education management information system -...

Education Management Information System

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2 “We do not change what you do. We make what you do easier!” © abusTechnology Inc. All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. abusSTAR Overview

3. How it all works

4. System Requirements

5. Getting Started

6. Frequently Asked Questions

7. Need Help?

8. Contact Information



Introduction abusTechnology inc., released abusSTAR v2.0 in August 2009, a major upgrade to the abusSTAR application, doubling the system performance, providing schools with significantly expanded data collection for reporting, control options for customization and updates to Web enabled data management. abusSTAR v2.0 expands the ability to track the continuous assessment of student academic and non-academic activities across multiple academic years, and provides for timely feedback to parents on student performance. In association with the Ministry of Education your school has been selected to be one of the many schools provided with the abusSTAR application to manage the administrative tasks of daily school life. abusTechnology will provide the information, software, and the training materials to assist you in this process, after which teachers will have secure access, from any terminal (at school or home), to monitor student progress by their specialized groups and individually, term by term during the school year.



abusSTAR Overview

abusSTAR, an online Education Management Information System(EMIS) is designed and tested to meet the standards of the Schools in the Caribbean. You will find this solution easy to use and effective. abusSTAR provides teachers and school staff with a powerful tool for managing administrative tasks, creating an online platform for sharing relevant information between schools, parents, teachers and the Ministry of Education.

With abusSTAR teachers and administrators have secure access from any terminal (at school or home) to track and record - student attendance, grades and performance, health issues, extracurricular activities, and academic plans. This allows school staff to easily monitor studentsʼ progress by form and individually, term by term during the school year. abusSTAR allows parents to receive web-based access to their childʼs report cards, attendance, book lists and other information necessary to track their progress, helping the parent to stay involved in their childʼs education. The abusSTAR program therefore, provides a complete EMIS designed to make the common tasks of the day-to-day administration and oversight more manageable for staff of the education institution. It extends the core administration functions to improve the academic scheduling and planning task and maintain adequate records for the students, all within one application. abusSTAR is easy to set up and itʼs easy to use. It is modular in design and operates in a web environment. The application may also be configured as a standalone installation for non-web accessible locations. Designed to work the way the user actually works, the network version can be accessed whenever necessary. Access the application demo at www.abusSTAR.com for a hands-on experience. You will discover a compliant, scholastic application, which meets the design specifications and is easy to navigate.

The Product: “I used the abusSTAR Education Management Information System (EMIS) and found it very impressive. As an educator and a parent, I was particularly interested in its application to monitor student progress. The online access affords parents the opportunity to review their child's educational information at their convenience” - Dr. Ronald Williams, President of Prince George's Community College.



How it all works?

1. Personal Computer - abusSTAR can be accessed using a personal computer with the recommended requirements.

2. Internet - your computer must be connected to the Internet. It is recommended that the connection be High Speed at least 128 kbps.

3. The abusSTAR Application – the abusSTAR application is delivered to you using a unique web interface. This web site is accessible from anywhere you have an Internet connection.

4. Servers - The abusSTAR data is stored on secure servers which interact with the abusSTAR website, displaying the relevant information that you the user enter.

5. abusEditor - The abusEditor is a web application that is used to manage and manipulate the interface of your abusSTAR website allowing you to upload articles, pictures and information about your school.

6. abusSTAR Reporter - The abusSTAR reporter is a local database, which is installed on a computer at the school, which is meant to download the information from the servers and store it for backup, manipulation and printing.

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System Requirements Microsoft Windows

• Recommended: Pentium 500MHz or higher • 256 MB of RAM or greater • CD-ROM and hard disk drive • Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista [NT, 4.0, 2000, XP or

higher required for ODBC features] MAC OS X

• Recommended: Intel x86 or Power PC G3, G4 or G5 processor (excluding G3 upgrade cards) • 256 MB of RAM or greater • CD-ROM and hard disk drive • Mac OS X 10.1

All Platforms

• Windows: Microsoft TCP/IP or IPX/SPX network • MAC OS: TCP/IP • Windows/Mac OS: Mozilla Firefox Web Browser, Apple Safari Web Browser, K-Meleon Web

Browser



Getting Started!

This guide provides the basic steps to get started using the abusSTAR application both as a typical user and an administrator. Along with this guide you will be given an abusSTAR packet of information, which will contain your User Manuals, Quick Start Guide, Username and Password and abusSTAR Reporter Software. References are made to the abusSTAR E-learning materials and the abusSTAR User Manuals where you can find further descriptions and details.

Step 1. Get your schoolʼs web address. This may look something like this: http://(Your school Name abbreviated).abusstar.com You can go to http://www.abusstar.com and search by parish to find your schoolʼs web address. Step 2. Make sure you have a user name and password, if your name is John Browne, more than likely your default username will be: J.Browne Along with your username, you will need a password. This username and password will allow you to login to your schoolʼs abusSTAR Web Application. Your abusSTAR representative should provide all usernames and passwords in your initial packet of information. If you have not been issued one, please contact your system administrator or your abusSTAR representative. Step 3. Test your username and password to make sure it works. Step 4. If you have not read the quick reference manuals or gone through the training material, using either the online training or gone through a training session with an abusSTAR tutor, please refer to the manuals or video tutorials which can be found at: http://howto.abusstar.com



Step 5. For Administrators Once youʼve gained access to the system, these are the task to complete for the new academic year:

• Set the current academic year in the Calendar Section of the Admin Module • Input Preferences • Make sure all forms, houses, staff information and student information have been updated. • Issue any new staff members usernames and passwords



Frequently Asked Questions What is abusSTAR? Must attendance be taken everyday, or can I go

back later and enter the information? The abusSTAR System is a complete Education Management Information System (EMIS). abusSTAR is easy to set up and use, and provides a communication link between the schools, parents, teachers, alumni and the Ministry of Education.

The attendance is designed to match the Ministry of Education requirements and should be taken every day. However you can take the attendance weekly. Remember, all students are marked as present by default.

What areas are covered by the abusSTAR system?

Can attendance be taken on behalf of an absent teacher?

The abusSTAR system covers student performance tracking, class registration, class & form attendance, merit performance, conduct, extra-curricular activities, credits, school administration tasks and communications via the web.

abusSTAR works the way you work. Attendance can be taken by the substitute teacher, the form teacher and by the Administrator.

How secure is the abusSTAR application? Can year heads mark attendance on behalf of a teacher within a year group?

abusSTAR is very secure. The information in abusSTAR is secured through a role and rule-based security system. It also has several encryption mechanisms used in the transferral of data to and from the server.

Year Heads will only be able to mark on behalf of a teacher if they have the access to the teacher's records. This is managed by the system administrator.

What makes abusSTAR different? abusSTAR was designed and tested to meet the standards of schools in the Caribbean. The abusSTAR application is modular in design and operates in a web environment. The application may also be configured as a stand-alone installation for non-web accessible locations. Designed to work the way the user actually works, the network version can be accessed whenever necessary. We provide a complete web application, delivering the content entered on each school. When and where can I access it? The abusSTAR system is accessible 24hrs a day, 7 days a week on any internet-ready computer system at school, home or the office.



Can information be changed/updated after it is entered?

Who will enter the Activity Remarks for Extra-curricular activities?

Yes. Teachers may return to the application at any time to update the information.

This decision is made by your school although we recommend that the Head of the Extra-curricular activity enter remarks on their members.

Can information be updated in the “Performance Reports” section?

Should I let the system save my password when logging in?

No. Performance Reports provide the results of the information entered for the student. This information can only be changed in the student record.

No. For security purposes if a computer prompts you to save the username and password when logging in always click no because this can result in a breach of security.

Can CXC results be entered in the system?

Who should be granted administrative access and memo access?

Yes. The application now allows input of external examination results to be captured on each student record.

The school's management will determine who will be granted access into the administration portal.

When I post a bulletin, will the entire teaching staff see it?

What course of action should be taken when a technical issue arises?

Yes. The entire teaching staff will be able to view your bulletin once it has been approved and released by the assigned Moderator.

All persons using abusSTAR have the ability to post queries or problems through the online abusHELPDESK system. This system emails your query to the IT coordinator and our technical staff. We provide technical support within 24 hours for all of our clients. In most cases you will receive a response within 2 hours.

Can bulletins be posted to select persons?

Can the application produce transcripts?

Bulletins are posted to groups; Teachers, Parent, Alumni, and Admin. Only the user in each group can see the bulletins for the group.

Yes. However, a student transcript can only be produced after the student history has been updated/recorded.



Need Help? Refer to the abusSTAR User Manuals

1. abusSTAR Administration Module

2. abusSTAR Staff Module

3. abusSTAR Parent Module

4. abusEditor

5. abusSTAR Reporter



Contact Us abusHelpDesk

abusTechnology is dedicated to making sure itʼs customers and users are given the support and feedback they need to manage any abusSolution. The abusHelpDesk is the first means of contact for a user of the abusSTAR system who has a problem or query. If you have checked your user manuals and video tutorials but cannot find a solution to your problem, use the abusHelpDesk to interact with trained individuals who will diagnose and respond to your queries in a timely manner.

Website http://www.abusstar.com Email [email protected] Mailing Address P.O Box 5010 Warrens St. Michael Barbados Office: Tel: (246) 424 6106 Fax: (246) 424 6905

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