HERA-Student Information System

HERA 2001: Information on the update

The following enhancements were incorporated into Version 2001:

The list of improvements details the significant changes, when compared to Version 99. Many of the items can be listed under more than one point and if you do not find the specific improvement, that you were hoping for, under a heading, it might be listed elsewhere.

This list is by no means complete!


Data security

  1. The format, that is used for backing up, is much smaller. It should now be possible for most schools to secure their data with one diskette. The format for Version 99 can still be read.

  2. You can now store several back ups on the hard disc.

  3. You can specify, how many back ups may be present on the hard disc. The oldest back up will be deleted automatically.

  4. Backing up can now be initiated automatically: You can set the date, on which the programme must back up automatically.

  5. You can now determine, whether forms and reports should be saved simultaneously. Similarly, you can determine, whether the lists and forms should also be read, while the back up is being read.

  6. A back up, that has already been read, can now be cancelled.


Labels

  1. You can now print all of the database's fields on labels.

  2. The selected fields can be stored and used again at a later stage.

  3. You can now set the lettering, that will be used for printing the label.


External entry of marks

  1. The diskette no longer has to be empty, while retrieving the data that resulted from the external entry of marks.

  2. You will be requested whether the data on the hard disc should be deleted, when you exit from the external entry of marks. This increases the security of the data.

  3. You can now determine the size of the lettering for lists, while entering marks externally.

  4. Marks can now be entered externally, by means of a network. The concept of operation in one location is a thing of the past.

  5. The format for data is smaller.

  6. It is now possible to enter marks externally for several classes or teachers and you are presented with choice in this regard.

  7. If a class is exported repeatedly and therefore also imported repeatedly, no individual marks will be overwritten. Empty entries for a pupil's subjects will not overwrite marks. If, on the other hand, a mark is imported twice for a subject, the latter mark will prevail.

  8. "NT" (TextNote), which is set in the main programme, will now be retained in the extension during exporting. The class' teacher therefore no longer has to complete this field first, before for example being able to insert "rk".

All changes, that affect the management of marks, are obviously also applicable to the external management of marks.


Groups

  1. In the lists for groups you can now also insert the address (postal code, town and street), dialling code, telephone number and the class.

  2. All groups, that have already been entered, are available in a box with choices. In this way you have an overview of all groups in your school.

  3. The listed members of groups can be exported.


Semesters

  1. Biannual changes in respect of pupils can be carried over to other biannual promotional records.


Import/export

  1. We created a completely new function for importing. An importation assistant will guide you extensively.

  2. It is now possible to read databases from Access 5.0 and Access 7.0 directly. The detour, that consisted of copying in Access, was eliminated.

  3. Automatic recognition of fields assists in assigning fields.

  4. The programme now provides a description for each field, of what is contained in each field and of how each field is compiled.

  5. It is now possible to export in the dBase format.

  6. It is possible to indicate hyphens, when exporting in the ASCII format.

  7. It is possible to export information on a pupil from one school to another, for example when the pupil moves to another school.


Management of classes

  1. Classes are now sorted numerically, when managing classes. As a result, the 10th grade is no longer listed before the 5th grade, but after the 9th grade.


Information about lessons/assignment

  1. The assignment of pupils can now be made manually, by means of arrow-shaped icons. It is also possible, when making selections in this way, to assign all pupils simultaneously to the desired course. It is furthermore possible to select and assign several pupils at once, by pressing the "Ctrl" and "Shift" keys.

  2. This eliminates the "Assign Course" icon in the "Teachers/Courses" menu, that was used previously.

  3. The entries for the pupil's profile are now taken into account, when courses are assigned automatically.

  4. The workshops are separated from "normal" tuition during entry. When workshops are entered, the classes for which the workshops are offered are displayed at the same time. As a result of this, you only have to enter each workshop once.

  5. You can now see immediately in the "Teachers/Courses" menu, which fields are are still missing from the default setting. They are entered subsequently automatically for the class.


Management of teachers

The following fields were added:

  1. A field for the e-mail address.

  2. Types of schools for teachers.

  3. It is now possible, when managing teachers, to also retrieve groups by means of an icon.

  4. It is now possible to switch directly between teachers in the submasks.


Management of teaching aids

  1. When entering individual books, you are now also provided with the option of using the same number for the bar code as for the inventory number.

  2. The books' titles can now be displayed in a sorted arrangement, if one is lent at a time.

  3. The list of teaching aids in the list of loans now contains various fields.

  4. The lists of loans now display teaching aids with a bar-code number and an inventory number.


List generator/general

Additional options for output:

  1. In the case of groups, it is also possible to put out class, address and so forth.

  2. Statistics can now be printed for the lists at the same time. The following variables are available: Religion, total number of pupils, nationality, as well as gender. Our users requested these fields in our e-mail questionnaire.

  3. The current school-year can now be inserted into the list's heading.

  4. The lists can now be put out with multiple columns. You can, as a result, print two columns from a selected list on a page.


List generator: Details of layouts

  1. It is possible to use a heading in columns, that stretches across more than one line.

  2. The width of a column can be set automatically by the programme, by taking into account where the most content exists, or in millimetres, or it can be set manually with the mouse.

  3. If the field's content exceeds the column's width, the content can be abbreviated automatically. This will afterwards be marked in the list, by means of points.

  4. The height of lines can be set. It is possible to generate output with 1, 1.5 or 2 lines.

  5. The distance between horizontal and vertical lines can be set in millimetres (please refer to the additional settings for layouts in this regard).

  6. Headings can be printed across more than one line, if space is inserted.

  7. The distance between the list and the headings of columns can be set. As a result, it is possible to leave a line blank.

  8. It is possible to separate two fields with a character, for example by using "/" between the dialling code and the telephone number.

  9. You can now define margins on the page.


List generator: Help for designing layouts

  1. Complete choices are now provided, that will enable you to design the lists quicker. You can expand such options as much as you like.

  2. If you change "Any Pupils" in "Pupils" at a later stage, the selection of fields will be retained and not lost.

  3. You can now select the level.


List generator: Changes in the printout

  1. It is now possible to select a list for several classes at the same time and to print them separately. The lists are printed numerically.

  2. If several classes have to be printed simultaneously, the heading in the respective lists will state the name of the class that follows below. In order to achieve this, one must specify the class when creating groups.

  3. Until now the lists have been copied, by clicking on the "Save As" icon. Since this function could often not be located, it is now referred to as "Copy".

  4. After the classes have been selected, printing is started by pressing the "Enter" key and stopped by pressing the "Esc" key.

  5. An icon for printing was added to the preview of the printing. This enables you to print the displayed list immediately, while previewing it.


Network

We incorporated safety mechanisms into networking, that will prevents conflicts.

  1. The following areas can only be accessed by the user:

    - Reorganisation.

    - Importation and exporting of databases.

    - Default fields.

    - Statistics.

  2. Only one person will be able to change a list with the list generator. Others can however print the respective lists.

  3. The entry fields are always locked. This eliminates the possibility, that entries and changes occur accidentally. A record will only be locked centrally, after the "Change" icon has been clicked on. No-one else can then change it. It can only be done again, after the menu, or the pupil's details have been closed.

  4. The respective records are locked, while marks are being entered. This eliminates the possibility, that records change while the marks are being entered. Examples:

    When marks are entered for classes: The entire class is locked.

    When marks are entered for individual pupils: The entire class or all pupils are locked.

If another user attempts to change a locked record, a message about the locking of the record will be displayed and state the user's name.


Lists with information on marks and courses

  1. Printing lists with marks: Instead of printing the name of the subject, only its abbreviation is printed. This makes it possible, to compile the lists in a much smaller form.

  2. Lists of courses are printed with the pupils' address.

  3. We now provide a list with an overview of a class. This overview was developed, to meet internal organisational requirements.

  4. You can now print the classes for a particular year in succession.

  5. A list is provided, that will print out teacher's workload.

  6. The list, that is entitled "Class' Workload" displays the tuition, which a class receives.

  7. The lists with marks are also displayed, if no course numbers are entered.

  8. The lists of courses can be printed, without having to have entered marks.

  9. Lists with marks and classification according to marks previously produced nearly identical results, when they were printed. For this reason, this output has now been placed under "Lists".

  10. The overview of marks now adds details of classes, as well as the semester number to the marks, so that those, who have to repeat a year, are recognised more easily.


Entry of marks

  1. The menu item, entitled "Prepare Grade Input" was done away with and not replaced. As a result, you can now easily make subsequent changes to the allocation of subjects.

  2. The marks for the categories "Behaviour" and "Co-operation" are entered in Roman numerals. This makes it possible, to use a different system for awarding marks in these subjects.

  3. If a mark has already been entered and an attempt is made to overwrite it, a prompt for confirmation will appear. In this way, it is prevented that data, which has been entered previously, will be lost accidentally.

  4. You can now automatically switch to the next field, after you have made an entry.

  5. The cursor returns automatically to the first pupil in the columns, in which marks are entered, after the mark has been entered for the last pupil.

  6. You can specify how many characters must have been completed during the entry of marks, before you are switched automatically to the next field.

  7. Entry of marks: You can now make the entries in full, by using a numeric block, that is displayed on the screen. This makes it possible, to enter marks by using only a mouse.

  8. If the width of the table, that receives the entries, exceeds the screen's dimensions, the first column of the line will always appear during scrolling.


Calculation of marks

  1. Calculating averages:
    a) By subject: You can enter your own formula to gather the individuals marks, that are used for calculating the mark
    b) Calculating a pupil's average for all subjects: In this regard, you can indicate the weighting of individual subjects.

  2. In order to speed up the entry, formulas and weightings are used for as many pupils as possible. You can set the levels, for which the formula is applicable

  3. You can set, how the average score is rounded off during calculation.


Components of text

  1. You can define the components of text. You can set them for individual pupils, a class or for all pupils.

  2. You can also insert the components of text, by means of function keys.

  3. You can set a gender-specific variable into the components of text. In this way, it is possible to display texts on the basis of pupils' names, as well as according to the pupils' gender.

  4. You can now enter pupil- or class-dependant fields, which must be printed in the repor


Districts

  1. In the column for districts, you can leave the fields open. In doing so, you can record towns without including the district.

  2. The various special telephone numbers, that form part of the area code, are recognised as such and are recognised without being linked to the location, in the classification of districts.

  3. If a district has several area codes, this can also now also be handled.


Management of passwords

  1. The administrator's rights were extended. You will find the exact details in the Online Help.

  2. Linkage to a bank can be disabled on an individual basis.

  3. Only teachers, who play the role of administrator, are now permitted to enter new definitions for marks into the marking system.


Tabular input

  1. The groups' lists of members are exported from the "Misc - Groups" item in the main menu.

  2. The list from the tabular input can now also be printed in the landscape format.

  3. The programme now features a direct link between tabular input and the printing of forms. This makes it possible, to print information about a newly admitted pupil immediately and the guardian can therefore confirm the admission immediately in writing.

  4. It is now also possible to exchange information from several fields.

  5. You can copy the entire contents of an input field for all pupils or for certain pupils into another field.

  6. The width of the columns is now retained.

  7. It is now possible, to select dynamic fields. The dynamic fields display the name, that you assigned to the field, in the list of choices.

  8. It is now possible, to use abbreviation when making a choice. You enter the beginning of a content and add *. Then you will be offered all extensions, for example Grade = 5* will display all classes of the fifth grade.

  9. In order to reduce the number of required choices, one can sort a specific field, by clicking on the table's heading in the field.

  10. When creating a new selection, you copy the existing selection, by using the "Copy" icon. If you want to make a selection without entries, you can accomplish this, by using the "New" icon.

  11. You can lock the columns.


Management of pupils

  1. Pupils' profiles now affect the automatic allocation of tuition, as well as entries with regard to the tuition, which the pupil's class receives.

  2. If a pupils no longer receives tuition in religion, ("Misc" in the register), the field "Religious Participation" is co-ordinated in "Courses/Workshops" for the pupil.

  3. Changes to a pupil's address will also be made to the guardian's address if required, if the guardian's address is the same.

  4. Entries in the fields, that are related to the guardian, can be deleted by means of the "Erase Fields" icon.

  5. When selecting the legal guardian, you now have a choice of titles from which you can choose, for example Dr. and Prof.

  6. The entries, that are copied automatically for the first legal guardian, are also transferred automatically to the second guardian.

  7. When starting the search function, entries are no longer made automatically. As a result, you can search the entire school.

  8. The search window no longer closes automatically and can therefore be placed next to the pupil manager on the screen.

  9. You can set "All" when entering the status, to trace "missing" pupils.

  10. Dynamic fields now offer you the opportunity, to display the entries that have already been made in a list with choices. This option can be set individually for each field.

  11. If you accidentally select "Add Pupil", you can undo this by means of "Back".

  12. In the case of groups, you can now choose from all groups, that have already been entered. It is now easier to make allocations.

  13. The overview of groups ("Groups - Misc" in the main menu) also displays the pupil's class, in addition to the other information. This is important, for example for the group "Parental Adviser".

  14. We included the complete history in the pupil manager, so that you can view the schooling career, of those who have to repeat a year.

  15. Tabular input and pupil management are linked in such a way, that the currently selected pupil is also selected in the tabular input and vice versa.

  16. You can delete the information on the first or second guardian. Thereafter these entries will no longer be retained automatically.


Mailshots

  1. All of the programme's variables can now be used to the full extent in mailshots.


Reports

If you want to print reports, you must please use the HERA Report Printer programme.

  1. The numbers, that used to be entered for reports, were replaced in the report by the names of the subjects.

  2. In the Designer, you can also view forms with a ".STF" extension.

  3. It is possible to enter the number of copies directly when printing.

  4. Editability is essential, since subjects change.

  5. Before the reports are printed, it is checked whether all subjects are displayed in the report. All available subjects, that are not in the report, will be displayed.

  6. It is now possible, to include the marks from previous semesters.

  7. Basic information about pupils can be transferred by means of a diskette from the primary school to the secondary school, or for example when pupils move to another school.

  8. Empty fields are struck through.

  9. A variable is now provided, for the resumption of tuition, parents' day, date on which reports are issued, and so forth.

  10. Workshops 1 to 4 are completed alphabetically, according to the way in which they are used. If a pupil participates in only one workshop, it will be placed under Workshop 1.

  11. You can complete the electives, as well as the fields for workshops, in a sequential manner. A specific variable for obligatory voting is no longer required.

  12. Pupils can be selected, before pre-designed documents or forms are printed. The selection is stored and is also available for use in tabular input.

  13. You can now select all fields, that are also present in the list generator, for pupils and teachers in the Form Designer.

  14. The field "Semester" is now also included in the Form Designer.

  15. Exporting details from reports:

  1. You can export all details that are related to reports at once, by selecting "Misc - Export - Export Grades from Reports" in the menu.

  2. Exporting from tabular input is accomplished, by selecting whatever is required, for example "Level = 5", or by not entering any choice.


Other items

  1. The programme now features extensive online help.

  2. Before default settings are deleted, it is checked whether they are still being used.

  3. Whenever changes are made to default tables, for example for subjects, they are changed in all instances.

  4. The contents of default fields can now be printed.

  5. Before any records are deleted irretrievably, all deleted records are displayed and can be excluded before they are deleted permanently. This enables you, to check precisely which records are indeed deleted from the database.

  6. There are now more fields for making entries amongst addresses, in the section for the school's other addresses.

  7. The position of masks on the screen is stored. Whenever you retrieve a mask, it will always appear in the same location, where you had previously moved it to.

  8. In the case of pre-designed matter, you can set a priority. Prioritised matter is always displayed before the rest.

  9. "Co-operation" and "Behaviour" were included in the details of classes.

  10. Forms, mailshots and labels can now also be provided for the teacher.