FAQs on Schools-On-I-Net online school management system:
Is SOIN Secure?
Yes. We use OWASP guidelines for Internet security. All live sites are protected by a 128 bit SSL certificate. We provide hosting, firewall, anti-virus, anti-spam protection using leading soft wares.
Can you control user access levels on SOIN?
Yes. SOIN Admins can control what links are given to users based on a) user type and b) user. For example the SOIN Admin can say, all Teachers will get Link 1 but will not get Link 2; only Teacher ABC will get Link 2.
By default users have links based on their user type and staff type and the division of the school they are associated with through SOIN’s admin section.
In other words:
Students see only their own information.
Parents see information for all of their students (based on family and student account association)
Teachers see information about only their classes.
Office Staff and Administration see information about all classes in the division they are associated with.
District- or Academy-wide personnel have access to the all information.
Can the school control password routines?
Yes. The school can control if user passwords should be changed every X number of months. Passwords can not be the same as the previous 50 passwords nor can they contain the first or last name of the user.
Does SOIN handle grade level processes differently based on grade?
Yes. SOIN is mimicks the way educators work and is based on school or division (Early Childhood/Elementary or Middle/High School)
For example, in general, in an Elementary School, one teacher teaches many different subjects to one student. In Middle School, one teacher teachers one subject to many different students who often travel from class to class in a “tracked” or section or student group. In High School, one teacher teaches a subject to many different students who have independent class schedules.
In SOIN, the same applies. Classes can be setup as “tracked” or belonging to a group or section as in Elementary School or “untracked” or not grouped as in High School. Processes are controlled by both built in logic and system parameters to determine how administration and work flow should be presented to the user.
Ex: Class Setup Module:
In Elementary School (classes tracked), when a student or teacher is assigned to the homeroom class, then he or she is automatically also assigned to all subject classes in the same section. Classes can be tracked by religious course as well, ie, General Studies 1-A and Religious Studies 1-A.
In High School, a student or teacher can be assigned to classes individually.
A hybrid of the two processes is also possible.
Ex: Grade Book Module:
Teachers who teach in middle school or high school can enter an assignment for one class and easily duplicate it to other classes they are assigned to, thereby eliminating redundant effort.
Ex: Lesson Plan Module
Lesson Plans at the elementary level show all subjects the teacher teaches in one plan, while at the middle and high school level, plans show one subject at a time. Lesson Plans can also be duplicated to other classes or future weeks to eliminate the need for redundant effort.
Can more than one teacher be assigned to a class?
Yes. SOIN allows multiple teachers access to share a class.
If a special ed teacher is doing push-in, they can be added to any classroom so that they can have the same access to the daily student info (including making notes on individual assignments or behavior) as the classroom teacher. A special ed teacher could have his/her own class for separate tracking, and also be added as a co-teacher to any other number of classes in SOIN without creating conflicts. Furthermore, SOIN has a concept of assistant teachers whose names may not appear on printouts along side the main teacher.
Can classes be scheduled for any time slot on different days? Can they have different room assignments?
Yes. On SOIN, the class can have a different schedule and be located in a different room everyday of the week. SOIN supports 6 day schedules as well as weekly rotation.
Can teachers create their own student groups?
Yes. Teachers can create their own student groups by creating a class record in “My Classes.”
Classes created in My Classes show up in all relevant modules: Grade Book, Lesson Plans, and Communications automatically. Add a schedule to the class to take Attendance for it. Classes created by teachers can be managed by SOIN administrators.
Does SOIN monitor teacher usage?
Yes. SOIN provides access to some usage statistics including Login Stats.
SOIN also allows you to see how many times a teacher accesses the Grade Book module and the Lesson Plan module and if Attendance (daily and period wise) has been taken. This enables SOIN Admins to assess usage and offer training as needed.
Can SOIN communicate with another system?
Yes. SOIN is based on SQL Server, a relational database and can import and export data based on id fields.
Can SOIN track data over several years?
Yes. SOIN’s unique user ids and class ids along with subject codes allow us to track student and teacher performance across subjects and over years within the system.
For example, a student’s academic career can be monitored for all years registered at the school to get historical view of data. Transcripts can be generated on SOIN as well.
Another example is in the Lesson Plan module for teachers. A teacher can access previous years’ lesson plans so that they can assess plan effectiveness or measure progress in a subject from year to year.
Does SOIN have reports?
Yes. SOIN’s Reporter Module and Query Builder Module (free with the Core Package) enable users to run reports, print lists and create labels and frequently used forms. The Reporter module uses Crystal Reports and builds from data views making it easy for even the novice user to get report, labels and lists in PDF, Excel or RTF formats. The Query Builder is a locally residing software that downloads data from our web server so schools can keep a local copy of their data in case of emergency. The Query Builder uses MySQL on top of views so ad hoc reports can be generated and advanced queries can be run.
Do schools have a local copy of their data in case the Internet connection is lost?
Yes. Schools can use the FREE SOIN Query Builder to keep a local copy of their data and run lists, mailing labels, tables and ad hoc reports.
The Query Builder is a locally residing software that can be networked. It downloads data from our web server so schools can keep a local copy of their data in case of emergency. The Query Builder uses MySQL on top of views so ad hoc reports can be generated and advanced queries can be run. Queries can be created, saved and shared in a work-group. Out put can be PDF, Excel or RTF.
Frequently Asked Questions on Schools-On-I-Net
FAQs on Schools-On-I-Net online school management system:
Is SOIN Secure?
Yes. We use OWASP guidelines for Internet security. All live sites are protected by a 128 bit SSL certificate. We provide hosting, firewall, anti-virus, anti-spam protection using leading soft wares.
Can you control user access levels on SOIN?
Yes. SOIN Admins can control what links are given to users based on a) user type and b) user. For example the SOIN Admin can say, all Teachers will get Link 1 but will not get Link 2; only Teacher ABC will get Link 2.
By default users have links based on their user type and staff type and the division of the school they are associated with through SOIN’s admin section.
In other words:
Can the school control password routines?
Yes. The school can control if user passwords should be changed every X number of months. Passwords can not be the same as the previous 50 passwords nor can they contain the first or last name of the user.
Does SOIN handle grade level processes differently based on grade?
Yes. SOIN is mimicks the way educators work and is based on school or division (Early Childhood/Elementary or Middle/High School)
For example, in general, in an Elementary School, one teacher teaches many different subjects to one student. In Middle School, one teacher teachers one subject to many different students who often travel from class to class in a “tracked” or section or student group. In High School, one teacher teaches a subject to many different students who have independent class schedules.
In SOIN, the same applies. Classes can be setup as “tracked” or belonging to a group or section as in Elementary School or “untracked” or not grouped as in High School. Processes are controlled by both built in logic and system parameters to determine how administration and work flow should be presented to the user.
Ex: Class Setup Module:
In Elementary School (classes tracked), when a student or teacher is assigned to the homeroom class, then he or she is automatically also assigned to all subject classes in the same section. Classes can be tracked by religious course as well, ie, General Studies 1-A and Religious Studies 1-A.
In High School, a student or teacher can be assigned to classes individually.
A hybrid of the two processes is also possible.
Ex: Grade Book Module:
Teachers who teach in middle school or high school can enter an assignment for one class and easily duplicate it to other classes they are assigned to, thereby eliminating redundant effort.
Ex: Lesson Plan Module
Lesson Plans at the elementary level show all subjects the teacher teaches in one plan, while at the middle and high school level, plans show one subject at a time. Lesson Plans can also be duplicated to other classes or future weeks to eliminate the need for redundant effort.
Can more than one teacher be assigned to a class?
Yes. SOIN allows multiple teachers access to share a class.
If a special ed teacher is doing push-in, they can be added to any classroom so that they can have the same access to the daily student info (including making notes on individual assignments or behavior) as the classroom teacher. A special ed teacher could have his/her own class for separate tracking, and also be added as a co-teacher to any other number of classes in SOIN without creating conflicts. Furthermore, SOIN has a concept of assistant teachers whose names may not appear on printouts along side the main teacher.
Can classes be scheduled for any time slot on different days? Can they have different room assignments?
Yes. On SOIN, the class can have a different schedule and be located in a different room everyday of the week. SOIN supports 6 day schedules as well as weekly rotation.
Can teachers create their own student groups?
Yes. Teachers can create their own student groups by creating a class record in “My Classes.”
Classes created in My Classes show up in all relevant modules: Grade Book, Lesson Plans, and Communications automatically. Add a schedule to the class to take Attendance for it. Classes created by teachers can be managed by SOIN administrators.
Does SOIN monitor teacher usage?
Yes. SOIN provides access to some usage statistics including Login Stats.
SOIN also allows you to see how many times a teacher accesses the Grade Book module and the Lesson Plan module and if Attendance (daily and period wise) has been taken. This enables SOIN Admins to assess usage and offer training as needed.
Can SOIN communicate with another system?
Yes. SOIN is based on SQL Server, a relational database and can import and export data based on id fields.
Can SOIN track data over several years?
Yes. SOIN’s unique user ids and class ids along with subject codes allow us to track student and teacher performance across subjects and over years within the system.
For example, a student’s academic career can be monitored for all years registered at the school to get historical view of data. Transcripts can be generated on SOIN as well.
Another example is in the Lesson Plan module for teachers. A teacher can access previous years’ lesson plans so that they can assess plan effectiveness or measure progress in a subject from year to year.
Does SOIN have reports?
Yes. SOIN’s Reporter Module and Query Builder Module (free with the Core Package) enable users to run reports, print lists and create labels and frequently used forms. The Reporter module uses Crystal Reports and builds from data views making it easy for even the novice user to get report, labels and lists in PDF, Excel or RTF formats. The Query Builder is a locally residing software that downloads data from our web server so schools can keep a local copy of their data in case of emergency. The Query Builder uses MySQL on top of views so ad hoc reports can be generated and advanced queries can be run.
Do schools have a local copy of their data in case the Internet connection is lost?
Yes. Schools can use the FREE SOIN Query Builder to keep a local copy of their data and run lists, mailing labels, tables and ad hoc reports.
The Query Builder is a locally residing software that can be networked. It downloads data from our web server so schools can keep a local copy of their data in case of emergency. The Query Builder uses MySQL on top of views so ad hoc reports can be generated and advanced queries can be run. Queries can be created, saved and shared in a work-group. Out put can be PDF, Excel or RTF.