Gustav Adolf Grammar School is using mstudent card New document works in a phone and when student enter the classroom, he/she will get registered via Bluetooth.
Tallinn’s Gustav Adolf Grammar School (short GAG) is striving to be Estonia’s most progressive school, when regarding the use of modern technology. The school has long been taught to children programming, during school hour students are using smartphones and tablets, students are engaged in robotics. For many years, students have been able to use contactless smart cards to access school, but now it is has changed, since it has amended into another app in your smartphone.
“We have been testing out m-student card for many weeks,” said GAGs vice-principal Tiivi Pikhof. “It is a smartphone application, which each student can download from the internet and it is related with [student information system] e-School. Because of that each student can register himself/herself to class,” she said.
e-School As of 2003, it is possible for all Estonian schools to use the web-based school-home communication environment e-School (eKool). The purpose of e-School is to engage parents more actively in the study process, make information on subjects more available to children as well as to parents, and to facilitate the work of teachers and the school management. For example, via e-School one can follow the marks given to students, their absence from classes, the content of lessons, and homework and assessments given to students by teachers at the end of the study period.
Complex system So far, the classes has been to check whether such a way that the student brandishing a smart card while they enter the classroom or if the student card is lost or forgotten at home – the teacher takes notes in eSchool, whether the student is there or lacking of participation. Thus, as if only one student saves a mobile student brandishing, but this requires the registration of students in fact a complex system. First, students need to download the right app to their mobile phone. M-student card is available for both Android and iOS software. Although the third major software platform Windows Phone is relatively common in Estonia, it still can not be used for m-student card. The first few days there have been several cases, where numerous students test the system and they are extremely excited, but then they will discover that the app is not supported for Windows Phone software. "Right now the M-student card only runs for Android and iOS phones. And according to the interest and demand there might be development for Windows Phone as well, "promised Toonio Michelis, who is the head of m-student card, and developer for other information systems in In-Deal LLC. If the students have downloaded the right app in their phone, then students must log in first. "If the student wants his/her M-student card activated then he/she must meet certain precondition: he must be in the students list, the data about him/her must be listed in the database and so on. After the successful
activation of the application it is loaded from the server and all student required elements will be there: the name of the school, the student's name, picture, personal identification number and period of validity of a student, "exclaimed Michelis.
“ The aim is that the presence of students and their parents would be informed automatically. Next, it is important that there would be "teaching device" by the entrance of the classroom where all the “student devices� will be registered and recorded. Currently, the system is tested only in GAG, and you can use the mobile student card only in the first floor of the school building. There are total of five classrooms, and in these classrooms there are students from grade 5 to 12th. In these rooms there are located tablets or phones which students' phones interact. Michelis says that these gadgets must be equipped with a number of different technologies: Bluetooth, NFC, or Near Field Communication, camera, wifi, and at least a 3G data connection. "In this case, we can use all possible that student cards and M-student cards have to offer in parallel. The camera is required to read a barcode or QR code from
student cards. For communication channel we are using school’s wifi, and the spare channel we can use minimally 3G data capability, "said Michelis. M-student card uses Bluetooth connection to register student as a participator in the class. Once the technology has registered the attendance, the last step is to collect the data into one system. GAGs viceprincipal Pikhof says that when all the information is received by the school system, then the teacher does not have to write down manually the participation of students. "If the teacher opens e-School system, it has a button on it" All data� and he/she has the opportunity to get an overview of what students are registered in that class," said Pikhof. He pointed out that, firstly, that currently this system is still in testing, and secondly, the m-student card is optional and it can be used instead of a normal school card.
“ If the system will work well, then in the beginning of all hours the teachers do not check absentees. "Student is also a smart card and having no M- student card, they register in a class with smart card itself. To do this they still need to make one extra move, swinging a card, but with the m-student card you do not have to take it even out of the pocket, "said Pikhof. "We want to achieve this, that the presence of students in the school, is fixated in e-School and that parents would be informed automatically. Ideally, the system can work well if at the beginning of each lessons teachers do not have to check absentees. All the information is transferred to the system automatically and at no cost there would be spend the teaching time," she explained, why all GAG took this update into consideration.
The opportunity to cheat? If you record the hours by the machine, not a person, it might be possible to abuse the system. Smartcard student ticket it is possible in theory that a student gives his card to another and they both register in this lesson. Mobile student card the risk of such abuse is even smaller, because of their personal smartphone and people do not give it away so easily. "We discussed all the options with management, but we decided that we will not build up to the fact that students maybe unfair," explained Pikhof, how the school takes the abuse of technology. Creating a mobile student card has not cost anything so far as the vice-principle Pikhof says. GAG will be piloting system, and partner in In-Deal LLC is testing it and developing it out. In the future, the company will sell it to other schools if the system is ready.
Student: easy and fun system Gustav Adolf Secondary School student Janno Dreger, said that the m-student card works quite simply. "You have to download an app, and log in, after that you can continue to configure it yourself, for example which this app will be active etc.," he said. "For me as a tech enthusiast this is a very nice, and I really like it." At the same time, it has not been as smooth, since it is still in development mode. "One of the mistakes that immediately aroused was that the class had three students with Windows Phone. But this software is not for them and the m-student card will not work in their phone, "said Dreger. Another reason what the students are discussing this, is fundamental. "Some students do not like the fact that it is a so-called tagging, students are in the situation where they are forced to register themselves in classrooms. They like that the teacher are registering students to class because, otherwise, they say, it will lose the human relationship with the teacher and the teacher. They even say that teacher’s do not know the names of students, "said Dreger why all students are not charmed in the system.
M-student does not drain your phone In the company what created the mobile student card, Deal LLC President Toonio Michelis, says that the application communicates with the device via Bluetooth what is in the classroom. "Bluetooth can be tuned on or off automatically in Android [software devices], but iPhone owners must enter and turn it on or off manually. Since the Bluetooth power consumption is very low, they can be turned on the entire state during the school day because it will not cause an battery outlay, "said Michel. According to him, registering in the class is only one way to use this technology. "It plays a major role in developing a solution for example when there is a fire in school, and they need organize during the
evacuation, communication thereof to an assembly of students' arrival," he explained the further use. Basically, it can be operatively used through the students, teachers and school staff, for example, to send messages to both in crisis, as well as just information messages either to the student or the entire class. ´ Written by: Hans Lþugas Translated by: Janno Dreger 18th of March 2015