Education6

=Library and SIMS=

IT is being used at the core of schools information processes by using School Information Management systems Visit [] to find out about the new developments of SIMS in education. Try out their demonstrations to see the full impact of what it can do. Look at all of the new modules including Assessment Manager, Parent Gateway, Timetabler and Student gateway. SIMS is just one UK brand of School Information Management Systems, and ISB is introducing an IES system, this year, from New Zealand – visit [] to find out more. a) Describe the benefits to the students, the teachers and the parents, that ISB should be gaining from the introduction of this system b)  Describe the drawbacks to fully taking advantage of these benefits? c) Describe some of the social and ethical issues of implementing this system.  One module would be for the **library**  As a library user, research the software the school is currently using. a)  Identify the name of the software and research to see if you can find out more about it from their website. b) What are the main features of the software – try it out and interview the librarian to see if he can tell you about his role of using the system  Some schools are using a swipe card system: Make your school a cashless system. [|www.mycampuscard.com/] introduces these into schools. View the presentations for more details. a)  Research about how magnetic cards work and describe this b) What hardware and software would you need to set up this system? c)  Or the use of cards with RFID chips – describe the technology used in these cards. d) Alternatively biometrics could be used instead. Discuss. e)  Describe the different ways the technologies in a-c) could be used in school f)  Analyse the social and ethical considerations before introducing such systems.

= = =Meeting Special Needs with ICT -Hardware is frequently being developed to meet the needs of students with special needs.=

Hardware is frequently being developed to meet the needs of students with special needs. Special pens with text to speech software can be scanned over words which are then read out and right clicking a button can bring up a dictionary. This is currently being used to help children with dyslexia and with the teaching and pronunciation of foreign languages. Alphasmart laptops are being used by some of our students to assist them in presenting their work. Voice recognition software is being deployed by people who have difficulty in typing. You can purchase Braille keyboards and use tracker ball mouse to help people with physical disabilities. a) These are to name but a few, research the above and others to find out how technology is being used to assist students with special needs and their learning. b)  What impact do each of these devices have on learning? c) Describe the limitations of using these devices.


 * School for the Future: Now you have completed this unit, design a school for the future, describing how IT would play a role in it. **

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