[sims] Learning Gateway Alternatives

[glennda]

What do people advise as alternatives, we are currently in the process of looking out for a leased line and one of the services we will lose is the ability to connect to our LEA's SLG front end (something i'm not worried about as it looks horrible!).

 

I know there are various options out there but I didn't realise how expensive SLG is!

 

 

EDIT: also is it a legal requirement still to have online reporting?

Edited November 18, 2011 by glennda

[CyberNerd]

these guys do a SIMS to moodle export for reporting data to parents:

SchoolsICT | SchoolsICT – ZiLink for Moodle 2

[glennda]

these guys do a SIMS to moodle export for reporting data to parents:

SchoolsICT | SchoolsICT – ZiLink for Moodle 2

 

Have contacted them to gain access to there demo site - do you use the system yourself?

 

This is who @penfold_99 works for isn't it?

[CyberNerd]

Have contacted them to gain access to there demo site - do you use the system yourself?

 

This is who @penfold_99 works for isn't it?

 

yes penfold_99 is the technical director.

I'm not using the parent reporting module, but I gather it does do it - I think you need the parents logins in moodle which sounds like a PItA. best give penfold_99 a pm.

[glennda]

yes penfold_99 is the technical director.

I'm not using the parent reporting module, but I gather it does do it - I think you need the parents logins in moodle which sounds like a PItA. best give penfold_99 a pm.

 

Will do - I was thinking of setting up a separate moodle server (as a virtual host) if i went down the moodle route with its own built in database for auth rather then link to our AD or anything!

[mellowip1983]

we have just signed an agreement to replace SLG with bromcom systems both for staff and parental access. one of our local schools run the parental access and it looks really easy to use. Our SLT have agreed to this after 1 meeting and 3 weeks it looked that effective.

 

Plugs straight in to sims and has more staff functionality and easier for staff to use.

[Steven_Cleaver]

You could try Insight from Tasc Software very reasonably priced and gives Parents access to various information which is easily configurable. We have been usng this for a year or so now and found this really useful.

 

TASC Software - excellence in education

 

Staff and Students can also access this information and you can easily configure different options for different users.

 

We have had a couple of other schools take a look who are using other systems and they are looking at changing to Insight as well.

[glennda]

It's hosted on IIS! If it could run on apache I would look as it could sit on our webserver. Not really a fan of IIS I'm afraid!

[GrumbleDook]

EDIT: also is it a legal requirement still to have online reporting?

 

The requirement for online reporting was part of the legal requirement for parental engagement ... and is based founded on a speech from Lord Knight (when he was Jim Knight MP) about how real-time online reporting is where we will all eventually be. The present position from the DfE is that there is no documentation or legislation to say that real-time online reporting (or even online reporting) is statutory, and that schools know best as to how to engage with parents ... and schools who don't should be asking advice from those schools who are outstanding. The fact that the noted schools that DfE tend to talk about (when not talking about how rubbish schools are and every parent should want to put their child in a Free School ) are using real-time online reporting as part of their parental engagement.

 

So ... not a requirement, but the good / outstanding schools are doing it ... but usually as part of whole school strategies and not just bolted on to make sure they tick a box.

 

Simon Shaw (ex-Becta) still tends to give some of the best advice around this ... but Capita, Serco, Bromcom, TASCSoftware, SchoolsICT and RM can give you good examples of how it fits into your whole school strategy.

[teejay]

+1 for TASC Insight here, lovely bit of software, well supported and very easy to use. Get much better feedback on it than SLG, a lot cheaper too.

[pubgrub277]

we have just signed an agreement to replace SLG with bromcom systems both for staff and parental access. one of our local schools run the parental access and it looks really easy to use. Our SLT have agreed to this after 1 meeting and 3 weeks it looked that effective.

 

Plugs straight in to sims and has more staff functionality and easier for staff to use.

 

I've just started to look at the Bromcom option and am very impressed so far. Would be good to hear some feedback from people actually using it.

In the demo's ive seen in looked more pleasing on the eye then TASC and with the same kind of functionality.

[glennda]

The Bromcom System does look good actually, Does anybody know rough pricing on it?

[Griff]

Make sure you get all questions answered in writing by Bromcom they have a tendency to tell you what you want to hear then go back on it 6 months later when their system doesn't deliver. Can't really comment on their gateway because they never got round to installing it in our school....needless to say we are in the process of moving everything back to SIMS including using their SLG.

[vikpaw]

I've always like the look/feel/usability on Bromcom, and if it is a little costly, it does work out the box and if required links to SIMS seamlessly.

I take it you've checked http://www.bromcom.com and www.MyChildAtSchool.com - i think essa academy were acting as a demo site and using it well, but i'm sure i recently saw a tweet to see PhilNeal (sims) was on his way there.

Can't access their website from here for some reason else i could give a better link :S

But if you drop @JohnCondon a pm he can help you out or put you in touch with the right people, without breaching any rules.

Don't take my word for it, but i think MCAS was a few grand per year on going costs. This is based on old costs and the first year with install was a little higher.

[Bromcom_John]

@Glennda As Vikpaw said I'm more than happy to provide you with any info you need but, as a techie mysself, I don't want to enter into anything that could be construed as "marketing" on an open thread

It gets things deleted don't ya know.

 

Reason for inaccessible website may be because we had a brief web outage here this morning