When the pandemic struck, schools had to accelerate moving from face-to-face interactions to virtual platforms . If the school or district was not strategically positioned, this migration to cloud platform tends to happen in three waves.
The first wave happens when a school that is essentially paper based enters a crisis, such as a pandemic, where they need to virtualized their processes. To pivot, these organizations tend to opt for a system that manages a core business function, such a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Student Information System (SIS) but has limited impact because they realize the processes around the system are still manual (i.e. student work is posted online but not report cards, attendance, billing, etc.)
The second occurs when organization is partially in the cloud, where they already have as a Learning Management System, an accounting system, etc. but when these systems are fully adopted the organization runs into deficiencies and constraints because the data between them is not accurate or easily transferable (i.e. the roster of online classes is different from attendance, billing addresses and student contact information are different, etc.)
The final wave is when the organization strategically looks at its online systems where they can easily exchange information so it is administratively accurate and provides a great end user experience. These systems tend to part of an ecosystem or use standards that make this possible. For schools, there are many ecosystems, sometimes called turn key products that can assist a district skirt to the final wave. Some examples are Powerschool, Blackbaud, Rediker, RenWeb (Elevate), Senior Systems, Frontline Education, Compass, etc. All of these come with drawbacks, no system is a perfect fit but considering one will greatly help with unifying end user experience.
Meeting with a colleague, a consultant for other schools, I was asked about how I look specifically at these types of Systems. My answers are below:
1. Which LMS are you currently using and why? Any other LMS providers that you are evaluating in parallel?
The current LMS is part of the Blackbaud K12 solution called Blackbaud LMS. It offers the typical qualities of other LMS systems, announcements, sharing links and resources, reminders, online quizzes, uploading assignments, etc. What differentiated Blackbaud LMS from other was it was 100% integrated with the current SIS system, allowing immediate updates to attendance, medical alerts, IEPs, trips, schedule changes, etc. along with extra curricular activities such as sports and clubs (these didn't appear or get mixed in as an academic course) compared to other systems we evaluated such as Google Classroom, DL2, Moodle, and Blackboard.
2. Which Admission systems are you currently using? Do you use it? And what other providers did you evaluate?
The school uses Blackbaud for admissions, and the Student Enrolment Management System, as it is fully integrated. The user experience is consistent for families that apply and attend the school, it offers the same feel and smoothly transitions them into the school's CMS and LMS. It also keeps data consistent and quickly accessible for administration, when families are enrolled as current parents at the school. We looked at keeping our proprietary system and Schooladmin before making the switch.
3. What is your key motivation to use these digital solutions (LMS and Admissions) ?
The key motivation was to offer an online experience that is consistent or better than what you find in the post secondary online admissions and LMSs. University applicants pay, select courses, sign waivers, order materials, etc. all in one consistent place.
4. What are your Key selection criteria for digital solutions providers for LMS and Admissions
This is done through a task force of teachers and key Administrative stakeholders. Teachers wanted an LMS system that lets them focus on teaching and not administration (like adding students or going to a separate portal for attendance). The administrative side wanted the ability to customize their application process, make notes, check lists, online booking tools for interviews and tours, etc. There was also a need to have visibility in our systems (i.e. LMS and SIS) because many applicants had siblings or cousins currently enrolled in the school.
5. What has been the Impact of Covid on this market and how it affected the adoption rates of digital solutions in schools
If anything COVID accelerated the adoption process around using the online tools more. Anything was paper driven or face-to-face moved to an online medium. An example was the uploading of documents (i.e. letters of recommendation, sample work, etc.) in the admission portal. Another was using the online booking system for virtual meetings. Similar things occurred for the LMS.
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