| December 2009 Newsletter |
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In this Update:
Important Reminders
Classic Updates MUSAC has delivered significant new functionality this year. It has been exciting to get this work completed. Some of the highlights are:
Don't forget what is there already in terms of analysis, teacher dossiers, ClassRoom Manager customisation, tracking, list printing, student fees, timetable and much more. Complementing this is the free phone and fax numbers for Software Support Phone: 0800 600 159. Fax: 0800 500 159 and the extensive agent network through Edtech in the North Island, Solutions and Services in the South Island. Our agents understand schools and MUSAC software. They put the two together and provide training and advice to help you, your colleagues and staff. If you want a local workshop, customisation, on-site or remote training support give them a call.
MUSAC Strategy Our product strategy is two-fold: 1 Maintain and support our customers using our current product suite - at least for the next 5-7 years (probably longer given how long Pupil Files was around for)! 2 Continue developing our new browser based software which is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with other online and offline services. The new online product which is on beta release in a small number of schools is backed by an industrial strength database (SQL), is easy to use and delivered through the browser - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc. We expect this number to grow as we add new functionality throughout 2010. MUSAC met with several focus and cluster groups throughout 2009 regarding the direction and development of our new software. These proved to be extremely valuable sessions with the wide ranging discussions resulting in a wealth of material for us to prioritise and include in our development planning.
Please contact us if you would like me to meet with your school or cluster regarding our future strategy. National Standards 2010 sees the start of the latest nationwide educational initiative, National Standards. MUSAC has met with the Ministry, our agents and schools regarding the deployment of this functionality within our software. All agree that due to the inherent customisable nature of our software, as well as our support systems and agent network we are in a very good position to deliver the necessary functionality in a timely manner. We anticipate including a number of report templates and documents in our first release in 2010 to get schools underway with the new requirements. This is intended as an introductory implementation as we highly recommend that schools contact our agents to take advantage of their expertise in deploying National Standards much more comprehensively to all teachers within your school. MUSAC Software Support Closed Over Christmas/New Year MUSAC Software Support (0800 600 159) will be closed from noon Friday 18 December 2009 and will reopen at 8 am Monday 11 January 2010.
2010 Conferences The conference season starts early in 2010 with the ‘Inspired Impact Teachers Conference’ being held here in Palmerston North in late January. MUSAC is privileged to be able to support this conference which will have in excess of 800 delegates attending. MUSAC sponsored 10 conferences during 2009 and will be attending a similar number in 2010. We met and interacted with a large number of school users while at these conferences and were very pleased with all the feedback we received.
Conference Details Required Please email us with details of any regional educational conferences to be held in your area. Regards and best wishes for a safe and enjoyable festive season.
Jeremy Dombroski Managing Director MUSAC |