Hoe bereid je je extra goed voor op een examen?
Business tool to help pupils prepare for exams
Pupils at three Scottish secondary school have been chosen to trial a new business management tool to help them prepare for their exams.
As part of a pilot project, East Kilbride-based MindGenius is giving senior pupils at Duncanrig, Calderglen and St Andrews and St Brides high schools in the town use of its Barvas software for a year to help them prepare for their Highers and Advanced Highers.
Barvas is a cloud-based version of the successful MindGenius business management software tool which is used by 600,000 clients globally.
It combines elements of MindMapping with Gantt techniques – a bar-chart based means of graphical illustration – and Kanban, a Japanese system of inventory control, for a year.
The pilot, launched later this month, will run until next Spring and, if successful, use of the software will be rolled out to schools across Scotland.
Fiona McIntyre, marketing manager at MindGenius who attended Ballerup High School, which merged with Duncanrig, said she hoped that giving youngsters use of the tool, used by small-to-medium sized businesses, would get them thinking in a more strategic way about preparing for exams.
Barvas already helps many business professionals, teachers and students to capture and visualise information easily, turning ideas into project plans and tasks.
Fiona said: “The software is already used by pupils and students to help them think about their studies in a more strategic way.
“By thinking of their exams as a project they can visualise a plan of the various challenges they will face and factor in all of the strategies and resources they’ll need to complete the project.”
She added: “As an East Kilbride-based company with global reach, many of the staff here attended local schools and we’re pleased that, through this scheme, we’re able to give something back to the community.”
Jill Dodds, Acting Depute Head at Calderglen High School said: “We piloted Barvas with a group of S6 pupils and our young people are enjoying using it to digitally organise themselves and create study resources for their different subjects. It’s a great tool for them to use when working together on projects and will help young people improve their attainment.”
Jamie Rorrison, a development manager at the company who attended St Andrews which is now St Andrews and St Brides, said: “As well as assisting students to pass their exams, we believe using Barvas can also help them to develop a mindset that prepares them for the world of business.
He added: “For our economy to thrive it requires many more people to start their own business. While entrepreneurs require to be creative, ambitious and willing to take risks, they must also be able to think strategically.
“We can start by encouraging pupils to think about sitting their Highers as a challenging project that requires them to bring together and manage lots of different elements to produce a desired outcome.”