Category: School Technology

Posted on by Edsys

The concept of make-over is getting much attention these days. “Flipped classroom” is a buzz word related to classrooms and learning methods. It’s a classroom closely knitted to technology.

Integrating technology in classroom needs special care. You can’t just introduce schools apps to the children and say, “Now we have got technology”. How technology is used is the relevant question.

Smart apps for preschoolers and schools apps are creating revolution in education with its charm. All you need is a smart phone or tab to download the most breathtaking school apps.

Levels of technology integration

The usage of technology and tools are classified into different variations.

  1. Sparse: Technology rarely used by students
  2. Basic: Technology is available for students occasionally
  3. Comfortable: Students are comfortable with technology and is used often in classroom
  4. Seamless: Through various technologies, students employ technology in classroom

Recap: How can school apps promote creativity in students?

Tips to consider before introducing technology in classrooms:

  1. Better Plan

“Failing to plan is planning to fail”

– Alan Lakein

Alan Lakein said it right. You cannot ignore the importance of a proper plan in anything you do. Without a clear strategy, introducing anything to students won’t work. A good teacher never fails to plan better.

Be involved in the planning session. Before integrating technology into classrooms, be sure about the goals.

Find answers to three relevant questions:

  1. How can teaching be improved with technology?
  2. What technology will be used?
  3. How much time will be invested in technology?

These questions have relevance once you have decided to mix education and technology. You cannot blindly go without plan when it’s about the future of your students. A steady plan from the initial stage is important.

  1. Participate

“It is better to participate and fail than fail to participate.”

– Debasish Mridha

Teachers should involve with the students when they are exploring devices. Don’t be a passive observer, be an active participator. Be organized. Never leave children with devices and allow them to manage alone. Creating a web page for the class is a good idea. You can exhibit the activities of your children in the page. Divide children into groups and allot a device per group. Students with limited knowledge on technology can mingle with students with better knowledge.

  1. Schedule

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities”.

– Stephen Covey

Assign special schedule for the usage of devices. Students should not get addicted to technology; this can have adverse effects. Pre-plan the tasks and arrange them. Never give extra time for completing any task. Extra time is equal to extra distractions. The use of technology must be strictly limited.

  1. Nothing Personal

“You affect the world by what you browse.”

– Tim Berners-Lee

Use of devices must be public. Don’t permit personal usage of the device to students. The sole purpose of introducing technology in the classrooms is to award an overall learning experience. To use it personally is no less than misusing it. Fixing a password that can only be accessed by teacher helps to secure the device. No child must be allowed to use any device without the supervision of a teacher.

  1. Online Learning

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”

– Stephen Hawking

Traditional teaching methods have lost their charm.  To engage children in studies, it’s vital to introduce new and fresh ideas. Technology can help teachers achieve this goal. Fascinating facts excite children towards studies. Teachers can consider taking a short online course for better management of the software. Recording lectures is possible with technology. Students absent in the class can gain out of them.

Recap: Smart Apps for Preschoolers to Learn Phonics and Letters

6 Reasons to Embrace Technology in Classrooms:

“The whole intention of Digital Learning Day is to really celebrate teachers and good instructional learning practices,”

Says Sarah Hall

  1. Technology used correctly enables students for their future careers.
  2. Children mix up more with their classmates
  3. Prepares children for the real world
  4. Students become more excited to learn
  5. Teachers and students become more active and responsible
  6. Children take control over their learning

Change Is The Need:

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

– Albert Einstein

Never hesitate to adopt new techniques in classrooms. From smart apps for preschoolers to internet, everything serves a purpose. All you need to take care is to maintain technology properly.

Posted on by Edsys

You need quality in anything you invest. Whether it’s the school for your child or the carpet for your house, quality speaks. Since KHDA has taken the responsibility of assuring the quality of private institutions and EYFS made it mandatory to encourage activities among children, tension of parents has reduced considerably.

Education is no longer limited to schools. There is a powerful resource that you can make use of – the Internet. Not just the age old broadband connection with your PC, but an always connected, the world at your fingertips kind of Internet with Smart phones.

From choosing life partner to booking tickets, all you need can be done through a smart phone. Education is also taken to the next level by mobile phones.

Why Mobile Phones?

Most of the parents consider mobile phones as hindrance in education. But truth is different. It’s easy to make the most out of mobile phones in education. The operation systems of mobile phones are purpose-built. All you need is the desire to learn.

How to Use Mobile Phones for Learning?

The use of smart phones is not limited to communication. Educating children is also possible on the go. Mobile phones have taken the concept of learning and the process of learning to the next level.

It cannot be ignored that the most important feature of smart phone is the availability of applications. There are numerous mobile applications waiting exclusively for you in the app stores of different mobile platforms.

Just like going to a shopping mall, you can evaluate and buy applications of your desire.

Advantages That Comes With Applications:

According to a recent survey it is revealed that apps are widely popular among kids in the 5-10 age groups. Parents and junior teachers are encouraged to start using learning apps across the world. Surprisingly the availability of applications for children is expanding. The many reasons for this include:

  • Apps are interactive
  • Apps help to prepare children for the future
  • Tracking your child’s progress is simple
  • Its fun stuffed learning
  • Effective use of leisure time
  • Learning by sharing
  • Learning is no more a burden
  • Systematic learning

Easily Reachable Quality Education:

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

Can’t afford the best school for your child? Why worry, we have the solution.  With smart phone, you can gift a better learning environment for your kids.

Some Added Advantages of Mobile Phones:

Listed below are some of the added advantages of mobile phones. Scroll down, think, and gift a smart phone for your kid today!

Low-cost:

It’s the low cost strategy that makes mobile phones attractive. Within your budget comes a smart phone with multi-purpose usage. Even low cost smart phones can download applications.

Availability:

Mobile phones are small and easy to carry. Anywhere you want to use them, they are available at your service. No need to wait when you feel like learning.

Security, round the clock:

Contacting any person during emergency situations become possible with mobile phones. If they fail to pick up the call, messaging service ensures that the important message is delivered to that person.

Be in touch:

It’s easy to be in touch even with people outside your nation. Growing business network and connecting with social circle is easy beyond what you think.

Internet access:

Imagining life without internet is almost impossible for today’s average person. It is one among the blessings received by mankind. Social networking becomes possible with mobile phones. Enjoy social media on the go with smart phones.

Gift the best to your kids:

Perception is what makes a deed good or bad. Likewise, mobile phones can be used for betterment also. Let your child experience the next level of learning with the best mobile applications. Indeed, mobile phones can make significant contributions to education. The EYFS syllabus is proof of that.

Posted on by Edsys

Remember how you used to get excited when you, as a kid, went to the computer lab of your school or when your teacher brought a projector to the classroom? A few years back, technology in classrooms was a matter of curiosity. But now, it is a necessity. Technology has already entered classrooms now and in near future, all classrooms will turn technology-centered.

Why do we need technology in classrooms?

Aren’t the current surroundings good enough?

Traditional teaching methods involving students and teachers in a classroom are in no way terrible. But, the education thus imparted is solely limited to books and the four walls of the class room. That makes the knowledge imparted insufficient for students to face the world. They need to have vast knowledge on a variety of topics. There is heavy competition going on and almost all of it is dependent on technology and hence, it is important that the students know how to use the latest gadgets while preparing for their future.

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” –Mark Van Doren

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” – David Warlick

 

Apart from that, it can have the following advantages over traditional classrooms:

  1. Keeps students focused for longer periods of time: Sources such as Internet available to students in schools keep them engaged and make learning an interesting affair. Students also find it easy to complete their projects and assignments since any information is available to them at their fingertips in a short span of time.
  2. Makes learning an exciting process: Those who belong to the times before technology was introduced to classrooms may know how easily you got bored between lectures. The topic would have been of least interest or may be, the teacher wasn’t explaining things in an interesting manner. Introduction of technology in schools has definitely created excitement in classrooms. Lessons imparted in the form of web/mobile applications and games can keep them engaged and updated.
  3. Lets students take their own time to learn: Not every student is a fast learner. As a student, you might have found it difficult to decipher what has been taught at school. However, considering the strength of the pupils and the deadline within which a particular lesson had to be completed, teachers might not have been able to help you out. Technology in learning helps students to learn at their own pace. This helps the students to understand things better and gives a better meaning to education.
  4. Prepares students for a better future: Attaining a degree is not the only criterion for a job these days. Employers are in search of those people who can actually multi-task and have workplace skills even if they are new to a job. If it is the situation now, imagine how harsh the criteria would be for a job in the future. Therefore, it is important for students to develop skills essential to survive the competition that they may come across once they graduate.

Technology helps the students to break all barriers and connect globally, thus extending their knowledge beyond books. They will learn to deal with complex problems, improve their communication, leadership skills and productivity.

“Every student can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way” – George Evans

How will future classrooms look like?

There are lots of advancements being made in technology. Here are 5 of the popular technologies that may be a part of learning in the near future:

Augmented Reality (AR)

You may have seen these in sci-fi movies where a character walks down a lane wearing maybe a pair of glasses and he gets full information about the location in front of his eyes. Well, it’s getting real and is going to take the world by storm very soon. Right now, AR technology can be accessed only in the form of smart phone apps. But, Google Glass is already in the market and similar gadgets will follow it to the market in time. Soon, students can go for virtual field trips to faraway places while sitting in their classrooms and get information about anything, thus expanding their knowledge about things.

3D printing

Visual learning is always effective than theory and therefore, 3D printing will find its place in classrooms very soon. Teachers and students can easily print out 3D models of any complex structure. The physical versions of many complex structures that are difficult to understand when taught theoretically can be presented as 3D models.

Cloud computing

Various excuses that you delivered for not bringing homework or assignments won’t work for future kids. Cloud computing is gaining popularity and all traditional classrooms will turn virtual in the near future. Kids can bid adieu to text books and all study materials as all they need is an Internet connection. Students can attend classes in virtual environment and they will be able to submit their work even if they are not present in the class for the day. It also gives the children opportunities to be engaged in learning activities and discussions or forums.

Biometrics

The term is usually linked to security. Apart from that, there is an interesting eye tracking feature. It can help you know how much each student has understood about the content taught in classrooms. This can help teachers to make changes in their way of teaching or in the content and help the students to understand things in a better way.

Game-based learning

Some children usually pay little attention to what is taught in the classroom and their participation in class may be quite less. However, they may love games and similar activities. So, why not integrate games with learning? Lots of educational apps have already come into existence to spread knowledge in the form of games. The next step may be for the students to design the games themselves for learning subjects in depth. This training may also lay foundation to those who would like to pursue a career in game design in the later stages of life.

With these technologies in classrooms, the students will no longer see learning as a duty but as something that is very important and interesting in life, of which they have to be a part.

Will students be comfortable with technology in classrooms?

Here are some facts that may answer the question.

It has been found out that in an environment with future classroom facilities,

  • The students were 24% more engaged in class
  • There was 23% more student-teacher interaction
  • Students felt16% more comfortable asking questions
  • They were able to conduct group work 28% more
  • Also, the students felt 22% more valued

These facts do give an insight of how future classrooms will be more effective than traditional classrooms.

Posted on by Edsys

“Working hard and working smart sometimes can be two different things” –Byron Dorgan

Smart work is always way better than hard work. The best is to work in such a way that, the work gets finished in time without much labor yet delivers fruitful results.

Have you ever wondered, how a school is managed?

The overall managing of a school is not as easy as it appears. From classrooms to staff room, there are numerous responsibilities that must be met in time without fail. These are time bound responsibilities need special care and dedication. What if the management system can be made crystal clear without the possibility of error and saving time? WorkForce Management software is known for its multitasking performance and reliability.

WorkForce management Software for educational institutions is equipped with a lot of facilities. Track the productivity record without fail and that too easily. The manual entering method is prone to a lot of errors, whereas depending on software can make managing easier. Know the best teacher, appreciate her efforts and encourage more teachers to do the same through WorkForce Management Software.

Each teacher and staff members are provided with a unique profile and user ID along with a confidential password to login. They can login to their account with the password provided and can punch attendance, apply for leave and get detailed report of their salary, a lot of function in a single package.

  • Attendance: There are two options to mark attendance, either through login in the workforce management account or punch in to the biometric system. It should be done before entering the work and before leaving the office. If punch is missed the concerned people will be notified through mail. The punch details will show date, accurate punch in and punch out timing, duration in hours and minute of punch in and out as well as status( present, absent or day off). Past weeks’ attendance is notified to the person every Monday without fail. Monthly basis attendance history can also be viewed.
  • Leaves: Managing leaves becomes easy with workforce management software. Employees can apply for leaves online, citing the reason for leave. The details include number of days applied for leave and type of leave applied. The date on which leave is applied along with the contact details of the employee is available. Workforce management software shows the remaining leaves available. The status of the leave applied can also be derived through the software. The school principal or department head can approve or disapprove the leave. 
  • Payroll: Calculate the salary of employees with utmost accuracy. Taking into   consideration factors such as working hours, number of leave applied and other factors, the workforce management software offers accurate service and satisfaction.  According to calculations, 155 days can be spend on manual payroll calculation while payroll manager would spend 2 days each year on payrolls. Saving a lot of time is possible by the use of workforce management software.

A lot of possibilities in a single package

Workforce management software is user friendly. Simple understanding of the Internet is the only necessary factor in managing the software. Both the teachers and the staff members are allowed to have unique profiles, which helps to sustain the privacy. The details are maintained confidential; the uncertainty that comes with sharing the information of your staff to a third person is completely eliminated.

Preparing timetables for classes is a tedious job which requires a lot of time. But it would still be prone to errors.  Workforcemanagement software can help in that aspect as well.

Productivity time of various projects assigned to teachers as well as staff members can be viewed through Workforce management software. Working hours are perfectly calculated without fail. Performance evaluation is made simpler and easier.

School management as a whole is made easy. Time is saved with less cost. Reducing paper work which is prone to error is another added advantage of Workforce management software. Less confusion and more reliability is what Workforce software management is all about. The teachers and staff are fond of the privacy provided by the software. Future of workforce management software is immense and promising. More and more schools are employing Workforce management software due the reliability and efficiency.

Posted on by Edsys

XYZ School was not the same before. They used to participate actively in all the cultural fests happening across the country and the students gave their best performances in all the examinations. Things changed when the school failed to recognize the contributions of a teacher who was responsible for majority of the fame the school received.

A doubt on the teacher’s potential and questions raised on what exactly she was doing for the school, caused her to quit her job and the result? The school’s reputation fell low because no one else could keep up with the work the teacher did all by herself. By the time the school authorities realized their mistake, it was too late. They lost one of the best employees any school could have.

Employees add to the strength of an organization. In the case of a school, it’s the teachers and non-teaching staff who prove to be pillars of strength. But many a time, the school authorities fail to notice the contribution of staff in the betterment of school. Of course, manually monitoring the activities of each and every employee does not work; especially in a school where the staff strength is more than 100. But, you have a solution to the problem-the Workforce Management software by Edsys.

Apart from simply recording the activities of the employees, the Workforce Management software also helps you generate reports of attendance, salary etc. Every employee will have their own profiles along with a login ID and password, which they can use to mark their attendance, apply for leaves etc.

Why you will love School Workforce Management software?

You’ll absolutely fall in love with the software for its

Features

That include,

Seperate user accounts

User access is provided for teachers and other employees of the school to apply leaves, to mark their punch-in and out details, to enter their productivity details etc. However, the admin has access to manage the leaves, payroll etc.

Unique profiles

Every employee can create a profile of their own using the School Workforce Management software. The personal and official details of the employees can be entered there.

Maintenance of Attendance

A biometric system will be used, where the employees are supposed to punch-in for the day. If that doesn’t work, the employees can log into their profiles in the School Workforce Management portal and punch-in for the day. In case an employee fails to punch-in for the day, he/she receives a notification via mail about the same. Also, notification about the previous week’s attendance will be available to the employees on the Monday of the following week.

The attendance feature of School Workforce Management software is quite useful, in terms of payroll calculation. The attendance details for an entire month can be generated from the web portal, which can be used to calculate the payroll.

Leave Application/Management

Writing a long leave application to apply for leaves is a tiring process. You may not know how to begin or whom to address and may end up being confused. With School Workforce Management software, you can easily apply for leave sans any worries. The leave application page of the Workforce Management portal will display the number of leaves remaining, in terms of casual leave, medical leave, earned leave, loss of pay etc. Also, the status of the leave you applied will be shown in the sub menu under the leaves section. The school principal or the department head will approve the leave.

Salary Processing

Manual payroll calculation is a horrendous job. You’ll have to collect details of leaves taken, calculate the number of working days and lot more to calculate the salary of an employee. Imagine doing the same for may be 50 or 100 people! The payroll feature of School Workforce Management software makes the job lot easier. Also, HR managers can generate digital pay slips without any trouble. Employees can view their salary details by simply logging into the Workforce Management Portal, which can be retrieved on a monthly basis.

Daily Productivity

Employees can enter their activities for the day in the School Workforce Management portal, which the employers can use to monitor the productivity of the employee. It helps them to analyze the performances of teachers and other staff.

Advantages

The School Workforce management software proves to be equally useful for the school management as well as for the teachers and other non-teaching staff mainly due to its easy functionality and ability to convert even the toughest tasks related to school management to something very easy and manageable.

  • Both the staff and employers can keep track of the employee’s performance through School workforce management software. This helps them identify the areas the employee is good at and those areas they need improvement in and give training to improve the skills of the employee. This adds to the productivity
  • Keeping track of an employee’s productivity gives an idea of what the employee is good at, apart from the job they do and utilize their skills for the development of the school
  • School management will become much better and easier with the School workforce management software

From tracking productivity to pay roll calculation, the School Workforce management software makes all tasks related to school management easier and hence, you cannot resist liking it!

Posted on by Edsys

Education is an enlightening experience. It is not simply teaching and learning from the text books and gathering certificates. As far as a child is concerned, this enlightenment first takes place from home, and then, from school. So, to mould a perfect human being, there must be cognition between parents and teachers.

A few centuries back, it was possible only by conducting an annual parent-teacher meeting. But, of course, it is not sufficient to have a better understanding of the students’ track.

Nowadays, circumstances have changed and we have more ways to keep in touch with the teachers or the schooled authorities. Phone calls, e-mails etc. are some of the best means of communication between teachers and parents. But, they too lack consistency.

At present, using software that connects teachers and parents in a short period of time, with accuracy can do wonders.

Why parent-teacher communication is said to be necessary?

We send our kids to schools for development in their career and in their personality. So, it is the responsibility of teachers to inform parents regarding group behavior, attendance and activities of each student.

If anything unusual happens, they must analyze it, discuss it with the parents and find a solution. Of course, parents should also inform teachers regarding the same. A proper interaction between parents and teachers is highly recommended for the progress of the child’s personality and for their safety. If problems are identified earlier, they can be solved easily and quickly.

But today, both parents and teachers are so caught up in their busy schedules to find enough time to discuss each and every happening in students’ routine. Edsys provides a platform for teachers and parents to solve this problem through the ‘Parent Portal’.

Parent Portal – software that connects parents and teachers in a touch

It is a useful software exclusively designed for parents to know what is happening in school, without any delay.

  • Any parent can login to the software application through their smart phones, laptops or desktops.
  • The software always notifies updates and news from the school about the child’s performance.
  • It facilitates constant communication between parents and teachers through the communication centre. Both parents and teachers can monitor the student’s performance and take necessary actions as the situation demands.
  • Moreover, Edsys connects Parent Portal with School Bus Tracking System and this enables both parents and school authorities to track the real-time location of school bus with their electronic gadgets.
  • Through Parent Portal, parents can make online payments such as school tuition fee and vehicle fees. They don’t have to take the risk of sending money with children.
  • Academic progress, attendance, results etc. can also be analyzed with the Parent Portal.

What difference do these software make?

Parents and teachers are busy with their jobs. Therefore, it is not possible for them to watch each and every movement of students. Since parents can get the attendance report, activity records, time tables, calendars, school bus time and progress reports at their fingertips at any moment, there is no need to disturb the teacher by calling them every now and then. Parents and teachers need to call each other only when they find anything troublesome in the students’ track record. Then, they can discuss the matter and check previous records for verification purpose. Moreover, there is no need to spy your kid 24/7 about their expenses and whereabouts!

Smart Cards

Smart cards for schools is an important tool which helps the parents to have an eye on the complete record of a students’ activity. Smart cards provide identification, authentication, data storage and application processing. They complement parent-teacher communication software.

Edsys provides smart cards for schools with which the students can make purchases from school canteen and book store. Parents will get SMS alerts regarding the purchases the students make. Smart cards can also be used to borrow books from the school library.

Posted on by Edsys

Managing timetables, plotting school bus route plans, calculating payroll and evaluating teacher performance adds to the tedious tasks of school management. Education software has been helping schools to manage these activities effectively by lessening the day-to-day time and effort put to complete them.

For instance, managing timetables is a difficult task for many school authorities. It involves continuous updating based on the availability of teachers, time required for each subjects, etc. So what can school authorities do to ease the tension associated with setting and managing timetables?

They can now depend on the timetable management software from Edsys to help the overall administrative functions of a school.

Let’s see what the advantages of using a Timetable management system in schools are.

Reducing paperwork

With an endless list of paperwork, manual school management is always tough and troublesome. But Timetable management software makes it easy for school authorities to manage the school affairs very effectively.

Less confusion

While creating timetables many things have to be taken into consideration like availability of teachers, number of classrooms, allotted time etc. It’s so confusing that errors may occur while setting it. Generating timetables automatically is the best way to avoid this and for that you can use timetable management software which provides a feasible solution.

Generating timetables automatically

Automatic timetable generation will help ease the disorder associated with manual timetable management. One special feature is the facility to generate timetables interactively. This will help in reducing the limitations of manual timetable management.

No more errors

Timetable management software is helpful in reducing manual errors. Sometimes, manual timetables can create confusion among teachers. So using timetable management software can help school management to effectively allot class hours to available teachers accurately.

Substitution management

Managing substitutions in the absence of a particular teacher is quiet troublesome where you need to check the availability and class timings of other teachers separately. But timetable management software can make it easier and hassle-free by providing the accurate results regarding substitution management.

Generating records

School management is not an easy job. The details regarding leaves, performance, classroom activities etc. need to be noted in order to manage and improve it. Timetable management software can be a great help for school management to take care of all the activities of employees. The benefit of generating records on a monthly basis helps school authorities to monitor the data regarding teachers and non-teaching staff in an easy manner.

Pay scales

Preparing pay scales is a tiresome job where leaves of each employee have to be taken separately. Confusion and chaos regarding pay scale can be avoided if timetable management software is used. It prepares pay scales very easily and accurately.

Not just for a single class!

Creating timetables for class itself is a hard thing. So how will school authorities manage to prepare timetable for the whole school? They can seek the help of Timetable management software which help in creating timetable for the whole school. It also helps us in saving our energy, time and money!

Manually managing the affairs of a school is not as easy as you think. So in order to keep up with the changing educational system, you need to make use of technology which will help you attain efficient results. Timetable management software is one such change which you can make in order to make things move faster. This not only helps in effective school management but also contribute significantly to the overall learning atmosphere of the school.

 

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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

“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