Workshop3

The purpose of this workshop was:
 * for Elisabeth Elsmann to demonstrate how the SAL database works on the PC and the PDA
 * for participants to practice using the SAL database on their PDA

=Background= Normally when an assessor visits a student in the workplace they would visits several students at different locations on the same day. This means the assessor has to carry numerous documents for each student. Instead of having a crate of the documents in their car all the required information and assessment tools can be carried on a PDA.

PDA are very mobile pocket sized computers that run mobile versions of Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) i.e. these applications have less functions then the desktop version of these applications. Putting student information or assessment checklist in Excel or Word on PDAs is not the best way of managing this information due to the size of the PDAs screen. It is much better to have this information in an database on the PDA. Unfortunately Access databases do not run on PDAs so you need to use third party applications like [|Visual CE] to create the database that will work on the PDA. Alternatives options are:
 * accessing remotely our resulting system (ASRI) using a PDA with inbuilt phone
 * using a Slate PC or an Ultramobile PC (which means you can use an Access database)



The student/employer contact details and assessment tools are set up in an Access database on the PC which is then synced with a PDA. In the workplace the assessor can record assessment outcomes or student contacts on the PDA as well as access details on students and their employers. After the workplace visits, when the assessor gets back to their office, they connect the PDA to the PC and the information from the visits are transferred onto the PC into the access database.

=Images of the database= Click on the slide presentation below to see images on what the database looks like on the PDA and on the PC.

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