MYP Beta Unit Planner Template
Dec 18, 2024
Schools that participate in the MYP Beta testing for the IBO can now add a BETA Unit Planner template in ManageBac via their Settings > Middle Years > Curriculum > Unit Planner Template on the right sidebar.
This template uses the updated requirements for MYP Unit Planners.
Teachers can convert existing unit planners to this new template by selecting the template for each unit from the "Unit Template" list in the Summary section of their unit planners.
Read more about Unit Planner templates in our Customising Unit Planner Templates help article.
Share Unit Plans in School Group / Districts
Nov 5, 2024
School groups or districts that have multiple ManageBac schools can request to be able to share unit plans among those schools in certain academic programmes.
Units shared within a district are only visible to schools added to the district list and can be imported as Unit Planner only or with available Unit Resources from the school that shared the unit to the district originally.
See our Sharing Unit Plans & Unit Resources in School Groups or Districts help guide for more details.
Please contact the ManageBac Support team if your school is part of a school group or district and would like to review the ability to share units among multiple schools.
Group 3 IA Support
Oct 17, 2024
We are delighted to now fully support internal assessment functionality across Subject Groups 1-5, as well as School-Based Subjects. Teachers will find the Internal Assessment or IA tab in their Class menu.
Specifically for Group 3, this extends the IA functionality to Business Management, Digital Society, Economics, Geography, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Social and Cultural Anthropology and World Religions.
See our Managing Group 3 IAs (Investigations, Field Work, Projects, Reports) guide for full details.
Group 5 IA Support
Oct 10, 2024
We're excited to announce a significant enhancement to ManageBac's internal assessment capabilities. Now, you can efficiently collect, grade, and generate required files for Internal Assessments in Subject Group 5.
By utilising the task function in conjunction with IB criteria, educators can now effectively:
- Set a deadline for students to hand in their work
- Grade this work
- Generate the IB “Teacher Grades and Comments” file.
See our Managing Group 5 Mathematical Explorations help guide for full details.
May 2025 IB DP Exams Calendar
Oct 4, 2024
The May 2025 IB Exams calendar has been added to ManageBac. May session schools can configure the location and proctors for those so that the Exam Daily Calendars appear for students based on the Subjects they set in their Plan Worksheets.
See our IBIS Exam Registration Quickstart Guide for full details on the IBIS registration feature.
App Release in China
Sep 30, 2024
We are excited to share that the ManageBac Android app has been released to Tencent for our schools and users in China! Previously, the ManageBac app was available in China via a link hosted on AWS. We hope making this locally available will significantly improve accessibility, providing automatic updates, faster downloads and improved reliability.
The direct link to the Tencent store is here. For those users in China that have already installed the app, there is no need to re-download.
AI Writing Assistant
Sep 26, 2024
We are delighted to announce the release of the ManageBac AI Writing Assistant, which enables educators to create and edit educational content using generative AI.
With the Ask AI toolbar button, teachers can easily generate, modify, or enhance content in any rich text editor, supported by prompt-engineered shortcuts such as "Clarify and Improve Flow" and "Check Grammar and Spelling". Additionally, users can refer back to their last three AI responses for conversation continuity.
Admins have full control over feature access and usage visibility. Data protection and privacy are prioritised through safeguards, ensuring no personal identifying information is shared or used to train AI models. This feature aims to empower educators to enhance content creation and refinement while adhering to strict privacy and security standards.
Admins can request to enable the integration via your school Settings. See more here.
Only Show Task Grade Scales to Students & Parents
Sep 25, 2024
A new visibility option has been added to academic programme Assessment settings. Admins can optionally default to only show Task Grade Scales to Students & Parents, rather than the actual Task Grades / Scores. This setting overrides visibility settings from Teacher Class Gradebooks for Tasks.
This can be configured via Settings > Select your programme > Assessment > "Hide Task scores and show scale grades only". When tasks are graded, only the grade scale will be visible both in ManageBac Student & Parent view, and in grade notification emails.
May 2025 TOK Essay Prescribed Titles added
Sep 9, 2024
The TOK Essay prescribed titles were updated for all TOK Essay project-based learning templates that were imported from our template library. Students in May session schools will now see the updated May 2025 titles when editing their TOK Essay Proposals. These were updated in English and Spanish.
Note: If you have previously customised the titles, in order to avoid data loss, the automatic update will not be reflected. In this case, you can either i) Import a new pre-built template, which will have the updates defaulted or ii) Manually edit the titles in your Template Settings. Please see Configuring & Enabling Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Worksheets
DP Curriculum Updates
Sep 2, 2024
The following subjects have had new guides published for first teaching in August 2024:
- Environmental Systems and Societies (now also available at HL)
- Sports Exercise and Health Science
- Global Politics
- Marine Science
The new and revised syllabus content is now available in ManageBac. You can now adapt your existing Unit Plans or plan afresh with the new syllabus content.
For subjects that have a transition period, you will find that both last assessment 2025 and first assessment 2026 are now available in the Unit Planner. Please see more on our Blog.
PYP Transdisciplinary Themes Updated
Aug 25, 2024
We are working closely with the IB to ensure the evolution of the PYP over time is accurately reflected in the ManageBac unit planners. This summer, new transdisciplinary theme descriptors have been added for new units and existing units. For any questions, please reach out to support@managebac.com.
Portfolio Timeline Update
Aug 22, 2024
The Primary Years Portfolio serves as a centralized place where both students and teachers can display evidence of learning. This is particularly crucial in the Primary Years, which are predominantly evidence-based. The Portfolio effectively showcases and documents the student’s learning journey over the years.
The Portfolio Timeline has been revamped into a simplified, social media-style feed that puts students’ evidence of learning front and center. This update to our mobile app includes redesigned previews for all multimedia options including photos, documents, audio, and video, making the Portfolio more visually engaging for students, teachers, and parents.
Threaded Discussions
Aug 19, 2024
We’ve improved communication within the Portfolio by simplifying resource comments. When browsing from the ManageBac mobile app (on smart phones or tablets), you can add and view comments in threaded discussions. We hope this makes it more direct and user-friendly to engage with students, teachers, and parents.
Notes & QuickAdd
Aug 17, 2024
Notes is a new resource type that significantly enhances how students and teachers communicate within the Portfolio. Notes allow for quick messages or reflections directly on the student’s Portfolio Timeline via the MB mobile App. Notes are designed to stand out visually, providing a vibrant and engaging way to highlight and communicate quick messages, student reflections, classroom activities, or achievements.
Adding evidence of learning to Portfolios is now easier for students and teachers with our simplified flow. A large + button has been added, allowing quick uploads of various multimedia types. Additionally, we’ve added a Quick Action menu for each post, providing options like editing descriptions, adding audio recordings, and sharing resources.
Audio Recording Support
Aug 15, 2024
Audio recordings are now available as a new feature in the Portfolio, designed to facilitate communication.
Audio recordings are effective for younger students who are not yet proficient readers or when communicating longer messages. Recordings can be added directly to students’ Portfolio Timeline via the mobile app, as a description of students’ evidence of learning, or as a comment, making the Portfolio more interactive and accessible.
School Domain in Welcome E-mails
Jul 26, 2024
Your school's personalised domain for ManageBac is now more prominently included in Welcome E-mails for all users. We hope this helps your community in accessing your unique URL.
We recommend adding your ManageBac URL to your school's public website or community channels to help bring MB into your school's ecosystem.
Study & Class Chats Centralised
Jun 26, 2024
We have made an update to our support of Chat features in ManageBac. Now, no matter if chats are begun in your Classes or in Study mode as part of Lessons, these threads will now be found in one place. We've made this update to make it easier for users to continue a conversation no matter where you are or what you are doing, and to simply teachers management of their class content.
Mobile Unit Overview
Jun 7, 2024
The new mobile-friendly The Unit At-a-Glance page provides a comprehensive summary of unit details and curriculum components on the go! It's organised into two sections:
General Unit Information: This section includes the unit description, duration, and subject, providing a clear overview of the unit.
Curriculum Components: This section organises the curriculum components covered in the unit such as the Learner Profile, Approaches to Learning, etc. Each curriculum component has its own dedicated page, highlighting the specific learning outcomes. This makes it easier for students and parents to stay informed and up to date.
iPad Split-Screen View
Jun 5, 2024
Our latest split-screen views enhance navigation and multitasking across ManageBac pages. With a two-pane design, effortlessly switch between views and access detailed information like Task & Deadline details and Unit Resources. Whether managing classes, engaging in chats, or tracking tasks and deadlines, the split-screen view ensures easy access to essential information.
Account Security Notifications
May 31, 2024
We’re enhancing security for mobile app logins with our new “New Sign-in” email notification. This notification keeps you informed about any new sign-ins to your account, showing the device and location used. If you spot any unrecognised activity, you can quickly change your password for added peace of mind.
Apple Single Sign-on (SSO)
May 28, 2024
Now introducing Apple Single Sign-On (SSO), allowing you to quickly sign in using your Apple ID. Benefit from Apple’s biometric authentication features Face ID and Touch ID. Plus, enjoy the convenience of Apple SSO on your Android device too.
OAuth 2.0 for iOS
May 25, 2024
We’ve implemented OAuth 2.0 – an industry-standard protocol utilised across iOS and Android platforms. With OAuth 2.0, you’ll enjoy an enhanced sign-in experience, along with additional features such as access token scope and expiry. This update also addresses previous login issues.
The newly introduced authentication update enhances stability, providing you with a seamless and uninterrupted experience by addressing unexpected logouts.
Rubric Descriptors
May 13, 2024
The “Grade Descriptor” component in Multi-Curricula Report cards can now include rubric grade descriptors from additional programmes added to the template.
Use Aliases for Term Names in Reports
May 10, 2024
Multi-Curricula Report card templates with the option for Cumulative Term Grades enabled, can now show aliases for Term names that were set via Settings > Academic Terms > Select a Programme > Edit School Year.
Homeroom Attendance in Class view
May 7, 2024
The Attendance page of Classes has been updated to now show all available Homeroom Attendance statuses (1) for each student as well as adding a hover over Homeroom Advisor comment (2). The previously available Parent Excusal and Class Teacher attendance comments (3) remain in place.
This allows all Class teachers to have quick access to each student's Homeroom Attendance status and message without having to navigate around a lot.
Mobile Feedback
Apr 20, 2024
In recent years, we’ve observed exponential growth in mobile usage among ManageBac users. In order to ensure we are serving our school and user needs, we now offer an optional feature to help contribute to feedback of our mobile apps. Users have the option to Allow if they wish for their usage to be tracked, or may at any point select Don't Allow from their settings to stop tracking.
Mobile Task Resources
Apr 15, 2024
The Task Resource page has been redesigned and optimized for mobile devices. This page was released in the last update and provides on-the-go access to important resources and tools for school assignments. Teachers can effortlessly link websites or videos, create notes, and upload files and photos directly from their iPads or iPhones. After adding resources, teachers can easily organize them with drag and drop for improved teaching and learning.
The enhanced Task Resource page ensures that students have seamless access to necessary learning materials on their mobile devices, simplifying the process of referencing resources while they are working on their assignments. Additionally, files and photos can now be easily managed and integrated with various cloud services such as iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and the Photos app.
MB & OpenApply Sync
Mar 28, 2024
We have launched SyncHub, a tool to service streamlined integration between ManageBac and OpenApply for our Faria schools. Sync data between the same school including student profile information, parents data and student-parent relationships. Reach out to us if you are looking to integrate ManageBac and OpenApply!
ManageBac AssessPrep Integration update
Mar 15, 2024
We are delighted to provide an update in collaboration with the AssessPrep team to how AssessPrep tests can be linked in ManageBac Tasks.
Now, all AssessPrep tests can be linked to ManageBac tasks as Submission Type. This allows teachers to create new AssessPrep tests or link existing AssessPrep tests to the Task.
Read more about creating and linking AssessPrep tests to ManageBac Tasks in our Creating an AssessPrep Online Assessment using a ManageBac Task article.
November 2024 TOK Essay Prescribed Titles added
March 5, 2024
The TOK Essay prescribed titles were updated for all TOK Essay project-based learning templates that were imported from our template library. Students in November session schools will now see the updated November 2024 titles when editing their TOK Essay Proposals. These were updated in English and Spanish.
iOS File Sharing
Jun 12, 2024
Expanding on our productivity tools, we’re introducing a seamless file-sharing feature for iOS users. Whether you’re a student submitting assignments or a teacher updating resources, this enhancement allows you to upload files directly to ManageBac from your iPhone or iPad. With support for various cloud services like iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and the Photos app, transferring files becomes effortless.
May 2024 IBIS Candidate Session Numbers updated
January 23, 2024
Candidate Session Numbers have been added to ManageBac for all IB Diploma students registered for May 2024 exams. The Candidate Session Number can be found either in the student profile in the Exam Details section or in the above show Candidate Personal Info section of the IB Diploma Plan Worksheet. Please see our IBIS Exam Registration Quickstart Guide for more information on the Diploma Plan worksheets.
iOS Parents Unit View
Jan 15, 2024
The new Unit page enables parents to support their child’s learning. From the Unit page, parents can see the academic material their child will be learning in the upcoming weeks along with important unit resources and supplemental material for each unit. Parents can use these resources to help support their child’s learning.
iOS Parent Class Overview
Jan 10, 2024
The Class Overview page is accessible to parents by selecting any class their child is a member of. This page provides quick access to the child’s Upcoming Tasks, Units, and Discussions. Additionally, parents can also view a summary of their child’s Classroom Attendance and Term Average. Finally, the bottom of this page organises Completed Tasks. By selecting a completed task, parents can see task details and assessment grades. If parents need to communicate with their child’s teachers, they can select the class card at the top of the page to view teachers’ contact details.
iOS Parent Attendance Insights
Jan 5, 2024
By Selecting the Attendance chart on the Class Overview page, parents can see a comprehensive summary of their child’s Homeroom and Weekly Classroom Attendance. In Phase 2 this chart will expand to show a summary of the student’s Homeroom Attendance and contact details for the student’s Homeroom Advisors for quick communication.