Case Study: School OS and Digital School Management

Jennifer Birch explores Bamboo Groups new School OS, which embraces mobile to provide students, teachers and parents with a more connected, effective way to manage education.

The inclusion of parents and teachers in a child’s education greatly impacts their academic performance and social development. According to research posted by NCBI, elementary students whose parents were hands-on in assisting them with their studies achieved better scores in classes, had improved social skills, and experienced a decline in problematic behaviour. Similar patterns emerged when teachers were more hands-on in the classroom, too.

With the help of electronic and digital tools, teachers and parents are able to keep up with students and monitor their progress efficiently and effectively. Similarly, these technologies assist in bridging the gap between school administrations and parents to ensure students are provided with the best learning environment possible through regular communication.

School OS, developed by Estonian IT company Bamboo Group, offers a full-feature electronic version of a school diary. It is a school management software platform built for engagement. The developers look at it as an opportunity to build more than just a curriculum management software. The sole purpose of the platform is to reallocate roles among educators, parents and school administrations in assisting students with their educational needs, saving time and money, as well as encouraging an efficient use of human resources.

Based on the Mobile World Capital Barcelona report, schools are now committed to using mobile devices, and many households have begun investing in the technology. Schools are now encouraging the use of mobile devices, especially since a post by O2 introduced many parents and teachers to new forms of smartphones that come with productivity features, making it easier to track student progress and work.

Mobile devices are an important aspect of this platform. To ensure, parents and teachers are updated with a student’s progress, School OS works for PCs, tablets and smartphones to provide them with all the information they need regarding school wherever they may be. It offers easy-to use software for PCs and laptops as well as an app alternative for mobile device users.

The app for parents allows them to track their child’s progress and receive big data insights regarding their progress, while the one for teachers helps in managing daily tasks, such as delegating homework, sending absence alerts, targeting stronger communication with parents to improve curricula and much more.

The platform enables parents to access students grades, homework assignments, daily time tables, records of absences and even teachers notes and recommendations.

Likewise, teachers and school administrations are able to benefit from reduced paperwork, more efficient school reporting and student monitoring, as well as more effective management of the schools network, even on a national level. The platform enables schools to make a quick transition to an improved e-learning experience at a minimal cost.

School OS is certainly a big step towards 21st century e-learning. It improves traditional learning processes to make parent-school communication efficient, effective and engaging.

Currently, School OS is trusted by thousand of users (parents, students and teachers alike). The goal is for the platform to take part in building modern education in five major developing countries through onboarding over 1,000 schools by the end of next year. Ten pilot schools have already been selected in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, which is projected to increase by 140 in 2017. Some of the other countries selected are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Vietnam and Cameroon.

Bamboo Group will be showcasing the platform at the Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona, 27 February – 2 March 2017. School OS team members will be sharing valuable insights on how the platform can help schools go digital. Click here to schedule a meeting with the School OS team at MWC here, or you can request a demo here if you wont be in Barcelona.