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4 Smarter Ways to Optimize Teaching through Technology in the Classroom

April 24, 2015April 30, 2015

Teaching through technology in the classroom will just not be the guidance that students require in today’s world, it’ll infuse in them, the required technological skills that’ll be their success key in the future. And teachers, being at the forefront of a student’s learning experience, plays an important and much responsible role of giving out the best learning experience to the students. With the help of various ways of teaching through technology, teachers can inspire students to learn more effectively. In this article we share with you, some effective ways to optimize teaching through technology in classroom.

Blended learning: Technology for teaching and learning has a new face- blended learning. It is a kind of learning opportunity that bring in together the traditional face-to-face and online learning. The main objective of blended learning is to prepare students with diverse learning styles, integrated in the day-today classroom learning activities. Teaching through technology like blended learning, allows students to learn better, at a faster rate and at their own convenience, at reduced cost of study materials- definitely, a smarter option for optimized learning.

Digital resources: With teaching through technology, have come the increased usage of digital resources in educational institutions that have given the right boost to learning and teaching in classroom. Digital portfolios, electronic grade books, learning games and real-time feedbacks on students and teachers are some of the smart technologies to power learning in the classroom.

A podcast for learning: Encouraging students and getting them into a podcast for the class, like reading out class lessons or discussions on particular topics can boost learning. Because, these podcasts are very good study references for the students in future.

Use social media platforms like Twitter and Pinterest: Pinterest is a great medium for teaching through technology, specifically because its a great visual medium that can encourage students to share their projects, classroom activities, photos, etc. Technology for teaching and learning can also include Twitter as a good learning platform. Students who are above 13 years can create important hashtags for classroom lessons and promote participation from experts in Twitter.

Technology if used in the right direction, can create wonders for teaching and learning. Teaching through technology at the right time, can inspire students to embrace technology without much hesitation, to optimize their learning. Teachers, on their part, can promote a healthy learning environment in the classroom with technology for teaching and learning.

Online Collaboration in E-learning: Tips and Tools

April 16, 2015August 24, 2017

All around the globe we are witnessing a transition towards collaborative learning. Our idea of collaborative learning arises from problem-based, case-based learning, team work, discussions, and other ways in which student is an active part in the learning process. Communities, also known as the wave of the future, are one of the top three most important components of e-Learning portals. This post will tell you about the ten tips for using collaboration tools in e-Learning.

The benefits of collaborative learning are immense. It lets the learners gain from the experience of their peers and help them acquire and retain information in a more involved and engaged way. Therefore collaboration tools deserve special attention as an e-learning professional. But how do you use them?

The first requirement is to put focus on usability and accessibility when making the choice of collaboration tools for your eLearning course. In addition, you should also consider how the collaboration tool will serve your learning goals. In ideal conditions, your collaboration tool should be user friendly and can be accessed from a number of smart devices, which includes mobile phones and tablets.

In order to motivate learners for using collaboration tools, the learners must always be made aware of the benefits associated with them. Without this awareness they won’t see any real value in using collaboration tools.
If there are any current activities in your eLearning course that can go through some improvisation using the collaboration tools then do so.
Whenever you perform any collaborative activity, it is necessary to understand that smooth working depends on the clarity of instructions and objectives. As an instructor, you need to explain the purpose of the activity, and other necessary instructions should be delivered in a very clear and concise manner.
Instructors should perform activities which are relevant and specific to the topic. Stuffing these activities with general information will make students lose interest and get bored. Infuse life in the activities through improving engagement, and relate with real life examples will invoke a much better response from the students.

Choosing the right tools for Online Collaboration Tools

For ensuring the best e-learning, it’s necessary to choose the best online collaboration tools. Here are some of the best tools that enable smooth collaboration amongst learners:

MindMeister

This is a web based tool that makes it possible for groups to do planning or brainstorming during the early phases of collaboration. It offers mind map, various templates, SWOT analysis and project planning for collaborating during the course of a project as per the nature of their assignment. With live chat feature, it can offer direct and fast communication. You can also use MindMeister asynchronously.

Uzity

Uzity Learning Management System is the easy-to-use, and powerful online learning platform for education and online training. It offers interactive, engaging, and connected learning experience for all learners and instructors in your organization. By using Uzity, the instructor can deliver material to the students, administer tests and other assignments, track student progress, and manage record-keeping. It fits everywhere whether it is the classroom, in the workplace or at home.

ProofHub

ProofHub is an online collaboration software that helps organizations improve communication and collaboration among distantly located members in learning projects. Using the features of ProofHub, one can communicate through group chat, raise issues and these get resolved without wasting much time. This rapid communication ensures that all the members are at the same page in a learning project.

Sharing of files, documents and information becomes an effortless affair with ProofHub. Through Notes functionality, group members can collaborate and write some amazing content together. Sharing of ideas becomes very easy with ProofHub. The software takes care of the mobile world as it lets you connect with your projects on the go from their mobile. This way missing or delaying of tasks can be significantly reduced.

SlideRocket

SlideRocket deserves special mention as it lets people create attractive and engaging presentations through its web based tools and features that can be accessed from anywhere. A single document can be accessed and modified by different members in a learning group. These random URL can be generated against each document which can be be submitted to an instructor for easy viewing. All multimedia features can be embedded in a presentation. You can pull data in real time from Google Spreadsheets, Twitter live feeds and Yahoo. It also offers you analytics feature which helps measure a presentation’s effectiveness. You can find through analytics about the audience who viewed it and their actions that followed.

Google Docs

Google Docs is one of the most popular and common online collaboration tools available today. Whether you want to create documents, powerpoint presentations or spreadsheets, Google Docs offer all these facilities. Due to its always connected feature, one can write, edit, and collaborate upon these documents from any remote location at any time and from various devices. Google docs automatically save the changes being made to the documents and it also keeps the previous versions of the doc in case you want to revert back. By referring revision history of a document, its old versions can be seen and can be sorted by date. Chat and commenting options are also there.

E learning is the order of the day and it’s going to grow in a bigger way in the future. The benefits are not limited to students. It’s advantages extend to a larger section of society, including the working population. Job oriented courses help you acquire new skills that make you more employable. If you want to be a significant part of this revolution then effective online collaboration is the key to it.

The article is written by:

Saurabh Tyagi is a career author with niche in the upcoming technologies like Edtech, Big Data and Social Media. His article range from general career advice to expert opinion like the one above. These resources are useful for all sorts of professionals right from those searching for resume samples for freshers to experienced professionals at higher level.

How Timetable has Evolved to Become One of Fedena’s Most Used Modules

April 13, 2015April 22, 2015

From inception to date, Fedena’s Timetable module has been helping schools and colleges of various sizes schedule and manage timetables. The Timetable module has evolved since Fedena’s inception in 2009. After three major Fedena releases, a number of minor releases, many enhancements, and bug fixes, the Timetable module has come a long way. Thanks to our customer feedback and employee input, we have been able to enhance the experience for our users with every release.

How good it used to be

When Fedena was introduced back in 2009, the Timetable module was one of our major selling points. Then, the Timetable module allowed institutions to create only one timetable. This timetable had to be followed by all batches in the institution. This meant, for all batches, every period had to begin and end at the same time. Though institutions liked how easy it was to create a timetable, it soon became a challenge when each batch had different period timings and needed their own timetable.

For those of you who have been with us from the start, here’s a hazy image that might bring back some good memories, and some not so good ones as well.

A point I must add, from the very beginning, Fedena’s user experience has always been one of our top priorities. Even back then, the Timetable module was easy to use and included the smooth drag and drop functionality what you see today.

How better it became

With releases that followed, the Timetable module quickly evolved. Soon features such as the ability to create a timetable for each batch, define the workdays in a week for each batch, together with a few cosmetic enhancements were introduced. By now the Timetable module was gaining popularity among users. This is what the Timetable module looked like back then.

Then, with the release of Fedena 3.0, we introduced the concept of ‘class timings’. Class timings allowed institutions to define the number of periods and the duration of each period in a workday. The class timings were then automatically applied to all workdays of the week. Though this gave institutions a little more flexibility when creating timetables, it later brought about the question of ‘What if for a batch, periods begin and end at different times on each workday?’

The best yet…

As an answer to that question, we introduced ‘class timing sets’. Similar to the concept of ‘class timings’, a ‘class timing set’ defined the number of periods and the duration of each period in a workday. The difference was, institutions were now able to assign a unique class timing set to each workday. This brought about a small change in the workflow of creating a timetable. Here’s the current workflow to create a timetable.

In addition to all the enhancements, we also managed to give the Timetable interface a facelift, as seen in the image below.

All these features put together now offer institutions even greater control over the timetables they create. Today, Timetable is one of the most used modules by Fedena customers. And to let you in on how we plan to improve the Timetable module, we’re now working on ways to automate timetable generation to enable you create timetables even faster. So stay tuned for upcoming releases.

10 Smart Technology Tools for Teachers

April 3, 2015July 28, 2015

Technology and education are connected to each other, in a way that makes education and learning more engaging and fun. Smart technology for teachers are available to shape the way children learn, in a better way. Today, we talk about 10 such technologies that teachers can utilize in classroom to optimize the learning process.

Khan Academy: Technology resources for teachers definitely includes Khan Academy which offers excellent collection on various subjects like maths, science subjects; lectures on finance subjects as well as quizzes to carry out normal classroom activities.
Quora: Quora has been in use widely for quite a number of purposes and it can be one of the best technology tools for teachers and educators. A nice medium to get the students engaged in a discussion on education topics or get their doubts cleared by posting questions in quora.
Capzles: Capzles allow you to gather videos, photos, blog posts and documents in one place. Teachers can use it for conducting online projects and for classroom learning as well. Explore and use Capzles for different ways in the classroom.
Google Docs: Google docs is an effective technology for teachers in the classroom. Educators can create feedback forms for projects done by students. Moreover, creating and sharing documents, spreadsheets, presentations between the teacher and students in the classroom is swift with Google Docs.
Evernote: Evernote allow its users to be well-organized; capture and store photos, ideas, recordings or anything else and get access to it anytime, anywhere. Perfect for lesson-planning.
Socrative: Encourage students in various exercises and games through this student response system called Socrative. Available in tablets, computers as well as mobile, this tool let teachers get access through students progress and grades also.
YouTube: YouTube contains lot of important study materials that can be utilized in the classroom to optimize learning. YouTube also has a special section for education as well. Some restrictions and students can make the most out of YouTube without getting distracted.
Dropbox: One of the best technology resources for teachers to store, get access and share any kind of data from anywhere, Dropbox is free and easy-to-use.
Twitter: Twitter has a lot to offer to educators- letting teachers get connected with their counterparts from different parts of the world and talk about teaching methods, share their ideas and use it in classroom to connect with students.
SlideShare: Uploading presentations, video projects and any other documents is pretty easy with SlideShare. Share with students and also, ask students to upload their classroom projects and presentations.

Introducing Fedena 3.4.2

April 1, 2015April 2, 2015

Today, we are excited to announce our newest release, Fedena 3.4.2 featuring a simpler way to schedule exams, a faster and convenient way to process various student fees, SMS notifications when importing data into Fedena, and many more. In addition to the new and enhanced functionality, we’ve also focused on some key bug fixes directed towards an even better usability for all users.

To highlight some of the new and enhanced features:

Save time by scheduling exams for all batches of a course at the same time.
Customize the type of donor information you want to capture by adding custom additional fields.
In addition to the payment gateways that Fedena already supports (PayPal, Interswitch, and Authorize.net.), Fedena will now also support:
- Stripe
- Braintree
- PayU
- CCavenue

And to offer you even greater control and flexibility for online payments, you can now integrate any custom payment gateway with Fedena.

Enhanced the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) grading system to keep in line with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) guidelines.
SMS notifications are not just for activities performed in the Fedena interface. Now, send and receive SMS notifications for activity performed through Custom Import and using Fedena API as well.
Collect and process all types of student fees, such as finance fee, transport fee, and hostel fee from a single view.
Generate the employee attendance report for any date range that you specify.

We hope you are excited as much as we are with the new features and enhancements.

And to make this release even sweeter for us, today Foradian celebrates its 6th anniversary. That’s right! Foradian turns six years old. So whether you’ve worked with Foradian over the past six years or have just been introduced to us, thanks for being a part of our journey.

Write to us at info@fedena.com and let us know your thoughts, questions, and feedback about the release. We would also like you to share how your experience has been with Foradian over the past six years on our Facebook or Twitter pages with the hashtag #ForadianTurnsSix.

Interactive Dashlets – Instant access to the information that matters most

March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

With an information management system as detailed as Fedena, you are going to have all kinds of data coming from different parts of your institution. This can sometimes make tracking and reviewing of information difficult, especially when certain types of information needs to be monitored frequently. So make things easier for you, we introduced Dashlets.

So what exactly is a dashlet? A dashlet gives you a quick overview of the information that matters most to you—like your institution’s income and expenses, the timetable for the day, the exam scheduled for the day, and more. The Fedena dashboard features a collection of dashlets that display only the important information generated from its complementary page.

Now, we never stopped there. With the release of Fedena 3.4, we made dashlets even cooler by adding clickable links that take you right to that specific Fedena page, allowing you to act immediately.

List of dashlets and information users can access

The table below explains what each type of Fedena user can see and do with their dashlets.

NA – Dashlet not available for that user role.

Dashlet	Administrator / Privileged Employee	Student	Parent
Absent Students	View the names of absent students. Click a student name to view the student’s profile.	NA	NA
Admitted Employees	View the names of admitted employees. Click an employee name to view the employee’s profile.	NA	NA
Admitted Students	View the names of admitted students. Click a student name to view the student’s profile.	NA	NA
Birthdays	View the names of students and employees celebrating their birthday. Click on a name to view their profile.	Can only view the names of students and employees celebrating their birthday.	NA
Blogs	View the title and author of the blog posts. Click the title to read the blog post and comment.	View the title and author of the blog posts. Click the title to read the blog post and comment.	NA
Book Return Due	View the names and details of books you must return. Click the name of the book to go to the View Books page and reserve the book.	View the names and details of books you must return. Click the name of the book to go to your profile and view all the books borrowed with their due dates.	NA
Discussions	View the title of the discussion and name of the user who initiated the discussion. Click the title to join the discussion and comment.	View the title of the discussion and name of the user who initiated the discussion. Click the title to join the discussion and comment.	NA
Employees on Leave	View the names of employees who are on leave. Click an employee name to view the employee’s profile.	NA	NA
Events	Can only view the event details.	Can only view the event details.	Can only view the event details.
Examinations	View the exam details. Click on the exam name to go to the View Exam Groups page.	Can only view the exam details.	Only view the exam details.
Fees Due	Can only view the scheduled fee collection details.	View the scheduled fee collection details. Click on the fee name to pay the fees.	View the scheduled fee collection details. Click on the fee name to pay the fees.
Finance	View the institution’s income and expenses for the day. Click on the link to view all transactions for the day.	NA	NA
Leave Applications	View the names of employees who have applied for leave. Click an employee name to approve or deny the leave.	NA	NA
News	View the news title. Click the title to view and comment on the news.	View the news title. Click the title to view and comment on the news.	View the news title. Click the title to view and comment on the news.
Photos Added	View the title and a thumbnail of the photo shared. Click the title to view the photo(s).	View the title and a thumbnail of the photo shared. Click the title to view the photo(s).	NA
Placements	View the placement details. Click the title of the placement to view the complete placement details.	View the placement details. Click the title of the placement to view the complete placement details.	View the placement details. Click the title of the placement to view the complete placement details.
Polls	View the poll title and the number of votes. Click the title to give your vote.	View the poll title and the number of votes. Click the title to give your vote.	View the poll title and the number of votes. Click the title to give your vote.
Relieved Students	View the names of archived students. Click a student name to view the archived student profile.	NA	NA
Removed Employees	View the names of archived employees. Click an employee name to view the archived employee profile.	NA	NA
SMS Sent	View the recipients’ contact numbers and the message that was sent. Click on a contact number to view the SMS log.	NA	NA
Tasks Due	View the title of the task. Click the title to view the complete task details and reply.	View the title of the task. Click the title to view the complete task details and reply.	NA
Timetable	View the timetable for the day. Click a subject to view the complete timetable for a batch.	View the timetable for the day.	View the timetable for the day.

A dashlet is only worth the value of the information it displays. Take a look at your dashlets and let us know if the information they display is helpful to you, or if it can be improved.

6 Important Features of a School ERP to Look out for

March 20, 2015March 24, 2015

According to a statistical report published by NASACT’s 2012 “Challenge of Change” and GFOA’s “Real Impact of ERP Systems in Public Sector”, on the shortcomings of ERP implementation, 60% of organizations under the survey reported disappointment with their ERP system*

This is a common problem when it comes to adoption of ERP system, more specifically when it’s about ERP in school. Education institutions always have the pressure of maximizing performance with the least resources available. An ERP is what can help institution cope up with the demanding situation. ERP in schools is the road to an easy management of a whole lot of organizational issues, leading to a lot of saving of time and money.Accelerating an institution’s operations is a smart move to save time and invest it in what’s more important- educating the students.In our last article, we had talked about the advantages and limitations of an education ERP. Today, we will see what are the characteristics that should be considered while choosing an ERP for an institution.

Features of a good School ERP

Choosing an ERP for education institution is not easy and should not be done in a haste. Proper research work on the characteristics is important before taking the next step. We bring to you 6 important points to look out for in a school ERP.

A good ERP should be complete: Now, what do you mean by a ‘complete’ ERP system? First of all, you should be sure of all the requirements you have from an ERP system for your institution. An all-inclusive ERP system for an education system should be able to take charge of almost all of the functions of an institution. If an ERP is not able to fulfill the required promises and most of the functions has to be done manually, it’s surely a big ‘no-no’ for this kind of ERP in school.
Scalability: Most educational institutions cannot afford constant upgradation of the software. ERP in schools must be scalable and can be scaled up or down according to the demands of the institution.
A stable support system: While choosing a school erp, it’s highly important that the ERP provider company assures a good support system, mainly after the system is successfully installed in the institution. Constant upgradation and the timely updates are what makes part of a good support system.
Easy to adapt: The report by GFOA and NASACT, 2012 on the pain points of ERP implementation says that 62% of end-users had problem with adoption of the software and usage. An ideal ERP should be easily adaptable to the end-users. School authorities or administrators might not be highly fluent in the technical front and hence, complicated systems will come with the unfamiliarity and uncomfortability quotient with them.
Cost-effective and ROI benefits: The cost of erp in schools is not just about the purchasing and implementation cost, but it also includes the expenses in future for maintenance, upgradation, etc. An ERP system should offer a very clear picture of the expenses involved, minus any hidden cost which affects the targeted ROI of the institution.
A widely accepted school ERP: A widely accepted ERP would ensure adequate resources for implementation and support. Certified customers and partners stand as a guarantee for its authenticity and thus, offers maximum effective use. The more the number of customers, the greater the chances of effectiveness of the ERP.

There are quite a number of names in the industry to lure you with great offers and perks. But when it comes to your education institution, you shouldn’t take chances and a proper research work is always recommended. Always go for an ERP in school that consummate your institution’s needs and essentials.

*NASACT’s “Challenge of Change” and GFOA’s “Real Impact of ERP Systems in Public Sector” 2012 (in association with Microsoft Dynamics)

Is Online Learning platform Catchy Enough to Replace the Classroom?

March 13, 2015August 24, 2017

In an era where most toddlers are comfortable with a smartphone as with crayon, it would be foolish to think that the traditional model of education will survive as is. Innovation demands constant change, most of which is evident in the methodologies of higher education.

To cut to the quick, online learning platform has become quite popular with the masses. Therefore with Uzity learning management system, the teaching and learning is become easy and convenient. Using Uzity, instructor can easily deliver material to the students, administer tests and other assignments, track student progress, and manage record-keeping. So get ready to build your own alliance to deliver the amazing learning experience. However, the debatable question here is – How much disruption from the classroom-model can we expect from online education? Delving into the details later, it can be simply put that traditional methods of teaching are on the cusp of a dramatic transformation.

The Benefits as We Know it

Online platforms, especially social media websites, have empowered us to replace many customarily interactive processes like dating, shopping, and banking. Getting educated online is probably the next frontier for internet-based expediency. Here is why:

You can afford it: Online learning requires no cost to self. More than 300 hours of lectures from Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT are available on Youtube. This medium of imparting education is more scalable due to its reduced overhead costs as opposed to the brick-and-mortar schools.

It is convenient: You can take an online course any time of the day, at your own convenience. Most of the distance learning programs have online communities and forums that increase accessibility and usability.

You know where to find it: The courses are available online; so all you need to have is a good internet connection. MOOCs (massive open online courses) are readily accessible to a diverse blend of student backgrounds, experiences, geographies, and motivations.

Controlled learning: With online learning you have more flexibility to choose the where, what, when, how, and how much of education that you acquire. Students could choose EdX MOOCs for a variety of different reasons. Some are simply hoping to learn, some are looking for knowledge to aid in some other classes that they are taking, while others are probably teachers looking to gain some quality insights about the latest in the field of teaching.

Prepare for the future: In terms of employment, recruiters today prefer candidates who are well-versed with the detailed nuances of dynamic learning. Since online learning is implemented as a training tool in organizations, it’s best that you sample its worth for a clear path ahead.

Innovation Vs Tradition

Just like some people can never get over the feel of a hard-bound book, many learners continue to prefer the face-to-face, teacher-led interaction of the traditional classroom setting. Although, loyalty and adherence to age-old practices could retain a certain fragment of the student population, a failure in integrating technology and education could prove detrimental to an educational institution’s sustainability.

As we all know, schools have always been the centers of tradition and innovation. Although teachers are likely to blend the practices of both online and in-person learning, ultimately it’s up to the innovators and the preferences of the learners to obtain knowledge from any medium of choice.

Competition in the online learning space is fierce, with innovators encouraging trials and errors to transform the educational process. Here are some trends that could possibly tip the balance in near future:

Wearable gadgets: This includes devices like google glass, smart watch, etc. which is knowledge in your pocket – on the go.

BYOD: Exciting as it sounds; BYOD refers to bring your own device. Through this concept, students are permitted to bring their laptops, tablets, etc. in a classroom for the sake of taking notes.

Sharing Portals: Cloud and social media websites have become common platforms for sharing assignments and other study material. Be it Dropbox, Google drive, or iCloud, sharing massive files is just one click away.

Blended & Flipped learning: Flipped learning is getting information through an instructional video and then displaying a rendition of your learning through project work. Blended learning on the other hand is a combination of online and classroom teaching.

Last but not the least, this era is all about the apps! There is an app for learning anything and everything. Be it science or literature, a simple download can go miles in teaching you something constructive in life.

In the end…

While there is improvement and students have begun to adopt online learning on a large scale, education providers still need time to conclude whether students will drift towards the classrooms that keep them in line, or the classrooms that keep them online. Rest assured, this wave of online learning is sure to take the world by storm.

Happy learning!

The article is written by:

Tina Jindal. She is a professional writer who works on a variety of topics like employment, real estate, and education. A staunch supporter of online learning and education, career advisor for naukri.com, she has been involved with renowned publications as well.

Managing hostel and transport fee collections made easy

March 10, 2015

Many of you might recall that when a hostel or transport fee collection was scheduled for a batch, there was no way to assign the same fee collection to a newly admitted student. You would have to schedule a fee collection for the batch of students all over again. We soon realised this can be pretty inconvenient and sometimes frustrating since students leave and join schools and colleges all through the year. So to make things easier for you, with Fedena 3.4, we are providing you the ability to manage hostel and transport fee collections at an individual student level. You can now assign existing fee collections to a newly admitted student or schedule new fee collections for a particular student.

Who can schedule fee collections

Administrators and privileged employees (Hostel Admin or Transport Admin privilege must be provided) can schedule hostel and transport fee collections.

Prerequisites to scheduling fee collections

Hostel and transport fee collections can be scheduled only for students who have been provided hostel and transport facilities. So make sure to allot hostel and transport facilities to all students who require it, and then schedule fee collections.

Schedule a hostel fee collection for a student

As mentioned earlier, you can assign an existing hostel fee collection or schedule a new fee collection for a student.

Assign an existing hostel fee collection to a student

At the top of your dashboard, click the module access icon > Administration > Hostel > Fee Collection > User-wise Fee Collections to open the User-wise Fee Collections page.
Select the Choose from existing option
Select a batch and a fee collection.
In the Search Student field, enter the name or admission number of the student to search and assign.
Click the Create button.

Schedule a new hostel fee collection for a student

At the top of your dashboard, click the module access icon > Administration > Hostel > Fee Collection > User-wise Fee Collections to open the User-wise Fee Collections page.
Select the Create New Fee Collection option.
Enter the name of the hostel fee collection.
In the Start date and End date fields, select the starting and end date within which the student must pay the hostel fee.
In the Due date field, select the last date within which the student must pay the hostel fee. Students who do not pay the fee on or before the due date will be listed as a fee defaulter.
In the Search Student field, enter the name or admission number of the student to search and assign.
Click the Create button.

Schedule a transport fee collection for a student

Similar to hostel, you can assign an existing transport fee collection or schedule a new fee collection for a student.
Assign an existing transport fee collection to a student

At the top of your dashboard, click the module access icon > Administration > Transport > Transport Fee > Fee Collections > User-wise Fee Collections to open the User wise Fee Collections page.
Select the Choose from existing option.
Select a batch and a fee collection.
In the Search Student field, enter the name or admission number of the student to search and assign.
Click the Create button.

Schedule a new transport fee collection for a student

At the top of your dashboard, click the module access icon > Administration > Transport > Transport Fee > Fee Collections > User-wise Fee Collections to open the User-wise Fee Collections page.
Select the Create New Fee Collection option.
Enter the name of the transport fee collection.
In the Start date and End date fields, select the start and end date within which the student must pay the transport fee.
In the Due date field, select the final date within which the student must pay the transport fee. Students who do not pay the fee on or before the due date will be listed as a fee defaulter.
In the Search Student/Employee field, enter the name or admission number of the student to search and assign.
Click the Create button.

Something to note is that transport fees not only applies to students, but to employees as well. So you can now also schedule transport fee collections for individual employees.

The Evolution of Classroom Technology: The Journey from Pen to Keyboard

March 4, 2015March 5, 2015

Education and technology has always been in perfect harmony. Right from the days when chalkboards were invented during the 18th century till the interactive whiteboards started revolutionizing classroom learning, education has gone hand-in-hand with technology. Below find a very interesting infographic, tracking the evolution of technology in classrooms; for it’s not just important to know where the future is heading to in education, the past also matters!

Ancient technology in classroom

1650

Horn Books, wooden paddles with printed lesson was popular during the colonial era, to help students learn verses.

1870

Magic Lantern, the predecessor to slide machines, projected images printed on glass plates in 1870. Public school systems in Chicago started using more than 8000 lanterns by 1915.

1890

Chalkboards and school slates came into use by 1890 followed by pencils in 1900. Wide availability of pencil and paper made school slates obsolete.

1920

A new form of learning evolved with radio on-air classes for students within listening range in the 1920s. Board of Education, New York City broadcasted lessons to schools via a radio station.

1930

1930 and 1940 saw the introduction of overhead projector and ballpoint pen in classroom education.

1972

In 1972 came the Scantron system of testing which allowed teachers and educators to grade exams more effectively and efficiently.

The age of personal computers

1981

Computers came to daily use in the 80’s with the first portable computer was introduced in 1981. During 1984, public schools in U.S had one computer in average for every 92 students.

1985

Hand held graphing calculators were introduced in 1985 and it became a great sensation in the field of maths. Year 1985 also saw the CD-ROM Drive coming to use. A single disc could store a whole lot of things like an entire encyclopedia along with video and audio.

1996

The internet, which was by then considered a computer network used mostly by NASA physicists and academics, slowly entered into homes and educational institutions by 1996.

1999

Technology in the classroom reached new heights with interactive whiteboards which blended handwritten notes with interactive technology in 1999. Earlier versions of these whiteboards were connected to desktop computers through wires, whilst the latest ones are compatible with smartphones and tablets.

2007

2007-2010 was the age for smartphones and tablets. The concept of classroom slates got a revamp with iPads which is taking classroom education to new heights.

Classroom technology in the future

Biometrics, the science that recognizes people on behavioral or physical qualities, is surely the answer to student disposition in the classroom and develop teaching materials accordingly.

Wearable devices in education is the next big thing to watch out. Virtual reality headgears, wristbands, smart watches will take education to the next level.

Multi-touch surfaces like desks or workstations can work wonder for students to collaborate with their peers around the world. Videos, online resources and other virtual tools available in the single swipe of the desk.

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Kicking off 2015 with Fedena 3.4.1

February 25, 2015

2014 has been a great year for Fedena. We’ve grown massively as a company and as a product. So to continue the momentum, we are thrilled to kick off 2015 on a high note with our latest release – Fedena 3.4.1. With our latest release, we’re introducing, roll numbers for students, a single view for all your batch information, greater control over student fee collections and timetables, and more.

Student Roll Number

The feature many of you have been waiting for. Assign roll numbers to students that conform to your institution’s numbering scheme.

Consistent Date and Time Format

Pick the date format you want displayed consistently throughout Fedena. Time is now consistently displayed in 12 hour format.

Batch Summary

Keeping track of all your batch activities has never been this easy and convenient. Tutors can now view all information about the batches they handle from a single view.

Institution Type Setting

Specify if your institution is a K-12 or Higher Education type of institution and see subtle changes in your Fedena interface.

Student Fee Collections

Several enhancements have been made to scheduling and managing student fee collection to provide further flexibility and speed up your fee collection process. To highlight a few enhancements:

Ability to create discounts on fee categories as well as on fee particulars
Ability to create instant fee particulars or instant fee discounts when collecting fees

Timetable

A fresh interface that offers greater control to help you create those timetables you’ve always wanted to for your institution. Some of the enhancements include:

Ability to assign different class timing sets to each weekday
An enhanced user interface that makes it easy to assign employees to class timing records when creating timetables.

In a printed timetable, breaks are indicated as a broad grey line between periods.

We hope you enjoy this release, and as always, we love to hear from you. Write to us at info@fedena.com and give us feedback on what would make your Fedena experience even better.

Adding Custom Fields to Record Transport and Hostel Information

February 23, 2015February 23, 2015

The latest version of Fedena has many new features as well as enhancements that extend its flexibility and benefits. One of the features added is the ability to add custom fields to record any information about your institution’s transport and hostels.

So the next time you use the Transport plugin to record vehicle and vehicle route information, or the Hostel plugin to record hostel and hostel room information, just remember, you can add custom fields to record any additional information deemed required or important to your institution.

Who can add custom fields?

Administrators and privileged employees (Transport Admin or Hostel Admin privilege must be provided) can add custom fields.

How to add custom fields?

Transport

Go to the Transport module (Module access icon > Administration > Transport).
Click Manage vehicle additional details to add custom fields to record additional information about your institution’s vehicles, or click Manage route additional details to add custom fields to record additional information about your vehicle routes.
Enter the name of the custom field.
Select the status of the custom field from the following options:
- Active – A custom field with this status will be available when recording vehicle or route information. For example, in the image below, the highlighted fields were custom added fields.
- Inactive – A custom field with this status will not be available when recording vehicle or route information.
Select the Is mandatory checkbox to set this field as a mandatory field that must be filled.
In the Input method field, select the field input method from the following options:
- Text Box – Enter brief text information.
- Text Area – Enter detailed text information.
- Select Box – Select an option from a drop-down list.
- Check Box – Select one or more items from a set of options.
Click the Create button.
Use the arrow icons ( ) to determine the order the fields will appear in when recording vehicle or route information.

Hostel

Go to the Hostel module (Module access icon > Administration > Hostel).
Click Manage hostel additional details to add custom fields to record additional information about your institution’s hostels, or click Manage room additional details to add custom fields to record additional information about your hostel rooms.
The rest of the procedure is the same as for Transport.

Custom additional fields can be made inactive at any time by editing and selecting the Inactive radio button. Once a custom field is made inactive, it will no longer be available when recording transport or hostel information.

Custom fields can also be deleted, but only if it has not already been used to record transport or hostel information.