Constant upgrades in technology affect not only how we conduct business, but also how we live our lives. From the cars we drive, to using smartphones for mobile banking, industries are capitalizing on available technology to increase efficiency, productivity, and results. In the education realm, technology allows students to quickly gain access to information, complete assignments, and get the vital experience they need on the tools and machines that they will use in the professional world. As more schools allow technology on campus, administrators, teachers, students, and parents are able to improve communication with school notifications and also through developing an environment that promotes student success and learning.
How Has Technology Improved Schools?
Gone are the days of students spending long days in the library working on a research paper. Instead, online resources instantly connect students with information on any subject or story from around the world. In addition, electronic filing systems and websites have allowed schools to save valuable time and money by completing daily tasks and communicating directly with students and parents quickly and conveniently. Being able to use technology to its advantage helps schools keep students engaged and makes learning more fun.
A 2013 report by Pew Research Center of nearly 2,500 educators found that 92 percent of teachers say that the Internet has a “major impact” on their ability to access content, resources, and materials for their teaching. While finding additional material to supplement lesson plans has led to improvements in the quality of education offered, teachers say that the Internet and other technologies have allowed them to increase collaboration with other educators and communicate more effectively with students and their parents. At the same time, being able to leverage technology gives teachers and administrators more credibility with their students.
Easy-to-navigate websites provide all of the information that families need, such as calendars of events and progress reports, while online forms make registration and updating information that much easier. School districts do not need to triple or quadruple their budget by purchasing top-of-the-line devices in order to see the results of utilizing technology on a daily basis. In fact, those schools and districts that invest in technology that streamlines processes and improves communication are the ones that can best prepare their students for the future. In addition to using the Internet and other technologies in the classroom, identifying inefficiencies in the workflow of the entire school allows administrators to improve productivity.
Task Management for Administrators and Teachers
In today’s economic climate, maximizing efficiency with a dwindling budget is the only way for schools and districts to serve their students without sacrificing the quality of education provided. This is true for ensuring that students meet rigorous state standards and that teachers and staff members have the resources necessary to make that happen. Therefore, schools must begin by examining ways to enhance task management so that hours are not needlessly wasted.
A study published in the American Educational Research Journal (Table 3, pg. 822) found that more than 20 percent of teachers use computers to prepare for instruction, communicate with parents, and provide students with assignments at least weekly. This includes preparing newsletters, sending school notifications, inputting grades, and updating class-specific websites. Being able to give feedback to students and quickly grade assignments frees up valuable time that is better spent on the instruction in the classroom. Using a comprehensive system that allows teachers to quickly complete and organize tasks is a win-win-win scenario for any school; teachers are motivated by increased efficiency, students get higher quality education and greater access to information from their teachers, and parents are able to keep up on their child’s work and ensure that they are making the progress needed to be successful. One account to manage all of these tasks pushes everything online and makes it exponentially easier to stay in control of the daily routine.
Administrators benefit from advances in technology as much as, if not more than, teachers. Due to the rise in popularity of online forms and databases, it is easier than ever to track student files and access necessary paperwork with the click of a button. From new student registration, to seeing which students have completed athletics participation forms and field trip waivers, completing tasks with the help of the latest technology reduces clutter and eliminates guesswork. In addition, being able to see a student’s profile allows administrators and office staff to follow up for information that is missing, without worrying about the risk of paper files being misplaced.
Maximum Efficiency with Streamlined Processes in eSchoolView OneView
While there are a number of programs and tools that teachers and administrators use to make life easier each day, a fair amount of time and energy is still being spent on separate systems. eSchoolView’s OneView solution is the only product that combines online registration, online forms, parent portal features, and resources for teachers in a single package. Not only are teachers allowed to run their classrooms more efficiently, but administrators gain access to a complete system that takes care of appointment scheduling, student registration, emergency contact information, grade reports, communication with parents and families, and more.
At the same time, schools are able to centralize all of their information in one system. By pulling data from the school’s Student Information System (SIS) provider, student information is saved from one year to the next. This eliminates the need to create new sets of records for the same student each year, drastically reducing the amount of time spent on the process.
With automated school notifications through the platform, staff members and students’ families can quickly and easily be contacted with emergency alerts, changes to the bus schedule, and more. OneView is an affordable and powerful resource for schools and education organizations, giving them the tools and technology to enhance all aspects of campus. In addition to maximizing the efficiency of the office, these features also benefit students and improve relationships with parents. Learn more about eSchoolView and OneView technology to improve the efficiency of your school by contacting a representative today at (888) 932-6460.
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