(1978) INTEGRATED STUDENT MANAGEMENT AND LEARNING SYSTEMS. ONE SCHOOL'S JOURNEY IN BRINGING PARENTS, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TOGETHER

摘要

With the best of intentions, many schools have gradually implemented a range of disparate systems todeal with a number of key pastoral, academic and administrative functions. The list of such functions islong, but certainly includes student and family data, medical information, mark books, assessmentnotifications, report writing, pastoral care records, attendance, academic progress, anecdotal records,timetabling, email with students and parents, cover or substitute teacher management, online learningand lesson information, calendar, homework and feedback.Current trends in the evolution of online school portal systems permit schools to provide individualparents and students with personalised access to data that pertain specifically to the user. Teachersand clerical staff spend a lot of time collecting and collating data.The real challenge for schools is to collate those data in a way that not only facilitates the flow ofinformation to parents, but also provides valuable feedback to all those involved with the care andteaching of each individual child. If teachers and carers are to spend time collecting information, thenthey really do need to see an overall benefit flowing back to them and to the students in their care.It is not sufficient for a school to collect data just so that it can be shared with parents. The schoolmust also explore ways in which teachers and carers can share information and collaborate in anevidence-based manner with colleagues when they are making decisions and planning learning forindividual students.Asking educators to let go of long-held modes of operation and to embrace new ones is not easy.Technology today, however, allows us to be so much more efficient and collaborative in the way we dothings. The work and effort of one person can so easily be shared and be of value to many others inthe big-picture school environment, and can not only save time but also result in better learningoutcomes for students.This paper will explore the way that one school has gradually moved to consolidate its disparatemanagement and organisational tools and processes into one integrated package. It will discuss theprinciples that have emerged and endured during the process and that are now applied before movingforward. Change management issues will be shared, not necessarily with a list of solutions but moreprobably to reassure others that their experiences are normal.Specific examples of workflows will be provided for both teachers or pastoral carers and for clericaland administrative staff.This school's solutions are not intended as a panacea for others, but more as a snapshot in time as tohow and why we do what we do, and a look forward into what we hope to do. It will serve to inform thethinking of others who are perhaps not quite so far along in their journey or who, like us, are constantlyevaluating their thinking, procedures and protocols.