BIOS: Technology Means Business

NetSupport School 7.0 is a software application for educational institutions and educators. The software provides instruction capabilities with new Testing Modules, Student Application and Internet Monitoring functionality. It’s available in a number of localised versions, including English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic.

Many schools, colleges and universities are investing in IT infrastructures. To a large degree they have to keep up with the latest technology because students are starting to demand even the most basic computer equipment for for learning purposes. The cost effectiveness of software and hardware solutions therefore play a vital role in determining what type of IT infrastructure an educational institution will invest in.

NetSupport School 7.0 is a single-box solution that offers teachers and trainers an alternative way to improve the quality of their training and tuition. The software provides the ability to interact with students either on an individual, group or full classroom basis. The software’s remote control and monitoring features let you watch, share information or control the screen, keyboard and mouse of any student workstation irrespective of colour depth, resolution, network protocol or operating system. The multiple Scan function lets you flick through the class, displaying up to 16 PCs simultaneously.

Version 7.0 of the software adds a Testing Module as standard, allowing you to design and deliver customised tests together with application and Web control modules, helping to ensure students use only approved applications on their systems and have access only to approved Web sites. Tests can include text, pictures, audio and video questions. Once a test has been devised, it can then be automatically distributed to selected students. Once a test has been completed, results are then automatically generated. The new version also adds Instant Surveys, allowing you to conduct a survey with the results to a Yes/No question being displayed in real-time on your Tutor screen. The survey can be sent to all connected students or selected individuals.

Other features of the software include a screen capture tool that lets you capture a student’s current screen content and save the contents to a file. In addition, details of a machine's user name, logged on users, date and time stamps are also recorded.

NetSupport School delivers basic training and support tools for the modern classroom. It’s not the only type of product in its field, nor is it the most comprehensive. For example, Click2Learn’s ToolBook range adds much more customisation capabilities and deployment options, but are also more complicated to use and more expensive.

If you’re a teacher or member of an educational institution, be sure to take a full look at the benefits NetSupport School might bring to your classroom when you’re next looking to upgrade your IT systems. To get a better idea of the look and feel of the software, take a look at NetSupport’s Web site where there are a number of downloadable demonstrations.