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HIGHER STILL DATABASE DEVELOPMENTS
PlanIT and PROgress
The Autumn 1999 CD-ROM
details provided by Continuing Education Gateway
The Autumn 1999 CD-ROM has been distributed to schools,
colleges and careers services. A survey is currently being undertaken to identify
which specific community education providers or their equivalent in authorities might
require a CD-ROM.
Due to very positive comments and suggestions from
users, major software developments, and the need to be Year 2000 compliant, a radical
overhaul of the software has taken place. This has resulted in a program, which is
much more powerful than before, with more functions and greater ease of use. For
instance
 | courses can now be searched on a geographical basis |
| educational providers will be able to access and update
their own data directly through the Internet |
| aspiring students will be able to apply for courses
electronically |
| there are nearly 500 Job Descriptors relating to the
Scottish labour market, as well as labour market information for each of the career areas |
As well as PlanIT and PROgress, this CD-ROM also includes other software designed to
support the delivery of guidance in a Higher Still context. The CD-ROM contains the
following software:
| PlanIT and PROgress |
| Kudos - a high quality Interest guide with a link and
references to PlanIT. This program will be accessible on a trial basis until the end
of December 1999. |
| TargIT - a new interactive 52 and S4 Subject Choice
program. |
| Progress File - a fully interactive version of Getting
Started (for S1-S2 students) and Moving On (for S3-S4 students). |
PlanIT & PROgress have also undergone a "make-over", but as they are still
in a browser-based format, staff who have undergone training, or who have used the
Internet will continue to find these programs easy to use. Training seminars
covering all of the programs will be offered nationally. These will take place in
the new session, and will be available to schools, colleges, and careers services on a
"cascade" model. A comprehensive User Guide will accompany the CD-ROM as
well, and additional training can also be provided at low cost.
It is important to note that the software technology
used in all of these programs and databases is very new. Consequently, there are
some technical constraints, which are beyond our control. These are -
| Most of the programs will not run on an Apple Macintosh |
| Most of the programs will not run satisfactorily on an
older / low specification PC |
| Installation instructions will be a little more
complicated. |
| The absolute minimum PC hardware specification for the
suite of programs on the CD-ROM is Windows 95/98, Pentium 133 MHz, 32 Mb RAM and 200 Mb of
space on the hard disk (users should expect slow access speeds). |
| A satisfactory performance will be achieved using Windows
95/98, Pentium 200 MHz or higher, 32 Mb RAM and 200 Mb of space on the hard disk. |
| A contemporary specification for a new PC would be a
Pentium III 550 MHz, 64 Mb RAM and 8&b hard drive (or higher!). |
| Although AppleMacs are ideal computers in many
circumstances, they are quite limited for guidance-related purposes. |
New Programs
By necessity, TargIT and Progress File are first release
Beta versions, and because of timing (school holidays!) and time constraints, extensive
field testing has not been possible. There may, therefore, be occasional software
"bugs" in TargIT and Progress File. We will be pleased to receive
suggestions, comments and constructive criticism, and would assure users that we will make
any modifications or enhancements feasible in subsequent releases. This of course
also applies to all of our programs!
Technical Assistance
Gateway's team of technicians will be happy to assist
with any technical or operational problems or queries.
To access this free support, Monday to Friday, 9.00am to
4.30pm, (excluding Glasgow public holidays), call the Technical Helpline on 0141 422 2323
Contacts
You can contact us at -
| Sham Nath, Manager |
| Sinclair Houston, Training & Development Officer |
| Stewart Mathieson, Assistant Manager (ICT) |
Continuing Education Gateway 199 Nithsdale Road
Glasgow G41 5EX
tel: 0141 422 1070
fax: 0141 422 2006
Email: firstname.surname@ceg.org.uk
PlanIT and PROgress website address: www.ceg.org.uk/
PROgress File website address: www.ceg.org.uk/sgaprogress
Database Developments
PlanIT and Progress Version III (Autumn 1999 release)
Major changes are planned for the Autumn release of
PlanIT and Progress which will make the programs more powerful but easier to use.
PlanIT includes the addition of the following
information:
| Articles covering 26 career areas which will reflect
Scottish Labour Market trends. |
| 480 job descriptions, incorporating relevant Higher Still
qualifications and an indication of the core skills which are important for each of the
occupations. |
Progress includes:
| core skill information for Access 3 through to Higher
levels. |
| the Summary Specification for General Scottish Group
Awards at Access 2, Access 3, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Higher and Named Group
Awards at Intermediate 2 and Higher. In addition, links to possible career areas in
PlanIT, after successful completion of a named Group Award, are also provided. |
| greater consistency in the lay out of the subject
information and in the links to PlanIT • a reduction in the language level
particularly at Access and Intermediate 1 levels |
| information about Standard Grade subjects with
appropriate links to PlanIT. |
Kudos
Kudos, an interest guide, is included in the Autumn
release, which links the guide to PlanIT. This is made available to schools,
colleges and careers offices for three months until the end of December 1999 for
evaluation.
A similar development with another interest guide
Matchpoint Plus has already taken place.
TargIT
TargIT is a new interactive S2 and S4 Subject Choice
program. It will initially focus on the choices open to school students at the end
of S2 and S4, but will be further developed to encompass choices open to students who have
already engaged in Higher Still provision. It will assist schools in target-setting
and monitoring attainment, as well as assisting students' choice of Higher Still
provision.
TargIT will:
| rank a student's aptitudes and preferences in relation to
prior learning and compare these against a school's course options, presented in option
columns customised by the school |
| allow program suggested options to be easily modified by
the student and/or guidance staff |
| compare selected courses with the requirements of any
particular group award and identify any 'shortfall' (courses, core skills) - Spring 2000
release |
| compare selected courses with the requirements of any
particular career area and identify any 'shortfall' (courses) Spring 2000 release |
| have links to PlanIT and Progress to enable course
details be accessed and collated |
| have print, import/export to school Management
Information System and have a save facility |
The first release will be in Autumn 1999. The
complexity of the program currently dictates that it will be PC-based and requiring a
contemporary specification of hardware.
SkillUP
SkillUP is a new program that is designed to meet the
information needs of people seeking skill development within current employment or
considering a change of career. It is designed to encourage participation in
lifelong learning and is aimed at small to medium sized employers. SkillUP will
| be based on PlanIT & PROgress concepts (using
internet based technology) |
| be primarily for employers, employees and potential
employees |
| identify training for skills development |
| link skills development with progression |
| inform employers and employees about Higher Still courses |
| develop a shared understanding of Core Skills provide
employer-specific information |
| links to employer-specific useful websites |
Progress File
A fully interactive approach has been developed for the
S1 -S4 of the Progress File. The interactive version of the Progress File will:
| be accessible via a CD-ROM and on the internet at -
www.ceg.org.uk/sqaprogress |
| enable students to save personal worksheets on disk |
Guidance and Careers Education Programme
A comprehensive set of material to support careers
education in schools and colleges will be available by June 1999. If students make
use of the databases and other software referred to in the programmes, delivery of part of
the IT core skill to Intermediate 2 is possible.
Training
All schools and colleges will be offered further
training, incorporating all the IT developments. This will take the same form as
Phase I training and will be offered during this session.
For further information about any of the above
developments, please contact:
Sham Nath or Sinclair Houston
Continuing Education Gateway 199 Nithsdale Road Glasgow G41 5EX
tel: 0141 422 1070
fax: 0141 422 2006
e-mail snath@ceg.org.uk
shouston@ceg.org.uk
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