FAQ for Teachers
Q: I saw a shopping basket next to Resources and was told to add Resources to my basket to create a Lesson. Do I have to pay for them?
A: No. We used the shopping cart system just as a way of enabling you to collect Resources you like in one place, to add to Lessons later.
Q: Can I make my Lessons available for pupils to use at home?
A: Yes. In 'My Workspace', click a Lesson title to go the Lesson's admin page. If it's a Lesson on the 'Core Curriculum' page, first add it to your Workspace. Next, look at the ‘Student Access’ window in the right hand column. This is where you can enable/disable student access.
When enabled, you will see a web address and six-digit code appear in the Student Access area of the Lesson page. You can either give your students the web address to access the Lesson directly, or you can give them the Lesson code, which they can enter into their Student Access home page. See the Student Access help page for more information on enabling students to view Lessons.
You can provide notes for students by clicking the green arrow in the Student Access area when viewing one of your Lessons. Click 'Student Usage Data' to see how many students have used the Resource at home or school.
If your school has a Managed Learning Environment (Such as Moodle), pupils should be able to access it from home and you will be able to see who has viewed which Lessons. To do this you can download Lessons in SCORM-compliant format from within your Workspace and have these installed on your learning platform. Pupils would then be able to log on to the school’s network from home to access the Charanga Resources. For more information on SCORM, please contact your school’s ICT administrator.
Q: Do I need to authorise pupil logins?
A: No. Pupils can create their own log-ins that need no authentication from teachers. But you will need to grant pupils access to a Lesson from within your Charanga Workspace area and tell them the web address they need to visit.
Q: Can I use the Lessons on my Charanga USB drive indefinitely?
A: You can use the Lessons provided to you on your Charanga USB drive for a limited time (normally 16 weeks) before you will be required to renew them. The expiry date is shown on the information panel of each Lesson – two weeks before this date you will be given the option to renew. Provided that your Music Service still holds the licence, you will be able to renew Lessons by simply clicking the “Renew” button. Please ensure that you remain connected to the internet to enable to renew process to complete successfully – it should only take a few seconds.
Q: Can I store Lessons on any USB drive or can I only use the one supplied by Charanga?
A: You can use any USB drive to store Lessons, provided that you have downloaded the 'Lesson Viewer' software on to it. (See HOW TO Guide for installing the Lesson Viewer) If you have a Charanga USB drive the Lesson Viewer is pre-installed.
Q: Can I copy Resources onto CD for pupils to use?
A: No. This is against the terms of our licensing agreement with your Authority. You are welcome to print out any PDF scores but otherwise, please use the Student Access facilities described above to make Resources available to your students.
Q: How do I add my own Resources (e.g. a worksheet) into my Charanga Lesson and where can these later be retrieved?
A: You can upload any Resources of your own by attaching them to your Lessons. On the Lesson admin page, look for the Lesson support materials section on the right-hand side of the screen. You can upload Word docs, PDFs, Sibelius files, etc.
Q: How can I store work in progress and reload it again next Lesson?
A: Progress is saved automatically while you are creating a Lesson. Any Resources that you add will also be saved.
Q: How do I share my Lessons with other teachers if I want to?
A: The best way to quickly share Lessons with colleagues is to copy the web address from the address bar in your web browser and send the link as an email. Alternatively, you can ask your site administrator to make it possible for you to add Lessons to the Core Curriculum page. Once your Lessons are on the Core Curriculum page, they can be seen and used by colleagues.
Q: How can I make my own Resources available for other Charanga users to find and use in their own Lessons?
A: We absolutely want to encourage this, but depending on the Resource type, it can take a while for the production process. You should speak to Mark Burke in the first instance. If you have any requests for simple MP3 Resources, our copyright agreement with the PRS lets us put Resources up very quickly. Contact Paul Fletcher with your requests (classical, chart, soundtracks, etc).
Q: Can I control how Charanga Resources play back?
A: All our SMILE (Scored Music Illustration Environment) Resources have custom controls for tempo, animation, backing track and accompaniment. You can control which parts of the piece will play, and can mute instruments to give prominence to others while practising. Click here for an example of a SMILE Resource.
Q: What’s the copyright situation regarding Resources on the website?
A: You are fully licensed to use every Resource you can see on the website. Copyright owners are usually listed on the Resource itself and this may be Charanga, a Music Service, or another publisher. However, regardless of who actually owns the copyright, Charanga has completed all the necessary licensing formalities to make them free for you to use. Charanga has a wide-ranging agreement with the PRS which allows us to legally make audio Resources available to you. You are permitted to use these online via the website, in your VLE via the SCORM modules (if your service makes this available to you) or offline in the classroom with the Lesson Viewer. Use of the Resources in other ways (e.g. burning to a CD or exporting and using elsewhere) is strictly against our terms of service.