the calendars in the Date row.
5. Click Save Changes to complete.

Note: The date and time of availability follows the user's time zone. If a student of a course has a different time zone than your settings, the folder will be available according to the date and time of the student's time zone. You can change your timezone in your personal Account Settings.

Q. Why don’t the completion rules seem to work for me when I'm an instructor?

A. Completion rules only apply to those participating in the course as a student. To determine if you are a student or an instructor, click on "members". You'll find a special icon (a badge with a star) to the right of your name if you are an instructor. If, as an instructor, you remove the completion rules, your students will no longer have that completion rule in your course.

Q. If an instructor completes assignments will those responses still be in the classroom?

Instructors can add comments to any assignment. These comments will remain in the course and will be visible by all students. All discussion comments are viewable by everyone in the course.

Q. Can instructors make changes to the course lessons?

A. A Reason to Speak  is yours to edit and use as you’d like. If you would like to use it with a second class, you would pay for additional student seats at that time. We have some basic helps (click here) to get you started on revising content, if you’d like to customize any lessons.

Q. Will my students get grades?

A. A Reason to Speak  can be graded by an Instructor. Read this guide for additional helps. 

Q. Can my students get completion certificates?

A. A Reason to Speak  has completion certificates already uploaded into your curriculum. You will decide when your student is ready to receive a completion certificate. 

General Helps

Questions About Tech 

Q. Do I need WiFi for my course?

1. Wifi/internet is required, especially for streaming videos. 
2. Instructors of A Reason to Speak find that downloading and printing lesson plans ahead of time helps them be more confident in the face to face classroom setting.

Q. What's wrong, I can’t I view the videos?

A. To date, the most common reason for inability to see the videos seems to be linked to trying to view the videos from the Schoology app. If you are having problems, please make sure you are signing in from a browser using this address https://academy.iccinc.org. 

If videos still won’t play, please fill out the Academy Support Form for assistance.

Q. Who do I reach out to with my questions about my purchase?

Reach out to our People Care team (available on LIVE CHAT on the website or by email [email protected]). Make sure you include the following needed information (failure to include this information will slow down the process)

1. Name of Original Purchaser. 
2. Name of School or Learning Center, if appropriate. 
3. Approximate date (month, year) of purchase
4. Item of Curriculum purchased
5. Your concern
6. We will work with you and our team of ICC leaders to make sure you get the help you need.

Q. What should I do if I have a question about the ICC curriculum?

• Still have a question? Fill out the Academy Support Form for assistance.

For School/Learning Centre Groups Only

(purchasers of 3 or more basic instructor plans)

Q. I’m the school administrator or principal, do I get access to the curriculum?

A. Every PURCHASER and every named instructor for whom the purchaser indicated at the time of purchase will be given access to the same curriculum as the instructors. If you don’t have access, and believe you should, please fill out the Academy Support Form for assistance.

Updated 7.30.20