2. Importing
2.1 Attributes of pupil's data
2.2 Uploading the file with pupil's data
2.3 Preparing the pupil's data
2.4 Generating the users for the pupil accounts
The import main functions are:
Janitor is capable of processing two different file formats for upload of pupil's data: fixed record length and comma delimited.
The following attributes are used to construct pupil accounts and classs (grades).
first name
infix
last name
grade(class)
date of birth
NOTICE: Because some standard file formats only use the last two digits of the year, the correct century is inferred by using the current date, i.e. the date on which the upload is processed. That is, if the value of the two-digit year is greater than the current year, the century is assumed to be the 20th century and thus 1900 is added to the two-digit year. If the value of the specified two-digit year is less or equal to the current (two-digit) year, the century is assumed to be the 21st century and therefore 2000 is added. This construction is based on the fact that it is highly unlikely that a pupil's date of birth will be in the future. This means that in 2005 the years '06' to '99' will be interpreted as '1906' to '1999' and years '00' to '05' will be interpreted as '2000' to '2005'. Note that all years are converted to 4-digit years internally.
NOTICE: The default file format is patterned after the so-called 'EDEX' file format (EDucational EXchange). This fixed record length format is used by many publishers of school administration software in The Netherlands to exchange pupil's data.
NOTICE: The pupil data should not contain comma's ',' or colons ':' because these characters are used as delimiters. This applies to both the Fixed Record Length and the Comma Separated Values.
Explanation:
NOTICE: The distribution defaults correspond the the EDEX format as mentioned before.
This screen consists of two (long) tables. The first table is a list of classes-to-be. This table is labeled 'groups'. The second table contains a list of all pupil-accounts-to-be. This table is labeled 'users'.
The first table ('groups') has three columns.
Class id:
This is the (unique) identifier of a class. It is used to link
pupils to classes (grades).
Groupname:
This is the suggested name of the class (grade). Note
that by default the name of the class consists of the word 'class'
followed by the ID in the previous column. This field can be
edited so you can change the default name into something else
('ladybirds' instead of 'grade1', 'fireflies' instead of 'grade3',
etc.).
Comments:
This is the place where Janitor shows comments when
something is wrong with this particular class.
The second table ('users') has four columns.
Class id:
This class id links the
pupil to the class (grade) in the previous table.
Username:
This is the suggested username that will be used for this
pupil. Note that this username is based on the first name of the
pupil. This field can be edited.
Full Name:
This is the suggested Full name of the pupil. It is
constructed using first name, infix and last name from the uploaded
file. This field can be edited.
Comments:
This is the place where Janitor shows comments when
something is wrong with this particular pupil account.
The message in red ('More editing required') at the top of the screen indicates that there are some issues that need to be resolved before the accounts can be created. An example is the suggested username 'andre marie'. This username contains a space which is not acceptable in a username. Therefore the record is shown with a different background colour. The following colour coding is used:
At the bottom of the page there are two buttons: [Recalculate] and [Go back] as shown in the illustration below.
After editing the appropriate fields ('Class', 'Username' or 'Full Name') you can press the [Recalculate] button. This instructs Janitor to re-evaluate the collection of new accounts. Any conflicts that yield a 'red' background must be resolved. Issues in an 'orange' background are mere warnings but are acceptable as far as Janitor is concerned.
A solution for the name clashes might be to add a digit to the younger pupils with the same name, e.g. Mary Wollenstonecraft in grade 6 gets to get the account 'mary' whereas Mary Fields in grade 1 gets the account 'mary1'.
Another solution might be to append the first letter of the last name to the first name, e.g. William Morris in grade 7 gets 'williamm' (with two M's) and William Blake (also in grade 7) gets 'williamb'. However, this does not solve the problem completely, because by the same token William Bradford in grade 3 would also have a claim on the account name 'williamb'. There is no ultimate answer for these problems, you have to develop your own strategy here.
NOTICE: The example with the Williams illustrates that the account names should not just be unique within a grade (the two Williams in grade 7) but throughout the complete school population. There is only a single list of accounts on the server and all accounts have to be unique.
NOTICE: It is important to construct the account names very carefully because the username is associated with the pupils throughout their school careers.
NOTICE: It may be hard for Maria Montessori, the teacher in grade 7, to link the names 'william1' and 'william3' to the correct William. The easiest way to learn who is who is probaly to ask the local systems administrator (Freddie Frinton) or the ICT coordinator (Amelia Cackle). They can easily retrieve an overview of all classes where the usernames are shown together with the full names.
You can use the [Recalculate] button repeatedly while working your way through the lists, resolving all pending issues. In the two illustrations below all 'red' issues are resolved but an 'orange' issue is introduced. The pupils of grade 1 and grade 2 are combined into a single class (grade). This is also indicated via the comment 'Name is used more than once'. However, despite the 'orange' issues Janitor still considers the data acceptable, as indicated by the remark 'Everything looks OK' at the top of the screen.
NOTICE: The whole procedure, from uploading a file upto the moment that you can press the [Generate] button has to take place in a single session. There is no way to save your changes and continue lateron.
Here you see the list of pupils with their class, username, fullname and generated initial password. This information has been stored in the users table of Site@School. This list is presented only once so print it and keep it in a safe place! After you return to the pupils main page you see a download link in the menu:
After the import has finished the information is also stored in a file stored in starnet/media directory. The filename is random (MD5) filename of 32 characters, which is hard to guess from the outside world. When you press the download link an email is sent (if your email address is filled in in your user preferences) with a CSV file containing the imported pupils/teachers.
The email contains a list of comma delimited entries, which can be copied to eg. excel or saved as a seperate file on your computer for later reference.
Class, Username, Fullname, Password: class6,bipin,Bipin Chandra,ADZT2016 class6,fred,Fred Salarbux,HKMR2359 class6,william2,William Bradford,LNVX8530 class6,william3,William R. Morris,DPUV0892 class7,alice,Alice Longworth,ADLM2790 class7,caroline,Caroline Lucretia Herschel,JNRT3604 class7,abigail,Abigail Adams,ADRU8091 class7,alicia,Alicia Boole,MPSV1689 class7,andremarie,Andre marie Ampere,TLZB1249 class7,andrew,Andrew Reese,AGPU5789 class7,branwell,Branwell Bronte,HIPV1478 class7,catherine,Catherine Hayes,ENSX1278 class7,mckay,McKay Alidjan,ZYDM1258 class7,william1,William Blake,DJVX2340 class7,william4,William Tilghman,DFNV1378Because the file contains sensitive information (passwords) it is best to delete the file after the email was sent! This can be done with the filemanager.
Author: Dirk Schouten <schoutdi (at) knoware (dot) nl> Last updated: 2006-02-22