One of the great truths of education is the fact that no two schools are the same. School leaders strive to deliver a modern learning experience suited to their environment, so each school reflects the needs and characteristics of its community: teachers, students and parents.
Innovative school leaders are turning to technology to help them deliver a modern learning experience that fits their unique culture and requirements, but they are finding that they are in danger of using a range of individual products and solutions each designed to meet one particular need. As a result, teachers are obliged to use a plethora of products increasing the complexity and workload of their day to day activities; students spend more time managing their work, rather than actually completing it; parents are confused and irritated by the blizzard of notifications and platforms they have available to them. So how do schools get technology to work for them, rather than the other way around?
The challenge
There are certain tools which tend to be common to all schools - generally there is some sort of MIS, along with Google and/or Microsoft products. The purpose of these tools is clear and well defined. The MIS manages school data - timetables, teaching groups, registration and reporting, whilst Google and Microsoft are productivity tools, replacing traditional pen and paper solutions either in the classroom or to streamline certain administrative processes. This combination however, will only take schools so far. Whilst the MIS will certainly alleviate some of the administrative burden for teachers, it will have little or no impact on the teaching and learning process. Productivity tools give teachers and students more scope to innovate certainly, but they are very much transactional solutions that do not provide the greater, holistic visibility that teachers and school leaders need across the entire learning experience. Neither solution provides parents with a platform that allows them to truly engage with the school, beyond a superficial, organisational level.
Creating a central hub
With schools therefore using a variety of tools to manage their day to day routines and processes, they need a platform that will bring them all together into one seamless environment. Firefly’s powerful integration layer works with the tools that schools are already using, from its deep MIS integrations, to its partnerships with Google, Microsoft and a wide range of other content providers. Providing a single central hub, making it easy to manage and share online files and documents from Google Drive and OneDrive for example, Firefly gives schools the flexibility they need to fully accommodate their unique structure, operations, and pedagogical requirements.
Multiplying the value of your tools
Working alongside the school MIS and Google or Microsoft, Firefly multiplies the power these tools to give schools the insights they need to take the learning experience further every day. With its unique learning experience database, Firefly provides a unified record, capturing the learning journey of every student and every class, term by term, year by year. Teachers can track the challenges their students face, along with their achievements and progress, students can better understand how to achieve personal success, and school leaders are enlightened with whole school visibility of the impact of the learning experience over time.
Taking learning beyond the classroom
The modern school encompasses far more than just the classroom space. With sports and co-curricular activities, house systems and projects, today’s students have a learning experience which focuses on more than simply academic progress. Firefly empowers schools to transcend traditional classroom boundaries and embrace the entire learning experience. Surfacing attendance, behaviour records and reports from the MIS, Firefly’s comprehensive, 360 view of the student, shared with teachers, students and parents supports a holistic experience across all learning spaces and beyond. Including the whole school community, with curated, personalised and multidimensional communications, Firefly ensures that the modern learning experience extends beyond the walls of a school. Dedicated apps for teachers, students and parents, giving greater accessibility on any device, gives everyone the visibility and understanding they need to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Firefly’s modern learning experience platform transforms the learning environment. Liberating teachers to guide the learning experience and unlocking the value of Google and Microsoft, Firefly helps schools set a new standard of excellence in teaching and learning. Whether it’s managing homework, supporting ongoing assessment, or facilitating collaboration between teachers, students and parents, Firefly provides the anchor of a school’s core processes and puts them on the path to insights-driven excellence.
