Guide to the Four Major OHS Platforms: Gateway, Canvas, PowerSchool, and Adobe Connect

OHS uses a number of platforms to manage the numerous resources offered. There is a lot of support available and answers to lots of questions – the trick is knowing where to look. 

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of everything that can be found or done on each platform. But hopefully, it helps you start to build intuition around what each platform is used for – and maybe to learn about some new resources you didn’t know about!

Gateway

Let’s begin with Gateway. Gateway holds a huge wealth of information about the logistics and resources of OHS. If you’re looking for any piece of whole-school information (rather than course specific information), try Gateway first. Gateway is used daily or weekly by many students and parents. For example, you can:

• Access information about all student supports (Counseling, Advising, the WTC, etc.)

• Access the Family Handbook

• Learn about the accommodations process

• Find support as an international student

• Contact all faculty and staff (individuals’ emails, knowing who to send your questions to) 

• Fill out a variety of forms, such as the tech support form or an absence form

• Learn about exams and proctoring

• Find all important dates (holidays, first and last days of schools, etc.)

• Access all other platforms used by OHS (found at the top right of Gateway, in the white band above the red horizontal menu)

There’s lots, lots more to Gateway. Spend a few minutes sometime just exploring to see what’s there!

📝 Gateway Tip: At the far right of the red horizontal menu, there is a 🔍 search icon. This can be faster than browsing the horizontal menu at times and can also yield pages that are difficult to find. Don’t underestimate the power of the search!

Canvas

Next up: Canvas! Canvas is a learning management system – this is where you can view and submit assignments, access course information, and see announcements from your teacher. If you’re looking for any course-specific information, try Canvas. You can also access Pronto and the Canvas “inbox” along the left toolbar.

Each course you’re taking has a course Canvas page. On this page, you can access course syllabi/expectations (including grading policies, expectations for work, etc.), schedules, and assignments. You can also find the office hours and class Adobe Connect rooms and any announcements posted by your teacher. Course Canvas pages are typically released a few days before the start of fall or spring semester.

📝 Canvas Tip: At an online school, tech will sometimes fail. If you’re ever struggling to submit an assignment to Canvas, you must email it to your teacher prior to the deadline. Otherwise, your assignment will be considered late.

💡Did you know? The Canvas dashboard has several layouts you can choose from, each of which provides different information. Click on the three vertical dots in the upper left corner to switch. Try all of them! Everyone needs something different to manage their schoolwork.

Student Community & Resources

All students have access to the Student Community & Resources page on Canvas. It appears in your “courses” list along with Canvas pages for your classes. On this page, you can get involved with the OHS community and Student Life. Learn about clubs and societies, find information on Counseling, or see what Student Government is up to!

The Writing & Tutoring Center

You can also access the Writing and Tutoring Center (WTC) via Canvas, in your courses list. At the Writing and Tutoring Center, you can book an appointment with a writing instructor to help with any writing assignment. You can also schedule an appointment with a peer tutor, who is a student that’s previously taken a given course.

The WTC also periodically holds writing workshops. Additionally, you can find writing contests and examples of good writing on their Canvas page.

Take advantage of the WTC! Many highly successful students at OHS are so successful because they use it so often. It doesn’t mean you’re failing if you go there, it means you want to get better.

PowerSchool

In PowerSchool, you can access your grades, attendance, and a list of courses you’re registered in. After the master schedule is released, you can also see your courses for the coming year. Think of PowerSchool as a place for seeing official records.

Two important forms can be found on PowerSchool: The Accommodation Request form and the MSON Course Requests form.

📝 PowerSchool Tip: Often, grades on PowerSchool are behind grades on Canvas. Sometimes, they’re pretty well synced. And a few teachers keep PowerSchool more updated than Canvas. If you’re uncertain, ask your teacher where to find the most updated grade.

Adobe Connect

Finally, we come to Adobe Connect, often simply called “AC.” This is the platform where all your classes will be held. (Unless AC is broken one day, and then most teachers have a backup Zoom room.) Office hours are also typically held in an Adobe Connect room, along with numerous school-wide events.

📝 Adobe Connect Tip: Don’t log in more than 5-7 minutes early to class; Adobe Connect is likely to time out, making it look like class hasn’t started when your teacher is in the room. If you’re ever worried that your AC might have timed out, you can close and reopen the room or message other students on Pronto to ask if they’re in.

💡Did you know? Adobe Connect has closed captioning! Access it through the “CC” button on the toolbar along the top of your screen. It can be resized and moved. If you turn it on at the start of class, you can also scroll back through it if you were taking notes and missed something a teacher said.