LAPORAN RESMI
The educator’s technology toolkit: Tuning up for efficiency and savings
Tuning up for efficiency and savings
In the past few years, school administrators have had to quickly pivot to digital solutions for virtual learning and administration. Most had little time to plan, strategize, or integrate new programs with their legacy tools. Now, with a moment to breathe, administrators have an opportunity to include more cohesive and efficient education technology tools in their existing systems.
According to a survey by RAND Corporation, 85 percent of principals experience stress related to their work, and 59 percent of teachers feel burned out. Drained teachers are ready to leave the profession in droves, with the National Education Association finding that more than half say they plan on quitting or retiring earlier than expected.
85% of principals experience stress related to their work.
59% guru merasa kelelahan.
Apa yang dapat dilakukan administrator untuk meminimalkan kelelahan, mendukung staf sekolah, dan pada akhirnya meningkatkan pengalaman siswa? Terapkan perangkat teknologi pendidik canggih yang mengotomatiskan tugas administratif, mengamankan data, dan meningkatkan kolaborasi guru. Alat-alat tersebut mengurangi tugas-tugas yang menguras energi, sehingga staf sekolah dapat mendedikasikan lebih banyak waktu untuk siswa.
Panduan ini akan memberikan gambaran umum tentang bagaimana administrator seperti Anda dapat membuat perangkat ini. Kami juga akan mengeksplorasi bagaimana solusi teknologi untuk pendidikan ini menyederhanakan proses, melindungi data, dan meningkatkan produktivitas, sehingga menciptakan pengalaman yang lebih baik bagi siswa, pendidik, dan administrator.
What administrators need in a technology toolkit
Meskipun setiap perangkat akan berbeda-beda berdasarkan ukuran, tujuan, anggaran, dan sasaran keseluruhan masing-masing sekolah, sekolah dan wilayah yang paling sukses akan memiliki beragam perangkat teknologi pendidikan berikut dalam perangkatnya. Daftar solusi teknologi untuk pendidikan ini bisa sangat banyak, namun semakin banyak Anda mengetahui tentang setiap sistem yang tersedia, semakin baik Anda dalam mengelola sekolah, guru, dan siswa.
"Toolkit teknologi seorang pendidik berisi solusi digital dan aplikasi yang diperlukan untuk mengelola dan menyampaikan pengalaman belajar yang sukses."
Kami akan membagi perangkat teknologi pendidik yang ideal ke dalam tiga kategori utama
Manajemen Sekolah
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system
Sebuah ERP mengelola dan mengintegrasikan kegiatan sehari-hari dan proses sekolah Anda, seperti akuntansi, manajemen sumber daya, dan peraturan kepatuhan. Ini membantu Anda menjalankan sekolah Anda dan memungkinkan semua departemen mengakses informasi dari mana saja untuk memperkuat kolaborasi. ERP juga dapat mengotomatisasi proses yang berulang, membantu administrator menghabiskan lebih sedikit waktu dalam pemeliharaan catatan fisik, dan menjembatani kesenjangan komunikasi eksternal dan internal.
Perangkat lunak akuntansi sekolah
Dengan perangkat lunak akuntansi sekolah, administrator dapat membayar tagihan, mengirim faktur, menandatangani dokumen secara elektronik, membuat laporan keuangan, dan mengelola penggajian — membantu mereka mematuhi peraturan yang relevan sambil menyelesaikan tugas. Beberapa pembuat kebijakan bahkan menggunakan perangkat lunak akuntansi sekolah untuk menilai kebutuhan program (musik, seni, bahasa, dll), memastikan pendanaan memadai, dan membuat keputusan anggaran di distrik sekolah.
Student information system (SIS)
SIS (juga disebut sebagai “sistem manajemen siswa”) bertindak sebagai pusat semua informasi siswa, termasuk nilai dan transkrip, catatan perilaku, dan catatan kehadiran. Tanpa alat ini, melacak, menganalisis, dan melaporkan kinerja siswa — seperti saat konferensi orang tua-guru — hampir mustahil dilakukan.
Faculty/staff management system
With faculty and staff management systems, school administrators are better equipped to track and manage their employees, including teachers, nurses, cafeteria workers, and custodians. By helping administrators organize personal employee information (like address, qualifications, references, and salaries), in addition to performance, onboarding, and time-off requests in one place, they’ll be able to easily access their records if and when they need to administer annual reviews, promotions, or disciplinary action.
Special education management software
To manage the Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) of special needs students, many teachers, parents, and administrators use special education management software. These education technology tools, which frequently integrate with student information systems, help develop IEPs by addressing the specific educational needs, goals, and learning objectives of each special needs student. These solutions even help facilitate compliance checks, evaluations, and other state mandates, and track and report student data related to disabilities to improve outcomes, promote inclusivity, expand services, and close the achievement gap.
Event management system
A powerful event management system helps administrators plan and market school events, execute them smoothly, and measure their success. This tool is especially useful when schools need to boost event awareness and attendance to generate funds — perhaps to buy new equipment for the school or send a class on a field trip.
Athletics management system
Sports plays a huge role in many schools, which is why a comprehensive athletics management system can be particularly helpful in running day-to-day operations. These solutions help track and manage student eligibility, signed permission slips, sports equipment and merchandise, financial aid, recruitment, and schedules — across all seasons and sports.
Customer relationship management (CRM) system
To personalize and manage relationships with both current and prospective students, your toolkit needs a CRM. This educator’s technology solution will not only help you get a clearer understanding of how your staff is communicating with students and parents, but it will also help you streamline your admission and enrollment process, schedule touchpoints with specific prospects, and collect and manage tuition payments. Most importantly, a CRM can help you visualize demographics and identity enrollment gaps to optimize your recruitment efforts.
Content management system (CMS)
Highly personalized, engaging web pages and content aren’t just for affluent enterprises, thanks to content management systems. These education technology tools help administrators and teachers build and manage school websites that are engaging, accessible, streamlined, and secure — for parents and students alike.
Sports staff and students’ needs vary from the rest of your faculty and learners. By having a separate tool designed for them — preferably one that integrates with the other education technology tools you have in place — you’ll be able to help your athletics department stay organized and communicative when coordinating with the rest of the school.
Email marketing system
Including an email marketing system in your educator’s technology toolkit comes with a wide variety of benefits. It’s cost-effective, allows you to reach your entire school or district quickly and efficiently, and improves email open rates. Independent or private schools can especially benefit from email marketing tools, as their administrators can build engaging, personalized marketing campaigns to set them apart from competitors and fill their admissions pipeline.
Pendidikan
Learning management system (LMS)
Used to create, administer, and manage educational courses and report on outcomes, an LMS works for face-to-face, virtual, or hybrid learning environments. The best ones have all the tools you need to run a classroom — creating quizzes, monitoring student participation, engaging learners, and automating the grading process.
Professional development software
No matter how long you’ve been in the education field, there’s always more to learn and better ways to optimize your existing methods. Professional development software, particularly programs with some form of built-in professional learning community (PLC), can help your faculty enhance their techniques and effectiveness. These online platforms help administrators ensure high-quality classroom instruction, encourage peer-to-peer coaching and collaboration, identify areas of interest for future professional development programs and seminars, and onboard new teachers and personnel.
Curriculum management system
Manually brainstorming, developing, and launching curriculum is time-consuming for teachers. They have to cull the internet for relevant resources and ensure their instructional materials align with their district and state standards. However, curriculum management software helps combat these challenges by automating curriculum approval processes and mapping, measuring outcomes, and facilitating collaboration between teachers and administrators.
Audit your tech toolkit
As you can see, there is a wide variety of technology solutions for education. Although you may want to adopt them all, not only is it expensive, it’s a bit unrealistic. While you may have started using a few solutions years ago as you quickly adapted to providing remote learning, with more time now to do proper research, you can focus on building an educator’s technology toolkit that meets your school’s specific needs.
Siap untuk memulai?
Begin by auditing your existing tech toolkit to find out what’s working, what’s not, and what can be improved before you make any decisions about which new educator technology capabilities to invest in next.
Assemble a tech audit task force
To provide the right resources for your staff, you need to gather the right team — teachers, departmental stakeholders, and others who engage daily with different education technology tools. Set up a meeting with some of your school’s teachers, department heads, guidance counselors, office staff, nurses, and athletic directors, and ask them to provide their opinions — positive and negative — on your existing educator’s technology toolkit.
If you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can even distribute a survey beforehand to better prepare for the meeting. This act of shared leadership makes your faculty feel seen, heard, and valued.
Gather feedback about each existing solution
Once your tech audit task force has been assembled, ask each member to tell you the positive aspects, challenges, and shortcomings of every solution they use on a regular basis. List each tool and ask your staff the following:
Survey stakeholders to identify technology gaps and opportunities
- Who uses this tool?
- What are its pros and cons?
- What are some specific features you wish it had or wish worked better?
- Is it comparable to another tool in our toolkit? If so, is it better or worse?
- Does it work well with other solutions in our current toolkit? If so, how? If not, how?
- What would happen if you got rid of this tool? What would its removal look like for you, students, their parents, and the school overall?
Asking your staff what they need instead of making assumptions about what you think they need encourages real, honest feedback. Allowing your team to share their impartial opinions in a safe space will improve the chances you cut ineffectual tools from the tech toolkit to make room for software they actually want, need, and will use. Ideally, the more efficiently more tech is used, the more productive and effective your operations will become.
Identifikasi tumpang tindih operasional dan inefisiensi antar platform yang berbeda
After your tech toolkit roundtable, it’s important to do some basic research about what each tool you’re using does. Learn about its most popular features, what it’s supposed to do for you, and how it’s supposed to communicate and work with other software.
Then, referencing your notes from your task force meeting, assess each tool. Does it unnecessarily complicate everyday processes? Does it overlap with the functionality of other tools? Does it integrate with other systems? If a tool duplicates work, uses excessive resources (labor, money, or time), or increases human error, it’s inefficient and needs to go.
Analisis metrik kinerja dan biaya
Another important aspect of auditing your tech toolkit is analyzing each solution’s performance metrics and costs, and comparing it to similar education technology tools on the market. Are you paying too much for limited features? Is it scalable? At what point does it experience issues and fail? What is each tool’s average response time?
To answer these questions, run some performance tests, like load or stress tests, with a performance-testing tool.
LOAD TESTING measures the tool’s performance as the workload increases (e.g., downloading many internet files at once or sending a large amount of jobs to a printer’s queue). Does the response time lag, improve, or stay the same as normal working conditions are pushed?
STRESS TESTINGor fatigue testing, measures the software’s performance beyond normal working conditions (e.g., when a large number of users try to log into a program at once). By testing the program’s robustness and capacity for error handling, you can measure its stability, how it might fail, and how well it can recover.
Once you decide which performance-testing tool to use, it’s best to run it about once a year to ensure all solutions are operating smoothly. Perform these tests on weekends or days when the least amount of people are working to limit tech interruptions.
These performance tests help you better understand your existing toolkit — each application’s speed, accuracy, stability, and inconsistencies across different operating systems — so you can remove education technology tools that are impractical.
Teliti solusi yang lebih integratif
Setelah Anda mensurvei tim Anda tentang perangkat yang ada, mengidentifikasi tantangan dan inefisiensi, dan menjalankan tes kinerja, inilah saatnya untuk mulai mencari solusi terbaik untuk sekolah Anda.
These performance tests help you better understand your existing toolkit — each application’s speed, accuracy, stability, and inconsistencies across different operating systems — so you can remove education technology tools that are impractical.
TECHNICAL DEBTThe implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy (limited) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.
Temukan alat teknologi pendidikan yang tepat untuk perangkat Anda
While price is an important factor when choosing the right solution for your school, it’s not the only component to take into consideration. After all, cost doesn’t equate to value. If two seemingly comparable solutions differ significantly in price, one might be more comprehensive than the other, offering more features, security, and scalability. Investing in one robust system that includes more features and functionality than other smaller ones could ultimately save you money in the long run.
“Investing in one robust system that includes more features and functionality than other smaller ones could ultimately save you money in the long run.”
To add the right education technology tools to your toolkit, look for ones that accomplish the following:
- Store data in a local data residency center
- Enkripsi formulir Anda
- Menawarkan perlindungan kata sandi dan Google reCAPTCHA
- Memenuhi standar kepatuhan, termasuk
- HIPAA (Undang-Undang Portabilitas dan Akuntabilitas Asuransi Kesehatan)
- PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
- HCCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)
- GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
Without proper security measures in place, you put your school at greater risk for data breaches that may include leaked personal and confidential student information, such as names, birthdays, races, and behaviors (e.g., “unhoused” or “excessive talking”). Ask prospective technology providers if their products and services are routinely tested or audited for security. Ideally, your technology suppliers should be able to provide a SOC 2 report (or similar audit) that details security measures and protocols.
In addition to ensuring your digital solutions include powerful cybersecurity technologies, prioritize digital literacy and wellness. Create a digital safety plan about how to follow safety and privacy laws in your school — especially the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — and review it regularly with staff, students, and parents. The more everyone knows how to prevent cyberattacks, the safer your learning community will be.
That being said, don’t rush to put a solution in place. Take the time to find tools that can automate your everyday processes without simultaneously putting some students at a disadvantage. As an administrator, it’s imperative for you to choose software that considers the long-term effects on children, education, and society, and does its best to prioritize human choice (i.e., lets students opt out of certain data collection without compromising their ability to be included in the system or use the software).
Integrate with other technology solutions for education
Ingat audit teknologi yang Anda lakukan, saat Anda mempelajari alat mana yang berfungsi baik di sandbox? Alat teknologi pendidikan baru Anda juga perlu berkomunikasi dan bekerja satu sama lain. Jika perangkat tersebut tidak dapat berintegrasi dengan alat lain dan berbagi data berhrga secara lancar, perangkat tersebut tidak boleh menjadi bagian dari perangkat teknologi pendidik Anda. Sistem integrasi membantu Anda menghemat waktu dan uang, meningkatkan budaya kerja, dan meningkatkan produktivitas. Mereka juga membantu menyesuaikan data yang lebih dapat ditindaklanjuti, akurat, mudah diakses, dan aman.
Consider a professional learning community, or PLC, for example. With integrated systems, your teachers can use different education technology tools to set up communication channels — shareable forms and surveys, email, text chats, or video calls — to share best practices and advice, stay informed about new research, and collaborate in real time.
Are user-friendly
While finding a safe, secure education platform for your toolkit is essential, so is ease of use. If faculty members, students, and teachers can’t use the software — or have to undergo hours of training to get the hang of it — your toolkit will prove useless, no matter how good it is. While researching various solutions, read reviews about usability and even take advantage of free trial periods to give the software a test run.
Dapat diskalakan dan inovatif
Running a school is similar to running a business. You have to answer to customers (staff, students, and parents) and bosses, provide value, and be productive — all while keeping costs to a minimum. You also have to be continually adaptable and flexible, prepared for whatever life — and the district — throws at you.
Untuk mengatasi tantangan ini dengan sebaik-baiknya, lebih baik pilih perangkat lunak yang skalanya ditingkatkan atau diturunkan untuk memenuhi anggaran, staf, pendaftaran, dan kebutuhan teknologi sekolah Anda yang selalu berubah. Temukan teknologi yang dapat disesuaikan, ekspansif, inovatif, dan dapat mendukung peningkatan beban kerja, pengguna, dan data. Perangkat lunak inovatif dan terukur mendorong kreativitas, keterlibatan, moral, dan produktivitas di seluruh sekolah, membantu staf dan siswa menggunakan teknologi untuk mengoptimalkan cara mereka mengajar dan belajar.
Build a better educator’s toolkit for your school
Transformasi berbasis teknologi tidak harus menjadi upaya yang mahal atau menegangkan, apalagi sekarang Anda punya waktu untuk melakukannya dengan benar. Bicaralah dengan tim Anda, audit perangkat yang ada, dan lakukan riset untuk mengetahui alat mana yang perlu dioptimalkan dan dihapus untuk meningkatkan komunitas belajar mengajar di sekolah Anda.
Transformasi berbasis teknologi tidak harus menjadi upaya yang mahal atau menegangkan, apalagi sekarang Anda punya waktu untuk melakukannya dengan benar.
Yang terpenting, ingatlah bahwa tidak ada perangkat pendidikan yang dibangun dalam semalam. Meskipun menarik untuk membayangkan berbagai cara teknologi dapat menyederhanakan proses Anda, melindungi data Anda, dan menciptakan pengalaman yang lebih baik di seluruh sekolah, perubahan ini tidak bisa dilakukan secara terburu-buru. Mulailah dari yang kecil dengan satu atau dua departemen dan kembangkan secara bertahap seiring berjalannya waktu. Memperkenalkan alat teknologi pendidikan membutuhkan kesabaran, komunikasi staf, serta pemeriksaan dan penyesuaian yang konsisten untuk mencerminkan perubahan kebutuhan sekolah Anda dan sektor pendidikan secara keseluruhan.
Berikut adalah beberapa cara untuk membangun perangkat yang efektif untuk sekolah Anda.
Set new performance goals
Penting untuk menetapkan sasaran kinerja dengan staf Anda berdasarkan pola pikir perangkat sebelum dan sesudah teknologi. Mempelajari dan mengadopsi teknologi baru membutuhkan waktu, jadi berikanlah kelonggaran pada pengajar dan diri Anda sendiri saat Anda berupaya memenuhi atau melampaui sasaran kinerja lama dan membuat sasaran baru. Tetapkan tujuan bersama tim Anda, bukan untuk mereka, dan jelaskan ekspektasi yang jelas mengenai bagaimana Anda akan mengukur kemajuan sehingga Anda memiliki pemahaman yang sama.
Identifikasi solusi yang terhubung dengan semua platform lainnya
Saat mengoptimalkan solusi yang ada dan menemukan solusi baru, konsolidasi adalah kuncinya. Untuk menghemat waktu dan uang, sentralisasikan semua platform mandiri ke dalam satu solusi bila memungkinkan. Lingkungan yang kohesif ini memastikan kontrol, keamanan, berbagi data, dan kolaborasi yang lebih baik.
Untuk menghemat waktu dan uang, sentralisasikan semua platform mandiri ke dalam satu solusi bila memungkinkan.
Lanjutkan mengumpulkan dan menganalisis masukan pengguna
Pada akhirnya, keberhasilan alat teknologi pendidikan Anda bergantung pada apakah alat tersebut digunakan atau tidak. Jika staf, siswa, dan orang tua Anda menganggap perangkat lunak Anda terlalu rumit, terbatas, lambat, atau benar-benar merepotkan, Anda perlu mengetahuinya. Ini bisa berarti Anda membayar untuk sesuatu yang tidak efektif dan bahkan mungkin bermasalah, yang merupakan kebalikan dari apa yang Anda harapkan untuk sekolah Anda.
Lanjutkan mengirimkan survei, bertemu dengan gugus tugas audit teknologi Anda (meskipun anggotanya berfluktuasi), dan datang ke ruang kelas dari waktu ke waktu untuk mengingatkan staf dan siswa bahwa pendapat mereka penting. Pertimbangkan untuk melakukan pemeriksaan ini sekali atau dua kali setahun dan beberapa minggu setelah Anda memperkenalkan segala jenis teknologi baru.
Jadwalkan waktu dengan gugus tugas teknologi Anda — mungkin di akhir tahun ajaran — untuk meninjau perangkat yang ada, hasil survei, dan masukan secara keseluruhan, serta melakukan perbaikan berulang. Dengan terus memeriksa dan mengumpulkan masukan sepanjang tahun ajaran, Anda akan terhindar dari kebakaran besar dan hanya perlu melakukan sedikit perbaikan pada alat yang ada. Staf Anda tidak perlu terburu-buru mempelajari teknologi baru, Anda tidak perlu mengeluarkan uang terlalu banyak, dan semua orang akan dapat memanfaatkan perangkat ini lebih banyak dari tahun ke tahun.
Teknologi pendidik — kunci menuju lingkungan belajar dan mengajar yang sejahtera dan lebih menarik.
Beberapa tahun yang lalu, ketika pendidikan jarak jauh diperlukan, Anda melakukan semua yang Anda bisa untuk menciptakan lingkungan belajar virtual. Anda menerapkan sistem untuk membantu pengajar, siswa, dan orang tua menavigasi ruang kelas digital baru yang terus berubah. Anda membuat beberapa kesalahan, Anda mengalami beberapa keberhasilan, dan Anda belajar banyak.
Kini Anda memiliki waktu dan pengetahuan untuk membuat perangkat pendidikan yang lebih kuat dan serbaguna — perangkat yang memberi Anda fleksibilitas untuk menangani situasi tak terduga, keamanan untuk melindungi data Anda, dan skalabilitas untuk tumbuh dan berkembang.