I am usually sceptical when it comes to claims that a reporting process can be speeded up 10 times, but I must confess that, on this occasion, there is some substance to the claims being made for the package being reviewed.
These days, teachers in Britain are bombarded with demands for reports, varying from the 5-14 curricular assessments to assessable elements at A-Level or Scottish Higher. The distressing factor is that reporting is going to get worse and the only solution is to have a user-friendly piece of idiot-proof software which has an easily understood manual.
I think that I am by no means alone in thinking this, as many of my colleagues have little time to devote to reading any long-winded manual, and I am glad to say Report comes with a modest six page effort. This was a plus point, though I must say that I thought the manual could have been more user-friendly, e.g there is too much technospeak in it, such as Étype ahead buffer.æ This does pose immediate problems for many would-be users, even for those involved in teaching computing! On the other hand, I greatly appreciated the use of graphics to go along with the text, principally as I find instructions very much easier to follow from an illustration Ö the old Chinese proverb, öa picture is worth a thousand wordsò, should be considered by all manual writers.
The manual contents could also have been better organized. For example, the sections on Phrases and Phrase Selection would have been better grouped together, both for the sake of continuity and also to assist understanding. On the question of being able to understand the manual, it would also have been very useful to have the section mentioning ÉAuto Stepæ before it is mentioned in the text, as this is rather confusing for a novice user.
Getting going
I found the package quite easy to use but I would strongly suggest that every user both reads the Help file in !Report and looks at the manual. This is essential, as it is not possible to understand the true potential of this package without going through these steps first. The main benefit is the ability to run !Report alongside any word processing package. I have tried two packages, Style and Advance, and I have not encountered any problems as yet.
Entering names and appropriate phrases was straightforward and it was gratifying to see everything appear on the screen where it was supposed to go. Obviously, 250 characters is a limitation, but it does offer the opportunity to put in a sentence about four lines long and, given the space allowed on most report cards, that is adequate enough. Also, the creation of new phrases is easy, provided you stick to the instructions.
Another useful feature is the gender changer which enables the user to define either male or female. This certainly helps to speed up report writing and avoids potentially embarrassing mistakes! Other useful features on the click panel include a facility for changing case and automatic returns. That is not all Ö the click panel also contains the words Ö and, but, also, or, can and not; all of these features are valuable to a regular user.
Alongside the words, there is a good selection of the more commonly used punctuations; again this is a feature that I would not be without. Obviously, there are other features that one might like to have, but I think the right balance has been struck in terms of what the average user might require. Also, it is useful to have a relatively uncluttered control panel, especially as it is necessary to have both a word processor and Report on the screen simultaneously. Apart from which, the average user would tend to become a bit confused with the presence of an all-dancing, all-singing panel for Report. Simplicity needs to be the order of the day.
Examples
The examples on the disc are somewhat of a mixed bag, varying from the very useful to the inexplicable. The Database, Maths Report and Year 3 examples are good, especially the Maths one, which is excellent. The poem and story are useful examples, but really merit further development to endorse the points they are trying to make. The Readme file is also worthwhile, but it could have incorporated some explanation for the technically disadvantaged who would not pick up the significance of the spaces and the Wrong! file. Indeed, a trouble-shooting section would have been very useful in the manual or, failing that, in the Readme file itself.
Forms
The idea of having the forms is basically sound, but some explanation is necessary for those that would not know that you cannot use the drawfiles in direct conjunction with Report. Instead, elements have to be carefully loaded into a DTP package and then used. However, I do think that it is essential to have these exemplars available as they give the average teacher some useful tips about Report construction. Having constructed school reports myself, I am familiar with the problems, the main one being trying to have a very comprehensive report in the smallest possible space with the maximum amount of information Ö a tall order! I think the exemplar material is very good and, even if you donæt use it, it does give some excellent ideas.
Other possible applications
I can see that Report would also be useful for teachers for the creation of standard letters, e.g. informing parents about discipline, or for individual letters concerning the childæs welfare.
From the pupilæs point of view, it would be useful, especially the phrases to help them with the production of their Record of Achievement. This would help those pupils who have difficulty in expressing themselves, as well as those who have spelling difficulties. Obviously, the teacher would have to help, but the end result would be infinitely better than some of the products I have seen. Reportæs facilities could be of use to people outside Education in the Business World for creating Standard letters, not to mention similar uses for people writing ÉThank Youæ letters! The potential for saving time is tremendous.
Overall assessment
Report is a really useful package despite the minor reservations concerning the manual, and I am going to twist a couple of arms to get a copy for my school. For the potential time saved, the price is a steal and, most important of all, it is easy to use. To get your copy of Report, you will have to send a cheque for either ú14.95 (single user licence) or ú29.95 (site licence) to Robert Lytton, 7 Helmsley Drive, West Park, Leeds LS 16 5HY.áuá
