Student Mapping Tool - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Student Mapping Tool?

The Student Mapping Tool takes data from the Department’s CASES21 student database, and places it into an Excel spreadsheet (secure site - requires login). The data shows each student’s exposure to some of the key risk factors associated with early school leaving in Australia, e.g. low literacy, poor attendance. A school can only access data on it's own students. Using the Tool cannot change the data on CASES21.

Once the students at risk of early school leaving have been identified, the Tool enables schools to map all internal and external support provided to each student.

Can the Student Mapping Tool be used by Primary and Secondary schools?

The Tool has been trialled by primary and secondary schools. While secondary schools have used the Tool to identify and support potential early school leavers, primary schools have found the Tool a very useful support to their welfare, student wellbeing and absenteeism programs, e.g. It’s Not OK to Be Away.

What does it cost to use the Student Mapping Tool?

There is no cost to schools to use the Student Mapping Tool. The Tool was developed by the Brimbank-Melton Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN), with the trial and refinements supported by the Department.

All Victorian schools that input student information onto the CASES21 student database can use the Tool.

How can I access the Student Mapping Tool?

The Tool can be accessed from a computer/workstation that is linked to CASES21. The best person to access the Tool - i.e. to draw your school’s data down into the spreadsheet - is an SSO with permission to enter and view data into the CASES21 database.

Do I need training to access the Student Mapping Tool?

A briefing about the Tool was held in each Department region during March 2007; see the page about the Student Mapping Tool roll-out. This briefing explained the Tool and the results of the 2006 trial of the Tool in Victorian schools. 

Using the Tool - once the data has been downloaded will require certain skills in Excel. It may also be useful if the person downloading the data has some understanding of Seamless Views.

The Tool is designed to be user-friendly and you should be able to access it with help in the Student Mapping Tool Data Extraction Guide (PDF - 1.8Mb)

What are the privacy issues associated with using the Student Mapping Tool?

One of the advantages of using the Student Mapping Tool is that it draws on information about students that the school already holds. However, there are important privacy considerations. Please read the  Student Mapping Tool Privacy Guide (PDF - 455Kb) before you access the Tool.

Why can’t I get the Tool to work?

Be sure to read the Student Mapping Tool Data Extraction Guide (PDF - 1.8Mb) before using the Tool.

These FAQs are only a supplement to the Data Extraction Guide. If you are part-way through the process and something has gone wrong, go back to the start and check you have done everything in accordance with the Guide.

If you have followed the Data Extraction Guide carefully and you still have problems, answers in these FAQs may help you.

• The fastest way to get assistance is to log a CASES21 incident on the DEECD Service Gateway 

Alternatively, the Department's Service Desk can be contacted by:

Telephone: 1800 641 943
Fax: 1800 672 148
E-mail: servicedesk@edumail.vic.gov.au

During school terms the Department's Service Desk hours of operation are between 8:00am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.

What is "Seamless Views"?

Seamless Views is the name of the software that allows schools to draw data from CASES21 into a MS Word document, an Excel spreadsheet or an Access database. Once the data has been extracted, it can be filtered, formatted or altered without changing the data held on CASES21.

Seamless Views can be downloaded free of charge onto a workstation with CASES21 access. Many workstations linked to CASES21 will already have Seamless Views installed.

• The Student Mapping Tool spreadsheet is a pre-set Seamless Views request that will present data on risk factors for early school leaving in a pre-formatted Excel spreadsheet.

What if I don’t have Seamless Views on this workstation?

Seamless Views can only be downloaded onto a workstation with CASES21 access. These workstations are generally located in the school office. Many workstations linked to CASES21 will already have Seamless Views installed.

If you do not have Seamless Views, you can ask your cluster IT Support staff to download Seamless Views onto a workstation with CASES21 access, or you can do it yourself. The Student Mapping Tool Data Extraction Guide (PDF - 1.8Mb) contains instructions for finding out whether Seamless Views is installed on your workstation, and installing it yourself if it is not.

Where do I get the Server Login password?

• The password will be given out during regional briefings and CASES21 training sessions conducted in each region during Term 1, 2007.
• If you can not attend a briefing or training session, you can obtain the password by emailing the Department's Service Desk using the school’s email account and requesting the Student Mapping Tool password.

 

Why can’t I see ‘V2101XXXX’ (where XXXX is your school number) in the list of available tables?

You may not have Seamless Views installed on your workstation - see What if I don’t have Seamless Views on this workstation?.

Why did I get a message saying ‘SELECT permission denied’?

You, or your workstation, do not have permission to extract this data from CASES21. This may happen after a CASES21 upgrade. Ask the Business Manager at your school to ensure that you have the appropriate permission.

Why did I get a message saying ‘Macros in this workbook are disabled because the security level is high…’?

This occurs because you have ‘disabled macros’ in Excel on this workstation. If you click on Help, you will be offered the chance to change your Macro Security setting. Change it to 'Medium' and continue.

If you are still experiencing difficulty in using the Tool, click on the Trusted Publishers tab, and then tick both 'Trust Visual Basic' and 'Trust Microsoft Project'. Close down Excel and re-open it, and check that the changes have held.

Why is the data not correct?

The Student Mapping Tool simply takes the data your school has entered onto CASES21 and displays it in a spreadsheet.

Some schools that took part in the trial of the Tool found that their data was incomplete or incorrect. For example, if your work experience and School Based Apprenticeship students have been entered as unapproved absences, they will appear that way in the spreadsheet. If the latest student academic results have not been entered onto CASES21, the previous results will appear.

This can only be effectively addressed by re-entering the data on CASES21, or downloading it from your external marking or attendance software, otherwise every time you refresh the spreadsheet the inaccurate data will return.

Why is there no data in the Attendance columns?

Many schools are using electronic roll marking software.

Most, but not all, of the commercial electronic roll marking software is compatible with CASES21. Speak to your commercial software provider about how to transfer this data onto CASES21.

Why is there no data in the Suspensions columns?

When your school enters a student absence onto CASES21, the administrator is offered a scroll-down menu of reasons for absence.

When a student has been sent home or sent out of class the administrator should select the appropriate option from the scroll-down menu.

This data will then appear in the spreadsheet.

How do I save this spreadsheet?

When you refresh the data on the Student Mapping Tool, it will always ask if you want to save the existing data. If you have followed the Student Mapping Tool Data Extraction Guide (PDF - 1.8Mb), you will have saved the Tool to a folder on your school’s server. All subsequent backups will be automatically dated and saved into the same folder.

If you want to save at any other stage, Select File, select Save As, then type the name under which you would like to keep this spreadsheet. It is recommended that you include the date in the file name, as each time you refresh the Tool you will capture a valuable ‘snapshot’ of data about students at risk and the support you have provided for them.

How do I print the Student Mapping Tool spreadsheet?

See ‘Printing your Spreadsheet’ in the Data Extraction Guide (PDF - 1.8Mb).

Use the navigation at left to learn more about the Student Mapping Tool.