SEQTA takes a very different approach to the design of its software. We don't just consult with teachers, we involve them in every step of the process. The design of our new marks book illustrates just how this works.

After the release of our original marks book, it became clear that teachers wanted more, so we embarked on a twelve month program to make sure that all of our teachers' needs were met in the next version.

Attendees play with the new marks book at one of the marks book discussion fora

Initially, feedback was taken during training sessions at our schools. This feedback was included in our development list, and a full specification for the revised marks book was drafted.

A discussion paper was then distributed to all of our schools, including mock-up screens. Our teachers then provided further feedback on the planned changes, and our design team contacted many teachers to discuss their suggestions to ensure that we had a good understanding of their needs.

Once we were certain that we had fully understood what our users required, we began the process of developing the new marks book. As the design began to take shape, Grant Grosser visited a number of schools (existing and potential clients), soliciting further feedback for the refinement of the designs.

When the new marks book was operable, we invited our schools to send delegates to a marks book discussion forum. Some twenty-five teachers attended these sessions and had the opportunity to actually use the new marks book and provide further feedback.

The feedback from these users was then incorporated into the final design, which is now in testing and due to be released late in August.

SEQTA's new marks book, which is integrated into Teachers' Assistant, is the most powerful, yet easy-to-use, web-based marks book currently available. It places extensive functionality into the hands of every teacher, irrespective of their technical skill level, where previously such functionality required extensive skills in the use of spreadsheet formulae.

Here's a taste of what even the most technologically-challenged teacher can achieve using the new SEQTA marks book:

• Mark using either numerical or non-numerical systems;
• View statistics, such as mean, standard deviation, and media for one class or many;
• Automatically calculate grades for single or multiple classes;
• Manually moderate grades for single or multiple classes;
• Add comments to marks (both private comments for teachers only and public comments for students and parents to view on-line);
• Select predicted marks using a range of algorithms, such as class/cohort mean, median, or standardised scores;
• Create groups of assessments and weight them differentially;
• Create different types of assessment and weight them differentially;
• Mark directly against criteria/outcomes, such as those included in state and national syllabi;
• Write academic reports from within the marks book screen;
• Elect to display results to students and parents online (continuous reporting); and
• Obtain printouts of the marks book in various forms.

SEQTA teachers are genuinely excited about the new marks book. Call SEQTA on +61 8 9301 2277 to find out more about our amazing suite of products, or browse the website further.

SEQTA Software was recently lauded as a Western Australian State Award Winner in the 2010 Australian Information Industry Association's (AIIA) iAwards. The WA awards presentation was held at KPMG on July 7^th. Grant Grosser and Barry van Oudtshoorn were present to receive the award (presented in the e-Learning category) on behalf of SEQTA.

The iAwards are Australia's premier technology innovation awards programme, and recognise businesses and products that will lead Australia into the global digital economy.

Grant Grosser, SEQTA's founding director, said that the award validated the investment SEQTA has made in the teaching profession in Australia:

Having spent four years developing the SEQTA suite, it's good to have official recognition that what we have developed is both unique and innovative, and that it meets the needs of teachers.

So much software seems bent on making simple tasks difficult, so we've worked hard to provide teachers with a piece of software that actually simplifies their work. It's fantastic to have our hard work recognised through this award.

There are eighteen categories in the iAwards, and awards are only presented if there is a worthy candidate. For 2010 in WA, only six of the eighteen categories were awarded.

As winner of the e-Learning category, SEQTA is now a finalist in the National iAwards. These will be presented on August 5^th at the iAwards Gala Dinner, held at the Palladium, Crown Complex in Melbourne. Over a thousand leading members of the Australian ICT community are expected to attend the event, which AIIA describes as the industry's "night of nights".

Grant Grosser and Barry van Oudtshoorn receive the iAward plaque from Julie de Jong (Associate Executive Director, Department of Commerce, Science Innovation and Business.)

The plaque awarded to SEQTA by the AIIA.

We understand the extra workload that other systems that let you manage online content require, and we’ve done something about it.

To our knowledge, SEQTA coneqt is the online online learning management system that automatically manages the content for teachers, without teachres having to do anything more than they did twenty years ago.

The SEQTA coneqt home screen

Used in conjunction with Teachers’ Assistant, teachers need only write their programme, include their resources and homework in the programme, set assessments, and enter the results – the online content is done with no further action.

Find out more about SEQTA coneqt.