Charter Schools:
Why Aren’t You Using This Technology?
We use technology in every area of our life. There are apps for everything from Amazon for grocery delivery to Waze for directions to Venmo for splitting that happy hour bill. But why, when we know how much better technology makes our personal life, are we slow to use it in our school life?
Implementing technology solutions can help in every major area of charter school administration. Here’s a look at how technology can save you time, money and stress:
We know your time is valuable. We’d love for you to read the whole blog, but if you don’t have time, check out our 30-Second Summary
Accounts Payable
Instead of handling all your school’s invoices manually, use an online service like Bill.com to process your invoices. You can give access to anyone who needs to submit an invoice, set up a multi-person approval system and allow everyone to see the status of any outstanding invoices.
The cloud-based application makes it easy to keep track of bills and you don’t have to worry about physical storage with everything stored digitally.
Security Of Your IT Systems
As more hackers look at schools and their data, security is becoming more of a priority. Automating your IT security so it sends out alerts via text or calls is a great way to ensure you (or your IT services partner) learns about issues as soon as they’re detected.
This early notification allows you to quickly isolate the problem, protect your data and take action to address the IT problem.
1:1 Messaging Systems
Many charter schools are moving away from intrusive PA systems and going to an online system that allows for more personalized messaging. These systems allow users to communicate one on one, with small groups or to message the entire school when needed.
You can also track conversations and add digital file links when needed. These digital messaging systems can also offer ways to communicate with teachers in the event of a school emergency and allow communications on multiple devices like computers, tablets and phones.
Cloud-Based File Storage
Internal file servers don’t meet the needs of today’s teachers and administrators. They’re clunky, hard to maintain and often teachers keep files on their own computers instead of dealing with the file servers.
Moving to a cloud-based file storage system like Dropbox or Google Drive can create a central repository for documents that everyone can access easily. It’s intuitive and you can track access and changes to documents with the built-in versioning features.
Files aren’t lost or isolated on individual devices and it’s easy to find what information teachers and administrators need for the classroom or reporting.
Digital Student Portals
Moving to digital portals creates a unified experience for all students and takes the burden of maintaining individual class websites off of teachers’ plates. These digital portals put all charter school information in one place – school events and paperwork, homework, testing schedules – making it easier for students and parents to stay up-to-date.
Digital Signage
Although this may seem like a simple addition, using digital signs can simplify and personalize your school. Update it daily with the day’s events, give directions to testing rooms or broadcast cancellations – digital signs make it easy for the school’s administrative staff to keep the student body and teaching staff informed.
Card Readers For Attendance
Simplify daily attendance taking by installing card readers at school entrances. This takes another manual task off the teachers’ plates and gives school administrative staff instant information about who’s in school and who’s not.
This also gives you digital data that is easy to analyze for attendance trends and to identify students that may have issues with tardiness or absences.
By implementing these technology solutions into your charter school, you can save time, energy and money. By removing a number of small manual tasks, you are freeing up both your teachers and administrative staff to focus on higher-value tasks that will help you achieve your educational goals.
Share Your Experiences:
What technology solutions have you used in your charter school? Any surprising apps or tools that have saved time, money or frustration? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
30-Second Summary:
- While we use technology in every part of our personal lives, we’re slow to use it in our schools.
- Almost every area of our school day can be improved with technology
- Many cloud-based tools can make everything from accounts payable to attendance taking to file storage easier.
- By investing some of your budget in new technology tools, you can free up time for both your teachers and administrative staff to focus more on your school’s overall goals.
