SS: Student information and access

Jan 23, 2018

The application requires an existing student list in order to provide identification and verification.  This is important to ensure students selections are not compromised.

Importing student information

We design the import process to handle student data in a number of standard formats.  The majority of schools are using a Student Management System, and the majority of these systems do provide a CSV export of student data.  You will find a list of the currently supported import formats in the following location:

 

  • Click on “School Settings” in the Configuration menu
  • Click on the “SS” tab for the Subject Selection elements
  • Click the “Edit” button in the top right of the page to edit these values
  • The Integration field has a select box with options for each SMS currently supported
  • Select your SMS from this list.  If your SMS is not listed here, then read on.

 

If we don’t currently have an import format compatible with your Student Management System we will generally be happy to develop this import for you – we simply need a sample of the student data that is exported from your SMS preferably in a CSV format.

Once you have your student data you can click on the ‘Import/Export’ link in the Configuration menu and proceed to import your student data.

Authentication and Verification

We use the student data primarily to authenticate the student (or in other words identify them).  There are a number of ways we could do this and they will have varying levels of effectiveness and security.  However we will consider the security aspect in the next section of this article.  For now we are simply trying to authenticate or identify the student who is trying to access the system.

The simplest method is to have the student type in some key identifying data, such as their student number, or name or email address, etc.

  • Click on “School Settings” in the Configuration menu
  • Click on the “SS” tab for the Subject Selection elements
  • Click the “Edit” button in the top right of the page to edit these values
  • Select an option from the Authentication field values
  • You must enable at least one of the verification options.  You may enable both.
  • Save these settings
Depending on the settings selected the authentication and verification process will vary from school to school.  Below is an approximate description of the intended use:
  1. The student will access the site either from a web browser on their computer or from a tablet or smartphone.  The URL should be made available via the school intranet, website, or an email notice.  Giving the students a clickable link will simply their access.
  2. The students are first prompted to enter their authentication information.  (Refer to the authentication field selected above).  If the authentication field was the student name they will be prompted to enter the first and last name (as it appears in the student management system).  If using the web browser they will also be required to solve some simple addition – this maths question will deter any SPAM engines from posting to the website.  If the value entered matches the authentication field(s) then we progress to the next step.  If the data does not match then they are prompted to enter authentication values again.
  3. If both Email and SMS options are available for verification we then ask the student which option they would like, they will select ‘Email’ or ‘SMS’.  If only one option is available then this step will be bypassed
  4. If Email is the available option, or Email is selected by the student we then check if the student has an Email address imported from the Student Management System.  If no Email address exists then we prompt the student to enter their Email address.  Similarly if SMS is the available option or SMS is selected by the student we then check if the student has a mobile number imported from the Student Management System.  If no mobile number exists then we prompt the student to enter their mobile number.
  5. We then generate a random 4 character password and send it via the verification method.  We will send either an email or an SMS message.  We then prompt the student to enter the code that has just been sent
  6. The student then retrieves the code from their email or their mobile phone and enter it into the current page
  7. If the code entered matches the code we generated we then consider the student verified.  If the email address or mobile phone number was entered by the student as part of this process we then store the value on the student record.  This means that if later we find a student’s selections have already been made by somebody other than the student we will have an email address or mobile phone number to help us track down who was responsible
Each time a student wants to access the system we make them repeat this process, identification and verification.  Successive access will not however require them to re-enter their email address / mobile phone – these values are stored after the first successful verification and can then only be modified by school staff.

Managing student data

Click the ‘Students’ link on the Main menu to access student data and selections.  Here you will be shown a list of students in alphabetical order, surname and first name.  You can use the search box in the top right of the page to search for a student by first name or surname (not both).

When you have located a student you can then edit the student details, in particular the last two fields on the edit form are for the student’s email address and mobile phone number. Note, for tracking unauthorised access it will be helpful to record any values being overwritten.

Selecting subjects on behalf of students

  • Log into SOBS Subject Selection application
  • Click on the ‘Students’ link in the Main menu
  • Use the search box in the top right of the page to search for the student by first name or surname (not both)
  • When you have located the student any valid selection rounds will appear in the ‘Selections’ column.  If the correct selection round doesn’t appear then you may need to adjust the students year level
  • Click on the selection round that you want to make selections for
  • The selectable options should now be displayed as they would be for the student performing their selections from home