Centre – Open Source Student Information System – Home

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Looks interesting. Don’t know what yall are using now, Steve, but this warrants a close look.

3 Responses to “Centre – Open Source Student Information System – Home”

1. Steve says:

   September 22, 2005 at 6:40 am

   We are using STI — Software Technology Inc. software. It’s a real monster of a program, with modules for just about EVERYTHING, and state-mandated. It is also beginning to show signs that it is suffering from its own success. By that I mean that now that it is state-mandated (the state uses it to track all kinds of information — which you can look on as a good thing or a bad thing, but in reality is a necessary thing, not that they necessarily do that good a job of it) they have a lock on the market, but they are rolling out all kinds of new “features” and “upgrades” that don’t necessarily integrate with what they have before. Things like data not being able to be moved from one module to another without things like dates getting changed (??? — it seems to put the date something was entered into the program into the field where a date that something was done is supposed to go–not good programming) so you now have to re-enter the same information that you have already spent hours putting in because it’s not formatted correctly. It’s formatted correctly where it’s at, but when it’s moved to the module it needs to be in for reporting purposes it gets reformatted and is unacceptable so you have to re-enter it. And remember, this is in a state-required report, which could result in all your teachers being de-certified if they don’t get it in the proper format. And people wonder why we need so many people in school administration……considering what they have to do/put up with, it ain’t that many, people!
   Yeah, I wish a LOT of times we could use something else, STI is showing all the classic signs of a software company that has grown too fast, promised too much, and is now rolling out stuff that isn’t ready for the late night movie, much less prime time, and all the users are now beta testers. And the initial adopters are alpha testers. We should get paid for this shit. I have mentioned that several times to Anthony. He pretty much agrees, though he won’t say it out loud. I’m about ready to say it to the next “customer rep” from STI I chat with at a seminar somewhere……the ranka and file folks are good folks, give good support, but you can tell from the way they phrase things that it’s beginning to get out of hand. Something isn’t right in code land…….the Dilbert syndrome — the PHBs have promised too much, too quick, to clueless clients who think you can wave a wand and make software “happen”. Gonna be fun…….more than it is already, I mean…..

2. Dave says:

   September 22, 2005 at 11:29 am

   Big problem with using a single company is as usual — propritary software. When it breaks you have no choice but to wait for the Company to fix it…

   It figures that Alabama would require a closed source, high dollar solution to a problem that can be solved using OpenSource Software.

   Course yall are required to use IE and Windoze for some things too aren’t you?

3. Steve says:

   September 22, 2005 at 9:39 pm

   SOME things? SOME things? It is to laugh…..Internet Exploder is REQUIRED for EVERYDAMNTHING. And, even better, they are moving to web-base everything……going to get REAL good at router security configuration here by and by, I think…..