Orbaas Room Booking Software

[JimStokes]

...... Edited April 23, 2008 by JimStokes
......

[Domino]

personally I'd say go with Webmans CRBS http://www.classroombookings.com system

 

it's free, copes with 2-week timetables and does exactly what it says on the tin (no lDAP as of yet though)

[Sirbendy]

We use MRBS, suitably customised. Not too bad at all.

[JimStokes]

One advantage to Orbaas, is that there is nothing to install, so it is very quick to get up and running.

 

Not having to have another password for staff to remember is a bonus!

[Edu-IT]

No more passwords to remember. Click a link from your intranet to get to the system online, anytime, anywhere, it's that simple.

So what prevents kids from accessing the system or anyone else who shouldn't have access? What is there to stop staff from cancelling bookings that other members of staff have made?

[localzuk]

We were given a unique security key that that stops anyone else from logging into our system. Our staff don't have to enter it themselves though so it's seamless to them.

 

Not sure about staff deleting each others bookings. Can't imagine our teachers doing that as it would only cause a problem for themselves when they arrive at an ICT room to find another class already there!

 

If it can happen, it will happen. We have ours set up so that staff can only alter their own bookings. Even on the paper system of times gone by we had people crossing each others bookings off.

[Edu-IT]

We were given a unique security key that that stops anyone else from logging into our system. Our staff don't have to enter it themselves though so it's seamless to them.

 

Not sure about staff deleting each others bookings. Can't imagine our teachers doing that as it would only cause a problem for themselves when they arrive at an ICT room to find another class already there!

Anybody clicking the link from in school could access the system though? I mean if the kids saw the link then there is nothing stopping them from accessing the site themselves and messing up the bookings?

[JimStokes]

I have put the link on an Intranet page that only staff have access to.

[tomscaper]

We got this email also and have had a brief look at it. To be honest from first glace i think it is clean and easy to use, but there is a lot to set it up. As we work on a 2 week rotation, we have to add in every single week at a time and set them either week 1 or 2.

Also the problem with a user removing someone elses booking. As someone else said if it is possible someone will do it.

We have contacted them about if we go ahead and order do they offer any customisation, can't imagine they do, but can't hurt to ask.

 

Have used webmans CRBS but unfortunately cannot get it on to the web. Webman should sell this to the schools and host it himself elsewhere. We have a booking system that we currently pay £200 a year for.

[mrtechsystems]

Sorry to ask a daft question but what if the internet is down how do you continue to use it

 

[webman]

Isn't this classed as advertising?

 

Allowing any member of staff to cancel another's booking seems very dangerous.

[webman]

Hmm. At least on paper you can at least have some physical evidence of cancellation.

 

But who dunnit?

[Edu-IT]

Unfortunately, as with your VLE, email, and other online resources, Orbaas would not be available internally if your school's Internet connection fails.

 

The flip side of this is that teachers can still access the system from home to book a room for the following day, even if your school systems are temporarily down.

How do people in school then know who has booked what, unless somebody takes responsibility and prints the list off at home before going into work? It's a nice system, I'm not disputing that, I just think that a system hosted internally with some security restrictions in place would be better. That is my preference though.

[Edu-IT]

You say that the system will remember the pin number, how will it do this?

 

If you host a system internally, what happens when your own web server is down, or the only person in the school with knowledge of the booking system is unavailable?

I'll grant you that if the server isn't working properly then the system will be unavailable but it's only the same as losing a connection to the internet. The advantage being that if the system is hosted internally then you can make other arrangements, move it to a different server perhaps, and you're not relying on an external company like you are when the connection to the internet is lost. If you produce a guide on how to use the system when it's first rolled out then staff can refer to this. I don't know about anyone else but I don't get regular calls from staff asking how to use the booking system.

Edited March 21, 2008 by Edu-IT