Online Data for Parents

[SimpleSi]

One of heads (who lieks to keep ahead of the game) wants to know how to implement some directive to let parents have online access to child held data (e.g attendance,attainment etc).

He talked about all sorts of things he heard of at BETT but I've said just run a report from SIMS, create a course for each childs parents on the schools Moodle VLE and upload it to there -job done.

This is a bit of an industrial method and I wonder if anyone's got any ideas on how to automate it bit (and for free of course!)

regards

Simon

[localzuk]

THe SIMS Learning Gateway does this - we have it in school, but haven't rolled it out to parents yet.

[dhicks]

I've said just run a report from SIMS, create a course for each child's parents on the schools Moodle VLE and upload it to there - job done. This is a bit of an industrial method and I wonder if anyone's got any ideas on how to automate it bit (and for free of course!)

I have a script that does that for LDAP servers - matches up SIMS people with LDAP users. Getting it to match up with Moodle as you suggest sounds like a sensible idea.

How will each pupil's parent(s) log in to Moodle - will you give each separate parent a login? Does this mean that parent details need to be hauled out of SIMS to be added to the list-of-users (LDAP for us, don't know what you use) as well?

Hmm - is that course-per-pupil a good idea? - lots of courses. Will that work okay? Could we call them something like "individual learning plans" or something? Wasn't there an individual learning plan module just released for Moodle?

Does the pupil get access to this course too, or is it a place where teachers and parents can discuss the pupil behind their back?

--
David Hicks

[sahmeepee]

How will each pupil's parent(s) log in to Moodle - will you give each separate parent a login? Does this mean that parent details need to be hauled out of SIMS to be added to the list-of-users (LDAP for us, don't know what you use) as well?

Realistically you'd have to - it'd be much easier than trying to figure out which parents were divorced/separated from the data in SIMS. I'm not sure how that situation is handled by SIMS LG - in particular: how are the usernames and passwords distributed to parents reliably and securely? I can imagine a situation where one parent might not pass the login details on to another if both passwords went home to the child's main address.

Anyone dealt with this rolling out SLG?

[kiran]

Doesn't the Parents' Gateway do it for free [although we don't use it as it could see our teachers errors in taking lesson registers!]

Aside to that I think it is a excellent idea to integrate it to VLE's!

[russdev]

Also a point but any automatised system would have to look at your mis system and not issue a login if they have court order ticked (well in sims it is not sure about other big two Intergris and CMIS).

Russ

[steve]

Funnily enough our head mentioned this to me the other day. I knew real-time reporting was the next big thing, but according to form the government want it ASAP

By September 2008 all secondary schools will be expected to provide information to parents covering achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and special needs, on a timely and frequent basis – this should be at least once per term.

By September 2010 all secondary schools will need to offer parents real-time access to this information (including the opportunity for secure online access) wherever are and whenever they want.

A law was passed recently that all schools must report 3 times per year, but many schools aren't happy about it as it causes a lot more work. So the DCSF now see online reporting as the solution.

Rumour is that SSAT will play some role in the development of this ......

[GrumbleDook]

Yes, the SSAT has a number of things that it is looking at with regards to real-time reporting. Some of it is being done via ICT Register schools. If you are an ICT Register school and want to know more keep an eye out for information coming from your Focus School or from the ICT Register Showcase taking place tomorrow (29th Jan)

[john]

A law was passed recently that all schools must report 3 times per year, but many schools aren't happy about it as it causes a lot more work.

Its life for some places, we do 3 reports a year and monthly grades already.