User and Classroom data management can be automated by posting .csv import files directly to Discovery Education’s SFTP server. To get started, a username with administrative access to discoveryeducation.com is required. If you do not have an administrative username, please contact Discovery Education’s support team (800-323-9084 Option 1).
The import templates and upload tool can be found within the Bulk Import section of My Admin.
Important: For each template, all column headers must be present and all required fields must be populated. Header order must match the template exactly. Any extraneous commas within the data must be removed, or contained within double quotes (eg. “smith, jr”).
Looking to automate imports for Single Sign-On? See Imports for Single Sign-On for details.
Requirements
- Ability to create a process that generates .csv files conforming to Discovery Education’s templates and requirements.
- Ability to post the .csv files to Discovery Education’s SFTP site nightly.
- Please provide Discovery Education staff with the public IP that will be connecting to the SFTP site.
Step 1: Prepare
Existing Discovery Education user accounts will need to be standardized to allow for automated imports. If users have self-registered in the past, then this involves creating a standard username convention. Usernames can be updated based on other Unique Identifiers matching between the .csv files and the user’s profile.
UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS
Unique identifiers are used to match users in our database to data populated on the .csv files. If at least one field matches, then other data fields will be updated based on the .csv data.
- Username
- Email (teachers only)
- Teacher ID
- Student ID
- Class ID
We highly recommend populating the Teacher ID and Student ID fields, since these should be static, unique identifiers for users.
To review the Unique Identifiers currently on users’ profiles, navigate to My Admin > Bulk Import > Update Rosters to export the user lists.
Step 2: Standardize
Once the Unique Identifiers are confirmed on the users’ profiles, a standardized Username convention should be decided on. Usernames must be globally unique to our system and at least 6 characters long, so we recommend using an email address or similar convention as the username.
Passwords can be permanently standardized or a default password can be assigned. To assign a permanent password, enter the text in the password field as normal. Users’ passwords will be permanently set to this value. (Eg. Welcome1)
To assign a default password, encase the text in brackets in the password field. This will give a default password for new users, but not overwrite a password set by the user. The brackets are not included in the actual password value. (Eg. [Welcome1])
Step 3: Generate files
A process or script must be created to export data from the District’s information system into Discovery Education’s .csv templates. Given that information systems vary broadly, Discovery Education cannot assist with this process. For assistance, please contact your information system vendor’s support team.
GENERAL FILE REQUIREMENTS
- Must be in .csv format.
- All headers and columns must match the templates exactly.
- Any extraneous commas within the data must be removed, or contained within double quotes (eg. “smith, jr”).
- All required fields must be populated.
Step 4: Launch
Users should be notified when the standardization will occur, since their credentials may be changing. On the launch date, upload the files manually within the Bulk Import section of My Admin. A validation process will confirm that there are no data errors and that the files are safe to post to the SFTP site. If errors are found, adjustments to the District’s export process may be required. Be sure to monitor the status on the Import Status tab. Any records that pass validation will be queued to process over night.
Step 5: Automate
Once users are standardized and the .csv files are validated with no errors, SFTP credentials can be given to complete the automation process. Please provide Discovery Education staff with the public IP that will be connecting to the SFTP site.
FILE NAME REQUIREMENTS
The .csv file names must meet the following requirements to be recognized by the SFTP process:
(account_guid)_(user_guid)_(template type)_(date)_(time).csv
The account_guid and user_guid identify the district and user performing the upload, respectively, in the Discovery Education system. These fields will be provided by Discovery Education’s support staff along with SFTP credentials.
The template type determines the type of import:
- teacher
- student_std
- class
- roster
The required date format:
- MM_DD_YYYY
The required time format:
- HH_MM_SS_SSS (millisecond)
Examples:
10000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_90000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_teacher_08_14_2016_22_02_00_000.csv
10000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_90000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_student_std_08_14_2016_22_02_00_000.csv
10000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_90000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_class_08_14_2016_22_02_00_000.csv
10000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_90000000-0000-XXXX-XXXX-000000000000_roster_08_14_2016_22_02_00_000.csv
Column Headers and Required Fields
This section gives a high level overview of the Column Headers and the required fields. Ensure that all columns and headers are present, even if optional fields are not used. For a more advanced explanation of how the process works and required fields, please refer to the User Guides in the My Admin section of the website.
TEACHER TEMPLATE
Headers: Site Passcode,Account Name,Site Name,First Name,Last Name,UserName,Password,Grade,Teacher ID,Email,Assessment Access Flag,Archive Flag
| Col | Headers | Required | Description | Accepted Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Site Passcode | Yes | DE Provide Unique Identifier for each School. | Values provided in My Admin. |
| B | Account Name | No | Friendly Name for the District. | This can be any value. |
| C | Site Name | No | Friendly Name for the School. | This can be any value. |
| D | First Name | Yes | ||
| E | Last Name | Yes | ||
| F | UserName | Yes Primary Key |
Username must be unique to all of Discovery Education. Must be at least 6 characters long. | |
| G | Password | Yes | Must be at least 5 characters long. | |
| H | Grade | No | K, 1-12 | |
| I | Teacher ID | Yes Alternative Primary Key |
Unique Identifier for staff in the district. This is an alternative Primary Key. | |
| J | Yes Alternative Primary Key |
|||
| K | Assessment Access Flag | No | Deprecated | Please leave blank but keep the column header. |
| L | Archive Flag | Yes | Determines if the user is Active or Disabled/Inactive. | N = Active Y = Disable |
STUDENT TEMPLATE
Headers: Site Passcode,Account Name,Site Name,First Name,Middle Initial,Last Name,UserName,Password,Student ID,Student Grade,Parent Email,Archive Flag
| Col | Headers | Required | Description | Accepted Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Site Passcode | Yes | DE Provide Unique Identifier for each School. | Values provided in My Admin. |
| B | Account Name | No | Friendly Name for the District. | This can be any value. |
| C | Site Name | No | Friendly Name for the School. | This can be any value. |
| D | First Name | Yes | ||
| E | Middle Initial | No | ||
| F | Last Name | Yes | ||
| G | Username | Yes Primary Key |
Username must be unique to all of Discovery Education. Must be at least 6 characters long. | |
| H | Password | Yes | Must be at least 5 characters long. | |
| I | Student ID | Yes Alternative Primary Key |
Unique Identifier for students in the district. This is an alternative Primary Key. | |
| J | Student Grade | Yes | K, 1-12 | |
| K | Parent Email | No | Deprecated | Please leave blank but keep the column header. |
| L | Archive Flag | Yes | Determines if the user is Active or Disabled/Inactive. | N = Active Y = Disable |
CLASS TEMPLATE
Headers: Site Passcode,Account Name,Site Name,Class Name,Class ID,Class Description,School Year,Benchmark Class Flag,Grade,Subject,Semester/Block,Archive Flag
| Col | Headers | Required | Description | Accepted Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Site Passcode | Yes | DE Provide Unique Identifier for each School. | Values provided in My Admin. |
| B | Account Name | No | Friendly Name for the District. | This can be any value. |
| C | Site Name | No | Friendly Name for the School. | This can be any value. |
| D | Class Name | Yes | Friendly name for the class. | |
| E | Class ID | Yes Primary Key |
Unique Identifier for the class within a school. | |
| F | Class Description | No | ||
| G | School Year | No, but Highly Recommended | Distinguishes classes when Class ID is re-used each year. | 1819, 1920, 2021 |
| H | Benchmark Class Flag | No | Deprecated | Please leave blank but keep the column header. |
| I | Grade | No | Deprecated | Please leave blank but keep the column header. |
| J | Subject | No | Deprecated | Please leave blank but keep the column header. |
| K | Semester/Block | No | Deprecated | Please leave blank but keep the column header. |
| L | Archive Flag | Yes | Determines if the class is Active or Disabled/Inactive. | N = Active Y = Disable |
ROSTER TEMPLATE
This template associates the user and class data from the three previous files to create class enrollments.
Each row will enroll one user to one class. One of three fields should be used to identify the user to enroll, Username, Teacher ID, or Student ID. If using the Username field, the ID fields are not needed. If using the ID fields, only populate one ID field, never populate both ID fields. The system will know if the user is a teacher or a student.
Headers: Site Passcode,Account Name,Site Name,Class ID,Username,Teacher ID,Student ID,Remove Flag
| Col | Headers | Required | Description | Accepted Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Site Passcode | Yes | DE Provide Unique Identifier for each School. | Values provided in My Admin. |
| B | Account Name | No | Friendly Name for the District. | This can be any value. |
| C | Site Name | No | Friendly Name for the School. | This can be any value. |
| D | Class ID | Yes Primary Key |
Class ID must also exist in the Class file. | |
| E | Username | Yes* Primary Key |
Username must also exist in the Teacher or Student file. | |
| F | Teacher ID | No Alternative Primary Key |
Enter the ID that corresponds to the Username listed. Do not populate both Teacher ID and Student ID. | |
| G | Student ID | No Alternative Primary Key. |
Enter the ID that corresponds to the Username listed. Do not populate both Teacher ID and Student ID. | |
| H | Remove Flag | Yes | Determines if the user should be enrolled or removed from the class. | N = Enroll Y = Remove |
Example:
This example assigns the class to the Teacher in one row and then 9 Students in the following rows. Rows 2-11 supply the optional fields Teacher ID and Student ID, while Rows 12-21 only supply the Username to identify the user. Both formats are valid.
Invalid Example:
This example shows invalid records because both ID fields are populated, referencing two users for a given row.
For questions or to implement SFTP imports, please contact the Customer and Technical Support team at 1-800-323-9084 or email education_info@discovery.com.