ProfitPress Mega CDROM2 …eeware (MSDOS)(1992)(Eng)/ProfitPress-MegaCDROM2.B6I/MISC/EDUCATIO/VARGRA50.ZIP/CHANGES.DOC

Text File | 1992-03-08 | 6.1 KB | 117 lines

                              Changes to VAR Grade

     This file explains some of the changes from version 4.5 to version
5.0 of VAR Grade.  The major change was a database system that lets you
enter just about any type of data.  There have also been major
improvements in printing, report forms, and statistics.  Read the Advanced
Manual for more detailed explanations of these changes.

Beginner and Advanced Modes
   There is now a beginner and an advanced mode of the program.  You
   can press "B" on the Main Menu, and switch between the two modes.
   The beginner mode limits what you can do, and has fewer menu choices.
   It should make it easier to learn the program.
Memory usage
   The program now uses XMS as well as EMS memory.  New commands have been
   added that let you change how the program uses that memory.  The new
   ones, or changes to the old ones, include: VMEM, VType, OEMS, and OMem.
Tasks
   Attendance tasks were added in versions 4.6.  There are major changes
   to the Task Menu.  You can also print task definitions.
What ifs
   A nice new feature has been added: What Ifs.  This feature will
   calculate the average grade(s) needed by a student to achieve any and
   all final grades.
Descriptive statistics
   The old option of listing the means, medians, and standard deviations
   of tasks on the Grading Menu has been changed.  It now lists, in
   addition, the low and high scores, the (average) mode, the number of
   students who took the task, the score intervals, and a simple
   non-graphics histogram of the scores (by invterval).
Database items
   The major new feature added was the database.  There are several types
   of data that can be defined.  Database items can then be used in all
   parts of the program.  The student "Note" in the previous version of
   the program is automatically converted to a database item called "Note".
   Data can be entered into database items just like grades or attendance.

   Database types: String, word, integer, boolean, character, and memo.
   Database operations:
      You can sort the class by any database item, you can "filter" plots
      with the items (i.e., plot only males, students in grade 11, etc.).
      You can print, write reports with, and export/import database items.
Reports
   New example forms and 30 new commands have been added to the reports
   section.  These include commands to print database items, as well as
   other commands to add flexibility to the program.

   Report files used to have a limit of about 255 characters per line.
   This has now been increased to 512 characters.
Flipped and first names
   When listing data to the printer or disk, you can now have the student
   names listed in either the way you entered them, with first names, or
   with "flipped" names.  Flipped names have the first and last names
   reversed.
Plot intervals
   You can now tell the program to automatically select plot intervals.
   In fact, by default, it does this.
Inline Calculator
   An inline calculator has been added.  It is available any time that
   you enter floating point numbers (i.e., those that can have decimals,
   like test scores).
Importing data
   You can now import files (comma and quote, flat files, etc.) that have
   up to 512 characters on a line.  The old value was 255.
Subjects
   If you wanted to write the students in a class to a new class, the old
   method was to export the data as a comma and quote file, go into the
   other class, then import the file into the new class.  This is now
   done automatically (and you stay in the current class).  This is an
   easy way to prepare classes of the same students for different subjects.

   To produce one report with all the grades from the different subjects
   in one class used to require writing a report form (using the "Class"
   commands).  You can now do this without writing report forms.
Viewing the manual from anywhere
   From the Main Menu, if you type an "M", you can view the disk manual.
   You can now also designate your own editor to view the manual, and
   call it from anywhere in the program.
Printing
   The printer drivers have been changed.  The drivers tell the program
   how to print the data onto your printer.  The new drivers print at the
   resolution of the printer, so can print at 300 dpi (or more) on a
   laser printer.  The old drivers printed at the screen resolution.

   Proportional Printing
      If you have an HP LaserJet III, or a Postscript printer, the
      proportional fonts in the printer can now be used.
International support
   You can now change any output strings.  Some of these changes also
   affect the screens in the program.  The main purpose is to let
   non-English speakers translate the output strings into their own
   language.
Keyboard changes
   When you enter a field, if the first key is a letter or number, the
   field is deleted.  A special key, backspace, or <Rtn> will retain the
   value.  You can also make it work like the old method.
Cutoffs, Grade names, and Grade values
   To resolve some of the confusion about cutoffs vs grade values, some
   changes have been made.  Cutoffs are those values used in assigning
   Final task grades.  Grade values are the values of letter grades
   used in the calculations of percentages, averages, etc.
Other changes
   Names and IDs can now be from 5 to 30 characters wide.
   You can turn off error checking when entering task scores.
   The teacher/instructor name can now be entered into the program.
      This name is used for printouts.
   If you have a laser printer that supports both portrait and
      landscape modes, you can print in either orientation.
   You can now tell the program not to send formfeeds after finishing
      a page.
   Macros have been added.  They allow you to assign a sequence of
      keyboard actions to a single key.
   The mouse support has been significantly beefed up.
   Seating charts and a calender have been added to the program.
   You can now use pie charts to plot the scores.
   You can now calculate and use percentiles for student scores.