Groups and avatars FAQs

What is a group and how many groups do I need?

If you only have a small number of children participating in ELLA and they do so on the same day, you will only need to create one group. If you have two or more preschool/school classrooms, or separate groups that participate on different days, you may want to create more than one group.

How do I create a group?

Follow these steps to create one or more groups:

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select Create a new group.
Think of a practical name for your group, such as one that reflects an existing class or group (for example, Blue Group).
Create additional groups, if needed, by repeating this process.

Screenshot showing the Create a new group button at the bottom

How do I delete a group?

NOTE: Deleting a group will also delete all children within it, their avatars and their data. This action can't be undone.

Follow these steps to delete a group:

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes. There you will find a list of all the groups you have created.
To delete a particular group, select View group beside the group name.
You will then see a list of all the children’s avatars within the selected group. To delete the whole group, select Delete group from program in the Administration section at the bottom of the screen.

NOTE: If, instead of deleting the group, you wish to remove the group from your devices but continue to access the historical data on the website, select Remove group from devices in the Administration section at the bottom of the screen. This action can’t be undone.

Screenshot showing screen after View group is selected, with its list of names and the buttons for two options: Remove group from devices and Delete from program

What is an avatar and what is it used for?

An avatar is a virtual profile that must be created for each child participating in the ELLA program. It is used to record usage data for each child. This data includes time spent on each section of the app, progression through the app, and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) outcomes and Australian Curriculum links associated with it.

How do I add an individual child to a group and create an avatar for them?

At any time, you can add a child to a group and create an avatar for them by following these steps.

NOTE: A child and their avatar can only be added to one group.

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select a group.
Select Add a child.
Enter the child’s name.
Once a child’s name has been added to a group, you will have two options to assign an associated image:

1. Assign a default avatar image:

Select Save without uploading an image and a random default avatar image will be assigned to the new child. There are 50 default images preloaded to the Educator Zone.

1. Choose your own image:

Select Choose file and you can upload an image of your own and then select Save to add the avatar to the group. You can add an image from a tablet device photo library, or from a computer.

1. 1. If accessing the website on a tablet device, you will have the option to upload an image from the tablet's photo library. (We suggest that you take or use a photo of an object that has meaning for the child – for example, a favourite toy or a piece of artwork.)
  2. If accessing the website from a computer, you will be able to upload an existing image.

Select Save without uploading an image and a random default avatar image will be assigned to the new child. There are 50 default images preloaded to the Educator Zone.

Note: Consider your preschool/school privacy policy when creating avatars. Using images of objects rather than children's faces is highly recommended to ensure privacy.

Screenshot showing where a new child’s name is entered and then their avatar is uploaded or randomly assigned

How do I add multiple children to a group and create an avatar for them?

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select a group.
Select the Add multiple children button.
There are two ways you can bulk upload (add up to 50 children to a group at once) and assign them a random default avatar image.
1. Enter their names into the text box. Separate the names with a comma – for example, Anna,Carlo,Ishani. Each name can be up to 16 characters long. When you have finalised your list in the text box, select Add the listed children to the group.
2. Create a text file (TXT, CSV or TSV) with one name per row. Select Choose file to locate your text file and then Upload file to upload the list of names to the text box. You can edit the list in the text box if necessary. When you have finalised the names, select Add the listed children to the group.

Screenshot showing two options for adding many names at once (in bulk) to the group, with the Add the listed children to the group button at the bottom left

How do I delete an individual child or multiple children from a group?

Deleting an individual child Deleting multiple children

There are two ways to delete children from a group.

Note: Both methods will permanently delete the children’s data. Only delete them if you are certain you will not require access to their data again.

To delete an individual child and their avatar from a particular group:

Log in to the Educator dasbhoard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select View group beside the group with the child and avatar that you wish to delete.
You will then see a list of all the avatars in that group.
Select View child beside the child and avatar that you wish to delete.
You will then see the details for that child.
Select Delete child in the top right-hand corner.

Screen reached after selecting View child before deleting a single child and their avatar, with red Delete child button in top right-hand corner

There are two ways to delete children from a group.

NOTE: Both methods will permanently delete the children’s data. Only delete them if you are certain you will not require access to their data again.

To delete multiple children and their avatars from a particular group:

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select View group beside the group with the child and avatar that you wish to delete.
You will then see a list of all the avatars in that group.
Select the checkboxes beside the children and avatars you wish to delete.
Note: If you want to delete all the children and their avatars, you can activate the ‘select all’ function by selecting the white checkbox before the Children column heading.
Select Delete selected children.

Screenshot showing selection of several children for a bulk deletion of their names and avatars, with red Delete selected children button

How do I move an individual child or multiple children to a different group?

Moving an individual child Moving multiple children

There are two ways to move children from a group:

move an individual child and their avatar from a particular group
move multiple children and their avatars from a particular group.

To move an individual child and their avatar from a particular group:

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select View group beside the group with the child and avatar that you wish to move.
You will then see a list of all the avatars in that group.
Select View child beside the child and avatar that you wish to move.
Select Update details in the top right-hand corner.
Select a different group for the child from the dropdown box and select Move to this group.

Screenshot of screen that follows selection of one child for viewing and moving to a group selected from a drop-down box

To move multiple children and their avatars from a particular group:

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select View group beside the group with the child and avatar that you wish to move.
You will then see a list of all the avatars in that group.
Select the checkboxes beside the children and avatars you wish to move.
Note: If you want to move all the children and their avatars, you can activate the ‘select all’ function by selecting the white checkbox before the Children column heading.
Select the To … Group dropdown box and select a different group for the children.
Select Move selected children.

Screenshot showing: several names selected for bulk move to another group, the selection drop-down for group names and the Move selected children button

How do I change a child’s name, avatar or group?

To make changes to a child’s name or their avatar or to move them to a different group:

Log in to the Educator dashboard on the ELLA website, using your ELLA login details.
Enter the multi-factor authentication (MFA) code sent to your email.
Select the tab Groups and outcomes.
Select View group beside the group with the child and avatar that you wish to update.
You will then see a list of all the avatars in that group.
Select View child beside the child and avatar that you wish to update.
Select Update details in the top right-hand corner.
Select the relevant field and follow the onscreen instructions to update the details. Use Enter on your computer/tablet to save name updates.

Screenshot of the options for updating one child’s name, avatar and group

What is the usage data used for and how is it recorded?

The Australian Government Department of Education requires preschools and schools to upload their usage data on a regular basis.

The data is used to:

determine requirements for any future ELLA app enhancements
assist with targeting support to preschools and schools
monitor acceptable usage levels of participating preschools.

To transmit this data, simply connect all tablets that are used for the ELLA program to Wifi.

Note: This data is de-identified before it is supplied to the Department of Education. Please make sure your devices are showing the correct date and time for your location, as this ensures that the uploaded data is accurate.

What happens if a child selects the wrong avatar?

If a child selects the wrong avatar, sensitively switch them over to the correct one as soon as possible. It is important for children to use their own avatars so that the usage data is accurately recorded.

What is ‘demo mode’ and how do I use it?

'Demo mode' is used to demonstrate the ELLA app activities. Follow these steps to use 'demo mode':

When you open the app you will see all your groups on the Group page.
Select Enter demo mode.

Note: It is important to use 'demo mode' when trying out the apps or demonstrating them to families so that collected data is not collated with the children’s data.