Thursday, 13 February 2014

Review a recent advance in support systems technology


In this blog I will be covering the topic related to control software. Control software is software that allows a user to monitor another user’s computer without having to be physically there. Like most software’s there are advantages and disadvantages about the software. In this blog I will be explaining them in detail which will then later allow me to weigh up the control software’s and answer the question are they worth the money?


The first advantage of control software is that teachers are able to have an idea of what websites students are on. This will allow them to monitor the performance of the students to make sure that they are doing their work. Another advantage of control software is that it is a easy way to send websites to all students at once. This is good as the teacher and students won’t have to go through the hassle of sending an email to all the students in the class. They are able to monitor the student’s computer allowing them to make sure that all students are on task. Lastly teachers are able to block sites that the students are not supposed to be using. This means that when a student is on inappropriate sites the teachers are able to warn them before blocking that students.


However like most software’s there are also disadvantages attached. The first disadvantage of control software is that there’s no privacy for the students. This means that the teachers are invading the students space as and they don’t have the rights to. Another disadvantage is that the students can’t take control of the computer when the teacher has control. This means that if the students are doing work this will be a distraction to the student. Also students lose the power to the computer meaning that they have no power over the computer which will make them feel powerless. The effect of this is that the students will be distracted from their work as they have no power over the computer. When using control software it can be very slow for both the teacher and the student. This means that the student will not be able to work properly as the computer response time is very slow. Another disadvantage is that private information is able to get leaked to other users. This means that private files of the user may be seen making the files not confidential anymore. Lastly you have to have electricity for the program to work. This means that if the school has a power cut then the program will no longer work.



“We started in education, we understand education and we recognise the unique requirements of the education sector. Though recent years have seen the public and corporate sectors muscling in on the benefits of Impero, we know that one product certainly won’t fit all. With this in mind we’ve created Impero Education, focused solely on the changing demands of the modern IT-based learning environment”. This quote was taken fron the official impero website where it states why they created impero which is to benefit the education systems. This is why they have developed this network control software so that they are able to monitor everyone’s performance and activities on the network.






“For the last 22 years NetSupport has been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to aid in the management of desktop computers and their users”. Like impero this software allows you to teach instruct and monitor your class. This is very good as you can do three things at once without having to move from your seat.



“When you talk classroom management software, you're talking Vision. Teachers across the globe rely on it, and why? Because Vision offers tools for teaching that are easy to use, even for a first-time user. Classroom management has been proven to improve student achievement and it makes integrating technology in the classroom more intuitive - with a clean, simple toolbar that puts a rich variety of powerful tools in your hands”.


Comparing


In my opinion all of the above three control software is all alike as they are able to do the same thing. This means that when comparing them you would have to look into detail such as the price and what other features do the software’s have. It also depends on what you are looking for as they offer different prices per the number of students which will impact on the class. This means that you would buy as much as you need so that you are able to monitor all the students in the class and not just five. Impero is control software that allows you to monitor the performance of the students as you are able to watch the student’s screens. They also have a feature that allows you to be able to send links to the students that will show up on their screens so that they are able to click on the link. Like Impero Netop and NetSupport also has the same features as they are control software. However I think that Impero is the best software to use. This is because not only do they do what the others do they also save money as it is cheap and you are able to request a 30 day free trail. It saves time as it Allows Network Managers to respond to issues and fix problems remotely saves valuable hours each day. Reduce CO2 because Impero Education Pro cuts down on unnecessary print, by assigning print credit on an individual basis. Although NetSupport and Netop is able to do almost the same features as impero they have more features that’s why I think that impero is the best control software.


Although the products are very expensive costing you £1000 for the software in modern confederation this is not actually a lot of money. Compare this to a computer it will cost you £1000 for a good computer and £1000 for control software unlimited. This means that you will be able to do many things that will allow you to teach quicker such as no emails as you can just send a broadcast which will show up on everyone’s screen. Due to the advantages of this product I believe that the software is worth the money.


Itlab

Itlab is an IT support company and they offer many different services to help companies in their IT departments. The first service they offer is account management which is a very important aspect for companies. Your dedicated AM team is personally responsible for the efficient delivery of your IT support service. Our unique approach gives you a strategic and service orientated team that intimately understand your technical and business needs. The disadvantage to this is that it will cost a lot of money for the company.

Another focus of their services is the engineering team which is also an important aspect for a company. “We know our support service is only as good as our support staff. Smart, highly motivated and service obsessed, our highly experienced support engineers are also backed by a team of specialist gurus, whose in-depth technical knowledge and extensive industry experience allows them to resolve the most complex issues”. This is a statement taken from the website which shows how they provide this service. The disadvantages to this are that it will firstly cost a lot of money and also it could be time costly for the company. 

Also they offer helpdesk support for companies. “Central to all our support services is our true, live 24/7 helpdesk service. No recorded messages or endless loops of nauseating canned music, just responsive, friendly human assistance on hand, whenever you need it”. This shows that they are able to help you with more than one department which will benefit your company as a whole.

Lastly they offer onsite support which is when they have their engineer check up on the websites for you. “We will often recommend regular scheduled onsite visits by a dedicated engineer. These visits, at a frequency to suit your needs, put a human face to our helpdesk, and often result in higher productivity and a better relationship between your people and our IT function. Guidance for key software and processes can also be given during these onsite visits”. As you are able to see the benefit of this is that you will have a professional looking after and monitoring your company’s website.

Conclusion


 I think that control software is good and bad software as I agree on some points and disagree with others. The points that I agree with is that you are able to monitor the computer of the students, you can send emails or links to the students that will flash up on the students computers allowing them to click on the link. However I think that control software should not be able to control the computer as there is not really a point when a teacher is able to just tell the students to come of the site. This means that by having this feature all it does it just distract the student from their work.



References




http://www.imperosoftware.com/products/education-pro-classroom-management-software/computer-lab-management/