When the connection with Flint is set, Edlink automatically pulls in all of the data within your SIS/LMS. Based on your system, this could be alumni, donors, parents, retired teachers, etc. In order to prevent this, EdLink has Sharing Rules which allow you to control and refine the data shared between your SIS/LMS and Flint. These rules enable you to customize what data is shared, with whom, and when, ensuring that the right information is accessible to the right people. In this article, we will guide you through the process of setting up and managing EdLink Sharing Rules, helping you to optimize data sharing and improve your overall experience with Flint.
NOTE: Create a test term and keep it set as inactive within Flint to allow for a sandbox environment. This will allow you to make as many edits and adjustments in regards to the integration without any users knowing.
EdLink Background Information
EdLink Background Information
Navigating to Sharing Rules
Navigating to Sharing Rules
Log into EdLink
Click on the Integration within your dashboard.
Click on "Sharing Rules" in the top-left corner
Click "Create a Rule"
Logic Categories
Logic Categories
Sharing by Class:
Pulls in classes and students
Sharing by School:
Shares data based on school designations
Depending on the data-set, this may not always reflect accurate school designations in the data set
Sharing by Person:
Shares data based on individual users
Can use email addresses, display names, or roles to identify users
Preview feature available to test rules
Understanding And vs Or Logic
Understanding And vs Or Logic
When setting up sharing rules, it's essential to understand how the system uses "and" and "or" logic.
Within a single rule: The system uses "and" logic. This means that all conditions within a rule must be met for the rule to apply. For example, if you set a rule that says "Role is Teacher AND Email ends with @school.edu", the system will only apply the rule to users who are both teachers and have an email address that ends with @school.edu.
Between multiple rules: The system uses "or" logic. This means that if a user meets the conditions of any one rule, they will be included in the sharing rule. For example, if you have two separate rules - one that says "Role is Teacher" and another that says "Role is Staff" - the system will include all users who are either teachers or staff in the sharing rule.
Think of it like a filter: within a single rule, the system is looking for users who meet all the conditions (and logic), but between multiple rules, the system is looking for users who meet any of the conditions (or logic).
Sharing Rules Process
Sharing Rules Process
There are four steps to sharing rules.
Set the Rule: Create a new sharing rule and select "Class" as the rule type. Enter the teacher emails or other identifiers (e.g. role) to generate a list of classes and students.
BE SURE TO CHECK THE BOX TO ENABLE DISTRICT RULES - otherwise the rule will not be applied.
Check the Materialization: After setting the rule, it takes a moment for it to complete. To check the status, go to the Materialization towards the bottom-left corner. The Materialization status can be found towards the bottom-left corner and will show as "Queued", "Working", or "Completed".
Verify Roles: Once the Materialization is complete, verify that the roles have been assigned correctly. You can do this by clicking on People on the left side to verify that there is something populating under the roles column.
Review and Refine: Review the rule and refine it as needed to ensure that it is working as intended. You can use the preview feature to test the rule and make adjustments before saving the changes.
Tips for Sharing Rules
Tips for Sharing Rules
Logic Based on Teacher & Staff Email
The easiest way to pull in your teachers and students is by setting a rule at the Class level and adding all of your teacher's and staff emails. The logic will automatically pull all of the students and classes affiliated with this teacher (see image below).
Roles not Populating
If you check the roles under people as outline in Sharing Rules Part 3, and there are not roles assigned, please follow the steps below.
Go to Custom Transformations: If roles are not available, go to the Custom Transformations section.
Create a new transformation: Create a new transformation and select "Infer Roles" as the transformation type.
Configure the transformation: Configure the transformation to infer roles based on user enrollments. For example, if a user is enrolled in a class as a teacher, they will be assigned the "Teacher" role.
Save and activate the transformation: Save and activate the transformation. This will allow the system to start inferring roles for users.
Verify roles: After the transformation has run, verify that roles are being assigned correctly. You can do this by checking the user details and ensuring that the correct roles are being assigned.
Duplicate Classes Showing
If you have a scenario where you have duplicate classes pulling in, this means your SIS/LMS is probably set-up where year long classes are listed in the Fall and Spring. You can set a rule that allows the data to pull in information in segmented timeframes (see example below).
***Disclaimer***
This guide is provided by Flint as a courtesy to help with setting up sharing rules in EdLink. However, each school's SIS/LMS setup is unique, and this guide is generalized. If you require additional help, please reach out to the Edlink Support team <[email protected]> and copy your CSM.