SOFTWARE FOR EDUCATIONAL PLANNERS

Introduction

Computers have come to be widely used as data processing machines in many professional spheres of activity. Their capability in storing, processing and retrieving information have been proved to be of immense use. More recently, the introduction of microcomputers and user-friendly software’s has changed the scenario. The main characteristics of a computer are – a large but compact memory, incredible speed in processing data, accuracy of processing and ability to perform an operation any number of times. These characteristics have contributed to making these machines indispensable. The role of computers in the future is going to grow tremendously in general and EMIS in particular in India. As problems related to the timeliness, accuracy, quality and pertinence of manually processed information became increasingly acute, agencies and institutions have been resorting to the use of computers. New developments in the rapid automatic search, sorting, retrieval and mass transfer of data through computer and telecommunication complexes are enabling a level of information flow that was not even dreamed before. More intense use of such technologies has therefore become an indispensable element in an EMIS. If the volume of data to be handled and stored is massive, computers can be utilized as it would facilitates tremendously the search, sorting, and retrieval of specific information. The accuracy and uniformity of output from computer is an especially valuable asset for the decision-makers because this minimizes the need to manually look for and sort through all types and varieties of information materials.

A large number of application software’s are available amongst which EXCEL and LOTUS 123 are most widely used software’s due to their simplicity and user friendly attitude. However, there are software’s, like EDSTATS (developed by UNESCO, Paris) for the analysis of educational data. EDSTATS can also be used for projections of enrolment up to elementary level. For population projections, PEOPLE developed by ESCAP can be used. For statistical analysis of educational data, a number of simple and advanced software’s are available which should be used keeping in view the nature of analysis which is to be undertaken. For advanced statistical analysis, Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) can be used. Many a time information needs to be disseminated for different geographical regions for which geographical information based software’, such as, PopMap developed by UNFPA can be used. Once the data is analyzed, the next important task is presentation of data which can either be in a document form or the same is presented personally for which Over Head Projector, Personal Computer and LCD Projector should be used. One of the many presentation software’s is the PowerPoint that is one of the components of MS-Office.

Contents

  1. PEOPLE: For Demographic Projections
  2. EDSTATS: For Statistical Analysis of Educational Data
  3. POPMAP For Thematic Representation of Educational Data
  4. EFA-18 CORE Indicators

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