[sims] UCAS References

[ClaireAmes]

Hello,

I've discovered the sixth form is writing references for UCAS in word and saving in desktop folders for each student.

I feel that SIMS could do this in a comment marksheet/report set up.

I have only used it with normal marksheets.

Is it the same, or different area to set up?

I can't seem to find the right handbook.

[bobsmith]

You could do this with a regular marksheet using free text boxes.

 

then you'd just have to knock up a snazzy individual report to present it nicely.

 

Really simple stuff thankfully.

 

However my school is doing the same dumb thing with a bazillion word documents

[FishCustard]

Yep, I recall doing this with a marksheet and an individual report template.

[ClaireAmes]

Hello,

Thank you for that.

So, would I make normal aspects, one for each subject needing a comment. And then instead of a grade/marks I'd make them a comment?

Wow, simpler than I was expecting.

[bobsmith]

the easy part is the SIMS side of things, the hard part is convincing whoever likes 1000's of word documents being emailed around to dump their archaic nightmare and embrace sanity.

[Pink_Panda]

just a word of warning though, the limit for comments is 1000 characters. A few times I've had to go back to teachers who had not realised that their comment cuts off mid sentence for full reports...

[PrettyWoman]

Evening. We had the same issue with running out of space. I set up comment A and comment B columns, then the individual report was set to pick up both. If nothing was in the comment B box then nowt appeared. Yes bobsmith, I agree about the word documents. Pointless.

[Pink_Panda]

That's exactly what we did for a report with lengthier comments. However, in my new school at lot of teachers cut and paste from Word into the comment pop up box, then don't read back what they have pasted. It has only happened once or twice so far, the majority like to keep it short

[Mistert89]

We do the same for reports (because staff don’t like Profiles), and set up to three paragraphs.

How many teachers don’t understand what a paragraph is? They will often split sen

 

tences across two paragraphs! And they’re dropping basic English and Maths........

[Pink_Panda]

how annoying! As I said, they like to 'cut and paste' here, so if there's been a mistake in the original text...

...the whole class got the same mistake (a tad tedious when proof reading)