How To Create An Inventory For School Equipment

  Inventory of School Resources

 Having an inventory which keeps track of all the valuable assets owned and used by your school is vital. Without one, it’s impossible to know the total value of your assets, what the school owns and to keep track of what goes missing or gets stolen.

But how do you create an inventory for your school’s equipment? Here’s what you should include, and why.

Why create an inventory?

There are many reasons why it’s a good idea to keep an inventory of all your school’s equipment. Most important is that, without one, you won’t know what the school owns, where each item is and how much every asset is worth. This record of your assets is useful for both general information and security purposes. Here are some other reasons why inventories come in handy:

• Allowing capitalised assets to be accounted for properly
• Making it possible to create management reports
• Allowing for future planning; you can see when equipment needs to be replaced
• Improving accountability

What information should I store in an inventory?

Although the information in your inventory should be as detailed as possible, it’s up to you to decide what you believe is necessary. Here are some of the inventory details/categories you could include:

• Unique asset code
• Date purchased/received
• Estimated value of item
• Building and room location
• Make and model number
• Purchase price
• Asset status (e.g. on loan)
• Serial number
• Condition
• Quantity
• Order number

Note that not all of these details are applicable to every item you are likely to buy. You may find you keep more details about each individual tablet computer you buy than the textbooks your school owns, for example. However, the more information logged, the easier it will be to find missing items and make a claim on assets that are stolen.

You also need to set out guidelines regarding what assets should be included in the inventory. Many schools only keep a record of items worth more than a certain amount (e.g. £200). This way you’re not keeping track of every single calculator, pen or ruler.

You may also want to keep a separate inventory for items worth under £200, but are particularly attractive or portable, and therefore more likely to be stolen. Items such as fans, cameras and mobile phones are all seen as attractive and portable, so should be closely monitored.

Maintaining your inventory

All assets within the inventory should be checked at least once a year. The database must be updated according to any changes – for example, the item’s location or condition may change. Whenever an item goes missing, the inventory should be updated immediately.

Never delete an item from your inventory, even if it breaks or is sold off, as you need a complete record of everything the school has ever owned. Instead, keep a separate inventory which tracks which assets have been disposed of/written off and the reason why. You also need to keep track of any items which are stolen or lost.

Hopefully our guide has given you a good idea on what to include in your inventory and how to get started. We know that keeping an inventory of all your school’s equipment may seem like a time-consuming task, but it needn’t be. If you have the right school inventory manager system in place, it can be easy to keep an eye on all those important assets.

School Resources for Kids of All Ages

Teachers can always use extra help when it comes to teaching resources. Whether the teacher teaches at a school or home-schools, there are plenty of teaching aids available that can make the task easier.

JumpStart has a large collection of school resources. The activities and worksheets here are categorized by subject:

 

 Primary School Resources

Primary school resources are perhaps more important than for any other age group. Primary school students are at the beginning of their educational journey, and it is at this first stage that teachers should captivate their interest and instill in them a love for learning. Students at this stage are not used to classroom settings. A lot of fun activities, games and other such forms of learning help them adapt to the concept of a classroom and a teacher. Primary school resources help teachers with activity ideas, lesson plans, worksheets, craft projects and other such teaching aids.

Middle School Resources

Middle school resources include supplementary teaching material for teachers like lesson plans, teaching aids, etc., to keep lessons fun and interesting. Additionally, there are lots of resources for students like quizzes, online games and exercises for extra practice. Teachers can find networking facilities to discuss classroom practices and challenges with other middle school teachers.

High School Resources

High school resources focus more on students’ needs. The topics are very specific, and the teaching/studying tools are more about getting students interested in the subject matter. High school study tools include a wide range of self-help resources. Teachers and students can find homework help, project ideas, practice material, audio-visual teaching aids and material for extra reading in addition to school resources like lesson plans, worksheets and activities.

Home School Resources

Plenty of home school resources for all subjects and grades are available on the internet. These include a wide variety of curricula to choose from for each subject, curriculum reviews, home-schooling community forums, printable worksheets, activities and more!

 

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Benefits of managing school inventory using school management software

 

 Managing school inventory using school management software

What is inventory management?

Generally speaking, inventory management or asset management is the management of inventory or stock. In educational institutions like schools and colleges, these would be assets like stationary, moveable infrastructure like chair, tables, desks, blackboards, teaching aids like overhead projectors, televisions, video players, DVDs, library assets like books and magazines, etc.

Inventory management in schools, thus, is the management of these tools and resources to ensure that they are being cared for properly, utilised in the ideal fashion, and the returns on the expenditure and labour on them are high. Inventory management thus affects multiple concerns a school would have – from ensuring their investment has good returns but also ensuring that all their stakeholders benefit from everything the school or college has to offer.

Why school inventory management?

We talk often about how schools need to be supported by a robust infrastructure and a wealth of resources – inventory management actually takes care of the execution of these ideals. Thanks to inventory management we are able to fully and effectively use all the resources we have at our disposal in our classrooms, and on a greater scale, in our educational institutions like schools and colleges.

It would be a huge waste of financial resources and procurement efforts to be lackadaisical about inventory management in our already underfunded and under-resourced schools and colleges. A carefully planned and consistent approach to the management of these resources would ensure that we gain the maximum use from them while also ensuring their longevity. Inventory management ensures we get the best returns on our expenditures on much-needed assets, tools, resources, and infrastructure in our schools and colleges.

What are the benefits of School Inventory Management Module?

We have briefly described the process of using school management software to manage your inventory above. It is clear that process-driven inventory management and the use of school management software are a great fit. Below we explain in further detail how school management software benefits schools and colleges who want to better their inventory management process and see better outcomes:

1. Better Organisation of School Property

The first highly visible benefit of using inventory management module to manage school tools, resources, infrastructure – just all of an educational institution’s assets – are that you will immediately see this entire process becoming more organised. When educational institutions use school management software they are forced to first make an accounting of all the assets they possess and register them within the software. This means there is one place they can turn to to get a comprehensive and detailed reckoning of all their assets.

2. Superlative Tracking of Assets

Since all requests for use, requisition, procurement and disbursal of assets go through a inventory management module and all school property is closely tracked. This cuts down on one-time borrowing or informal exchanges – which is invariably how schools lose track of their assets. This also means that there is a drastic reduction in the loss or theft of expensive school property. It is apparent within one glance where any given item, tool, resource, or asset is with the school management software since it cannot be signed out by an unauthorised person.

3. Anytime and Anywhere Accessibility

No more standing in queues or filling out forms in triplicate for administrators managing inventory or the students and teachers trying to access them. The process of inventory management is far quicker and simpler than ever for all stakeholders – all thanks to the use of school management software. Students and teachers seeking to check out an item can only do so through inventory module in school management software. They can only do this if they are authorised to do so, which rules out an unauthorised misuse of school inventory. After this, they have to place a request through the school management software to procure the item in question.

Unlike before when this would have to be done with the inventory manager in person, after following a laborious and time-consuming process, teachers and students can log in any time into their school management software and raise an indent or a request for a certain item that they need. This does not need to be done within school hours but at any time or place of their convenience. This anywhere and anytime accessibility thanks to school management software means that school inventory is actually helping the very people it was meant to help while also being used appropriately – a win-win for all stakeholders!

 

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Difference Between reliability and validity

 Reliability And Validity

What is reliability?

Reliability refers to how consistently a method measures something. If the same result can be consistently achieved by using the same methods under the same circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable.

You measure the temperature of a liquid sample several times under identical conditions. The thermometer displays the same temperature every time, so the results are reliable.

A doctor uses a symptom questionnaire to diagnose a patient with a long-term medical condition. Several different doctors use the same questionnaire with the same patient but give different diagnoses. This indicates that the questionnaire has low reliability as a measure of the condition.

What is validity?

Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to measure. If research has high validity, that means it produces results that correspond to real properties, characteristics, and variations in the physical or social world.

High reliability is one indicator that a measurement is valid. If a method is not reliable, it probably isn’t valid.

If the thermometer shows different temperatures each time, even though you have carefully controlled conditions to ensure the sample’s temperature stays the same, the thermometer is probably malfunctioning, and therefore its measurements are not valid.

If a symptom questionnaire results in a reliable diagnosis when answered at different times and with different doctors, this indicates that it has high validity as a measurement of the medical condition.

However, reliability on its own is not enough to ensure validity. Even if a test is reliable, it may not accurately reflect the real situation.

The thermometer that you used to test the sample gives reliable results. However, the thermometer has not been calibrated properly, so the result is 2 degrees lower than the true value. Therefore, the measurement is not valid.

A group of participants take a test designed to measure working memory. The results are reliable, but participants’ scores correlate strongly with their level of reading comprehension. This indicates that the method might have low validity: the test may be measuring participants’ reading comprehension instead of their working memory.

Validity is harder to assess than reliability, but it is even more important. To obtain useful results, the methods you use to collect your data must be valid: the research must be measuring what it claims to measure. This ensures that your discussion of the data and the conclusions you draw are also valid.

How are reliability and validity assessed?

Reliability can be estimated by comparing different versions of the same measurement. Validity is harder to assess, but it can be estimated by comparing the results to other relevant data or theory. Methods of estimating reliability and validity are usually split up into different types.

 

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14 Principles of Henri Fayol of Adminstration Theory

 

Administrative Theory or Basic 14 Principles of Henri Fayol

The administrative theory is the important one of administrative theories. Henri Fayol created it. It is also known as 14 principles of management or fourteen principles of management.

Henri Fayol was born in 1841 to a French family. He was a prolific writer on technical and scientific matters, as well as management. His most outstanding writing was ‘Industrial and General Management.’ He was appointed as an engineer in a Mining company. By 1888, he had risen to the Managing Director position of the company. He retired from the position of Managing Director in 1918. He was a director of the company up to his death (84the age; December 2925). Henri Fayol was a management practitioner with experience.

Administrative Theory or Basic 14 Principles of Henri Fayol

HigherStudy.org

34 2 minutes read

The administrative theory is the important one of administrative theories. Henri Fayol created it. It is also known as 14 principles of management or fourteen principles of management.

Henri Fayol was born in 1841 to a French family. He was a prolific writer on technical and scientific matters, as well as management. His most outstanding writing was ‘Industrial and General Management.’ He was appointed as an engineer in a Mining company. By 1888, he had risen to the Managing Director position of the company. He retired from the position of Managing Director in 1918. He was a director of the company up to his death (84the age; December 2925). Henri Fayol was a management practitioner with experience.

Table of Contents

• Administrative Theory (14 Principles of Management):
  • DA DUU Sub-In Rop CSOE Stp.I Esprit
• Criticism of Administrative Theory (14 Principles of Management):
  • Conclusion:

Administrative Theory (14 Principles of Management):

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Henri Fayol created Administrative Theory or 14 principles of management on the management. His Administrative Theory or 14 principles of management following are:

1. Division of Work: This principle the same as Adam Smith’s ‘division of labor.’
2. Authority: Manager must be able to give the order. Authority gives this right.
3. Discipline: Employees must obey and respect the rules and regulations which govern the organization.
4. Unity of Command: Every employee should receive order or direction from only one upward or superior.
5. Unity of Direction: Each group of the organization should be directed by one manager using one plan.
6. Subordination of Individual Interests to the General Interest: The management must see that its aims are always supreme.
7. Remuneration of Personnel: The laborers must be paid a reasonable salary for their work.
8. Centralization: The process of transforming assigning decision-making authority to a higher level of an organizational hierarchy; it is the centralization that should follow this.
9. Scalar Chain: The line of authority from top management to the lower ranks represents the hierarchy or scalar chain. This chain should follow.
10. Order: people and materials should be in the right place at the right time.
11. Equity: In running a business, a combination of kindness and justice needs.
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel: Staff work is well if job safety and career improvement are guarantees to the team.
13. Initiative: Allowing all personnel to show their initiative in some way is a source of stretch for the organization.
14. Esprit de Corps: Promoting team spirit will build unity and harmony within the organization.

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Differentiation in the Classroom: Content, Process, or Product?

 Differentiation in the Classroom: Content, Process, or Product?

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Fair is not always equal.” This is especially true in a classroom setting when you are dealing with a group of students with different reading levels and academic skillsets. And then there are other things to consider like their home life, educational background, and emotional needs. All students do not need the exact same support in order to be successful in a classroom setting, and that is where differentiation becomes critical.

 

Carol Ann Tomlinson is an educator and author, well-known and respected for her research and work with differentiated instruction. She believes there are four ways to differentiate instruction: through content, process, product, and learning environment. For the purposes of this blog post, we are going to focus on the first three only.  Below is an explanation of each of those three methods, as well as a few examples of each.

1.      Content – Content is differentiated when students are given fewer vocabulary terms or mathematical formulas to learn, or a different text to read. This type of differentiation can also relate to the vertical alignment of standards. For example, if a third-grade student does not understand the idea that multiplication is repeated addition, something they should have learned in second grade, the current teacher will need to reteach that content before moving on to grade-level content.

2.      Process – Teachers differentiate their instruction when they work one-on-one with a student needing extra help, or pull a small group. Even something as simple as repeating directions, or offering written directions, is considered a way to differentiate instruction. For this type of differentiation, like setting/environment differentiation, the academic standards are not being changed or “watered down”, it is simply a method of scaffolding so that students can be successful with grade-level content.

3.      Product – Tasks are differentiated when you modify the length or scope or offer extended time to complete it. When the scope of a task is modified, it may possibly include lower-level thought processes, but only with the intent of scaffolding student learning so that eventually, they are ready to meet grade-level content expectations.

 

The above examples showed just one way to differentiate each method. For a more complete list of strategies, download the Differentiation Strategies resource.

 

But let’s be honest, it is not realistic or even feasible to differentiate content, process, and product for every single lesson. So as a classroom teacher, how do you know which of the three methods you should differentiate? Your differentiation methods should be based on the needs of your students and the purpose of your lesson. Consider the following examples:

1.      If you have a student that is reading below grade level, you will likely need to regularly differentiate content for him/her by offering a text at their instructional or independent reading level.

2.      If you have a student with dysgraphia, you may need to differentiate his/her learning process to ensure that they have access to a word processing program, rather than having to handwrite their assignments.

3.      If you have a student with a learning disability and accompanying IEP that designates reduced test length, then you will have to differentiate the product by shortening the assessments you give.

 

As you consider the needs of your students, think about these six aspects:

1.      Special Needs – This is probably the most important aspect to consider because it is often legally required. If you have students on a 504 plan or with an IEP, any accommodations or modification listed in those plans is a legal obligation you must meet. These methods of differentiation are not optional and can include all three methods.

2.      Level of Prior Knowledge – If a student has gaps in his knowledge from the prior year, you will likely need to differentiate content in order to catch him up, before he is able to learn grade-level content.

3.      Reading Level – As mentioned in the example about, a student reading below level will need access to appropriately leveled texts. The same can be said for students reading above grade level. Remember, differentiation is not only to help struggling learners!

4.      Student Behavior – If you have students with severe behavior issues or on a behavior contract, often times their learning processes may need to be differentiated. This might include having them work alone instead of in a small group or keeping them separated from a particular student, or even ensuring that they always work alongside a teacher or aide.

5.      Learning Styles – Do you have students that are strong visual learners, and always learn best from graphs, illustrations, or graphic organizers? What about students who really only take in information if they can talk it out themselves? Or maybe you have students that are very tactile and need to manipulate objects in order to solidify concepts in their mind? All of these examples represent different learning styles and might be a reason why you would differentiate process (how they learn) or product (how they demonstrate their knowledge).

6.      Lesson Purpose – Consider the purpose of your lesson. If the purpose is for students to learn presentation skills such as public speaking and debate, then you can easily differentiate the content to a topic that students are passionate about. However, if the purpose of the lesson is definitive content that MUST be learned, you would not be able to differentiate content, but might allow some flexibility in the process or product.

 

For a more thorough understanding of how these six needs of students play a role in choosing a method of differentiation, download the Choosing a Method of Differentiation Matrix below.

If you only take away one thing from this blog article, let it be that differentiation is the process of adapting an activity or its instruction to make the content accessible and appropriately rigorous to all children. All children is the key phrase! Differentiation is not just limited to students who struggle academically and need support but is done authentically based on the needs of each student in a classroom.

Implementation Goal

Refer to the Choosing a Method of Differentiation Matrix, and think about your particular students. Focus on one student, or a group of students with similar abilities, and use the matrix to determine an area of differentiation for an upcoming lesson you have planned. Next, refer to the Differentiation Strategies resource and choose at least two strategies you can implement that will help that student or group of students meet their learning objective. Implement these strategies as you teach the lesson, and then take time to reflect on the success of the student(s). Did the differentiation strategies help them achieve their goal? Would these strategies work in other lessons or content areas? Use the answers to your reflections to help you continuously improve your future lessons and ensure that your differentiated approaches to instruction support each child so that every student is successful.

 

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Validity Of Test And 4 Types of Validity

 

Validity Of Test

Validity tells you how accurately a method measures something. If a method measures what it claims to measure, and the results closely correspond to real-world values, then it can be considered valid. There are four main types of validity:

• Construct validity: Does the test measure the concept that it’s intended to measure?
• Content validity: Is the test fully representative of what it aims to measure?
• Face validity: Does the content of the test appear to be suitable to its aims?
• Criterion validity: Do the results correspond to a different test of the same thing?

Note that this article deals with types of test validity, which determine the accuracy of the actual components of a measure. If you are doing experimental research, you also need to consider internal and external validity, which deal with the experimental design and the generalizability of results.

What is a construct?

A construct refers to a concept or characteristic that can’t be directly observed, but can be measured by observing other indicators that are associated with it.

Constructs can be characteristics of individuals, such as intelligence, obesity, job satisfaction, or depression; they can also be broader concepts applied to organizations or social groups, such as gender equality, corporate social responsibility, or freedom of speech.

Example

There is no objective, observable entity called “depression” that we can measure directly. But based on existing psychological research and theory, we can measure depression based on a collection of symptoms and indicators, such as low self-confidence and low energy levels.

What is construct validity?

Construct validity is about ensuring that the method of measurement matches the construct you want to measure. If you develop a questionnaire to diagnose depression, you need to know: does the questionnaire really measure the construct of depression? Or is it actually measuring the respondent’s mood, self-esteem, or some other construct?

To achieve construct validity, you have to ensure that your indicators and measurements are carefully developed based on relevant existing knowledge. The questionnaire must include only relevant questions that measure known indicators of depression.

The other types of validity described below can all be considered as forms of evidence for construct validity.

Content validity

Content validity assesses whether a test is representative of all aspects of the construct.

To produce valid results, the content of a test, survey or measurement method must cover all relevant parts of the subject it aims to measure. If some aspects are missing from the measurement (or if irrelevant aspects are included), the validity is threatened.

Example

A mathematics teacher develops an end-of-semester algebra test for her class. The test should cover every form of algebra that was taught in the class. If some types of algebra are left out, then the results may not be an accurate indication of students’ understanding of the subject. Similarly, if she includes questions that are not related to algebra, the results are no longer a valid measure of algebra knowledge.

 

Face validity

Face validity considers how suitable the content of a test seems to be on the surface. It’s similar to content validity, but face validity is a more informal and subjective assessment.

Example

You create a survey to measure the regularity of people’s dietary habits. You review the survey items, which ask questions about every meal of the day and snacks eaten in between for every day of the week. On its surface, the survey seems like a good representation of what you want to test, so you consider it to have high face validity.

As face validity is a subjective measure, it’s often considered the weakest form of validity. However, it can be useful in the initial stages of developing a method.

Criterion validity

Criterion validity evaluates how closely the results of your test correspond to the results of a different test.

What is a criterion?

The criterion is an external measurement of the same thing. It is usually an established or widely-used test that is already considered valid.

What is criterion validity?

To evaluate criterion validity, you calculate the correlation between the results of your measurement and the results of the criterion measurement. If there is a high correlation, this gives a good indication that your test is measuring what it intends to measure.

Example

A university professor creates a new test to measure applicants’ English writing ability. To assess how well the test really does measure students’ writing ability, she finds an existing test that is considered a valid measurement of English writing ability, and compares the results when the same group of students take both tests. If the outcomes are very similar, the new test has a high criterion validity.

 

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ADB Internship Program for Graduate Students 2021

 The Internship Program is a project-oriented learning opportunity for graduate students to gain experience through research assignments based on ADB’s current operational needs.

ADB advertises internship assignments twice a year and welcomes motivated, open-minded, and self-directed individuals to apply.

The internship program offers the opportunity to:

• work in a major international development organization;
• work collaboratively with experienced professionals from over 50 different countries;
• gain a deeper understanding of development finance and the impact of the work ADB does; and
• contribute to ADB’s business through research outputs.

Internship candidates must:

• be enrolled in a Master’s- or PhD-level program at a school in one of the ADB member nations, both prior to and after the internship assignment;
• gain a deeper understanding of development finance and the impact of the work ADB does; and
• contribute to ADB’s business through research outputs.

Internship candidates must:

• be enrolled in a Master’s- or PhD-level program at a school in one of the ADB member nations, both prior to and after the internship assignment;
• be engaged in academic study in a field directly related to ADB’s work;
• be a national of one of ADB’s members;
• possess an excellent command of English; and
• have professional experience relevant to the assignment.

The internship application process is online through the ADB Career and Employment System (ACES). School registration and nomination is no longer required.

Application period for the 2021 Internship Program:

• 1st batch: 1 August to 30 September 2020
  • On board: January 2021 onwards
• 2nd batch: 1 December 2020 to 31 January 2021
  • On board: June 2021 onwards

Selection Process

Eligible candidates apply through the ADB Career and Employment System (ACES).

• ADB announces the assignments on the website and candidates choose assignments of interest.
• Candidates apply through ACES, prepare for their CVs and answer the essay questions.
  • All documents (CV and essay) are uploaded to ACES to complete application.
  • Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
  • To avoid errors in submission, applicants are advised not to wait until the last day of the application period in submitting their internship applications.
• ADB evaluates applications based on: eligibility requirements, relevance of academic study and work experience; and the level of interest and motivation to contribute to development work. ADB also considers institutional representation, gender, and nationality balance in the over-all intern selection process.

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