UBBERgoose Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Can anyone recommend a method for registering pupils for PE lessons? The teachers are currently using a shared desktop but this is taking too long. It would be nice to know what others are doing.
broc Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 All of our PE staff have laptops, these are wireless enabled & we have access points in the sports hall & sports office area as part of our site-wide managed wireless network. They use these for SIMS.net registration.
matt40k Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Some schools are using Netbooks, Capita do SIMS mobile, might be worth asking them about it.
Jamman960 Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I know of one school that brought Pocket PC's with the intention of using Sims mobile, apparently the extra costs were pretty high they abandoned the idea. James
matt40k Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Has anyone used a (Windows based) PDA to access SLG2?
jamesb Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Has anyone used a (Windows based) PDA to access SLG2? I know that someone's used an iPhone, and I've managed it on a Symbian phone (normal phone, not a smartphone, I wouldn't describe it as easy-access but everything worked). I'll try it from a Windows mobile PDA when I get the chance.
Jeremy69 Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I know of one school that brought Pocket PC's with the intention of using Sims mobile, apparently the extra costs were pretty high they abandoned the idea. Sounds like really good planning!
matt40k Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Should I look on eBay for them? Pretty sure people were saying get SLG2 as it's better, nice way to get SIMS on Linux I heard SIMS Mobile had issues as uses the compact framework. Not heard any other comments about it, other then the cost.
jamesb Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Should I look on eBay for them? Pretty sure people were saying get SLG2 as it's better, nice way to get SIMS on Linux I heard SIMS Mobile had issues as uses the compact framework. Not heard any other comments about it, other then the cost. Getting SLG2 purely to provide mobile access for a handful of PE teachers would be kind of like trying to crack a walnut with a kilo of semtex. However if there's other reasons to get it (and usually there are plenty) then this might be the reason that tips the balance.
matt40k Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Getting SLG2 purely to provide mobile access for a handful of PE teachers would be kind of like trying to crack a walnut with a kilo of semtex. However if there's other reasons to get it (and usually there are plenty) then this might be the reason that tips the balance. Hahaha.. that would be fun. I heard the costs are about the same and like you say, SLG2 has alot more to offer (in the long run).
jamesb Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Hahaha.. that would be fun. It would. My old university used a bucket of liquid oxygen to light a barbeque, which was fun. Shame about most of the charcoal being instantly vapourised though.
gibbo_ap Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 right-o i have actually looked into this. when i started we had old PDA running their version of pars. problem was them were the models that if they ran out of battery they would wipe them selves!!! PE dept = duh here. i was reinstalling them every 3rd week until i snapped one day. have looked into PARs connect. which is a web based pars, cant remeber if it used any active x coms etc but would defo run on a windows powered web book. we now have two old computers in the changing rooms. now as the classes on pars are normal teaching classes and have both boys and girls (and we obviously have different changing rooms for boys and girls lol) you can seperate the registers into two. if any one wants to know how i did this PM me and i will rack my brains and remember (is a once a year job and its the end of the year almost. lol.
UBBERgoose Posted June 24, 2009 Author Posted June 24, 2009 Thanks for the ideas, it turns out they used to use PDA's to access SIMS Mobile. They stopped using them though because the PDA's wireless was so unreliable. They do have laptops but say that although they work fine it is too awkward to carry them round all their classes. It looks like I might have to dig out these old PDA's and see why they are so unreliable.
Sylv3r Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 We use the SIMS webparts here for attendance across the school, but it works really well in PE.
EduTech Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 We have tried numourous ways to get PE to register students, rather then them having to send a paper version to reception each lesson. - Samsung Q1's were invested in, they were ok.. but wireless was not very good in them (it could of been down to the fact the wireless AP's were not so good either) - We have tried a small windows based PDA, which did the job using the SLG and again it did work, but lacked speed due to wireless. and we also tried a Netbook, but never really had the time to play with that. But, from all the testing we did it seems all of the above solutions will work perfectly.. you just need to have a good and stable wireless infrastructure in place. James.
marekbrad Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 ACER Aspire One's Ubuntu Netbook Remix (Customised to remove some of the apps and tools) Wireless Connectivity SIMS Learning Gateway Thats how I'm doing it. Seems to work ok all PE staff prefer netbook size - not as cumbersome as a lappy
jenny_urey Posted July 14, 2009 Posted July 14, 2009 Hi y'all PARS will work with PDA, laptops and some mobile technology (using PARS connect internet access).... however.... the truth is, I know of schools who have spent alot of money on implementing wireless technology then purchasing PDAs for PE to use however its not always the answer. Some schools PE classes are not as timetabled; ie, PE teachers may decide whilst out of the field which students are with which teacher... this now means that students are not in their timetabled groups. Other issue is if wireless is out of range and once registers have been taken the teacher then has to remember to 'dock' the removable device so data is cached accross. Downtime on PDAs can be an issue with PDAs Ergonomics icluding local ambulance/poice station, cast iron radiators in old schools, thick walls, limited wireless points also become an issue PE staff could damage PDAs if using out in different weather or drop on the floor on a muddy field! Some of the schools I have worked in have had to go back to paper registers and students run back in to school to give to attendance....the software can handle it however the processes within school cant. Other schools make sure that registers are taken inside the school on a PC (sometimes in a PE office) then students go outside as soon as they have a mark. Last option I can think of is using Biometrics (fingerprint) for PE classes (can also be used for assembly). I can only represent PARS for biometrics as I know ours is compatible with biometrics (we work with 4x biometric companies) as I am unsure of other systems that work with Biometrics.
zag Posted July 15, 2009 Posted July 15, 2009 PDA's just don't work reliably enough. Netbooks are the way to go I reckon.
PhilNeal Posted July 15, 2009 Posted July 15, 2009 I suspect that Netbooks won't last as the screens are too small! SmartPhones like Apple etc could well take over and laptops survive!
marekbrad Posted July 15, 2009 Posted July 15, 2009 Acer Aspire One's ... Ubuntu Netbook Remix....Interface customised to only show favourites menu and firefox shortcut to SLG.... Wireless Access... SLG Cheap and cheerful but works well even with our more technically challenged PE Staff
skunk Posted July 15, 2009 Posted July 15, 2009 I have never heard SLG described as "Cheap", chearful perhaps but never cheap.
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