Education institutions have electronic registration that allows students to be registered on the system first and then further information such as personal records and results as they progress through the course.

Student records keep personal details of students as well as their academic records and fees accounts. Where students have had disciplinary problems, these are also recorded. Some institutions offering health and accommodation services to students. All this information needs to be recorded on a centralised system that can be accessed according to the rights different users have. For example, although health data may be recorded on a centralised system, only health workers would have access to it.

The same student administration system would need to send out examination results and accounts.

The process of timetabling involves scheduling staff, students and lecture rooms at the same time. The scheduling also needs to take into account the correct total amount of time allocated to staff, students and courses. Further public holidays and term holidays need to be taken into account. The larger the organisation, the more complex the process becomes. Software programs are now available which can factor in all the different parameters and produce a timetable. This can still be fine-tuned manually.

Computer Based Training makes use of the computer to instruct students. The quality of CBT material varies widely. Some CBT material is little more than a text book on the screen, but other makes use of interaction or simulation to instruct. For example, if a student were learning word processing, a simulated version of the word processor would appear on-screen. The program would demonstrate how to perform a task by showing the activity of the cursor and the display of the menus. Most of this software produces an audible output so that the student is able to listen to a commentary on headphones as the activity is taking place on-screen.

Automated examinations allow computerised systems to test students skills. These are most relevant to knowledge based or skills based courses. Courses requiring critical analysis such as literature or philosophy are not suited to this type of testing.

Knowledge based courses can be tested using randomised multiple choice, true/false or similarly highly structured typed of questioning. If there is a sufficiently large test bank, students can be given a randomised set of questions. This would mean that no two students would get the same set of questions.

Skills based courses can be tested using a simulated environment. For example, a pilot could take a test on flying an aircraft by taking a test in a simulator. This would appear exactly like the inside of the cockpit. Instead of windows, there would be computer screens with a simulation of the outside. An examiner would control all aspects of the simulation from a computer. The pilot would be required to respond by actually “flying” the simulator. The computer in turn would be able to analyse the quality of the “flying”.

In distance learning, the student controls the learning environment: when and where to learn and how long to take over a course. Information technology can facilitate the whole process. The student can send assignments and questions to the lecturer using email and the lecturer can respond using email. An institution may put the courses on a web site that is password protected. A student either reads the coursework directly on the Internet or downloads it from the Internet. This has obvious cost and administrative savings for the institution.

It also means it can recruit students from all over the world. Registration and payment of fees can also be done on-line.

The Internet contains enormous quantities of information. Some of this is excellent, some very poor and much incorrect. To access information on the Internet, a student makes use of a search engine such as Google. Feeding in a number of key words can result in a list of many thousands of sites being displayed. Each of these is represented by a hyperlink. This is a link to another site. When you click on a hyperlink, you are immediately taken to the site.

There are two important aspects to using the Internet to search for information to do assignments: