TIME TABLE MODULE

This interactive module enables the user to enter and edit data and construct a full time table. It is a powerful, comprehensive class and staff timetable builder. Fully automatic programs rarely produce satisfactory time tables which suit the circumstances of a particular institution. This module is semi-automatic in that it allows users to adjust information as the time table is being built. The user has the ultimate say in the allocation of periods. There are many standard reports.

Features

• Unlimited subjects, lines, classes and staff.

• Seamless integration with the Assessment Module, allowing for rapid implementation of the Timetabler from Assessment data as well as for immediate updating of student Grade data in Assessment from Timetable data.

• Easy timetable creation for new or late students.

• Support for timetabling for the following year during the current year.

• Support for multiple day sets, allowing for timetabling of a junior and a high school with different numbers of periods per day and different period durations, even if staff are shared between the two schools.

• Fully interactive scheduler ensures that control is never taken away from the user.

• Powerful Line Builder allows for careful and accurate construction of sustainable lines, based on student subject selections.

• See also the Overview of this module.

OVERVIEW

Asking any experienced timetabler what their thoughts are regarding computerised timetabling programs will probably elicit nothing more than rolling of the eyes and a knowing smirk. Many computerised timetabling programs are available, each one promising a complete timetable in “three easy clicks”. As any serious timetabler will know, this is not only impossible but also undesirable. A computer can never replace the thought processes of the human brain – human intervention is absolutely critical to the timetabling process.

Timetabling consists of much more than simply “getting it to fit” – the scheduling or packing side of timetabling is in fact the last step in the entire timetabling process. The EduAdmin Timetabler Module focuses on three key areas of timetabling: planning, feasibility tests and scheduling. The scheduling side should be a fairly easy process if sufficient planning has taken place. The module has been designed to produce staff, class, room and individual student timetables. It is possible to use the module without students, but this will not be making optimum use of the program and is actually not timetabling in the true sense of the word. Students (and their subject choices) have to be considered in any serious timetabling process.

The Timetabler Module integrates very closely with the Assessment Module. In the planning phase, students’ subject choices are pulled into the Timetabler Module directly from the Assessment Module. Teaching groups are entered and students are then allocated to teachers in an easy batch process. Classes and Forms for next year can be entered directly into the Timetabler Module and these fields are then automatically updated in the Student Module. Marks can be imported from the Assessment Module to allow for accurate streaming of classes. Student grades (HG or SG) are also available for viewing and streaming purposes in the Timetable Module.

The Line Builder is an extremely powerful component of the module which allows for construction of lines (sets, keys, combos, options, choices, blocks, electives). Students can be moved between lines and sizes of classes can easily be seen. The program will indicate which students can move into the desired line. If students cannot move into the desired line, the program will present a choice of swaps which can be made to make the move. The Line Builder is an essential tool when planning the timetable – it allows the school to determine which combinations of subjects are not feasible, for example.

Once the lines have been completed, the scheduling phase can then be started. EduAdmin strongly recommends the use of the Interactive Scheduler. This is simply an electronic version of the typical magnetic whiteboard or pin board used by most timetablers. Free periods for each line and subject can be seen and periods chosen. Clashes are shown and lines and subjects can be cleared and re-allocated. Staff, class and student timetables can be interrogated directly in the Scheduler.

The module supports Multiple Day Sets. This means that a junior and senior school can both schedule their timetables in the same program. This can be done even if the two schools have a different number of periods per day, different period durations and share staff.

After Scheduling has been completed, the Assessment Module can be refreshed. This process updates the staff and link codes in the Assessment Module directly. This is one of the key benefits of using the Timetabler Module – staff names no longer need to be entered into the Assessment Module for each student for each subject – this data is imported directly from the Timetabler Module. When students change subjects or when new students arrive at the school, the Timetable button in the Assessment Module can be used to allocate the student to lines and subjects – this is done easily and directly in the Assessment Module. A new student can be given a personalised, individual timetable within five minutes.

In addition to this, staff, class, room and student timetables can be printed. The Timetable Viewer Add-On presents staff, class, room or student timetables directly on the screen for interrogation.

One aspect of timetabling which is often neglected is that of substitution (relief, cover, batting). The Timetabler Module includes several different relief paradigms and can produce printouts of substitution timetables on a daily basis, for both staff and students.

If sufficient planning is undertaken and responsible, intelligent, informed decisions made, timetabling need not be an endless, frustrating process involving thousands of cups of coffee and late night sessions moving tiny magnetic markers across a whiteboard.