Wildcat Gold - The Optical BBS/Wildcat Gold - The Optical BBS (The Golden ROM Series)(Volume 4 Number 1)(The Digital Publishing Company)(1992).ISO/sdn/mtg21.sdn/WHATSNEW.V21

Text File | 1992-01-01 | 23KB | 470 lines

    WHATSNEW.V21                                                  Page 1

                              Making The Grade
                                Version 2.1

                                WHAT'S NEW?
                                ~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                           January, 1992


    NOTES EDITOR

         The  biggest  change  in  version  2.1  is  the  addition of an
    integrated text editor.   On either a Test or  Student  screen, move
    the cursor to a test  name  or student name (or anywhere in the row)
    or onto the class name in the upper left hand corner, and press Alt-
    N ('N' for 'Notes')  indicating  you  wish  to  write  notes on this
    particular item.  There are many possible uses for such  an  editor;
    it's a convenient way to record consultations with parents, guidance
    counselors and students, to record medical disabilities, reasons for
    absence,  details  of  domestic problems.   Many teachers of special
    education  and  elementary school  may  be required (or may wish) to
    keep detailed logs of student behavior and progress.  The editor may
    also be used to write  up  a  course  outline or a test.   Like many
    other features in MTG, some teachers will have a need for the editor
    and some won't.

         If a test  name  (or the class name)  is selected, MTG searches
    for a file name in the data subdirectory  composed of the class name
    and the  extension  .TST;  for example,  if  the class  name is ENG-
    2A(.MTX), then the Notes file for tests is named ENG-2A.TST.  If the
    file is not found, you are advised that you are beginning a new file
    and are asked how many pages per test you wish to allocate,  between
    one and eight pages.   The  data you write on each test is stored in
    this file in  database  format and requires a considerable amount of
    drive space.  As you increase the number of pages allocated per test
    (using the right arrow),  you are shown the total drive space that a
    full file will occupy (forty tests' worth) which can range from 151K
    to over a megabyte,  depending on the number of pages.   The default
    number of pages per  test  is two;  decide how many pages you'd like
    according  to  the amount of drive space you can afford to allocate.
    I highly recommend  that  you  use Notes only on a hard drive, or at
    least on a high density 3.5"/5.25" floppy disk.  In the latter case,
    you should  plan  on  using  one  floppy  per class if you use Notes
    extensively.

         Once you have selected the number of pages you wish to allocate
    per test,  it cannot be changed for that file.   Data 'keyed' to the
    class name is stored in the  test  Notes  file,  so that you can use
    Notes to write up  a  course  outline.   In similar fashion,  if you
    press Alt-N on a student name,  a file named ENG-2A.STU is loaded or
    created as necessary,  and you  then specify the number of pages you
    wish to allocate per student  (which need not match the  number  you
    have  specified  for  tests).   All  of  this  may  seem  needlessly





    Page 2                                                  WHATSNEW.V21


    complicated,  but I feel it is better to offer some flexibility with
    regard  to  file  size  rather  than  taking  a 'one  size fits all'
    approach.   In actual use,  much of this structure will be transpar-
    ent.

         MTG  checks  to  see if there are already notes on the selected
    item  (test/student/class)  and  if  so,  loads  this  data into the
    editor; you can then edit the data or add new information.  If there
    are no  previous  notes on  this  item,  the editor starts up with a
    blank  page  except for the  'header' it  creates at  the top of the
    page.   The two-line  header  consists of such things as the test or
    student name,  the name of the class,  and your name,  and cannot be
    edited or removed;  MTG uses this information internally to identify
    the block  of  data and to store  and retrieve it correctly on disk.
    Below the header,  MTG inserts today's date and time if the selected
    item is a student,  and the  cursor  appears a couple of lines below
    this.  If the item is a test, that test's maximum score, weight, and
    description is  inserted for you (any of which can be deleted if you
    wish).


    USING THE EDITOR

         The Notes editor is a text editor,  and is distinguished from a
    true word processor mostly by the fact that it doesn't support word-
    wrap,  i.e. each  line ends in a carriage  return (press Enter).  If
    you  have  used EDIT in DOS 5.0,  or TED, or the editor in PC Tools,
    then you are already familiar with this type of editor.   It is very
    simple to use, and is entirely adequate for the task at hand, but it
    is  not  WordPerfect.   If  you need  fonts,  automatic hyphenation,
    hanging  indents  with  bullets,   multi-column  pages,  and  spell-
    checking, this editor is not for you.

         Each  page consists of 58 lines of text,  with a top and bottom
    margin of 4 lines.   The left  margin is set  for 0.7 inches  (seven
    characters in from the left edge),  and the line width is set for 65
    characters.   Page  breaks  are  indicated by arrows at the left and
    right  margins  and the page number is shown beside each page break.
    As in WordPerfect  (for example),  text entered immediately adjacent
    to the page break prints with correct top and bottom margins.  Pages
    are numbered automatically when you print, beginning with page 2.

         Some  commands  are  listed at the bottom of the screen.  Press
    Alt-S at any time to save current data.   When data is saved,  it is
    automatically  encrypted  (another reason for the header) to prevent
    someone else  from  easily reading  the file (COPY ENG-2A.STU PRN or
    TYPE ENG-2A.STU will display gibberish).  This is not DES encryption
    and it won't stop  someone  who is determined and knowledgeable; and
    of course  if your  copy of MTG isn't  protected by password, anyone
    can run it and  consequently read your files.    Alt-P prints either
    all data for the currently selected item or all marked (highlighted)
    data.   Note  that a marked  block prints out with a correct top and
    bottom margin even if the block is somewhere in the middle of a page





    WHATSNEW.V21                                                  Page 3


    -- no need to adjust the page in the printer.  Press Alt-Q or Esc to
    exit the Notes editor; you are warned if any changes have been made.
    A pair of  numbers in the lower  right corner of the screen indicate
    the present cursor location by row and column;  note that the cursor
    is in column 7 at  the  extreme  left edge,  the left margin already
    accounted for.

         On occasion you  may  wish to 'export' some data from the Notes
    file and save it  to an  ASCII or .TXT file.   This type of file can
    then be loaded into a word  processor and be edited further,  or you
    may  simply  want  to  store  it  separately  from  the  Notes file.
    Exported data is no longer encrypted so be sure to keep this data in
    a safe place if it's sensitive.   You may export either all data for
    a particular  test  or  student,  or  only  data in a block you have
    marked (use Shift-down arrow to mark a block of data).

         If you  export  all data,  it is automatically  saved in a file
    with the  extension .EXS (for student data) or .EXT (for test data).
    In the case of a class  named ENG-2A for example, exported data on a
    student is written to a file named ENG-2A.EXS.  Each time you export
    data in this manner, it is appended (added) to the end of this file.
    When all data on an item is exported,  the editor  screen is cleared
    and you can  then  start  with a fresh file on that test or student.
    If you save the file at this  point (blank screen), the data on disk
    for that item is also cleared from the Notes file (e.g. ENG-2A.STU).
    This is a way to circumvent the limitation of having allocated, say,
    only two pages per student.   When that two pages is used up, export
    it to an ASCII file and continue with two now empty pages.

         If you  export  only a marked  block of data on the other hand,
    nothing is cleared from the screen or the Notes file;  a copy of the
    marked block is  simply  written to an ASCII file,  and you continue
    from there  with all  data intact.   Note  that in this case you can
    also specify  another file name for the exported data other than the
    default by  pressing 'F' at the prompt.   The chart below summarizes
    the different types of files and data:


          __ Class _   (large Notes files,          (small files,
         /          \    database format)         ASCII text format)
        /            \                     Alt-E
    Alt-N -- Test -------> ENG-2A.TST -------------> ENG-2A.EXT
        \
         \                                 Alt-E
          \_ Student ----> ENG-2A.STU -------------> ENG-2A.EXS


         Alt-H displays a list of other editing commands,  most of which
    are intuitive  and self-explanatory.   In addition to edit commands,
    you can also display the 'Class Stats' box with Alt-C, and if you're
    writing notes on a student,  Alt-X brings up the Attendance data for
    that student.





    Page 4                                                  WHATSNEW.V21


    DELETING A CLASS

         When you  delete a  class file at the Main Menu,  the following
    message now appears at the top of the screen:

       >> Notes will be exported to ASCII files XXXXX.EXS and XXXXX.EXT,
          which  are  not  encrypted  and can be edited with a word pro-
          cessor.

    (where XXXXX  represents  the  name of the class file you are delet-
    ing).  All data in the large Notes files is exported to more compact
    ASCII files,  and the Notes files are subsequently deleted.   If for
    some reason you  wish to keep the  original Notes files,  you should
    copy  these  and  the  class  file  to a  different  floppy  disk or
    subdirectory;  Notes  files  cannot  be  accessed without the accom-
    panying class file.   Finally,  remember that data in the ASCII text
    files is no longer encrypted and should be kept in a secure place if
    it is sensitive.


         Notes files created  with the shareware version of MTG (or with
    a school/school board license  copy in which the teacher has not yet
    entered his/her name), will not be encrypted.  If you have purchased
    a commercial  version of MTG  half-way through a semester,  and have
    created  unencrypted  Notes  files  with a  shareware copy,  you can
    encrypt this data by simply loading the  data and  saving it  again,
    for each test and student on which you have written notes.


    ARRANGING

         Unless  you  sorted by student name,  average,  trend,  or test
    results,  previous  versions  of MTG didn't display the criterion on
    which you were sorting;  you  simply saw the names listed in correct
    order.   In this version,  if you  sort  by  'unauth'd absence' (for
    example),  the  raw  score,  percentage,  and  average  columns  are
    cleared,  and  unauthorized  absences  are displayed in sorted order
    until you  press Esc;  then the regular screen is restored.   When a
    sort  is  done by  average,  the averages  remain  on screen and the
    letter grades are listed beside them.   This is a convenient time to
    do a  Print Screen  or use a  TSR utility like SNIPPER or GRABBER to
    capture this text to a file.


    QUICK SAVING A FILE

         Occasionally,  you  may  wish  to  save  a class data file to a
    different  drive or  path  from  which the  file  was  loaded.   For
    example,  you  have loaded  the file from data path C:\MTG\GRADES on
    your hard drive,  and while the file is in memory you'd also like to
    save it to a backup  floppy in drive B:;  or you are getting a drive
    error on drive C: (disk full, perhaps) and rather than lose the work
    you've done so far,  you'd like to save the file to a floppy disk in





    WHATSNEW.V21                                                  Page 5


    drive A:.   To do this,  instead of pressing Alt-S, press Ctrl-F1 to
    save to  drive A:,  or Ctrl-F2 to save to  drive B:.   If a path was
    previously set on the  floppy drive (e.g. A:\FALL92),  then the file
    will be saved here; otherwise it will be saved to the root directory
    A:\.   If you  need to set a path  on the floppy disk before saving,
    exit to DOS first (Alt-T) and  set the path (e.g. type A:,  and then
    type cd FALL92);  then exit from DOS back into MTG and press Ctrl-F1
    -- the file will now be saved to A:\FALL92.   The 'Changes have been
    made to this file'  reminder  will not be cleared when you use Quick
    Save,  only  when you have pressed Alt-S and saved to the usual data
    directory.


    CREATE A NEW SUBDIRECTORY

         From 'Select Data Pathname' at the Main Menu, and from 'Default
    Data Disk Location' at the  Change Setup menu,  you can now create a
    new  subdirectory.   This option has been added to the list of other
    options in the pop-up box in the lower right hand  corner,  and is a
    convenient feature at the start of a new semester; it's quite simple
    to create a different  subdirectory for new classes,  something like
    \SPRING92 or \FALL92.   Subdirectories  help  keep the various class
    files organized,  like  folders and drawers in a file cabinet.   The
    new subdirectory  is created  just below  the  level  you're at; for
    example if you are at C:\MTG\GRADES,  then the complete path for the
    new subdirectory would be C:\MTG\GRADES\SPRING92 (or whatever).

         Incidentally,  some  of  the  menus  have  been  re-ordered for
    greater ease of use.  At the Main Menu for example, 'Edit a file' is
    now the first  item on the  list since  this is what you will select
    most often.   Similarly,  the first  item on  the Report menu is now
    'Gradebook Report'.


    TEMPORARY EXIT TO DOS

         This feature has been  dropped  from  the Main Menu  and Change
    Setup menu;  no class  files are in memory at this point and it is a
    simple matter to  quickly  exit the program to perform DOS tasks and
    then return.   It is still available from an Edit screen however, by
    pressing Alt-T.   In addition,  MTG now  checks  that COMMAND.COM is
    available  somewhere  on the PATH defined in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file,
    since a second copy of the command processor must be loaded whenever
    you 'shell' to DOS.   If you  booted with a system disk in drive A:,
    you'll be prompted to re-insert the  system disk before shelling can
    occur.  This  situation will most likely arise with laptops, many of
    which don't have hard drives.





    Page 6                                                  WHATSNEW.V21


    CHOOSING A PRINTER

         If MTG detects two parallel ports,  an additional selection can
    be  made at  the  bottom of  the 'Choose A Printer' screen;  you may
    choose LPT1: or LPT2:.   If in doubt,  stick with LPT1: (this is the
    default).   This  feature may not  work with some print spoolers and
    has not been tested with networks.  If it doesn't work, you may have
    to pre-configure  the parallel  ports with a separate utility before
    running MTG.


    CURSOR COLOR

         Pressing  Alt-B on an  Edit  screen  cycles  the cursor through
    seven different colors; the default is black.   To save a new cursor
    color,  just  be sure to visit and exit the Change Setup menu before
    quitting the program;  the  change  will be saved in your SET_UP.MTG
    file.   One color in particular,  white (so you'll have bright white
    lettering on a grayish background), may show up better on monochrome
    monitors.


    REPORTS

         Progress Report now allows comments in the COMMENTS.TXT file to
    be 55 characters long instead of 36.   If longer than 36,  a comment
    is  truncated in the four pages of  comment menus with a small right
    arrow  at the  end of it,  but will  appear  in  its entirety at the
    bottom of the screen if selected, and when printed.

         At  the  bottom of the  screen,  four  blank  lines  now appear
    instead of two.   Any line may be left blank,  may contain a comment
    selected from above, or may be edited.  To enter your own remarks on
    any line, simply begin typing.   These changes give you a great deal
    more flexibility when filling out progress reports.

         The Class Summary report now allows you to print student number
    rather  than  student  name,  similar to the  Gradebook  and Missing
    Assignment reports.  As well, if the students have first been sorted
    by over-all average,  each  student's ranking is printed to the left
    of his name (highest mark is #1, second highest is #2, etc.).

         The Gradebook  report now  also prints  each student's  ranking
    under the  following conditions:  you have selected only one test to
    print,  and the students  have already been sorted on the results of
    this  test  at the  edit  screen  (Zoom  onto  Test.6,  press Alt-A,
    followed by 'Arrange By Results Of Test.6', for example).

         Two  new reports  have  been  added  ('report' is used  loosely
    here).  Graph Paper prints a reasonable facsimile of Cartesian graph
    paper in a 55 x 42 grid -- somewhat  finer resolution than the usual
    graph paper and  perhaps more  suitable for  certain  tasks.   Lined
    Paper,  as the name implies,  prints lined paper, 28 lines per page,





    WHATSNEW.V21                                                  Page 7


    with slightly more space between  lines than the usual 3-hole binder
    paper.  Multiple copies of either can be printed, or you may wish to
    just  photocopy  one of them.   These  reports were added mostly for
    convenience, in case you run out of one or the other.

         Lastly,  a small  bug was  fixed whereby a couple of extra line
    feeds were  being  generated at the  end of every 'print job' on dot
    matrix printers,  whether it be a single page,  a multi-page report,
    or a number of copies.  The reports themselves printed fine, but the
    paper had to be slightly  adjusted by hand before the next print job
    so that the print head was once again even with the perforation.  If
    this was ignored,  successive  jobs  would  force the print to creep
    down the page.   The  paper now  stops where it is supposed to stop,
    and you needn't fiddle with the printer between print jobs.


    COMMAND CHART

         For your convenience,  a single-page  keyboard command chart is
    now included,  giving you quick access to the commands used in Edit,
    Graph, Report, and the Notes editor (registered version only).


    MEMORY REQUIREMENTS

         If you  have  been 'getting by' with a 384K  computer,  you may
    find this is no longer  enough memory in which to run MTG.   The new
    features  have  enlarged  it  significantly,  and most likely a 512K
    computer will now be required, as originally specified.


    SCHOOL AND SCHOOL BOARD LICENSES

         MTG can now be configured for an individual user,  school, or a
    school  board  license.   In the  case of a  school or  school board
    license,  provision  has  been made in  the Change Setup  menu for a
    teacher to enter his/her name,  and the school's name (or board name
    in the case  of a  board license) is 'hard-coded'  into  the various
    reports.   License  fees  for  schools and  school  boards  will  be
    assessed on an individual  basis so the cost will be based fairly on
    the number of teachers involved;  see  the  file SCHOOL.LIC for more
    details or please enquire in writing for further information at this
    address:

         Coffee Mug Software
         95 Notch Hill Road, Suite 306
         Kingston, Ont.  K7M 5Y6
         Canada





        Page 8                                                  WHATSNEW.V21


    NOTES ON WEIGHTING BY CATEGORY

         Several  teachers  have  asked  if  MTG  can weight by category
    (Homework, Quizzes, etc.) rather than having to assign each test its
    own weight.   In the  programs I have  seen that employ weighting by
    categories,  I noticed that  within a category,  it is impossible to
    assign different weights,  so if for example, there are five quizzes
    within the Quiz category,  and that category is assigned a weight of
    15%,  then  each  quiz gets a weight of 3%, regardless of its actual
    standing or  significance  in  relation  to  other  quizzes  in  the
    category.  As well (at least in the programs I looked at),the number
    and names of categories are fixed, often with names like HW, TE, QU,
    etc. If I were to implement categories, I would still feel compelled
    to  allow  variable weighting  within the category,  which is little
    different from what MTG currently offers.

         However,  there is a way to organize weights by category, and I
    will give an example here.  First, it is assumed that you know ahead
    of time  how  each  category  will  be  weighted as a whole; 10% for
    homework, 25% for tests, etc.   So when you  enter the first item in
    a category,  say Test.1, give this item the _entire weight_ for that
    category.  When you enter scores for the next item in that category,
    you'll  divide  the first  weight in half and assign half to the new
    item (so each is 12.5%), and so on.   What about when you've got say
    5 tests and a total  weight of 17% must be  split evenly among them?
    Here's what you can do in such a case: first, change all the weights
    for  the  5  tests  to 1%.   Then  press  Alt-W,  for  Group  Weight
    Adjustment.  Answer 'No' to the question 'Adjust all weights?'. Then
    use the spacebar to mark each of the 5 tests.  Press Enter when done
    and  enter  a  weight of 17% for  that group.  The 17% will be split
    evenly (within 0.1%) among the 5 tests.

         This may seem more tedious at first,  but there are advantages.
    The tests  don't  have  to be  weighted  evenly; before  using Group
    Weight  Adjustment,  you  could assign  weights of 0.5%, 1%, 1%, 1%,
    and 1.5% for example.   Then  specify a group  weight of 17% and MTG
    calculates  the new weights _based on this ratio_.   Also,  there is
    no limit to the  number of  possible  categories,  or any naming re-
    striction  other  than a maximum of 6 characters,  though  obviously
    you need some  kind of naming  convention,  similar  to that used in
    the sample  file CHE-3A1!.   Finally, it's a simple matter to change
    any individual  weight or the group weight at any time during a sem-
    ester.   If you  haven't  used Group  Weight  Adjustment before, you
    might  want to  experiment  with the sample file first to see how it
    works and read the relevant section in the manual.

                             _______________________