Many school districts to rely on learning platforms to a degree they had never engaged with before. Vermont School Districts may have implemented platforms that now pose interoperability challenges as educators and administrators attempt to efficiently utilize these systems.
Most systems/applications have their own internal model and integration methods that require a patchwork of connections at the state and/or local level. Consequently, there are gaps in the integration and interfaces among disparate applications and many of these systems and applications are not interoperable.
If a teacher wants to gain a comprehensive view of a student’s performance, she must take data from a number of systems such as summative and formative assessment data plus grade book plus data from various software programs, plus student information, export it to a spreadsheet and then manipulate it manually. If a teacher wants to mix and match different digital resources, her students will have to log in to each resource separately requiring multiple ID’s and passwords. If a district wants to enroll students in a digital offering such as interactive math or language arts software, they will have to export all the information about what class, teacher, and students are to be signed up, manipulate it to be the correct format, then send it to the vendor – this has to be done every time a student joins or leaves the class.
Some school districts use Student Information Systems (SIS) and it is one of prominent application platforms utilized within the education sector. A Student Information System is an application platform used to manage student data. Examples of SIS platforms are Infinite Campus, PowerSchool SIS and Tyler SIS. Key functions of an SIS are to provide capabilities for registering students in courses; documenting grading, transcripts of academic achievement and co-curricular activities, and the results of student assessment scores; forming student schedules; tracking student attendance; and managing other student-related data needs in an educational institution.
Data Interoperability allows schools and districts to integrate their SIS with other applications to maintain consistency of data and improve learning practices district wide.
If your school is currently experiencing trouble on easy data import and export, feel free to contact FCS today for a free consultation. Click here to learn more.