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Testimonials

I can now create a better timetable in less time.Philip MoonHigh School of Glasgow, Scotland
Brilliant, easy to use, wonderfully supported by a highly knowledgeable team.Keith IrvineBishops’ Stortford College Herts
TimeTabler and Options have been fantastic tools.

John Ridley
Tanglin Trust,
Singapore
With TimeTabler, 3 days’ work can be carried out in minutes.Ian CrabbeMarlborough College, Wilts
I have been really impressed with the support that I have received.Anne HoldenPortland Central,Australia
I found TimeTabler much easier to use …Beth LedgerAmman Valley School,Wales
TimeTabler has continued to be great value for money.Danny KotelHenry Lawson High School,Australia
We thoroughly recommend all three products … they save us a great deal of time.Ted Fenton, David WilliamsCokethorpe School, Oxon
I can recommend TimeTabler and Options to anyone.John MackenzieDunalastair School,Chile
I thoroughly recommend TimeTabler to any school.Charles BrenanNewland House School,Middlesex

Home / Training & Support, Free Resources

INSET and Training on Timetabling

We help you with INSET / Training / CPD / Help / Support in a variety of ways:

1.

Free Help & Support
When you use our software you have access to Help & Support in 12 different ways!
For more details see here and here.

2.

Extra Help & Training
Timetabling is now more difficult than it used to be, and if you would like some Extra Help & Support we
have Timetabler Associates who can help you.   These Associates are all experienced Timetablers, and they can help you in a variety of ways, at 5 different levels.   They can offer training, webinars, courses, principles, workshops, on-site visits, etc. as well as on-line courses.
For details of how to contact these Associates, click here.   You can purchase training vouchers here.

3.

Free Materials
We also provide, below, some free timetabling Inservice Training materials that are useful for individual study for professional development by those who wish to become involved in timetabling in the future, or who wish to understand more of the timetabling process.

Many of the materials below can be freely downloaded (as .pdf files; more details are given on the download page).

Once downloaded they can then printed out (in A4 format) for use within your school or college provided that the © copyright notice is kept on each sheet.


All these materials have been well-tried and tested over a number of years, on many timetabling courses.

1.
The Timetabler’s Year 

A brief timetable of timetabling.
Jump to the INSET download page to download this sheet.

A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.

2.
A Glossary of timetabling terms 
An explanation of some of the jargon used in timetabling.
Jump to the INSET download page to download these pages.

A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.
3.
Curriculum Notation and Curriculum Diagrams
A brief explanation of the notation used by OFSTED and others for drawing curriculum diagrams.
Jump to the INSET download page to download this sheet.
For a more complete explanation of a Curriculum Diagram, with examples, there is a 6-page spreadsheet.
Jump to the INSET download page to download this spreadsheet.

A fuller version, with 22 examples, is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.

4.
Staff Deployment Analysis
This topic includes work on the Contact Ratio, curriculum bonuses, etc.
TimeTabler will calculate this for you, see the HelpScreen in TimeTabler.

More details, with software, is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.
5.
Options Pools / Blocks / Columns / Electives
An outline of different Patterns of Options Choices for students.   See also our Options software.

See also Chapter 3 in the ‘Timetabling‘ CookBook.
With our TOOLS module you can now collect your students’ Choices on-line.
6.
Analysing Students’ Choices   and   Constructing Option Blocks
The Options software and the Tutorial Booklet, which can be obtained free from the download page, give you a step-by-step guide to the power and ease of constructing Option Blocks by computer.
The Tutorial takes about 1 hour to work through.
By a series of problem-solving worked examples it shows you how to analyse your Students’ Choices quickly, and construct the best Pattern of optional subjects / electives.
The Windows version of Options, with a Tutorial, is available for free download NOW.
7.
The Combing Chart
This is a very useful test for checking teacher-teams.
It allows you to look for impossibilities in the data you are intending to schedule.

 

It is very helpful for the Timetabler if Heads of Department are given this INSET before the timetabling season.
This topic can be easily covered in a session of about 1 hour.
The INSET materials consist of a Briefing Note for the person giving the training; 2 FactSheets of information, and 2 Activity Sheets of work for course members to do (7 pages of A4 in total).
Jump to the INSET download page to download these materials.

A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapter 7).
8.
The Conflict Matrix
Another test for checking teacher-teams, and seeing how the teacher-teams of one year-group might fit against the teams from another year-group.

 

It can be helpful for the Timetabler if Heads of Department are given this INSET before the timetabling season.
This topic can be easily covered in a session of less than 30 minutes.
The INSET materials consist of a Briefing Note for the person giving the training; 2 FactSheets of information, and 1 Activity Sheet of work for course members to do (5 pages of A4 in total).
Jump to the INSET download page to download these materials.

 

A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapter 8).

9.
Zarraga’s Rule
A test for checking how parallel teacher-teams in one part of the school interact against the serial teams of teachers in another part of the school.
Jump to the INSET download page to download these materials.

 

A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapter 10).

10.
Scheduling Rules
A practical problem-solving activity which looks at the rules and gives you practice with the musical-chairs moves that are used during scheduling.

 

Full details are included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).
11.
Timetabling using a Computer
The TimeTabler software and the Tutorial Booklet, which can be obtained free from the download page, give you a step-by-step guide to the power and ease of timetabling by computer.
The Tutorial takes about 1¼ hours to work through, during which time you will do at least one timetable.

 

This is also an introduction to timetabling if you have not done any before.
The latest version of TimeTabler, with a Tutorial, is available here: download now 
12.
Organising daily Cover for absent staff
The StaffCover software and the Tutorial Booklet, which can be obtained free from the download page, give you a step-by-step guide to the easy way of arranging daily Cover by computer.
The Tutorial takes just 10 minutes to work through, and shows you the power and flexibility of this software, to save your time daily.
13. Timetabling e-NewsLetter

If you add your address to our mailing list then you receive our free  monthly NewsLetter, full of hints & tips and what you should be thinking of doing ‘this’ month.
14.
Timetabling courses
With our Associates we arrange a large number of Courses, Webinars or Workshops each term, which are all advertised in the monthly NewsLetter.

 

The Associates can also provide you with on-site in-school help & support … more information here.

This is all in addition to the free Help & Support that we provide with the program.  Click here for a summary of the Help & Support that we provide.

 

If you have any queries, please e-mail them to: ask@timetabler.com 

We will answer any questions you may have about using the software with your particular curriculum.

Home / Training & Support, Free Resources

The TimeTabler Newsletter

Our free Monthly Newsletter for School Timetablers:  Click here for more info, or to sign-up.

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Basic Data

BasicData-thumbnail

This shows the Main Menu, and Step 1 : the Basic Data screen, with five big buttons.

Each button leads you to an entry screen.

To enter your data you would start at the left, and work your way across to the right.

Look how straightforward it is, compared to other programs !

And the fully-illustrated printed Manual explains each step, in detail.

 

Subjects Screen

subjects screen

This is the screen for saying which Subjects you will want to timetable.

You can return here at any time to edit / alter your data.

You can give each Subject a colour – this helps during scheduling, and for the printouts.

Visual Builder Screen

visual builder screen

This is the main screen on which you do the actual scheduling.
You can sit at this Visual Builder Screen and drag-and-drop to ‘drive’ through the timetable.
 
At first sight it looks very complicated.  To see what each part will do for you, please click on: www.timetabler.com/kb/UsingtheVisualBuilderScreen.pdf

Class Timetable Screen

 

visual builder screen

 

This shows you the Class Timetables, so you can see the pattern while you are scheduling lessons.
  
There are similar screens for the Staff Timetables and for the Room Timetables.
 
If you use dual monitors you can see these more easily and spread them out over the bigger area.

All the buttons, and the symbols, are explained when you click on the button.

The Printout Menu

This shows you some of the possibilities for the Printouts.
 
Within each of these, there are millions of ways of fine-tuning the exact design of the Printouts.

They can be printed on paper, or produced as web-pages, at the click of a button.

A professional result.
 

The 'master' Class Printout Screen

Class timetable printout screen

This shows you the Preview Screen , so you can design the ‘master’ Class printout, before printing it.
 
There are similar screens for the Staff Timetables and for the Room Timetables.
 
You have total control over the design, the font and the colour, the column widths, the labels, etc, etc.
 
All the buttons and the controls, are explained when you click on the button.