First and foremost, thank you to all of you who posted up comments on my previous blog, about the issue of implementing biometric systems in schools and colleges. Your thoughts and comments count, so please do feel free to talk more around the subject.I wanted to move on with some of the comments you have made generally about the new registration and if it is a good/bad idea for colleges... A lot of you agreed that it would be an expensive investment that could possibly suggest that schools are not spending their money wisely. From looking at research into the company Aurora Computer Services who market the faceREGISTER product, Aurora's concept is that this biometric system reduces administrative costs (manual register entries into SIMs system). SIMs is a system which runs all the admin system of a school/college.
It would save time compared to a manual registration system, would it make you rethink this service as a more effective method, giving colleges admin offices more time to spend on other tasks?
I feel that it would make a real difference and would make the running of colleges and sixth forms more efficient.
Please comment...
I totally agree that technology is advancing, and we have to move with the times. But to what extent can we realy rely on technology?
ReplyDeleteSome students really dislike going to school, and as this may try and tackle heavy absences by monitoring it more, it could also backfire, as it could show alot of flaws, or students may find a way of accessing etc, which will defeat the whole object, call me old fashioned but there was nothing wrong with a pen and paper marking attendance, it only takes 5 mins if anything.
It could be more effective for teaching staff but for students I'm just not sold on the idea.
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Have to agree. Why spend hard-earned governement funding on a project that's hardly essential when it could be spent on more important educational resources, like better facilites and a higher standard of teaching? As Tash said, it only takes a few minutes to take students names down with a pen and paper.
ReplyDeleteThere'll come a day when biometric technology is the norm but until it's routinely available for even the poorest of inner city schools, then I can't really see a legitimate reason why it should be implemented. Life.
I think Natasha Kumar has summed it up perfectly x
ReplyDeleteThis is a good point, but looking beyond physically taking a register in class, the existing process puts a strain on administrative resources. The time it takes for the admin staff to input the data manually from the register to a computer based programme would be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteAlso think that truency in college is a problem and at the end of the day this system is more for colleges and sixth forms, where it is not compulsary for students to attend. After commiting to a college course it would be unfair to not attend without a valid reason.