As schools approach Term 1, principals are working towards building balanced classrooms to provide a better teaching and learning environment.
To help schools smooth out this process, leading edutech provider, Sentral Education, has developed a data-driven tool that helps schools automate building a class.
Geoff Byers, CEO of Sentral Education says Class Builder is “a game changing tool” for schools and teachers, helping them better prepare for the upcoming year without the hassle or the stress.
The tool helps teachers reduce the stress and effort often associated with student class allocations by allowing the process to be done at the click of a button. It also allows teachers to automate class lists by using a teacher logic algorithm to combine teacher insights on individual students.
Byers told The Educator why technology needs to play a bigger role in K-12 education.
“Technology is capable of aiding teachers in changing the traditional class room practice,” Byers said.
“The benefits of technology in education are endless. They provide not only an impetus for students to have higher engagement in lessons but allow teachers to provide diversity of both content and teaching styles.”
Byers said that technology drives 24/7 learning, meaning that students’ learning is not just confined to walls of a classroom.
“Technology is a tool that will allow an organic exchange of knowledge and ideas, students and teachers are able to share best practices, different methods, information and what has 'made a difference' in their classrooms and removes the need for teacher led content,” he said.
“With how connected we are today, it also important for schools to embrace the tools that will allow them to connect easily and seamlessly internally, with students as well as with parents. There are tools like Sentral and Class Builder that helps make every school management a breeze.”
Byers said that schools are starting to realise the benefits of digital data, including collated data on their students, their understanding, their strengths and weaknesses.
“Once longitudinal data is made available to teachers, it becomes more than aggregation, analysis can begin. Initial analysis is often very functional, but it also very quickly leads to formative analysis,” he said.
This can prompt schools and teachers to start asking questions that will help create a better learning environment such as ‘how can I change my teaching to better clarify this concept with a student?’ ‘Which students require individualized learning?’ and ‘how can I implement differentiated learning within my classroom?’”
Byers pointed out that this analysis can also lead to longitudinal evaluation.
“This is where schools later get to reflect on the results and learn how the flipped learning mode has had on the schools, the teachers and the students,” he said.
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