I heard that SIMS Lesson Monitor runs like a dog on wireless. Anyone with good or bad experience running registration on wireless with laptops?
What others are there that run fast?
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I heard that SIMS Lesson Monitor runs like a dog on wireless. Anyone with good or bad experience running registration on wireless with laptops?
What others are there that run fast?
When you hear 'SIMS' and 'wireless' in the same sentence, it can't be good.
Get N-Band and get a load of laptops that can support N-Band... yeah!
I thought the final N version still wasn't decided, so you'll be going pre-N.
But yeah, wireless and SIMS isn't really a problem, as long as the connection is reliable.
However with regard to lesson monitor (i assume you're talking about the full application, not the bit that runs from .net), it copies a local Access database to the local machine on sync, and when this starts getting bloated (after a bit of use) it can cause severe perfomance issues.
I use a script to delete it on logoff.
This sums up my thinking - but can anyone explain why?Quote:
Joanne -When you hear 'SIMS' and 'wireless' in the same sentence, it can't be good.
Do you know any other software that does not suffer the same way?
We use Lesson Monitor (inside .net) here over wireless with few problems and thats with a mixture of 11b and 11g clients.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kmount
Same here
Moonwalker: This sums up my thinking - but can anyone explain why?
Lesson Monitor is a THICK client - in fact as THICK as it can get!!! And I agree with Domino that it is because "it copies a local Access database to the local machine on sync, and when this starts getting bloated (after a bit of use) it can cause severe perfomance issues " - now, you can not get any THICKER than this - can you?
Moonwalker: Do you know any other software that does not suffer the same way?
The one and only I am aware of is John Condon's Bromcom - www.bromcom.com.
John has a number of entries on they are under different threads where he explains it very well ie how his software works.
Some of his entries relate to 'tunneling' which provides security advantage as well as performance. It is worth reading if you are concerned with data security and the Data Protection Act.
Staff should really be using .net version which offers far greater functionality than v6 [which copies the access database].
We have no problems with Sims.net and Lesson Monitor v7. LM V6 should really only be used for the legacy reports as they haven't been transfered as yet. LM v7 is far more realible and should be exploited at all costs - all our staff have responsed postively, and the way we approach it is to use the homepage timeline, and double click on your lesson!
My wife's school use Lesson Monitor throughout and also the PDA Mobile solution, wirelessly. Both work very well - particularly the PDA Mobile solution. This is used for recording attendance in all after school classes, Saturday morning tests (all students have tests every Saturday in the Sports Hall), and in the compulsory homework sessions every evening.
Also - the PDA solution is used to record attendance (3 times a day) of boarders that reside in the school during the holidays.
Lesson Monitor is used in every class, wirelessly, without any problems.
Incidentally, the most recent SIMS upgrade has significantly sped up the logon speed - which has pleased the school greatly!
My school will be moving to all the above shortly!!
Toby.Belfield - can you tell me if their WLAN is encrypted please? We have Fujitsu and Dell PDAs and they won't connect to the WLAN if WPA or WPA-PSK encryption is set up.
They connect fine without any encryption.
Toby.Belfield:.Quote:
My wife's school use Lesson Monitor throughout and also the PDA Mobile solution, wirelessly. Both work very well - particularly the PDA Mobile solution
But see =>thread "SIMS Lesson Monitor with PDAs "
Outpost:Is Toby's wife talking about a different system???Quote:
[SIMS Lesson Monitor with PDAs] Its a goddam nightmare! ... if you browse on Capita forums you'll see many posts on the issues of PDA's and mobile SIMS. Updates seem to make it fall over and even Capita get the details wrong as witnessed on the September Update.
In this forum or Capita forums, I read nothing good about SIMS Lesson Monitor on wireless network and it gets even worse with PDAs. It sounds as if Toby's wife is referring to some other system.
Toby -pls check and let us know.
The issue we had was more to do with PARs being replaced with lesson monitor, suffice to say PARs is now back and we nolonger pay for lesson monitor.
Georgebush:I'm confused!!Quote:
The issue we had was more to do with PARs being replaced with lesson monitor, suffice to say PARs is now back and we nolonger pay for lesson monitor.
Georgebush, does your response relate to Outpost's entry -
Outpost: [SIMS Lesson Monitor with PDAs] Its a goddam nightmare! ... if you browse on Capita forums you'll see many posts on the issues of PDA's and mobile SIMS. Updates seem to make it fall over and even Capita get the details wrong as witnessed on the September Update.
We started to do this from Sept 07 - as the quinetic solution we bought into (with the Tungsten Palms) was bought by Capita. We could not afford the cost of the new Capita solution (and from comments on the forums ... I am glad we didnt!).
The laptops were also chosen as more flexible - can use for teaching and not just registers. I would agree with earlier comments - make sure your wireless infrastructure is top-notch. On anything but a really good signal - SIMS has a tendancy to not login. Obviously, being wireless and not cable, it is a bit performance challenged. We recommend that where there is a cable point - use it, and not bash the wireless! The main problems will come when its update time...
Other alternatives: Facility CMIS which is web-based, so you dont have the program load/comms overhead.
Cue battle over which MIS is better....
I've checked - and my wife's school use HP Ipaq's PDAs. They are unencrypted - as the IT Manager says that when encrypted, the connection to the network is not stable. This, he says, is a general Windows Mobile issue - and not associated with the CESReg software.
Capita are releasing an offline version of the PDA solution, on 16th April. This should really help in areas where wireless connectivity is a problem - and then banks of docking stations in the staffroom could be the solution!
Laptops, using SIMS Lesson Monitor are definitely used for all classes - as detailed in my post above.
PM me, and I can put you in contact with the school. They will be able to feedback on their use of the PDA solution in a boarding school with very demanding requirements! For them - the school would have significant difficulties functioning without SIMS - it is truly inbedded into the school. This is a position I seem to be getting my current school into - as inevitably there is no going back when the MIS is extensively used.