DATA

With levels now a thing of the past, more and more schools are investigating standardised testing as a way of ensuring accurate and consistent assessment. Here, we explore the range of benefits that such tests provide.

Since creating the first version of Classroom Monitor over 12 years ago, I have seen both technology and assessment change beyond recognition. Now, pupil trackers come in all shapes and sizes; whether it’s using Excel or a web-based assessment application, you need to do more than just collect data. My founding principle has always been that assessment systems should fundamentally: save time, follow your specific curriculum and engage all your school stakeholders with actionable insights. But how should schools choose the best assessment solution for them?

As Ofsted’s Sean Harford noted in a recent blog, “a school’s assessment system [should] support the pupils’ journeys through the curriculum.” But how to go about making this a reality?

The value of a school management information system (MIS) isn’t simply for the safe storage of data. Its true value is in the speed at which the data can be accessed and then used to inform decisions - from an individual student, right through to whole-school level. Assessment for learning is perhaps the best example of this.

When it comes to bringing together a school community through data-harmony, there can be a lot of hassle involved. As Tina Holmes, deputy safeguarding officer at Woodhouse West Primary School in Sheffield, discusses: “Admin for safeguarding and pastoral support can be an enormous challenge, especially regarding transition.”

Making the most of technology does not have to be an expensive luxury for schools. A recent study of four education organisations - one Further Education college and three Secondary schools - demonstrated that by implementing mstore for education, Arena’s electronic document management platform, significant returns on investment can be gained, making this a cost-effective choice.

Ian Hunter is CCO at WCBS, a global organisation and market-leading supplier of next-generation true cloud information management software for schools. Ian has spent many years working in the edtech arena, and believes that WCBS has an outstanding product portfolio, delivering a transformational change to schools on a daily basis. Ahead of GESS Dubai (27th February - 1st March), Ian writes about why many schools need to rethink their information management...

With resource constraints, schools in the UK will be primarily focusing on their school improvement plans and staff retention. However, there are some edtech trends slightly over the horizon which we will start to see come into play beyond the immediate and day-to-day:

The new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that are coming into force this May are a very hot topic in edtech right now. There is still a lot of confusion around what schools need to do to be prepared for these changes.

Edtech has made a huge impact in the education sector. The advent of digitally-enabled classrooms, cloud-based content, ebooks, and online assessment modified the learning process in a truly positive way throughout last year. You can expect to see these edtech trends of 2017 continue to flourish in the coming year.

  •  Start 
  •  Prev 
  •  1  2  3 
  •  Next 
  •  End 
Page 1 of 3

In order to make our website better for you, we use cookies!

Some firefox users may experience missing content, to fix this, click the shield in the top left and "disable tracking protection"