Testimonials

Swan Hill College identified a need to move to computerised roll marking in early 2005. After investigating many roll marking systems we decided to "take the plunge" with DayMap. We choose DayMap over the other packages primarily because it was a web based system which was able to import and export data into CASES 21 and The Timetabler. DayMap was able to be slotted into our existing systems and allowed us to electronically mark our rolls without having to alter our other processes and systems.

It was with some trepidation that we approached our initial installation of DayMap and subsequent transfer of data from The Timetabler into DayMap. However much to our delight the team at Loop had it all installed and ready to go overnight. This has been the way in which Loop Software have approached all of our upgrades and changes which we have asked for. The team at Loop have always been more than prepared to complete changes at times which have been convenient to us and have always been quick to offer support.

Because DayMap is web based it has meant that both students and staff have been able to access timetables from anywhere in the school and we are currently looking into parental access to the system to allow parents access to their sons and daughters data. Several of our staff have also embraced the assessment portion of DayMap, it is planned to expand on this in the future to further enhance the DayMap for all of the groups which use it.

As the VCE Manager of the school I find the ability to readily track students to be the most useful feature of all. Using Day- Map I can pinpoint students who are struggling with their attendance and put processes in place which will assist them to improve their attendance and work habits.

Andrew Sartori, VCE Manager, Swan Hill College 2006

One of the greatest challenges to be met in creating a digital learning environment was to have teachers bringing their notebook computers to their classroom. Through the introduction of Daymap teachers were required to bring their notebooks to school and to their classroom in order to mark their class rolls each lesson. As a consequence, the use of Daymap has resulted in a rapid take up of digital teaching and learning opportunities because teachers are able to access programs from their own notebooks.

Geoffrey Flett, Principal, Mooroolbark College 2006

Daymap changed my life! I was a horizontal paper shuffler with an attendance folder with paper falling out of it, often misplaced, and now I use a streamlined accurate reporting tool which is so easy to use.

Megan Russell, Teacher, Dromana Secondary College 2005

After working with roll marking packages that involved palm readers and bar coded rolls, I found that Day Map has lots of advantages. It is far less labour intensive and has lots of extra applications. Under the palm reader option each time a student changed electives or a new student enrolled, a new bar coded roll needed to be printed. A duty student had to visit each class in 48 minutes. For a College of about 1000 students, it required 3 Duty Students for one full day. Even then some classes were missed and some students got lost. Teachers were repeatedly interrupted by the Duty Student’s visits.

Using Day Map, staff quickly adapted to taking laptops to class and students began checking their absences on line. When parents rang about a student’s attendance, each roll was available and it made students very accountable. Patterns of classes missed became obvious and truancy was picked up early in the term.

Staff began to leave work on line and students used this facility especially when they had lost work sheets. We hope that all staff will eventually use this option.

The report analyser was valuable in that it compared absences in year levels and allowed us to target year level groups with specific strategies. Lateness was clearly identified as a concern and for the first time the College had actual empirical base line data. Prior to this only anecdotal evidence was available.

Because Day Map is compatible with The Timetabler, Mark Book and Cases 21, data can be manipulated for Annual Reports, Triennial Reviews and funding submissions.

There is still some work to be done in alerting House Leaders when a student reaches 3 days of absences and classroom teachers checking student’s absences against that days data.

Jan Blackman, Assistant Principal, Swan Hill College 2006

Daymap has been a fantastic tool that has helped me become better organised and more efficient with the use of my time.

As a class room teacher I have found DayMap to be:

• Easy to use for roll marking
• A very convenient way to gain absence totals when needed
• Useful when checking to see if a student is present on a particular day/session
• Finding a student on a particular day/session
• Great in terms of student accessing work tasks, assessment results and submitting work electronically
• Easy to use for all including students who seem to use it all the time now
• Used as a reminder for due dates

From an ICT point of view, it wasn’t difficult to PD staff as DayMap is so user friendly and has many ways to complete a given task.

It was also a good addition to the Year 7 computer licence. All year 7 students complete this licence at the start of the year, with the College Intranet, Drives, ICT policy and DayMap being the main focus. Students pick up on DayMap very quickly.

Students can:

• Access work tasks, assessments, submit tasks and check on due dates.
• Check their time table
• Print out a copy of their own time table, if they need to.
• Check on previous classes, requirements etc.

Tania Merritt, Math/Science Teacher, ICT Leader, Swan Hill College 2006

Daymap has been a fantastic tool that has helped me become better organised and more efficient with the use of my time.

As the person responsible for training staff on the use of Daymap I was surprised at the enthusiasm and the relative ease at which staff took to using Daymap. The feedback from parents and students has been positive in regard to how daymap has helped students become more organised and parents become more aware of what is happening in the daily life of their child.

Ray Owens, Teacher, Dromana Secondary College

DAYMAP allows me to locate teachers and students quickly. With teachers using DAYMAP effectively important comments about students and their progress is readily available when interviewing the student and their parent/s. DAYMAP allows me to locate teachers and students quickly. With teachers using DAYMAP effectively important comments about students and their progress is readily available when interviewing the student and their parent/s.

Visual monitoring of attendance records has been extremely valuable and now that DAYMAP "talks" to CASES21, annual reporting of attendance at each level is quick and at hand on the screen.

G Farrow Assistant Principal, Dromana Secondary College

As a Sub school leader in charge of 150 kids and 6 staff I love Daymap !

• I can find kids/staff at the drop of a hat without cumbersome paper timetables - just go to 'find'.
• I can check the absence details and track a student during the day to check for "wagging".
• I can analyse the reasons for absence due to the code systems in a click of a few buttons.
• I use to have parents call and say "they said they don't have any homework" - how was I to know the individual homework of all kids? So now if the teacher has set any it is on the Childs page which they can access from home. 75% of our parents are online.
• Individual notes on the students, that can be done by staff, are great and a good way to get whole picture.
• I feel the parents can take more responsibility for their Childs schooling as most of the information is there. They can even see the timetable and get the PE uniform ready.

Peta McGinley SubSchool Leader, Dromana Secondary College

Coordinators find it easy to track student attendance and access a variety of reports on-line. The interface with CASES21 enables the export of attendance data for annual reporting.

Campus Principal, Victorian Secondary College.

The school using Daymap has had several advantages for me. Foremost is the fact that it saves me time. It is a central point for a great deal of information that formerly I had to go to the office or seek individuals to find out - who is away, the bulletin, class lists for my own and other classes, the posting of notes about a misbehaving student for the coordinator to reference. The find function, which allows me to find the location of a staff member or student at any period during the day using just their name, is a particular asset. I used to spend an enormous amount of time searching for senior students, checking each class in a block one by one. Now I can look the students up in seconds.

When report time comes it's possible to tally student absences for the semester in seconds rather than spending time counting through mark book pages.

It allows me to make notes on what I'm doing in classes, so students and parents can reference them. It really has increased the potential for parents to be involved in their child's education as they can check daily class notes as well as lists of assessment marks and overdue work by dialling in, and many parents take advantage of this option.

Overall, it's a program that is relatively easy to use, and which can be a great asset to teachers, students and parents.

Anne Sim. Classroom Teacher, Dromana Secondary College