4 reasons for disruptive technological change in the new norm

Disruptive technologies refers to innovation which involves significant change impacting a business, sector or service that endeavours to provide a better outcome. It is not change for the sake of change because new technology is available, but rather change for a greater good.

As K–12 schools reopen across the country, the transition back to face-to-face learning presents a unique opportunity for schools to take a moment to consider the learnings acquired from the past few months of remote learning, and look, potentially, to create an informed new normal for the learning environment.

The education sector has experienced many and varied disruptive technologies in the last few decades, and even so during the extended remote learning period. Now going into post-pandemic mode, there is much to be said about the need for disruptive technological change for K–12 schools — in fact, here are four reasons why the education industry needs it now, more than ever.

1. Increase the opportunities to innovate

With disruptive technologies, you can buy back time for staff and this means they have the opportunity to get creative and innovate. They can then focus on delivering an engaging curriculum and ensuring that the learning needs of each and every student are taken care of; whether it’s remotely or in a face-to-face setting.

Increasing opportunities to innovate leads to many positive outcomes, including:

• Enhanced student engagement: ​With innovation, students can participate in their learning at their own pace, in their own time, and undertake activities set for them which are measurable.
• Global collaboration:​ With modern ​educational technology​, it is possible for students to collaborate with those outside their class, school, state, region or indeed nation.
• Increase in time for learning: ​Using an innovative pedagogical practice like flipped learning enables higher-level thinking and increases time for learning by enabling teachers to support students inside and outside the classroom.

2. Provide simplicity

New technological change can mean resistance from staff, but if we’ve learnt anything from remote learning, it is that people are more open to change than ever thought possible. And, when it comes to technology, what really matters is seamless integrations.

The reality is, when selective systems are used in schools and are integrated optimally, teachers and students are supported as they move from system to system and are able to recognise the benefits.

Some key integrations that will provide simplicity for your school:

• Student Information System:​ ​With this integration, information from the SIS regarding student names, subjects, classes, timetables and extracurricular undertakings can be pushed to the learning management system (LMS), enabling a simple and direct connection.
• Third-party LTI tools:​ ​By​ ​embedding third-party learning tools into your LMS, you will extend its capabilities and enable the addition of new tools in one place.
• Collaborative resources:​ ​Integration with Google Drive or MS OneDrive enables direct upload so your teachers and students can manage and collaborate in real time for a particular project or extracurricular activity with one single sign-on (SSO).
• Videoconferencing tools​: In situations of remote or distance learning, having video tools embedded into your LMS can be extremely handy to maintain relationships beyond the classroom.

3. Decrease the need for support

When school systems have a clear purpose and optimal integration, the support required by staff lessens. Of course, as we saw with the sudden switch to remote learning, whenever a new system or structure is introduced, staff will require initial training. However, once a level of competency is achieved, you may find the level of support calls drop off.

SaaS (software as a service) based products like ​Schoolbox​ enable your school to remove administration overheads. This allows your school’s information technology staff to use their time to focus on business processes and analysis, so that they can continue to take your school forward with appropriate and up-to-date technologies.

One of the key methods available in SaaS-based products to achieve this consolidation is via SSO,​ ​allowing users to only log in once, and they will be able to find all that they need in one place — personal data, course materials, learning tools and so on.

4. Create transparency, accountability and consistency

To ensure the best learning journey for each and every student, it is imperative that school data is accurate and that one system — usually the Student Information System — remains the point of truth. By having one system as the source of truth, all other systems like the ​learning management system​ or communication portal​ will also house the same data.

With this level of data interoperability, your school will be able to:

• Support the whole student approach
• Streamline reporting
• Reduce burden for executive team with external reporting

Ready for a new normal?

The extended time spent teaching and learning from home has provided valuable insights for Australian educators, students and their families. As we transition out of isolation, there is a great opportunity to leverage the advantages provided by disruptive technologies to further enhance the education of our students in a new normal.

Schoolbox is an all-encompassing learning management system, community portal and engagement platform for K–12 schools. Visit our website for more ​educational content​ on disruptive technologies or chat to a friendly Schoolbox team member today.