Technology in Education

Keeping a step ahead

Written by Beth Evans

One of the challenging things as an educator is staying a step ahead of your students. When I was teaching, my school had bells that rang to let you know you were late and if you were late, you had to have a Pass from a teacher or administrator giving a reason for being late or you were marked tardy. One day, I knew I would be late and knew a student would say something about it, so I asked the principal to write me a pass. When I got to my classroom and walked through the door, the first thing I heard was, "You're late, where's your pass" in an accusatory voice. It was so much fun to whip out that pass from my pocket and say, "Here it is" and see the shocked look on her face. I think she also enjoyed that I could have a little fun with the rules.

For teachers, keeping ahead of students and keeping track of their information is something that a good student information system like Sycamore Education can help with. Here are a few examples:

Published in Technology in Education

Tagged under

What IT Leaders in K-12 Need To Know About Cloud Computing

Written by Mark Douglas

What IT Leaders in K-12

Need To Know About Cloud Computing

Cloud-based computing solutions

are popping up everywhere,

from online music libraries to

web-based banking. More data

is stored someplace outside of

a computer’s main central hard

drive than ever before.

IT leaders in K-12 education environments have a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate how

cloud computing models can provide greater cost efficiency and flexibility in their schools and

districts, and improve learning outcomes at the same time.

Cloud computing comes in many forms. It can mean Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-aService

(PaaS)

even

Infrastructure-as-a-Service

(IaaS).

Organizations

can

use

public,

private

even

hybrid

cloud

services.

Because

the

different

definitions,

the

majority

K-12

schools

are

using

some

form

cloud

computing

already,

though

they

may

not

know

it,

according

research

from

O’Keefe

& Co.

behalf

CDW-G.

The survey shows nearly 90 percent of K-12 institutions report using one or more cloud applications,

such as Google Docs (57 percent), Gmail (39 percent) or Microsoft web conferencing (9 percent).

More than 30 percent of schools have written plans for cloud computing, and another 37 percent

report being in a “discovery phase.” According to a separate 2009 survey in eSchool News,

roughly half of schools had already adopted one or more cloud-based solutions.

Over the past decade, cloud-based software and data hosting applications have gained considerable

momentum as vendors have largely addressed concerns about performance, security and other

factors. Now, solutions like Amazon Web Services (EC2), Microsoft Windows Azure and Google

Apps are considered viable options—and, in many cases, the best options—for schools seeking a

clear and cost-effective way to implement advanced applications for both the learning environment

and the school back office.

As districts expand broadband access and become more “wired,” they are able to make use of the

rich, robust and multimedia applications that have become available in the cloud. Indeed an array of

educational solution providers has emerged to address everything from curriculum support to learning

management to financial and administrative management.

Analysts urge IT leaders to prepare now, if they aren’t already. “The impact [of the cloud] on our

educational system will be astounding, and many in our educational system don’t see it coming,” says

Tom Bittman, a Gartner analyst. “These trends are moving much faster than our current educational

system can handle.”

Why IT Decision Makers Are Investing in the Cloud

IT decision makers in K-12 education are embracing the cloud for two big-picture reasons: cost and

learning potential. Leaders recognize that cloud-based applications can be rolled out more quickly

and require less support from an IT staff that’s already stretched too thin. Instead of worrying about

servers and hard drives, IT support can focus on dealing with larger issues. This can mean significant

savings

a district

school

over

time.

One of the most compelling advantages of cloud computing is the fact that schools don’t need to invest in

the implementation, integration and ongoing maintenance fees associated with traditional software

applications. Organizations pay one monthly subscription fee (sometimes paid annually or on a

multi-year basis to derive deeper discounts) to gain access to the functions and capabilities necessary

to upgrade operations or enhance student learning.

Sycamore Education: A Cost Neutral Solution for Schools

Written by Mark Simonson

Sycamore Education is a great value. Nearly any school, regardless of size, can afford to benefit from the over 200 integrated features that Sycamore delivers. What many administrators don't realize is that Sycamore can quite easily be a cost neutral solution for schools. Looking at the big picture, many of our clients actually end up saving money by investing in Sycamore Education.

How is that possible?

1) No Need for Servers or Special Equipment
This is a big one. Sycamore Education makes it possible for school to completely eliminate servers and specialized equipment. We partner with RackSpace to provide unparallled safety and security, and we also automatically back up your data every single day. (In fact, we've never lost a single byte of data in 12 years.)

2) Uptime
How much time has your school wasted on servers that need to be rebooted, and software that has to be updated? Go ahead...think that over. I'll wait. Sycamore offers 99.5% uptime, and upgrades are always done automatically and at no additional charge. How much is that worth to your school?

3) Reduction of Printing, Paper and Mail Expenses
Sycamore can help your school Go Green. Within Sycamore Education, parents and students can easily access report cards, newsletters, school news, calendars, sport schedules, etc. No more sending documents home with kids, and hoping they get delivered. Parents can even check on lunch or tuition balances and make payments, too. No need to send out statements via snail mail. And students can even turn in their assignments via Sycamore's Dropbox without ever having to print it out. Many schools save enough money on paper and postage to cover the entire cost of the Sycamore system.

4) Happy, Informed, and Connected Parents
Sycamore Education makes it so much easier for parents to stay connected and informed. So, how does a happy, informed and connected parent affect a school's income?

First some anecdotal information. My wife and I have 5 children, and they attend a private school that uses our system. She logs into the system nearly every day to check on grades, assignments, tests, lunch, etc. And if she has a question for a teacher, she doesn't have to call the school, leave a message, and then wait for a reply. She just sends the teacher a quick note using Sycamore's exclusive Pass-a-Note feature. If one of our kids fails to turn in an assignment, we know about it right away. If someone did poorly on a test (that never happens), we don't have to wait for report cards to find out about it. There's no doubt that our kids' grades have improved because we, as parents, know what's going on at the school.

That same situation is happening with thousands of families using Sycamore Education. Happy, informed parents are much more likely to keep their kids enrolled in your school, and they are going to feel better about paying that tuition bill when it comes due every month. And these same happy parents are going to tell other parents about the how organized and efficient your school is, which will likely lead to inreased enrollment.

5) Sponsor Ads
This one's not difficult to understand. Sycamore allows schools to to display sponsor ads within the system. Schools can have any number of ads scrolling within the system (click here for my post on this feature), and this is an easy way for schools to generate extra income.