“Hard to Do Simple Things”

Pros

Synergy has a good home screen.

Cons

I've been a public school teacher for the past 23 years. In that time, I've become a savvy user of software, yet Synergy still stumps me after years of use. Currently, in my gradebook I can only see partial names and cannot expand the column. A student's schedule is almost impossible to understand. I just looked at a schedule for this review, and there are more periods than the student has in her schedule; they're not in the correct order, and I can't expand it to see it completely. It's frustrating!

“Efficient attendance and gradebook features”

Pros

I've been using Synergy for attendance and gradebook management for years. It was user-friendly and efficient. Attendance features let me customize seating charts and even create templates, saving lots of time. Also, I like that the gradebook allows assignments across multiple classes, class specific grading like 50%-Fs and I can quickly see class averages and missing assignments.

Cons

The updated Synergy gradebook isn't as user friendly as the older version but I can still manage it with some practice.

“difficult to find information in Synergy”

Pros

I love that it's now integrated with programs like Canvas. No more double entry for grades and I can generate custom reports as needed. It's a one stop shop for all student and parent information.

Cons

Finding information in Synergy can be difficult at times for me. While the teaching side is great but I think the administrative side can be a bit challenging to navigate.

“glitchy and not user friendly for teachers”

Pros

Honestly, the only thing I like is the pretty colors. Beyond that, this program is so bad I felt compelled to warn others.

Cons

It's glitchy and not very user friendly for me. As a special ed teacher, I have to use two different apps just to see student schedules. I can't print from my iPad, so I have to ask a secretary to print schedules and transcripts for me. Our home room which lasts between 2 to 3 hours, shows up as period 8 because they can't figure out how to list it between two periods. It takes about 30-60 seconds to generate a schedule or transcript which feels like a lot of waiting.