Introducing the first in a series of Plug & Play Student Information System (SIS)
integrations. This means automatic synchronization of student data – simply with a
username and password.

We are pleased to announce integration with Veracross SIS.

What is Plug & Play?

“Plug and Play” is a buzz phrase. Ultimately it means that one device, or in this case
piece of software, is able to talk to or connect with another piece of software without
special configuration or user intervention.

Why Plug & Play for SIS?

When provided with the right information to connect the systems, Haiku LMS is
programmed to know exactly how to interpret and import the data from a specified SIS.
Users, classes and rosters in Veracross show up in Haiku LMS automatically within an
hour. Setup is extremely painless. Imagine the time savings here.

More to Come

Veracross SIS is the first, but you’ll see more integration in the near future! Can we still
import data from other Student Information Systems? Yes, of course. That has not and
will not change. Stay tuned in the next couple months as we continue to develop these
Plug & Play options for quick and easy population. Your SIS may be coming soon.

Special Thanks

Thanks to the American School of Bombay (ASB) for bringing this plug & play
integration request to us – we believe many users will benefit as a result. Thanks also to
the great group of developers and leaders at Veracross who worked diligently with us to
get this up and running.

Haiku LMS is the only LMS to give you a means to search your Google Docs files and hand them in without leaving the LMS.

• Google Docs Integration. Bring Google Docs into Haiku where you might otherwise upload a file. Import Google Docs as attachments or as collaborative documents. What’s more, upload Microsoft Office files and convert them to Google Docs within Haiku. See how it works >>
• Improved Homework Annotator. It’s faster and better than ever! Easily scroll and zoom. To annotate, just swipe and type. Rotate and position elements to your heart’s delight. Teachers will love the improved interface and the quick annotation tool. Students will love that they don’t have to download a file to see what a teacher said. Let us show you >>

Imagine the Simplicity: A Scenario

Say a teacher assigned an essay in Haiku LMS. Here’s one way the homework is handled without leaving the browser:

The student reads the assignment and then creates a new Google Doc.

The student then searches for their Google Doc from the Haiku Dropbox and hands the document in.

The teacher then opens it in Haiku’s Annotator to comment and grade, returning it to the student via the Dropbox.

The student is notified via email or SMS that they have a response from their teacher, they visit the Dropbox to read the response.

Notice what’s missing? Yes – downloading and uploading files. And in between no renaming and organizing files, remembering where they are, or running into previous or outdated versions.

The Google Doc Block and Google Doc Attachments are only available once your Administrator grants “Data Access” rights from your school/district’s Google Dashboard.

For more information on how to turn this feature on, read this article.

Well, what do you think?

If you use Haiku then you know that our users drive our development. They tell us what they need, vote on ideas, and help us move in the direction most useful for education. They also tell us about the other tools they use in their classes and how they use them.

So let’s hear it: How do you plan to use the new features to enhance your virtual or blended classroom to engage your students?

Special Note

The original version of this post erroneously indicated that the Homework Annotator supported iWork files. That’s in the works, but not yet available. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused people who use Haiku LMS.