A single destination for all your EdTech tools

Ongoing disruption to face-to-face teaching and learning is frustrating. As schools navigate the ins and outs of lockdown, delivering continuity in education for K–12 students remains the greatest priority for educators.

What is pleasing to see is schools taking advantage of the momentum of change in these unprecedented times to evolve their online learning systems and “change up” their digital teaching and learning ecosystem.

The greatest challenges faced by schools during the 2020 pandemic came down to:

• Gaining effective engagement with the parent community; and
• Seamless and streamlined technology for teaching and learning.
   

Combined together, these challenges prompted schools to embark on a path to seek out the digital framework they desired.

3 must-have technologies

So, what were the three must-have education technologies that schools were in need of? Take a look below.

School community portal

Periods of extended remote learning confirmed the importance of a connected learning community to support the education of K–12 students.

Sharing news and events as well as celebrating successes is an important part of any school. In the good old days paper newsletters were a common method, but as we step deeper into the 21st century, the digital age has brought forward many advantages.

In fact, schools can now completely avoid the hassle of documents being lost or left unattended in school bags.

The school community portal is a shared space where all members of the community can interact — and that includes parents.

With the portal, not only will schools be able to ensure everyone can stay up to date with news, events, and so on; but schools can also align particular needs and interests to ensure communication is targeted and relevant.

Learning Management System (LMS)

LMS of course forms the crux of teaching and learning, and during remote learning it was a lifesaver for those schools who had it and was a strong enabler in education delivery continuity.

What was found to be most effective though and to reduce any frustration was an LMS that had everything in one place so that it was possible to follow the entire teaching and learning cycle with the one platform.

The ideal LMS was found to include unit content and resources, student activities and assessment tasks, online submissions, annotation software, as well as a comprehensive markbook for grades, feedback and reports.

Mirroring a physical classroom setup, the class page in an LMS allows for student collaboration and easy access to learning materials and activities. Student assessment can also be tailored to curriculum requirements and, where needed, undertaken online. Teachers will automatically be notified of submissions and, once marked, students are instantly notified of results and feedback. Results are also then shared with parents, all in one platform.

Video conferencing

The ability to integrate essential video platforms within the LMS was proven to be a huge benefit to connect the school community, especially when physical classrooms were no longer possible. Students and teachers were able to effectively engage in meaningful teaching and learning on campus or at home via a single login.

Student engagement is greatly attributed to visuals and being able to interact with teachers and classmates “face to face” enabled positive relationships to continue. Video conferencing also has screen share options so showcasing and collaboration can also flourish.

Everything in one place

To put it simply, the learnings from remote learning have shown schools are, more than ever, in need of a single destination for the entire school community, including parents. And to do this, a cohesive platform that promotes connectedness is required.

Schoolbox is an all-encompassing learning management system, community portal and engagement platform for K–12 schools. Find out how to ​create the ideal EdTech stack with Sean Richards​, Director and Co-Founder at Schoolbox.