Decoding Skyward Lingo

#Tips Read time:
Do you hear words tossed around like PDC, Toolkit, Qmlativ, or User Research Panel and don’t know what they mean? We’ve got you covered!


Advancing K12
Recently named a Top 50 Must-Read K-12 IT Blog, the Advancing K12 blog examines the successes, opportunities, and future of school districts throughout the country. It's delivered to your inbox monthly and includes topics such as leadership, culture, data, achievement, technology, and the business office. Join the list!

Employee Access Toolkit
A library of resources for all Employee Access users. The Toolkit has everything your team needs to get the most out of the Employee Access portal.

Family Access Toolkit
A library of resources for all Family Access users—administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Each persona's page features 60-Second Power-Up tutorials, which you can embed directly on your district website. There is also a Spanish version of the Toolkit.

iCon
Skyward’s annual international conference in late February/early March. Held in St. Pete Beach, Florida since 2015, this three-day professional development event features over 80 educational sessions and gives a high-level look at Skyward for district administrators and Skyward specialists. Learn about the differences between iCon and user groups in this article.

Help Center (Qmlativ only)
Your one-stop shop for Qmlativ documentation. Machine learning search capabilities, interactive flowcharts, and multimedia resources make it easy to find the answers you're looking for.

Insider
You’re reading it! For the latest Skyward tips, tricks, and product updates, subscribe to this monthly newsletter. Over 11,000 of your peers have already signed up. Join us here!

IT Services
The team that does everything from data encryption and database management to disaster recovery services and cloud hosting. They’re here to help you keep your data secure.

Knowledge Hub
Your launching point for the PDC, Community, and Help Center. The Knowledge Hub is also where you’ll go if you’ve ordered W-2 printing services from Skyward or if you’re a PDC coordinator looking to configure and assign courses.

PDC (Qmlativ only)
A training tool designed for Skyward users in every role. With self-paced courses and simulated walkthroughs, the PDC is popular as a reference and refresher tool for existing staff, as well as a quick way to bring new hires up to speed.

Product Ideas Portal
A place to share your ideas and vote for enhancements to Skyward. You can find the Portal through the help area of the software. Once you sign in with your Skyward Contact ID, you can search for ideas (or add your own) and vote for your favorites. You can also sign up to be notified when an enhancement is complete.

Qmlativ
The new version of Skyward, offering the latest and greatest SIS and ERP experience. A new interface, redefined processes, and increased customization are all reasons to be excited about Qmlativ!

SkyDoc (SMS 2.0 only)
An extensive library of videos, recorded webinars, and step-by-step tutorials on nearly every Skyward process. SkyDoc makes it easy to reference notes while you’re working—just click on the question mark in the top right of any Skyward screen. When you navigate to SkyDoc, you'll be automatically dropped into the area of the software you initiated your request from.

Skyward Academy
Features 1- to 3-hour training sessions to help you become more efficient in Skyward. Just In Time courses dig into timely topics (think New Student Online Enrollment or Summer Submissions) while the Full Training Courses take a deep dive into various Skyward modules (Special Education or Employee Management, for instance).

Skyward Community (Qmlativ only)
A social media-style platform where Qmlativ users can connect. Some of the Community's most popular features include report sharing, discussion boards (to get ideas and feedback from people at other districts), and blog posts from the Skyward team. There are also opportunities to join groups specific to you (for example, Illinois state reporting).

SMS 2.0
What you probably refer to as “Skyward” (unless you’re running our Qmlativ product). This SIS and ERP solution helps you run your district smoothly and efficiently.

Technology Solutions
A Skyward team that can help with any of your tech-related needs. They work exclusively with Skyward districts and have a long and successful track record helping hundreds of schools. The team can come onsite and help you upgrade your hardware, improve your security, and protect against risk.

User group
State-wide conferences led by experienced Skyward users and Skyward support staff. This professional development event offers opportunities to meet with fellow users and Skyward employees, while also expanding your knowledge of the Skyward software. Learn about the difference between user groups and iCon in this article.

User Research Panel
A panel you can join to be a voice during product development at Skyward. After all, we can’t claim to offer a great user experience if users don’t partake in development! Sign up to be on our panel and you’ll be contacted when a research opportunity arises that matches your background and interests.


We hope these descriptions help shed a little light on some Skyward lingo. Subscribe to Skyward Insider to keep boosting your Skyward IQ!

Follow-Up Resource: 30 EdTech Acronyms Defined

Want to test or expand your knowledge of edtech acronyms? Check out this glossary of edtech acronyms on our sister blog, Advancing K12!