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VICTORIA – British Columbia’s new system for streamlining student records and improving achievement has received national recognition for its cutting-edge technology, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.
“We are thrilled that our new student information system tool received the bronze medal for innovation and excellence at the Government Technology Exhibition Conference,” said Bond. “This new system helps schools better manage enrolment, attendance and student results, which in turn allows us to identify more ways to help students throughout B.C. improve achievement.”
The B.C. enterprise Student Information System (BCeSIS) placed third in the cross-jurisdictional partnerships category at the Distinction Awards 2006. The awards were presented this week in Ottawa at the Government Technology Exhibition Conference, an event for public sector information technology professionals in Canada. The awards are designed to recognize and celebrate leadership, innovation and excellence in enabling and managing e-government within the public sector.
BCeSIS is a web-accessible database that helps track student data such as timetables, attendance and performance. It also ensures consistency across districts in terms of how reports are generated and provides tools that can help teachers and administrators improve student achievement. For example, if Grade 3 classes are performing better this year in mathematics, districts could compare these results to results from previous years to help determine where changes have occurred. Students who are taking classes in several different schools can also be more easily tracked in the system using BCeSIS.
“It is amazing what can be accomplished through collaboration,” said Brian Kuhn, chair of the service management council and technology manager for the Coquitlam school district. “BCeSIS brought together educational representatives from government, school districts and independent schools to create a one-stop shop for data management that is expected to greatly improve the way schools track student achievement information across the province.”
Developed by school boards, independent schools and the B.C. Ministry of Education, BCeSIS replaces 25 systems that were previously used across British Columbia. All 60 school districts and 118 independent schools are in the process of implementing BCeSIS, with 647 schools currently using the system and registering 225,000 students.
BCeSIS is part of the new face of education in B.C. where technology is actively used to help improve student achievement. Other recently announced technology services for students include the new virtual library reference service AskAway, and LearnNow BC, the new virtual school that offers more choice for students in grades 10 through 12, no matter where they live in British Columbia.
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Ministry of Education 250 356-5963 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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