Thanks, Yaw. It looks like custom Access databases are the viable solution for both problems, since all of the student information systems I can find are web-based, which won't quite work for an NGO without reliable connectivity (not to mention the tech infrastructure to manage a server).
Anyone else, please pipe in with ideas if you've got them. Regards, Sunil Yaw Anokwa wrote: > sunil, > > i can't recommend anything specific because it really depends on your > budget and capacity. > > in africa, most ngos with your set of problems would use paper forms > to collect the data, then have a data entry team enter it into a > custom access database. reports can be generated there or the data can > be exported into excel for some analysis. access is primarily chosen > for it's relative portability and maintainability through existing > developers in those regions. there are no good open source > alternatives. whether or not this is the "best" solution is very > dependent on your goals and constraints. > > i haven't looked hard, but i don't think there are any open source > student tracking systems. i just spoke to an ngo here in tanzania that > wanted something similar and i think they are either going with > something custom and likely access based. again, really depends on how > many people you want to track. > > you've hit on one of the big problems in this space and the solution > for most people seems to be paying folks to build systems access. > > hope that helps, > > yaw > > On Sat, Apr 19, 2008 at 1:23 PM, Sunil Garg <skgarg at cs.washington.edu> > wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> I'm currently studying abroad in India, where we're working closely with >> a development organization called Chirag (www.chirag.org). They've asked >> me to look into solving the following two issues -- if any of you have >> ideas or know of relevant software packages, preferably open source, >> please let me know. >> >> 1. Collection, management, and analysis of area reports: each area team >> would periodically fill out a template, which would then be sent to >> organization leaders who want to compare any given template field across >> different areas or over time. Data is generally qualitative and input >> needs to be in Hindi. >> >> 2. Tracking student progress over time. If there are any open source >> packages available that allow schools to manage and track student >> information and progress (like the medical records package described in >> last quarter's talk), that would be really helpful. Data is generally >> quantitative, so Hindi support isn't necessary but would be nice. >> >> Thanks, >> Sunil >> >> _______________________________________________ >> change mailing list >> change at cs.washington.edu >> https://mailman.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change >> >>
