Author: Edsys

Posted on by Edsys

School management is not an easy task. A person doing it single-handedly deserves much appreciation. Majority of the schools have tried many alternatives to reduce the efforts and they were successful only to some extent. But there is one thing that they can do for better school management-to have an HR department!

You might have seen an HR department in almost every office. The HR is responsible for the creation of a work force and its management in a company. Then why not have one in school? No one has really thought about this so far, may be because you are not sure how having an HR department can make school management an easy affair.

Here’s how an HR department can help in an effective school management:

Recruit employees

Identifying skills of the candidates and hiring them to work for an organization is indeed a very tough process. In most schools, those who interview the candidates may not have received any training in recruitment and therefore, they fail to understand the potential of the candidate and may end up hiring the wrong person for the job.  An HR department can save you from this dilemma. They are professionally trained to recruit an employee and therefore, capable of choosing the right candidate for the job, keeping in mind the long-term goals of the school.

Manage student related tasks

Managing student details is no child’s play; same applies to the management of admission procedures. Student management as a whole requires taking care of the admission procedures of a student, documenting all data related to the student and analyzing their performance and identifying their skills. It is not an easy task since an average school would have more than 1000 students. Who else could take care of things better when it comes to student management, other than HR personnel?

Payroll management and calculation

To calculate the payroll of the employees of a school, it is necessary to calculate the number of leaves taken, number of working hours and many other details of that sort. Recording all these details is indeed a laborious task and you, having other duties in the school, may find it difficult to do. Having the HR department to manage payrolls can be of great advantage since they will update all the necessary details, with less paper work while providing accurate reports.

Performance analysis of teachers

In most schools, contribution by teachers go unnoted mainly because the school authorities are not aware of how the teachers perform in various areas, apart from teaching. If you have an HR department in your school, they will assess the teachers’ performances and bring the best out of them. The HR department can do that in the following ways:

  • Evaluate the performance of teachers based on performance of students, professional knowledge and commitment towards work.
  • Assess the performance of teachers based on certain criteria and then, record the details, which can be used to improve the performance of teachers.
  • Help the teachers in recognizing their potential and help them improve their performance and thereby, enhance their professional qualities
  • Identify the areas where teachers need to improve and train them to perform better in those areas

Secure school environment

News of student abductions, student bullying, harassment of students by teachers and the sort fill newspaper columns every day. This has led to the assumptions that school is no longer a safe place for children. As a school authority, you may not be able to keep a complete check on the security arrangements in school. Having an HR department is a boon then. HR department can play a major role in ensuring safety to students and employees of a school. They are capable of keeping every member of the school united, thereby, providing a harmonious school environment. HR department can ensure a peaceful environment by making necessary security arrangements, thus ensuring the safety of students and employees of a school.

HR department, like they contribute to the working of any other organization in a well integrated manner, can help in the working of schools as well. Therefore, yes! School management can definitely be made much easier by HR recruitment.

Posted on by Edsys

Rima was a smart girl equally loved by everyone at home and school. She was a grade 3 student of one of the famous schools in the city. It was another evening after school hours. Rima waited by the school gate for her father to come and pick her up. The security guard, whom Rima was talking to, had gone to fetch water and when he returned, Rima was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that her father might have come to pick her up, the security guard resumed his work. But the security guard was shocked a few minutes later when he saw Rima’s father, Rajiv, stopping the car by the school gate and walking towards him. An argument followed when they realized that the girl was missing. In between Rajiv’s mobile phone rang. He was shocked to know that his daughter was kidnapped and the kidnappers had asked for a ransom of Rs. 25 lakh.

This is not a rare incident these days.

Children being kidnapped from their school premises have become quite common and their family has to bear with the trauma while it affects the reputation of the school as well.

In most cases, the whereabouts of the missing child remains unknown forever while some of them fall prey to the greedy motives of the kidnappers.

One of the most recent cases is the kidnap of a KG-I student from Maharashtra.

The child was kidnapped from her school premises. But the police was quick enough to trace the culprits thus saving the life of the 5 year old girl.

But not every child is lucky like her. It is a fact that at least 1 child goes missing every 8 minutes in India and unfortunately, about 40% of them have not been found.

The most recent incident that was reported few days ago is another example. A 4 year old girl was kidnapped from the school premises as she was waiting for her father to come and pick her up. The victim’s father got a call from the kidnappers, seeking Rs. 8 lakh ransom, while they were still searching for the child. What the girl’s fate will be is yet to be known.

Why are schools chosen to be the hotspots of kidnap?

Most of the child abductions reported in majority of countries, especially those in India has been from schools.

It is mainly because most Indian schools lack proper security arrangements and they fail to provide proper security to their students. This is not a secret fact and therefore, schools remain the favourite locations of kidnappers to fulfill their motives.

How can we make school a safer place for students?

Student abductions can be prevented at least to some extent if you, as a school authority, attempt to take necessary measures.

Teach them safety habits

In most of the child kidnap cases ever recorded, the kidnappers were people the children knew very well. Therefore, preaching the children of stranger safety is not fully effective. But, still, let them know that every stranger is not bad while every acquaintance is not good. Give them lessons on safety habits so that they can be careful around both strangers and acquaintances.

Let them talk and listen to them

Let the children talk to you freely if they sense anything is not safe. Help them to build the habit of talking to you in times of need so that you can intervene and help them at the right time, thus keeping them safe.

Teach them to seek help

Tell your students to go and talk to an adult they feel they can rely on at the moment, in case they feel unsafe when left alone. It can be the school security guard, some shopkeeper or a librarian. Teach them to deal unsafe conditions with confidence.

Teach them about personal information

Most of the children have the habit of giving away their personal information to anyone. Teach your students not to give any personal information about them, be it their name or details about their family or may be their parents’ phone number to any strangers without consulting with an adult who is responsible for their safety. Teach them to walk away with confidence if a stranger tries to indulge in a conversation with them asking for their personal information.

Teach them to think first

Ask the students to think first before answering to strangers. The best practice would be them avoiding strangers especially if they are alone. And if they choose to talk to the stranger, ask them to keep their answers short without giving away personal information.

Teach them to yell and run

Teach students to yell and run away if they feel that they are in danger. Yelling can grab attention and save them from unwanted danger.

Teach them self-defense techniques

Teach students to resist and stand up for themselves at times of danger. If possible implement activities that teach self-defense in accordance to the age group. This can help to build their confidence.

Apart from all these, check for latest technology that can ensure safety of students in a school and install that in your school too. Let them learn and grow in a safe environment for they are the future of our country!

Posted on by Edsys

The burgeoning of computing and networking technologies in the education field opens up a new world of virtual learning integrating work lives into our homes. Educational software abet in blending the work and home environment thereby helping to structure our lives on our own. The field of educational technology is a gradual movement with advances manifesting in the 20th century. The use of media for teaching purposes is traced back to the introduction of educational films and Sidney Pressey’s mechanical teaching machines in 1900’s and 1920’s.

Now let’s have a look on how it has progressed moderately…

1940

Flight simulators were developed using analog computers for generating onboard instrument data.It re-creates aircraft flight and the environment for design, pilot training and other purposes.Flight simulation is used for the design and development of the aircraft, flight training and research into aircraft characteristics. The first known flight simulation device was to help pilots fly the Antoinette monoplane. The Antoinette used two wheels, one for roll and one for pitch. The pitch wheel operated in a natural sense whereas the roll wheel did not (It continued till the “invention” of the “joystick”)

1943

Type 19 synthetic radar trainer was built

1960

PLATO system has been developed at the University of Illinois

1963

IBM partnered with Stanford University to develop the first CAI elementary school curriculum in California and Mississipi

1967

IBM Partnership developed materials and marketed it to schools through CCC (Computer Curriculum Corporation) which is known as Pearson Education Technologies today

1972

Introduction of PLATO IV system which features primitive sound generation, bitmap graphics etc.

1975

Altair 8800 ,the microcomputer based on the Intel 8080 CPU created a change in software industry.Altair put everything on removable cards when it was developed.It made the motherboard very simple and acted as a connector between cards

Altair and Bill Gates

Bill Gates saw an ad for the Altair 8800 in the Popular Electronics Magazine. Foreseeing the future of Altair, he called up Altair and talked about a programming language suitable for 8800.What Gates told was not true because he didn’t have any programming language for Altair! Altair’s problem was that in order to program it, you needed to flip the front panel switches that inputs 8080 instructional code- A tiresome job indeed ! Later Gates developed a programming language that allows you to type in code to instruct Altair 8800 do what you want. The programming language is called BASIC !

Do you know what the funniest part was?

Bill Gates developed this without an Altair 8800 ! He used his PDP-10 to write a simple 8800 emulator. After finishing BASIC he hurried to Altair on paper tape for testing. The words “Altair BASIC” popped up and it was enough for Altair! Allen and Gates co-founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975 and started marketing a BASIC Programming language interpreter.

Early 1980s

Several new companies and non-profit organizations were created with the availability of Apple ii, Commodore PET ,Commodore VIC-20,Commodore 64.Companies like The Learning Company, Broderbund etc developed a range of titles for personal computers during this period.

1990s

First half

  • Advancement in computer hardware technology paved way for development in educational software
  • Educational programs incorporated sound and multimedia graphics thereby enhancing the educational system
  • Several digital encyclopedias were released as Multimedia application CD-ROMS

Second half

  • New methods emerged with the spread of internet
  • Computers and Internet were made affordable in this period creating effective virtual learning environments

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

  • Blackboard Inc.,a developer of education software began as a consulting firm which contracts to the non-profit IMS Global Learning Consortium
  • The company provides communication, mobile, education, and commerce software and related services to clients including corporations, education providers and government organizations
  • In 1998,the company offered its first product, a course management software
  • In April 2010 it released its latest version, Blackboard Learn 9.1, a learning management system that provides a content management system for centralized control over course content , a community and portal system for communication, a learning system for course delivery and management for institutions and a system to record and analyze student assessment results
  • Blackboard became a public company in 2004.It continued its operation publicly until Providence Equity Partners purchased the company in 2011
  • In 2011 the firm launched Course Sites, a free version of its Blackboard Learn for which it provides hosting and support
  • Chamilo open-source VLE, which is a fork of Dokeos was released publicly in 2010
  • OLAT 7 which implements important standards like REST API, IMS Global Basic LTI, IMS QTI 2.1 was released in 2010
  • Teletaleem, a Live Classroom service has been released by Comcept Pvt Ltd in 2011

EDUCATION APPS : EMERGING TRENDS

Be it entertainment, publishing or games ,apps have made their presence felt across diverse fields. The proliferation of education apps have created a difference in the industry attracting big investments and generating lucrative acquisitions. Thousands of mobile apps influence students and they find it interesting and entertaining. Hundreds of apps are particularly used by kids for educational purpose. So,the question is “Do they really improve learning?”

Some interesting points which provides basis for answering this are as follows :

  • 38% of all the children who are under 8 years of age have started using mobile phones
  • 57% of the children use tablets for educational apps according to Nelsen’s survey
  • In the iTunes store’s education category,80 % of the best selling paid apps are targeted towards children

So what will be the biggest trends around apps and brands that are creating them? Here are a few thoughts.

Tablets into classrooms

2014 pushes the initiatives to get tablets into classrooms from android devices to iPads. Even though a lot of children are having it at home,there are many who don’t have access to these. In order to bridge the gap schools will be instrumental in aiding those students who are left on the other side of the digital divide.

Marketing Educational Apps

Developers are redoubling their efforts to make educational apps aiming to market their products. Interestingly enough schools, educational institutions and teachers find it difficult to choose the right app which suits the existing curriculum.

Apps created by children

Stories about 13 year olds who have created new apps have delighted the world. Using diverse tools and schemes children are studying
to code all over the world !

history-of-education-copy-2

Posted on by Edsys

KHDA is the educational quality assurance and regulatory authority of the Government of Dubai, which monitors the quality and development of private schools in Dubai. To ensure the quality of these schools, KHDA conducts inspections every year and the ratings would later be published in the KHDA website. This gives the parents an insight of the quality of their kids’ schools. It also helps those parents who are searching for a school to put their kids in.

The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) is part of KHDA, which conducts inspections and assesses the private schools in Dubai. The inspectors at DSIB evaluate the schools and rate them on the basis of a four-point scale.  The four levels in the scale include:

  • Outstanding– This rating is given to those schools that perform exceptionally well, fulfilling all the criteria put forward by KHDA
  • Good – Every school in Dubai is expected to perform at this range
  • Acceptable – This is the minimum level of acceptability at which the private schools in Dubai are expected to perform. The performance of schools shouldn’t be lower than this level.
  • Unsatisfactory – Schools of which the performance is ranked unsatisfactory lack quality and hence are expected to take necessary steps to improve the quality in terms of performance or practice.

KHDA has recently published the ranking of private schools for the year 2013-2014 in their website. Only 12 out of the 140+ schools inspected have been ranked outstanding for their performance. Those schools include:

Kings School Dubai

Curriculum: UK

Located in Umm Suqeim, Kings’ Dubai is a private school that provides education to both boys and girls aged between 3 and 13 years.

At the time of the inspection, there were 870 students in the school, representing 46 countries altogether. Majority of the students were from the United Kingdom. There were 29 Emirati students, comprising 3% of the total students in the school. Also, there were 27 students in the school with special educational needs. The staff consisted of 90 teachers and 36 learning assistants, where all teachers had prior teaching experience.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Marvelous staff-student coordination leading to a good work environment and high levels of engagement
  • Outstanding performance by students in English, mathematics and science in the Foundation Stage and primary
  • Easy-to-follow curriculum which develops students’ talents
  • Independent learning through critical thinking and enquiry across all phases
  • Good infrastructure facilities that give a better learning experience to students
  • Excellent leadership and supervision to bring the best out of both staff and students

Dubai College

Curriculum: UK

Situated in Al Sufouh, Dubai College is a private, not-for-profit school that follows a selective intake policy. Every year, only one-fourth of the applicants are enrolled into the school.

At the time of inspection, there were 826 students overall, aged between 11 and 18 years. Out of these 826 students, just over a half were from the United Kingdom while Emirati students consisted of only 1% of the total number of students.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Teaching approaches in Islamic Education have been improved tremendously
  • Outstanding performance by students in English, mathematics and science as a result of good teaching methods
  • Students’ mature attitude towards social and global issues combined with strong work ethics
  • Attention given to students to the fullest in terms of  healthy lifestyles, safety and support in their academic and personal development
  • The strong vision and leadership values exhibited by senior staff and governors, thus setting up a good learning environment to take the school forward

Dubai English Speaking College 

Curriculum: UK

Situated in Al Ruwwayah, Dubai English Speaking College was opened in 2005.

At the time of inspection, there were 950 students, aged between 11 and 18 years, out of which 10 students were Emiratis.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • The highly motivated leadership team, including the governance, committed to improve all aspects of the school at all levels
  • Self-evaluation approaches help to improve performance
  • Students perform exceptionally well in all subjects
  • Students’ commitment towards solving personal, social and environmental issues
  • High quality infrastructure facilities to meet the needs of all students

GEMS Dubai American Academy 

Curriculum: US/IB

Situated in Al Barsha, GEMS Dubai American Academy was opened in 1998.

At the time of the inspection, there were 2,285 students, aged between 3 and 18 years, who represented 99 nationalities. There are 124 students in the school having a special education need.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Guided by teachers who implement outstanding teaching techniques, students have made tremendous progress in subjects such as English, mathematics and science, their performance meeting international expectations
  • Pleasant school atmosphere as a result of impeccable behavior and positive attitude of students
  • Performance evaluation to assess students’ progress and challenges set persuaded students to fare well in all subjects
  • Parents’ confidence regarding their children and the school in providing quality education to students added to the strength of the school
  • School leaders and governors work hand in hand to churn out the best results from the students and staff

GEMS Jumeirah Primary School 

Curriculum: UK

GEMS Jumeirah Primary School provides education to students belonging to the age group of 3-11 years.

At the time ofinspection, there were 1,415 students in the school, representing 70 nationalities, out of which 100 students had special needs.

 Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • The speedy progress made by students by scoring well in English, mathematics and science
  • Students’  personal development including their good and mature behavior and their desire to learn
  • High quality teaching that inspired students to learn more and to be independent and flexible
  • Interesting and engaging curriculum that played an important role in the academic and personal development of students
  • The school addresses all concerns regarding the safety and well-being of students and provides support to students, especially those with special education needs

GEMS Modern Academy 

Curriculum: Indian (CISCE)

GEMS Modern Academy had 3,289 students enrolled at the time of the inspection, the majority of whom were Indians. There were under 10% of the students having special educational needs.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Excellent performance by students in academics
  • Students who are well disciplined, modest and always stick to their principles when it comes to studies
  • Efficient teaching that persuades the students to perform well in studies
  • Importance given to the safety and welfare of students, especially those having special educational needs
  • Commitment and passion mixed with leadership qualities of the staff in creating an engaging learning environment for the students

GEMS Wellington International School 

Curriculum: UK/IB

GEMS Wellington International School is located in the Al Sufouh district. At the time of inspection, there were 2376 students enrolled in the school, majority of whom belonged to the British background while other students belonged to India, Pakistan and the USA.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • The school continues to maintain its record in outstanding performance by students in academics
  • The personal and social development of the students are at such a level that they have clear understanding of Islamic values and local, cultural and global awareness
  • Performance evaluation combined with teaching technique that is praiseworthy boosts confidence in students
  • Flawless curriculum design
  • School provides immense support to students in terms of their security and academic performances
  • Unmatchable leadership and management remain the ingredients to the school’s continued success

Horizons English School

Curriculum: UK

Situated in Al Wasl, Horizon English School provides education for boys and girls aged between 3 and 11 years. At the time of inspection there were 498 students enrolled in the school of which 41% came from the United Kingdom and 12% from Australia. Also, there were four Emirati students.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Excellent performance by students in academics and other activities
  • Cordial staff-student relationship and attitude of the students to stick by their morals and to exhibit good behavior
  • Well-designed curriculum suitable for all students, inspiring them to work hard and produce great results
  • Efforts by staff and students equally to improve the school

Jumeirah College 

Curriculum: UK

Located in Al Safa, Jumeirah College had 1,100 students on roll at the time of the inspection, aged between 12 and 18 years, majority of them belonging to UK. Out of the 1,100, three students were Emiratis.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Students scored well in external examinations
  • Students’ positive attitude towards learning and other activities
  • The students’ maturity in terms of behavior and relationships
  • The school provides great opportunities in terms of academics and extra-curricular activities
  • Students and staff are equally committed towards betterment of the school

Jumeirah English Speaking School 

Curriculum: UK

Located in Al Safa, Jumeirah English Speaking School provides education for students aged between 3 and 11 years of age. Majority of the students are of UK background while the other students come from around 40 different countries.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Excellent leadership qualities exhibited by students and staff at all levels
  • Students, teachers, non-teaching staff and parents join hands to create a lively environment, thus providing a better learning experience
  • Remarkable progress by students in their academics and other activities, including the development of their personal, social and learning skills
  • Well designed curriculum apt for all the students, which includes exceptional use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and development of enquiry and critical thinking skills
  • The belief of the school that every child is special, thereby providing splendid care and support to students in terms of academics and well-being
  • The outstanding infrastructure facilities that inspire students to reach the highest standards of achievement

Jumeirah English Speaking School (Br) 

Curriculum: UK /IB

Jumeirah English Speaking School is the sister concern of Jumeirah English Speaking School in Al Safa. More than half of the students from the school are from UK, while other students come from more than 20 countries across the world.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Leadership skills shown by students and staff at all levels
  • Curriculum that is updated every year and is suitable for all students
  • Outstanding performance by students in academics and other activities
  • Infrastructure provided by school to maintain a safe and vibrant environment for the students
  • Good environment that provides a better learning experience to students

The Indian High School 

Curriculum: Indian (CBSE)

The Indian High School is situated in Oud Metha. At the time of inspection, this school had 5,866 students enrolled, out of which 23 students are having special needs.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Students display outstanding progress in mathematics and science
  • Students’ commitment and personal, social development
  • The efforts taken by governors, leaders and teachers to support the students and to help them out in academics and other activities

Congratulations to all those schools that earned an ‘outstanding’ rating! It’s time for other schools to consider the schools listed above as examples and to come up with new ideas to improve their KHDA rating.

If you are looking at technology to lend a helping hand, Edsys’ Real Time Institution Management System (RIMS) has inbuilt modules that help you to stay updated with the latest KHDA regulations. Also, when your school is not keeping up with the regulations, you will get notified. Thus helping you to secure an “outstanding” rating.

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“So, in spite of all this, why are our students confronting such severe issues?” The old woman was quite disturbed. It was the third day of the National conference on ‘Child safety in schools: Issues and Challenges’. The crowd seemed restless and discussed their views on the speaker’s insights. She was right, the old woman. Students confront a lot of physical and psychological issues that are considered trivial in an era of rapid change. The eminent educationalists on the podium kept reiterating the list of troubles that badly affect students – the quality standards, bullying, sexual abuse, untrained teachers, psychological problems and so on.

What do you think?

How can we answer the old woman’s question? The answers to such questions are timeless. Such questions undergo transition with time. Nevertheless, we can’t escape the fact that finding solutions for such concerns is as important as raising them. Now, let’s understand the impact of hardships faced by students. Even though the difficulties encountered by students are numerous we will discuss on a few issues only which really needs attention.

Trouble me not

“Child, you’ll never feel any better if the only thing you know is to make your classmate suffer”

Instances of hurt, disappointment and helplessness…Be it physical or emotional, offline or online, bullying has taken varied forms and has been haunting students in serious ways. You will find it really distressing if you go through the statistics of a recent survey conducted by Microsoft.

  • India was ranked third highest after China and Singapore in terms of online bullying rates
  • 53% of Indian children said that they had been bullied online
  • 54% of teens and children revealed that they had been bullied offline
  • 77% of Indian respondents said that they had been bullied either online or offline

Now that is really something. Regardless of gender, religion, socioeconomic environment, or sexual orientation, bullying can occur to any student. The consequences of bullying can turn disastrous if the situation is not handled effectively. Therefore it’s very important to consider the severity of bullying within educational institutions in a timely manner.

Touch me not

“Prepare and prevent, don’t repair and regret”

Sudden shock, instant reactions, discussions, protests and what else! Living in a society where kids are being abused physically has been tormenting our conscience like never before. Beyond small acts of bullying what we hear is sexual abuse of children. Recent examples of child abuse in our country indicate that a large number of children in India are abused sexually at their schools where most cases go unreported.

It is indeed shameful to know that our existing system for protecting the safety of children is effective neither in helping the victims nor punishing the culprits. Don’t you think it’s high time we have expressed our concerns over this issue? Yes, and there is lot more to be done to protect our children from sexual abuse.

Family matters!

“Spend a few minutes with your child and be the reason for your child’s happiness”

“You mean Arjun? No, he is not like that. He is extremely happy with the school environment and never complains”. This is how Piya reacted when someone brought to her notice the changing behavior of her 10 year old son.

In reality she doesn’t know the problems of her child like many other parents. In a highly sophisticated world of changing lifestyle and social media use, parents are not giving enough attention to their children. In many cases, this turns out to be the cause of loneliness and psychological issues in children which causes problems in their education. Many children are struggling amidst chaos where families are torn apart for petty reasons. The effects of such problems make children disinterested in learning and they may be unable to cope with the school environment. So, it’s very important to sort out such behavioral issues to help children learn with a trouble-free mind.

Support me Miss!

“Teach your students once and let them remember you every time they achieve something”

With the increasing work load and heavy curriculum packages, students find it extremely difficult to cope with today’s educational system. One of the major problems associated with the academic performance of students is the lack of support from teachers and school authorities. As we have discussed in our previous newsletter, quality of teachers in schools is a major concern. Click here to read more

Rather than becoming the torch-bearers of students’ successes, teachers lack the initiative in putting out the best in them. The student-teacher relationship which has been considered special and unique years ago is no more the same. Frankly speaking, the emotional connection between students and teachers are very rare these days. This not only adds to the poor performance of students but also lead to other problems that often stay hidden until a severe issue turns viral!

Many more……

Till now we were discussing the backdrop of problems that compelled the old woman to raise a question like this. You remember the old woman and her question, right? Good. So you also agree that there is a need to find out the reasons behind the issues faced by school children. Is that enough? No. We also need to find out the right solution for tackling such critical issues. So what can be the possible solutions for this problem? Hold back and wait for our next newsletter…

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

-Nelson Mandela

To be educated is important and if it is provided with better facilities, students will be more capable of facing the future with confidence. Like every field, education sector is also in the path of advancement. Most of the schools have embraced technology to provide a better learning experience to the students. There are certain tools available in the market for that, which aid the overall management of a school and also aids in teaching. Here is a list of such tools by Edsys that can help in providing better education:

RFID Student Tracking System

This tool is a solution to all your problems regarding student safety. Equally useful to parents and school authorities, the RFID Student Tracking System requires the students to swipe their RFID cards on the card readers installed in school buses. The parents and school authorities thus get notified via SMS about the whereabouts of the students. In this era, where news of kidnappings, school bus accidents and kids suffocated to death in school vans can be heard almost every day, RFID Student Tracking System can prove to be a boon to you.

GPS Vehicle Tracking System

Similar to the RFID Student Tracking System to some extent, GPS Vehicle Tracking System addresses student safety concerns, as well. The only difference is that GPS Vehicle tracking System is meant to track the whereabouts of the school bus. With the help of GPS Vehicle Tracking System, you can get information about the location of the school bus, unscheduled bus stops, over speeding and the distance covered by the performance. It is also possible to track the performance of school bus drivers. Routing and planning can be made easy with GPS Vehicle Tracking system, where it can be done automatically, with minor corrections from your side, if any.

School Mobile Apps

Application of technology in education isn’t anything new these days. Many schools around the world have already opted for gadgets to books and school mobile apps to lessons. In fact, school mobile apps have made learning more interesting. Unlike the traditional learning techniques, school mobile apps have lessons in the form of games. It is also possible to analyze the performance of students real-time and help them improve, thus providing a better learning experience to students.

RFID School Management System

In most schools, the teachers and other staff in the school mark their attendance by signing an attendance register. But that is not effective to the fullest. You may not know whether they were late to work or if their signatures have been forged beforehand. Also, you find it difficult to identify among the hardworking staff and those who are not. RFID School Management System is one solution that can give answers to all your questions regarding school management. In RFID School Management System,  the employees can login using biometric systems thus recording their time. This comes in handy while calculating payroll as you are able to obtain the working hours of every employee of the school.

School Work Force Management System

School Work Force Management System, which is similar to the RFID School Management System in terms of purpose it serves. It is impossible to monitor the activities of all employees in a manual workforce management system. Also, to calculate the number of leaves during payroll calculation is a tedious task. In School Work Force Management, the school staff can enter their day to day activities apart from their daily attendance, which can help in evaluating their performances. Also, their talents and weak points can be recognized and their abilities can be used to the benefit of the school to the fullest.

Timetable Management Software

Manual timetable management can give you nightmares at times. Some employee may take an unplanned leave and there, the effort you put to prepare time table for the whole day goes down the drain. Using timetable management software can help you in such situations. It helps in generating timetables automatically that too for the entire school, considering all the limitations and the requirements, making your job lot easier. It stores all leave records which can be used while calculating payroll.

Smart Cards for Schools

Smart cards for schools will be of great use to students and parents. With smart cards, students can purchase food and beverages from school canteen, purchase stationary items from the school provision store and they can swipe this card in the library to enter and borrow books. Sometimes, parents panic when asked for information such as roll number and class of their kids at the fee collection counters in schools. It is lot easier now with smart cards for schools. It has all necessary details of students stored in it, which the parents can use to pay fees. It is also possible to top up the smart cards at the fee collection counters.

Parent Portal

Parent portal would be of great use to parents who are always anxious about their children’s safety and performance. Parents can login to Parent Portal through laptops, desktops or any other devices and there, they have their child’s activities in school at their fingertips. You need not attend parent-teachers meeting anymore. Teachers and parents can constantly connect each other through Parent Portal. Teachers can also share the student’s performance results and study materials through Parent Portal. This also helps the teachers to understand the areas their students need support in and help them improve their performance. Parent Portal also enables online fee payment and gives a glimpse of an entire year’s academic schedule to the parents. Parents can also create separate profile for each of their kids. Parents can use SchoolApp, which is a mobile application for Parent Portal to know about the whereabouts and performance of their child even while travelling.

It is important that every educational institute adapt to the changes happening in the educational sector each passing day. This helps the students in keeping themselves updated and prepares them to face the future with confidence.

Posted on by Edsys

Applicant Tracking Systems are useful tools that save money and time. They increase the overall efficiency of recruiting processes in education institutes, making the hiring process easier as never before.However, educational institutions need to consider many things before choosing the right Applicant Tracking System that streamlines the process of recruiting and hiring in a simple manner.

Here are 9 simple things to remember while choosing an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

1) Easy Integration

Integrating ATS with other systems is based on the size of your institution. Large institutions often integrate with multiple systems and small institutions integrate it with a website. So before picking an ATS it’s essential to know whether it provides resources to integrate the system in an easy manner.

2) Performance

You can’t lose qualified candidates or opportunities due to the slow performance of your ATS. The performance of the system is very important in attracting prospective candidates. The effectiveness of recruitment service to education institutes can be analyzed by evaluating the system performance.

3) Ease of use

Using an ATS that requires minimum training will save your money and time.But you should check whether the system is easy to implement and maintain.

4) Candidate experience

If applicants have to go through a lengthy process while they use your applicant tracking system they will find it frustrating and leave your site. So if you don’t want to lose prospective candidates, your ATS must enhance the experience of applicants through simple processes once they log in to your site.

5) Social media recruiting

The power of social media and social networks is measureless in today’s world. Your recruiting process is incomplete if you do not make use of social networking sites. You may discover top talent in these social platforms; therefore, it’s necessary to integrate your ATS with social networking sites. Sharing jobs on social media helps you to attract the best applicants you are looking for.

6) Quick and accurate candidate search

The ability to easily search and screen through the numerous applications that your institution receives requires effective management of your applicant data. You should check whether your ATS is capable enough to provide quick search functionality and resume filtering capabilities to make searching more accurate.

7) Employee referrals

Employee referral is the most effective program to source individuals having high quality and talent. Most educational institutions lack the facility to get employees engaged in the referral and selection process. You can choose an ATS which integrates the capabilities of employee referral so that referral information can be shared through it easily and quickly.

8) Better quality of hires

High quality talent can be tapped by leveraging centralized applicant tracking. A good-quality ATS helps you to organize critical information and provides information regarding the candidate qualities which your organization demands. This also helps you to organize a targeted recruiting strategy.

9) Improving overall efficiency

If you select the right ATS, it can centralize the recruiting activities from job applications to employee referrals. Benefits include the following:

  • Recruiters can search the details of prospective candidates easily
  • Applicants can quickly apply for their desired job positions
  • Improves communication among the recruiting team by facilitating them to add notes and comments about candidates
  • It acts as an efficient reporting tool
Posted on by Edsys

Parents rushed to school to get their children after learning that five students may have had contact with the Ebola patients of Dallas hospital. It was only after the confirmation of governor that there is no reason for alarm that things got normal. Two parents removed their children from school due to the fear of Ebola transmission at Texas. Ebola has created a general havoc among people and has evolved itself as the most powerful life-threatening disease since its outbreak in West Africa. One of the first outbreaks was at Democratic Republic of Congo near the Ebola River; hence the name of the river was given to the disease as well.

Ebola doesn’t seem to consider age; it is consuming every age group and the current Ebola outbreak is worst in the world history. Effective systems like parent portal, school bus tracking software and smart card solutions are entertained for the better safety of students but what about their health issues? Preventing the virus should be the top most health priority. Over the concerns about the virus many schools have cancelled classes. Combined efforts with the help of health care organizations, a better tomorrow can be gifted to the world

  • More than 13,700 confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola have been reported by World Health Organization (WHO). In the largest Ebola outbreak, more than 4,900 people have died.
  • An estimation of 10.3 million children and adolescents under age 18 are directly or indirectly affected by Ebola virus, across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia
  • According the United Nations there are at least 3,700 children who lost one of their parents due to Ebola virus from the beginning of the crisis.

 Some important facts about Ebola 

  • Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, transmitted to people from wild animals and then to human from human.
  • The first EVD outbreak occurred in the remote villages neat tropical forests of Central Africa
  • No licensed Ebola vaccines have been discovered yet.
  • You can’t get Ebola through food, water and air.
  • Symptoms appear 8-10 days after the exposure of the virus but it can extend up to 21 days
  • Ebola virus is easily killed by the contact with bleach, sunlight and soap or drying
  • Most people are infected Ebola by taking care of the already infected person.

Role of HR

HR departments play a crucial role in school improvement. They determine whether qualified teachers and eligible candidates are recruited without fail. Their service is not limited to the recruitment process. From the evaluation of staffs to the crucial decision making regarding the growth of school, HR functions are appreciative. The vital decision making at the crucial time is their admirable capability. HR departments hold a prominent role in during disastrous situations too. There is a role of HR department in keeping your schools safe from Ebola virus as well, wonder how?

  • Most of the symptoms of Ebola are same as that of ordinary diseases, a careful observation and handling of things are required. This is where the requirement a special team is necessary; HR department for schools can help with this. The management of students becomes easy. Medical camps could be conducted by the department, not like the once conducted when some disastrous disease spreads but a regular peep in to health matters of children.

Happiness is good health 

  • Centre for disease control and prevention has advised the school managements to contact appropriate state and local health officials on Ebola related issues. The right handling of the issue is unavoidable. Why not make things safe in the hands of a right management team?

Make a right plan and execute it effectively for a better tomorrow. 

  • Taking special care of hygiene is equally important. The students as well the teachers should follow methods of taking care themselves from infectious diseases. Staff members, handling canteen and school premises should be evaluated as well. Hire an HR department to honestly evaluate things around. Careful investigation of whether the right kind of hygienic measures are followed is necessary.
  1.   Avoid handling items that may have come into contact with the affected person (like clothes, medical equipments, medicines)
  2.   Keep away from bats, monkeys, baboons and dead animals. (animals should be handled with gloves and protective clothes)
  3.   Make sure animal products are thoroughly cooked before consuming.
  4.   Even the pets need special consideration.

These are some of the common preventive methods from Ebola, which must be carefully followed regularly. All these prevention need specialized supervision and guidance. Rely on an effective method for carrying out effective prevention

Prevention is better than cure 

  • When a person is diagnosed with Ebola, the affected person requires special attention and intensive care. The person should be given medical care as soon as possible. The diagnosed person should be shifted from the contact of others also. Necessity based action should be carried out without wasting time.

Right move at the right time, does matter

  • Along with dangerous diseases, spreads various rumors regarding the same. It is important to know what the causes of a disease are but it is equally important to eliminate wrong information. Taking the right precautions does matter. Go for a special team that manages the school activities from student selection to student protection; hire an energetic HR team to handle the issues effectively. Keep your students and teachers regularly updated with the right information.

Always remember: Safety doesn’t happen by accident.

 

 

Posted on by Edsys

A classroom is where students spend most of their daytime. Therefore it is important that classrooms should be active in order to generate energy among children.

Classroom environment makes or breaks learning experiences. Interesting classrooms always maintain space for activities which engage the students and teachers resulting in effective learning. It is with the same aim that EYFS was introduced for pre-scholars.

Free Classroom Activity Apps (Check it Now)

While there are a variety of ways such as RFID School Management System and GPS Vehicle Tracking System for monitoring the activities of students away from classroom, what happens inside the classroom is vital for child development. Classroom experiences should shift students from passive to active, maintaining their interest and promoting active participation.Teacher app ad banner

Here are 10 classroom activities for better learning experiences.

1 Ice Breakers

Ice Breakers is an introduction game that helps students become familiar with each other. This game is much useful at the beginning of a semester.

An ice-breaker activity is an activity that is used to help students meet and get to know each other. These activities could be anything that involves talking to other people or teamwork like sports and games or perhaps just having people sit in a circle and talk.

  • The interaction during the game session helps students to socialize.
  • The results of the game are often fascinating, interesting and humorous.
  • Instantly boost up the environment.

2 Debate

“Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress“-Mahatma Gandhi

Debate instills lasting effect on the participants. A topic is given and participants are divided into two groups, one group is made to talk in favor of the topic while the other is made to talk against the topic. Debates could be conducted in school buses as well. School bus tracking software has made things easy for parents and debates can make school bus fun for students.

  • Enhances critical thinking, independent research and skilful communication.
  • Learn to think in a different perspective.
  • Helps to develop knowledge
  • Provides an active environment

3 Quiz

Students could be divided in two or more groups and questions are asked t them. Each question consists of options from which they should choose the right answer. Points are awarded for right answer while negative points for wrong answer.

  • Students acquires more knowledge through quiz
  • Team work helps to maintain healthy relationship
  • Helps to stimulate memory.

4 Role play

Role play is a fun-filled activity. Students are made into separate teams. Each group will introduce a dramatic event or conversation based on a book that they have to consider or language they have to learn.

  • Activity allows interaction between the team members which results in better bonding between the students.
  • Introvert students get a golden opportunity to express themselves.
  • Students with the flair of acting can showcase their talent.
  • Both the spectators and the actors enjoys the lesson

5 Student presentations

Students unpack ideas on a given topic after making considerable research. Others take notes and at the end of the presentation, ask questions. This activity requires time and energy.

  • Students attain public speaking skills
  • Deep evaluation of the given topic
  • Modern presentation skill can be used to enhance the relationship with technology.

6 The Fish Bowl

It is an interesting activity which can instantly energize the class. The teacher gives an index and asks the students to write down a question regarding some aspect of the study material that has not been understood. At the end of the class, students deposit their question to the fish bowl. The next day instructor evaluates the questions and asks the class to answer.

  • Students can ask questions regarding the study material without fear
  • Different possible questions could be derived
  • Class becomes active
  • Students tend to concentrate more on the class.

7 Students as Teachers

This is a type of learning activity in which students prepare an actual lesson allotted to them and teaches their classmates. In short, students assume the role of teachers. They can ask questions to other students to make the class more attentive. The lesson must be presented actively with gestures by hand and confidence.

  • Instills basic teaching skills in students
  • The creativity of the student in teaching is bought out
  • Confidence is boosted
  • Class becomes more interesting with the presence of a young teacher.

8 Case study

Case studies are exciting activities. Real-life stories are described to integrate with classroom knowledge. Life outside the class room is evaluated.

  • Students are made aware about the real world outside
  • A comparison of what has studied with real life experience is of great worth
  • It is the world outside that is waiting for your students

9 Problem – Based Learning

A problem is presented to a group in the class based on an authentic situation that the participants could actually encounter. The presented problem should be evaluated and
should analyze the cause of the problem and the most effective solution.

  • Students learns to face the problems in life confidently
  • Different perspective of solving a problem makes them wise

10 Class Discussions

Class discussions encourage critical thinking and evaluation. Allowing ample time for students to respond makes them active and confident with their points. To make the discussion more effective as well as active, evidence could be asked. It is an easy as well as effective learning activity. The teacher is passive here while the students are wholly active.

  • Different perspective of a single issue could be derived
  • Active participation of students makes class interesting
  • Students learn to present their points effectively.

The advantages of having interesting activities inside the classroom include:

  • Boost up the learning experience and help shape up children’s behavior
  • Each activity provided to students offer them opportunity to deepen their understanding of the concepts they have learned in the classroom.
  • The instructor can derive feedback about student’s potential and learning capabilities.
  • Interesting learning activities can revitalize both the mind and body of students.

Class Room Activity Apps

Random Facts

  • In a typical class, students are attentive just 40% of the time
  • Students retain about 70% of what they hear in the first 10 minutes of class and just 20% during the last 10 minutes
  • 33% of secondary school students and 23% of elementary school students complain of back aches.
  • Teens who were active in school were 20% likely to earn an “A” in English and Mathematics.
Posted on by Edsys

How do you usually recognize school-goers? Of course by their heavy back packs! Though school uniforms are not mandatory in many schools around the world, every school expects their students to carry huge piles of books with them.

Over the years, it has been found out that carrying heavy backpacks can cause major health issues in children. It is a fact that about 14,000 students are treated for injuries related to heavy back packs every year. Most of their complaints include pain in the neck, back and shoulder.

Disadvantages of backpacks

The use of heavy backs packs can affect the students in the following ways:

Major health issues

It has been found out that the use of backpacks over an extended period of time can affect the spine. Students are expected to carry the backpacks to school and on their way back to home. This, in most cases have led to children suffering from pain or numbness on the neck, shoulders and backs and it may sometimes affect the muscles, causing muscle imbalances.

Side effects

While carrying heavy backpacks, the body adapts in such a way that the weight is evenly distributed. This sometimes causes changes in the posture and coordination of a student’s body. Their overall posture or the curve of the body gets distorted due to continuous leaning and it may also lead to muscle imbalance resulting in strain, headaches, neck pain, arm pain and shoulder pain.

Tiredness

An entire school day is enough to make a student tired and having a heavy backpack adds to it. This can lead to health issues in students. To reduce such risks, it is often suggested that the students use backpacks that weigh less than 15% to 20% of their weight.

Though using a backpack with a waist strap or wheels are said to be a solution to the problem, they are not 100% useful.  The best solution one can go for is to embrace technology for educational needs. Replacing the books with tablets or laptops and lessons with school mobile apps not only relieves students off the physical issues but also makes learning more interesting for them.

Advantages of Introducing Technology in Learning

Apart from serving as a solution to health issues caused in students due to heavy backpacks, introducing technology in learning has advantages of its own.

Preparing students for the future

In this era, where everything is digitalized, it is necessary for the students to be exposed to the new developments in technology. A candidate is expected to have computer knowledge while applying for a job and hence, it becomes necessary for the students of today to be digitally literate to face the world tomorrow.

Sharing at your fingertips

How do teachers usually share notes with students? They write it down on the blackboard for the students to copy or dictate them for the students to write it down. But with technology in your hands, you can save the efforts by just sharing the notes via e-mail or through a website. The same method can be used by the students to share notes with each other. You no longer will have to worry about your friend not returning your notes in time.

Real-time performance evaluation

With lots of school mobile apps available, you can analyze the performance of your students real-time. You need not wait for the half-yearly or annual examinations to understand the potential of your students. This can help you in identifying the areas each of your students need support in and help them improve.

No more parent-teacher meeting chaos

Report cards and parent-teacher meeting can give you jitters, if you are a teacher. It takes months of efforts to evaluate mark sheets and to enter them in the report cards. The worst part is you have to meet every parent and give details of their child’s performance in school. It’s easier with technology though. There are various school mobile apps available with which you can assess your student’s performances. You can also send the reports to the parents instantly.

Learning becomes interesting

Learning goes the fun way with laptops and tablets replacing books and school mobile apps replacing lessons.  Most of the school mobile apps are in the form of games and students tend to enjoy while getting to learn new things for them. Also, you can award them virtually for their performances. This can motivate the students to have a healthy competition and to perform better.

Save money and time

Do you know that an average of $5 billion dollars is spent by students all over the world combined every year just for purchasing textbooks? Imagine how much money you can save just by opting for technology. You need not spend money on books, stationary items or lab equipments. By embracing technology, you are also benefitting the nature. Yes! You can save up to 2400 trees per day by going paperless.

Update syllabi annually

None of the education boards bother to update their syllabi every year and the reason? Doing it manually may take another year or more. This can affect the students as they miss the opportunity to know about the latest developments made in every field. But with technology, it is possible to update the syllabus on a daily basis and you no longer have to worry about having to buy new textbooks every year.

Go Global

Education through technology helps the students to learn beyond what is mentioned in the textbooks. They get an opportunity to connect to external educators, as well, thus helping them to expand their knowledge.

All these points prove how technology can benefit a student physically, mentally and socially. Also, opting for technology can make learning interesting for the students. Most of the schools around the globe have already adopted technology in learning. If you haven’t, it’s time you give a better learning experience to your students.

Apart from school mobile apps that aid teaching, there are numerous other applications and software available in the market that can help in the overall management of a school. GPS Vehicle Tracking System, RFID Student Tracking System, RFID School Management System, Time table Management Software, Parent Portal, School work force management system, Smart card solution for schools & colleges by Edsys, a company that offers educational solutions are some examples.