Education is one of the fields that have undergone huge transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the main changes was schools adopting tools for effective online learning and online school management.

Many schools have already been using school management software way before the pandemic. Now that the circumstances have changed, it has become a necessity.

While selecting school management software, make sure that the following tools are included for efficient overall online school management during COVID-19.

Student Management System

Online School Management Tool-Student Management System

Student lifecycle management is an important responsibility of educational institutes. It involves monitoring and managing student information, new student registration, and much more

While selecting a student management system for you educational institute, you can either go for software that solely deals with student management or choose software, such as Edsys ERP, that allows both school and academics management.

A student management system can be considered efficient if

  • School authorities can smoothly handle student registration, enrolment, and information sharing with other school staff
  • They can monitor and manage student life cycle from the time of registration to graduation, which includes factors like student performance
  • The software is customizable, scalable, and flexible

Benefits

  • Manage student information efficiently
  • Track student performance
  • Oversee multiple school branches at once
  • Save extra expenses, in terms of labor and time
  • Hassle-free access to academic-related information

 Online Student Attendance

Tool for Better Online School Management-Online Student Attendance

Manually tracking and managing student attendance during online classes can be a hassle for teachers. That is why Online Student Attendance System can be a great addition to the tools for online school management.

Online Student Attendance system allows teachers to mark and manage the daily attendance of students. It also helps to maintain an error-free student attendance record and create student attendance reports.

The following features of Online Student Attendance System define its efficiency

  • Track attendance based on student log in and log off
  • Teachers can track the breaks taken by students
  • Records of time spent by students on sessions, including attending classes and accessing learning resources

Benefits

  • Accurate and reliable
  • Access student attendance data anytime, anywhere
  • Save time
  • Reduce labor and expenses
  • Improve productivity for both teachers and students

Timetable Management System

Tool for Better Online School Management-Timetable Management System

An online timetable management system is a great tool to ensure productivity as well as efficient monitoring of staff and students alike. Some timetable management software also comes with integrated attendance management system to add to the efficiency.

A timetable management system comes as a great relief to the school authorities, in terms of creating timetables, rescheduling staff timetables in case of unplanned leaves, avoiding manipulation of information, etc.

An efficient timetable management system has the following features

  • Teachers can create and access their own class timetables as well as student timetable
  • Students can view their class timetable for a day, a week, or a month
  • School authorities can view the scheduled timetable for classes for a particular day and make necessary changes in case of unplanned leaves
  • Timetable management system integrated with attendance management features reduces chances of data manipulation and improves productivity

Benefits

  • Efficient time management
  • Reduced workload
  • Save time
  • Lower chances of errors
  • Teachers and students can prepare for the classes beforehand

Assignment Management System

Tool for better management of schools online-Assignment Management System

When facilities for online classes have been efficiently implemented during the pandemic, most schools seem to neglect the topic of assignment management. Applications, such as Whatsapp, are being widely used by teachers and students to share and submit assignments.

This method comes with risks, such as losing data, and teacher/student not noticing the scheduled/submitted assignments. Assignment Management System serves as an efficient tool to handle this issue, making it easy for both teachers and students.

The following features define an efficient Assignment Management System

  • Create assignments and assign them to individual students or a group
  • Monitor the status of assignments and performance of students
  • Send notifications to students for each new assignment/project
  • View pending tasks
  • Close completed assignments

Benefits

  • Create assignments easily
  • Save time
  • Review submitted assignments
  • Provide instant feedback
  • Students can access subject data

Fee Management System

Fee Management System-Tool for Better Online School Management

Fee Management System has been widely used by schools for managing and paying fees of students for a while. But it seems to be more useful at the time of the pandemic.

With the Fee Management System, managing fees becomes an easier task for Accountants. Also, Parents can view details of their ward’s fees and pay pending fees using the system, without the hassle of going to the school and stand in queues for hours.

An efficient Fee Management System comes with the following features

  • Accountants/School Authority  can view and manage fee details
  • Provisions to update status of fee payment
  • View details of collected and pending fees
  • Generate invoice
  • Parents can pay their wards’ fees

Benefits

  • Efficient fee management
  • Save time
  • Reduce costs
  • Receive reminders about fee payment
  • Generate reports instantly

Conclusion

Choosing an online school management system is more like a gamble. Things could go wrong if the system does not have necessary tools for efficient school management, despite the great reviews and cost. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the above-mentioned tools are included in the system.

Edsys is an educational software provider with an array of educational solutions, including those for effective school management, to our credit. If you are looking for an online school management service or need assistance in developing online learning tools, Edsys would be a great choice. Contact us to discuss in detail.

What are Smart Classes?

Smart Classes use digital technology to enhance the learning process. The various audio and visual aids enhance the learning process and make it more fun. The possibilities are endless. 

Specialized software is designed and optimized to the needs of a specific class, unlike universal solutions. The digital infrastructure enhances the teacher to student and peer to peer communication because data streams are separated and structured. An example of this will be the raise hand feature in video conferencing apps now.

Smart Classes can also educate the students about the potentials of using it. As a result, they will resort to more innovative ideas after school.

A key part of classes in the part were the lectures, this is not the case now. Interactive learning is proved to help students better. Projectors and computers are used to exchange information. Interactive touch screens help the students become immersed.

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In this blog, we will discuss

Why do you need a Smart Classes?

We now know that learning is a cognitive process. The old system of teaching catered only to one type of learning. The visual or solitary learners found it difficult to grasp concepts. But now we have a method to address every specific need to cater to the student. 

Apart from these services, institutions are developing their own software and apps to make the organization and the learning process easier.

Due to the rapid digitization, the transition to online classes in the time of covid19 has been rather smooth. Virtual communities help in better interpersonal communication. 

Information also tends to hold longer with visual aid. 

Smart classrooms allow students to not be present in the class physically anymore. They can also access previous classes from their device making the laborious note-taking task obsolete

Types of Smart Classes

Learning solutions have evolved and are more smarter by the say. There are various approaches you can take when making the school smarter. The budget, the digital literacy of the students all influence it.

Innovations allowed the prices of equipments to go down by a huge bracket in recent times. 

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Here are the various types of Smart Classes

1. The Basic Setup

smart classes

 These are the most common ones used in schools. It involves projectors, a computer, and a screen. The system will be preloaded with lessons that utilize visual and auditory learning. Animations and Videos are the most common mediums used to convey information. The lessons can be easily updated according to changes in the curriculum.

2. Personal Devices

On top of the basic setup, students can possess devices like tablets and laptops. Personal tablets have replaced the simple digital slate because the cost of making is very low now. Students can take notes, receive material and complete assignments and tests in the same device. This also saves paper which is a plus for the environment.

3. Virtual Reality

smart classes 3

 By using a VR headset, students can enter a new world or a sandbox.

In a sandbox, the students can do experiments, especially physical ones to learn theories and incite the brain.

The contents of the VR can also be controlled by the teacher so that everyone experiences the same. From a DNA molecule to the French revolution can be shown in great detail. 

Augmented Reality is used to simulate objects in the real world. This can include holograms and AR glasses. The technology is in the cradle and is rapidly advancing.

3. Student Tracking Management

 All the aspects of the school are digitized here. From attendance marking to school bus tracking are in the cloud. This ensures more transparency of information. The students’ performance can also be assessed in real time.

4. Interactive Boards

The old dusty chalkboards are replaced with Smartboards. Now teachers can show visuals, videos etc in the new blackboard. The students can also interact with it with their personal tablets. New tools enable you to present ideas better.

5. Student Devices

 This can help you if you are studying remotely. Services like Google Jamboard can enable multiple people to collaborate in the same whiteboard from separate devices. E-books, pdf and other study material can be sent to the device eliminating the need for books. 

6. Apps

 Hardware side is not the only solution that is needed when it comes to smart classes. The app development should be tailored to fit the wants of your class. Kahoot for example has a very simple, uncluttered layout that younger people will like.

7. Communication Devices

You should use quality microphones (preferably wireless), speakers, and other gadgets to address the whole class more effectively. 

8. IoT (Internet of Things)

Many textbooks now feature links and QR codes to its internet counterparts to give more content to the students. Attendance and progress can be tracked.

Benefits of Smart Classes

  1. Anytime Access to The Expansive World of Online Information

The internet is a treasure trove of invaluable information to students. Storing volumes of data that correspond to any subject under the sun, a smart class can extract the potential of best online resources in teaching and learning.

Most suitable for students who wish to go the extra mile to grasp information that is way ahead of their course curricula, online resources can improve the curiosity and creativity of students.

Teachers can access online information from various educational articles that are published on the net and project the culled information in the form of an interesting presentation.

This way, education will not be restricted to referring to printed material. Online sources will bring in an element of excitement to learning when students can bank on the exhaustive information that is published on the internet.

  1. Digital Tools Help Students Understand The Topic Better

Gone are the days of traditional black-board education. Now is the age of smart classes which allow the faculty to impart education using PowerPoint presentations, word documents, audio sessions, and video screenings and also through images.

A picture is worth a thousand words! In line with this famous maxim, it is through smart classes that students will be able to assimilate all the information that is presented via these instructional tools.

Since the teacher is not writing on the board, students will be able to better concentrate in the class, assimilating audio-visual (AV) information through digital tools like CDs, pen drives and PDF files that will be e-mailed to students.

This pattern of teaching and learning thus avoids the trouble of making notes while the lecture is in progress. Since notes will be provided to them through these modes, they can concentrate better while the class.

  1. A Top Bet for Absentees

Fret no more if you have to miss your smart class for a day. Students of smart classes can access lectures at any time since all of them are recorded on digital devices.

You can simply download the recorded lectures which are uploaded on the internet by keying in your user ID and password and access the study material which was discussed in your absence.

This way, your digital notes will come to your rescue when you miss a day in school; without putting in any extra effort to obtain the same.

  1. Interactive Environment Favors Better Learning

The use of digital tools of instruction brings in an interactive environment to learning. It is in a smart class where better transparency is established between the faculty and students.

Since learning is linked to photos, maps, images, and animated videos, you as a student will be able to establish a strong connection with your faculty. You will be enthused to share your thoughts freely in class, expressing them through writings and drawings.

  1. “Go Green” with Smart Classes

Smart classes are a perfect solution to the environmental hazards that are posed by the conventional methodology of education. You will be creating a “Go Green” zone when you will learn about your favorite subjects without the use of paper and pen.

You don’t need to rely on printouts and photocopiers which lead to the formation of a carbon footprint. This way, a smart class can indeed become an intelligent and workable way to pave way for a greener environment.

  1. A Perfect Option for Students with Different IQs

It takes all sorts of students to make up a class. While some students grasp the concepts in a jiffy, there are others who will need to go through repeated explanations.

In such a situation, smart classes come as befitting learning options. Since you learn via different forms of media, these advanced technologies present an interesting platform for both the teachers and students.

A lot can happen via visual effects of a smart class. These effects bring in a dynamic perspective to education.

Hence, smart classes come in as perfect learning territories for students to assimilate the nuances behind a subject;in a single go or after repeatedly accessing subject details for a clearer understanding.

  1. Ease of Maintenance

Smart classes employ electronic tools which are easy to use and maintain. The use of a digital pen along with other electronic gadgets comes with very low maintenance costs.

It is a one-time investment that you need to make in contrast to the use of chalks and markers which made their strong presence felt in traditional classrooms.

A once-in-a-while service to all these gadgets is all that is needed for your smart class to impart quality education to knowledge-seekers.

  1. Extracting the Best Out of Technology

All thanks to the modern age we are all a part of, smart classes come with a “technology-aided classroom learning” tagline.

It is through the use of technology that you can learn about interesting and novel things. You can employ a number of digital tools in your pursuit of quality education.

  1. A Fillip To Academic Performance

Grades are a barometer to assess the performance of students. It is through smart classes that students will be thrilled to surprise themselves, their teachers and parents with excellent grades.

All thanks to innovative methods of learning, you will be able to clearly understand the topic taught via digital tools.

When the fundamentals of a subject are clearly understood, you can bank on this strength to proceed with the comprehension of difficult sections of the subject.

All these in toto will not only help you master the subject but will also manifest in the form of top educational grades.

  1. The Fun Element to Learning

It is not an exaggeration to quote that a lot can happen in a smart class. A smart class is conspicuous with a bunch of active students glued to various digital gadgets in their pursuit of holistic education.

The class will be a buzz with the inquisitive chatter and interactions between student groups. This inquisitive chatter is what makes learning fun for students.

Sparing you of the monotonous traditional classroom environment, a smart class is evident with enhanced student-teacher interaction; prompted by technological tools.

There can never be a dull moment in a smart class when you will be thrilled to step into your class to learn about various topics; the smart and entertaining way.

After spelling out all the benefits of a smart class, let us now move on to the disadvantages of smart classes.

Demerits of Smart Classes

  1. Cost Concerns

School administrators need to burn a hole in their pockets to keep their school abreast with the latest technologies in teaching.

Every other day, a new version of software emerges and it is not only difficult to keep pace but also fund these resources.

Schools treading the smart classroom path will need to employ a salaried technologist who will again drain the school’s resources.

It is not only about the cost, it is a challenge to zero-in on a modern technologist who can bring necessary changes to classrooms; attuned to emerging teaching technologies and techniques.

Budgetary concerns also arise when schools have to invest in training the faculty since all types of teachers cannot acclimatize themselves to the use of technological teaching tools.

A smart class thrives mainly because of skilled faculty. And when teachers are not trained about the latest teaching technologies, a smart class can lead to the deceleration of learning amongst students.

  1. The Perils of Technology-Based Learning

When technology is applied to learning, the outcome is progressive and entertaining. But, the constant use of electronic gadgets can impair the problem-solving capacity of students.

There can be a situation when you can feel completely lost and helpless when a gadget malfunctions.

Parents of students are a generation behind the technologically-educative student community.

In such a case, they as the all-time guardians of their children will fail to offer any sort of educational assistance. Children of such parents will be at a loss when they cannot bank on their parents to complete their academic projects or homework.

  1. Human Values Take a Beating

In a smart class, electronic teaching gadgets come as teaching tools. Students attuned to learning via smart devices will lose touch with their teachers.

This shift in learning brings down the significance of a good teacher. Students will be glued to computers and laptops; looking at teachers as mere entities in their class.

  1. A Monotonous Learning Process

Notwithstanding the fact that a smart class makes learning entertaining, you will be relying so much on technology that your creative skills will take a beating. A tech-driven class brings in monotony to learning when your smartness and creativity get on to the backburner. Learning will seem a mechanical process when you repeatedly try to employ gadgets that work in a prescribed manner.

  1. Technical Hiccups

The malfunction of an electronic gadget is enough to cause the loss of many teaching hours. Since all these are delicate tools, it takes time and money to get them back to work.

Given such a situation, teachers are forced to return to the conventional blackboard mode of education. And this comes with a great deal of dissent from students who will be unwilling to accept the change.

Such technical faults can dampen the classroom environment, burdening teachers. In such an unforeseen situation, teachers should not only prepare for the topic for the day but also have to toggle between the two modes of teaching.

Wrapping It Up

After enlisting the contrasting aspects of a smart class, it pays to ponder about the ways and means you can make education accessible and enjoyable to every student.

No doubt, there are some disadvantages of smart classes. But when you weigh these demerits against the numerous advantages, you can conclude that smart classes are an apt means to head towards a technology-driven educational system that the modern world is aiming for.

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 ‘Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. It’s just about widening your knowledge and absorbing the truth about life’  –Shakunthala Devi

Whether you learn or teach, assessing where you or your student stands are an integral part of every learning process. This is usually done through tests and traditionally tests are either verbal or written. Written tests are more popular due to their convenience.

When technology intervenes, we expect a better way, which in the case of assessments is by means of Assessment Management Systems

Let’s delve deeper…

What is Assessment Management System?

Assessment Management System is basically technology leveraged to assess what your child has learned, through different types of questions such as ‘Fill in the blanks, Multiple Choice Questions, Match the list, Yes or No questions’, etc…

It incorporates personalized adaptive testing modules that run in a systematic and continuous mode to get best results.

Different Types of Assessment Questions

Question types include

1) Multiple Choice Questions(MCQ’s)

  • With a single answer
  • With multiple answers
  • True/False

2) Match the following

3) Fill in the blanks

  • Short answers

4) Order the following

5) All these assessment questions have pre-defined answers

As these questions have fixed responses, automatic validation is possible

Now that you have a general idea about the technology, let’s see what it’s benefits are….

Benefits of Assessment Management System

  • Teachers can check students ‘understanding level after teaching a topic
  • Teachers can provide proper guidance after assessing the tests
  • Students can attend self- assessment to analyze their level of understanding
  • Peer assessment can be done for students to analyze the portions to be flipped and the ones to be learned thoroughly.

Why do you need an Assessment Management System?

  • Highly interactive Online Exam Result Accessibility

assessment management system

The online assessment exam can be easily accessed, even from home anytime. So, as a teacher, you can spend more time to teach the topic rather than for tests.

  • A Great Solution for Busy Class Schedules

assessment management system

The teaching process is completed only when you conduct a test to know how much he/she has learned. When you struggle to complete the syllabus before the exam, it would be really difficult for you to conduct class tests or exams.

The online Assessment Management System will be a helping hand for you, as you can teach the portions in school and the students can have their tests at home.

  • Assess Student Learning Process Systematically and Monitor the progress to give them Real-Time Guidance

assessment management system

Soon after the student gives an exam, the student, parents, and teachers will be notified with the results, with which the students can evaluate themselves and the teachers and parents can track the progress.

  • Provides Instant Feedback to Students, based on Different Parameters

assessment management system

When a student takes an exam, he/she will be shown results within a span of 5-10 seconds, with which they can analyze the portion they are weak in and spend more time accordingly.

User Roles of Assessment Management System

Parents, teachers, and the students are directly or indirectly involved in this learning process. Let’s go through it in detail:

(1) User Role of Parents

    • Check kid’s progress even via a smartphone
    • Real-time access to test results
    • Can view the questions and the answers marked by your kid
    • Individual results can be viewed in the case of two kids
    • Everything will be notified either through push messages or emails.

(2) User Role of Teachers

    • Check the students who appeared a particular exam
    • Can give high-quality corrective instructions
    • Can access a graphical representation of individual results to track learning outcome
    • Change test questions easily
    • Can send personal feedback as inbox messages

Helps-teachers-stay-organized!

(3) User Role of Students (the group to benefit the most)

    • Can bring learning to their respective homes easily
    • Can have an easier self-evaluation with test results
    • Will get an idea of the portions to be focused more
    • Manage time to study and prepare schedules
    • Can attempt and re-attempt tests

In short, the Student Assessment System, allows teachers to upload, track and analyze the understandings of a student about a particular topic, which will help busy parents to keep track of learning outcomes and students to self-evaluate and thereby analyze what they have learned.

Have you ever thought about the significance of creative classroom setup in the productive learning experience of students?

Studies say that the seating arrangement of students in a classroom or the structure of a classroom design has a lot to do with the overall teaching and learning results.

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Understanding the importance, schools are going for creative ways to make the classroom design learning-friendly for students which enhances their thinking ability, creativity, and teamwork.

Learning is also about how spaces are allotted smartly in classrooms and how students utilize individual spaces wisely.

However, not all designs are apt for everyone as this depends a lot on student age and size, teaching style and objectives as well as classroom size and shape.

Here we are discussing some of the most commonly followed creative classroom setup that can promote thinking in students while enhancing the learning outcome.

1. Traditional Rows/Columns

classroom setup

This is suitable for all class sizes but is more of a teacher-centered arrangement. However, this format encourages productivity as it gives options for individual work.

When it comes to test-taking, demonstrations, and presentations, this is the best available choice. It is a lot easier to supervise and there are minimal chances for cheating and disruption.

2. Clusters

classroom setup

In this arrangement, desks are clustered into small groups. This is a learner-centered classroom setup ideal for classes of all sizes.

This arrangement gives students a personal and safe environment to convey their ideas.

Moreover, it enhances teamwork and cooperation. In addition to promoting thinking skills, its possibilities will trigger and develop problem-solving, reflection and communication skills.

3. Horseshoe Setup

classroom setup

This is an amazing classroom setup where interaction among students and between student and teacher is possible.

This is one of the best formats where interaction with the whole class is made easy.

When it comes to presentations, the class area will be good enough. This setup encourages student participation and fosters the better connection between educators and students.

4.Combination

classroom setup

This is an efficient classroom arrangement if there are students of different learning levels or behavioral problems. This format gives the flexibility to group students according to their preferences.

For example, students who prefer individual work can be seated in rows and those who are into discussion-based activities can be arranged in a mini horseshoe set up in another part of the classroom.

‘Google Room’: This is a wonderful classroom for students of all categories. The design will have lots of colors, structures, and shapes. Have different light sources in the arrangement and more of natural light if possible.

This design will have flexible options for students to work in groups, in pairs or individual learning if needed. This format can include standing, sitting, openness and collaboration all in one space.

5. Geometric Mix

This is a fun and interesting classroom setup that takes away the boredom of traditional chairs and desks concept.

You can be more creative in this approach and go for a mix of rows, semi-circled tables or groups. The idea is to give a geometry finish to your classroom by creatively combining tables and desks.

6. Standing Desks

classroom setup

This type of arrangement is very popular in teaching subjects like graphics where students have a lot of drawing to be done. How about making this a regular classroom setup?

Despite the type of subjects, students would love to go for this kind of arrangement. Moreover, the student posture in this setup can benefit them a lot in being more creative.

7. Two Sides

classroom setup

This is a variation of the traditional classroom setup with a few additional benefits. The classroom is split into two halves and each side will have desks arranged in rows but facing each other.

Teaching strategies that make use of talking and discussion will have better results with this design. You may even go for angled rows.

8. One Group + 4 Rows

classroom setup

In this interesting classroom setup, there will be a single group which will be complemented well by 4 rows. This is an ideal design when a group of students is working on a particular project but the whole class is commonly working towards another single project. This approach can be used collaboratively for better results.

9. Two Circles

classroom setup

This is an amazing classroom set up where students can see each other and participate better during conversations.

Also Read: Top 11 Classroom Challenges According to Teachers

One big circle may not be a feasible option for larger classes and splitting it into two circles can do the trick.

Teachers will also have better control over the activities and paves way for good and flexible classroom management.

10. Giant Oval

This type of arrangement is commonly used for team building activities. However, you can extend the set up to a regular classroom arrangement for better learning outcomes.

Teachers and students can have productive and interactive sessions for seminars, discussions, debates and Accountable Talk.

11. 2 Groups + 2 Rows

This is a variation of the One Group + 4 Rows arrangement that was discussed above.

However, this design will have 2 groups and 2 rows which give the hint that the class is almost split into two equal halves.

This method is ideal when 2 groups are working on two projects and the entire class is working on a common one.

12. Runway

This is an alternative option that can be tried for smaller classes where the prominence will be more on the educator. In this arrangement, there will be two rows of facing desks and educator makes use of the runway between them to teach the subject and convey the ideas more easily.

This format can be great for discussions when students can easily express their views without any hindrance.

13. Differentiation Stations

You might have heard about differentiation stations when looking for activities to help students with engaged learning. Why not make this a regular classroom setup which can very well enhance the learning outcome?

The idea is about physically grouping students based on their reading level, background knowledge and individual skill. This will help them to think, understand, and learn the subject in a way that fits their ability.

14. Learning Labs

This classroom setup is more about arranging the unit to let students have some collaborative learning space. This design helps students to stand, sit and easily move around while working towards the final goal. You can make use of the high desks which are usually seen in science labs to get the maximum benefit.

15. Rotating Groups

This format of classroom arrangement is more focussed on the lesson design and workflow and has very little to no impact on the shape of desks.

The purpose of the idea is to let students to work together in groups in whichever way feasible to achieve a common goal.

This design can be implemented just for a single class or for a particular week or for extended periods.

16. Stadium Seating

classroom setup

This classroom arrangement can remind us of a stadium except for the fact that all are facing on one side.

This is a variation of the runway and traditional row configuration in which desks are grouped into clusters that faces the educator.

Even when this is ideal for teacher-centric classes, there is a great scope for better interaction and discussion.

17. Fishbowl

This is another learning strategy that can be designed as a classroom set up for an extended period or as a permanent solution. In this format, there will be a student group in the middle of the classroom and the rest of them form a circle outside which faces the other group.

The student group in the middle will be engaged in reading roles, solving puzzles or art analysis when the outside circle participates as a backchannel. This format gives a chance for everyone to share their voice or thought.

18. Middle Circle, Outer Square

This is, in fact, a geometric variation of the arrangement we see in the fishbowl setup. This format will have a circle on the inside and square on the outside or it can even be vice versa.

However, the size of the circle can be modified to make it feasible to include a large cluster of students which makes it ideal for daily classes.

19. Open Square

This classroom set up is more or less similar to the giant oval arrangement. However, the design has included an open square within the arrangement and this open side will be set up to face the board.

A big table can be arranged in the middle where everyone can keep their materials.

20. Teacher in the Middle

This is an interesting variation of the regular classroom set up. In common traditional formats, the teacher will have space in front of the classroom where they have a chair and table.

In this format, the teacher will move to the middle of the class which gives him/her better control of what is happening in the class. However, it depends on how effectively the teacher makes use of the option as this gives great scope for better interactive sessions.

21. Function Pods

This is more or less similar to the differentiation station classroom arrangement. The idea here is that the focus is more on task and lesson differentiation. This is more like literature circles where each of the students will have a particular role.

Instead of using it as just an activity for a particular period, the whole classroom is designed in that setup.

22. Maker Spaces

classroom setup

The way the design is implemented is highly dependent on the student grade level, content area, and the available space.

However, experts say that any type of classroom can give a dedicated making space even if space is restricted. The focus should be on how to make it happen in the given space.

A mixed approach of Google room and learning labs strategy can work well with this concept.

23. Flexible Seating

classroom setup

This is a wonderful classroom concept where there is no restriction for the seating arrangements. Students can go for their favorite ones depending on their interests.

This helps them to be more relaxed which lets them think freely and express easily. The setup can include multiple options like rocking chairs, couches, high tables, stools, coffee tables or even a bathtub to relax during free hours.

24. A Learning Studio

classroom setup

This has nothing similar to a traditional classroom setup. It can always be a collaboration of design studio mixed with a maker space along with a library and a lot more.

The basic theme of the arrangement can be something similar to a popular design like that of Starbucks. This helps students to learn smartly without actually having the feel of learning.

25. Innovative Classroom Arrangements

In addition to the creative classroom setups that we have already discussed, you can incorporate one or more of the following ideas in the designs to make it even more awesome. Let us see a few ideas:

  • Set up a classroom stage which trains students to learn more about public speaking
  • Include a globe, colorful supplies, and calendars for lower grade students
  • Have exit slip magnetic baskets to have quick informative feedback
  • Go for weekly agenda charts to keep track of weekly work
  • Set up small classroom libraries to improve their reading skills
  • Display book covers on walls to invoke their interest for reading
  • Wall decor with inspirational quotes and classroom rules
  • Set up a space to exhibit excellent student works

To Wrap it up

It is also a great idea to involve the students before deciding the classroom setup. This will give them a sense of belonging and they will come up with out of the box ideas that you cannot imagine.

Whichever setup you choose for your class, make sure that there is enough space for collaboration and creation, writable spaces and most importantly a space for showcasing the learning skills.

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It is also important to clear walkways when designing an arrangement so that students and teachers can access every point of the class without many hurdles.

Teacher-Student proximity is the key to any arrangement and it is a must to consider whole class cohesiveness before the final design.

The best part is that it would be a great idea to change the arrangements once in a while. This will not only avoid the boredom but helps students not to develop a fixed mindset. Moreover, this will enable them to be more open to fresh ideas or changes at any time.

Teaching and preparing every student for a bright career is quite serious business. But a teacher doesn’t have to behave seriously or humorless to fulfill his or her job. In fact, humor allows them to enhance their ability to connect with students in college.

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Including funny stories when teaching, telling jokes and sharing light moments in a classroom keeps students interested throughout the class. Many teachers also utilize relevant personal experiences while teaching.

But there is another side of the story. Humor is effective in a college classroom only if teachers use them properly. Wrong methods of humor can lead to completely opposite and unwanted results.

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It is important for every teacher to understand the pros and cons of classroom humor before utilizing it.

The Pros of using Humor in a College Classroom

A teacher with a great sense of humor can turn a class into a comfortable experience of each and every student. With that, come multiple pros:

1. Enhances learning ability

Serious learning in a classroom can make many students feel stressed after a while. To cope with the stress, their minds start distracting them to other things. So, a student might look straight at a teacher but can be thinking about a video game he played last night.

The distraction is a way of our mind to save us from stressful situations. But when learning, it impacts our attention.

A teacher can increase students’ attention span without stressing them out. Humor is key here. Utilizing humor that engages every student is impactful in terms of gaining their attention throughout the class.

2. Improves emotional and social positivity

A classroom learning is a group learning experience. Students from different backgrounds and cultures meet together to learn. The differences in culture can create a sense separation among students. But there is one thing that can bring all of them together. Humor! So, if a teacher can use his or her humorous nature to bring a class together, it allows students to feel comfortable. They can feel positive emotionally and socially in a classroom, which lightens the mood and enhances the learning experience.

3. Increases Class Attendance

In college, if students think your class is “boring”, they tend to avoid all your classes. This is another important reason why teachers need to try different ways to engage students. Humor is the easiest and most effective way of making classes interesting for students.

Also Read: How To Turn Around Annoying Behavior Of Students In Classroom

You might want to talk about a complex formula of math or go deep into the explanation of poetry. But remember, you have to make it interesting first. Humor is like a chariot you use to collectively take your class on an interesting journey of learning.

4. Improves Test Performance

A humorous conversation is interesting and entertaining. And our mind tends to retain every entertaining and interesting conversation.

Using humor in the classroom helps students retain the learned topics. And that allows students to perform better on tests.

When they retain the knowledge, their mind shifts the interest to the learning process more. So, students tend to prepare more effectively for their tests. Gradually, it increases the performance and grades of every student.

5. Reduces the fear of a subject

For many college students, one or more subjects can seem too overwhelming. Some fear mathematics, some find physics difficult or any other subject. This fear of a subject limits student’s ability to grow his or her understanding of that subject. So, even if a student is performing great in all other subjects, one subject keeps ruining the overall grades.

For such students, teachers need a humorous way of teaching to make classrooms lighter and easy to understand. Jokes and real-life funny examples help in reducing the complexity of learning material. Hence, students can eventually decrease their sense of fear and focus on pushing hard to learn effectively.

The cons of using humor in a college classroom

As mentioned before, there is also a wrong way of using humor in the classroom. If you fail at your attempts of using humor, it can create confusions and difficulties in a classroom as well.

1. Distracting Students From The Point

Humor in a classroom is not like a chit-chat experience with your friends at a party. Every humorous moment should align somehow with what you want to convey to students. If you mess up your joke or start talking about something which has nothing to do with what you’re teaching, it creates a distraction.

A humorous story or a joke can easily grab the attention of students. So, if it is distracting, students forget about the topic itself and start thinking about that joke or a story only. When you try to come back to the topic again, the minds of students shut down from it.

2. Not Figuring Out the Subject Understanding of Students

A joke won’t work if students have no clue what you are talking about. For a Ph.D. holder physicist, a joke about the galaxies can be hilarious, but for students, it might not make any sense.

Making a joke and using humor is about creating a collective understanding in the whole classroom. But many teachers get blinded by their own level of knowledge. They forget about the gap of subject understanding and make jokes that don’t seem funny to students.

In that case, students don’t connect with the topic. Moreover, they start feeling inferior and overwhelmed by the subject. So, you have to choose your intellectual jokes wisely to avoid such difficulties.

3. Using Sarcastic, Offensive or Rude Humor

Effective humor in a classroom offers a collective comfort level to all students. But if a teacher takes the wrong road and becomes sarcastic, offensive or rude, humor stops working.

Comparing one student with another, telling violent experiences, making racist comments and cursing are some of many wrong approaches of using humor in the classroom.

Also Read: 13 Ways To Deal With Bullies In Classroom?

For many teachers, just adding curse words is enough to make people laugh. But that’s not the right way of connecting with students. Similarly, a teacher can’t make sexist jokes as well.

All these wrong ways of using humor result in the separation between students and teachers. Majority of students try to stay away from such teachers.

4. Creating Awkward Situations By Overdoing It

Rehearsing a joke or a story doesn’t work at all. Humor has to come naturally to you. If you try too hard, it becomes awkward for students and they try to stay as far away as possible from your classes.

Using modern “lingos” or “slangs”, even if it’s not a part of your personality, can’t work. At the same time, making stupid statements to seem “cool” won’t provide any educational value as well. On the contrary, it would make you look lame in front of the students.

Remember that students want to admire you for your knowledge and your ability to convey that knowledge in a humorous manner.

5. Targeting Particular Students to make jokes

Targeting students to create humor is a negative way of using humor. Other students spend more time thinking about how that particular student is feeling instead of learning. Some students might laugh, but they keep on thinking negatively about the teacher at the same time.

Similarly, many teachers make fun of students who don’t score well in their tests. Low scores are a story of every student’s life, every once in a while. Every student has his or her own nightmare of a low score in tests. So, no one ever enjoys if a teacher makes fun of even a particular student about his or her scores.

What should a Teacher do to use Humor?!

To use humor effectively, a teacher has to understand all students. At the same time, a teacher should cultivate a natural, classroom-friendly humorous personality.

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When making a joke, keep evaluating how each and every student is reacting to that. See if they are laughing, or seem confused, angry or frustrated. These signs are important to change the topic before it goes too far.

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So, now you have a comprehensive idea of how humor can benefit or ruin the atmosphere in your classroom. It is all about using the right kind of humor in the right manner.

 

The introduction of advanced smart school software in the past decades marked an important era of education. The influence of technologies is making our schools smarter than ever before by giving options for students to benefit from innovative ideas such as flipped classrooms and blended learning. Most of the schools all over the country have adapted to the smart school approach to provide their students the best ever learning experience. In fact, the dramatic influence of the smart learning and administration management systems in schools are taking the whole process to a new level.

Not only students but also teachers, non-teaching staff, parents as well as school management teams are benefiting from the advanced options. The key benefits of a smart school approach include proficient information management, data tracking and transparency, effortless and quicker communication, optimal handling of time and a lot more. The novel school management software is designed not just to handle the academics but effectively handles a number of related areas such as school and bus fees, reports, library management, notifications, making smart timetable, attendance and covers sectors including hostel and transport management too.

There are a lot of notable differences made by advanced smart school software in different areas of education. Let us have a look at the major impact or changes caused by such innovative software on the present day education.

1. Mobile/Tablet learning: More than just learning from the book, smart classrooms are more into mobile or tablet learning. These gadgets are slowly replacing the school stationary such as pens and books. In fact, learning has become more portable with easy access to information at their finger tips. Digital simulations and models are now becoming an integral part of smart classrooms and teachers use its possibilities effectively to introduce new concepts and ideas.

2. Changing role of teachers: In the past, the teachers were the primary source of information but it is not the case today. Most of the times they are taking the role of guides or an additional support when students access new information. The new learning management software promotes more learning space for students through interaction and group works and teachers will be facilitators in the learning process.

3. Learn with fun: Unlike in the past, technology has incorporated more games into the classrooms to help students to learn with fun. The smart school software has classroom applications that promote gaming that not only improve their liking for learning but also enhances their problem solving and critical thinking. Instead of the old boring blackboard and chalk lectures, teachers are using the possibilities of advanced classroom apps to teach through shared whiteboard, application sharing as well as audio and video conferencing. In fact these Smartboards are really helpful for those who have chalk dust allergic reactions and is a great aid during field trips.

4. Collaborative learning: The advanced classroom software has applications that promote collaborative learning through group activities. Interactive sessions such as joint problem solving, debates and projects are in fact improving their role as team players. The influence of laptops and mobile devices has made remote collaboration a reality and continue their group works outside classrooms through web based software.

5. Enhanced student-teacher interaction: Rather than the one sided lectures in the conventional classrooms, there are options for students to interact throughout the classroom session through advanced options such as smart card solutions. The instant messaging and group chat options of the software help them to communicate about the relevant topic of discussion with the teacher and other students even after the class. Teachers are keeping in touch with students through emails and sharing information to the large groups through application such as dropbox. Moreover, the touchscreen displays are helping teachers to deliver classes in a more engaging way. There are also instant messaging apps such as Slack for teacher and student communication.

6. Interactive Textbooks and eBooks: Apart from the normal textbooks and notebooks with limited data, the smart school software has introduced concepts of eBooks which is nothing but digital textbooks with endless data. Students are really happy to carry an iPad with some PDFs rather than 5 five heavy textbooks when going to school. The advanced web applications such as LiveBinders are even allowing students to make a binder online. This in fact gives them the benefits of interactive textbooks with lots of models, simulations and visualizations of different difficult tasks.

7. Apps for classrooms: There are innovative apps for classrooms designed to help students to have a better learning experience. OneNote is a digital note-taking app whereas Three Ring is designed to motivate them to make digital portfolios and Google Classroom enhances classroom communication. The GoClass app lets the teacher to broadcast instructional materials directly to student devices.

8. Exposure to more learning resources: The library management module of the software is helping students to have timely access of relevant reference materials without much hassle. And now students can go beyond the limit to access more learning materials outside the campus through online libraries. The options for web based research with teacher’s guidance are helping them get a wider exposure of the particular subject.

9. Extended Classrooms: The endless options of Smart school software are now taking education out of classrooms. The concept of extended classrooms is made possible with online platforms that are created to discuss and interact about homework, assignments or projects. Rather than the class book assignments, students are utilizing the wide exposure outside classrooms to share ideas, research subjects and learn specific skills.

10. Efficient Assessment: Unlike the conventional means of student assessment such as written exams, the smart tools are providing more advanced means to facilitate efficient assessment.  The software features are utilized to wisely do performance assessments through quizzes and other similar activities. Teachers are also using options such as online polls and apps such as ExitTicket to evaluate their teaching too. The advanced software options are even allowing teachers to collect real-time assessment reports from the classrooms. Digitalization of the assessment process has brought in more clarity. E-assessment options are now a part of software applications where students can take part in online tests if they fail to reach the venue.

11. Global Platform: Students are getting exposure to global learning with online learning communities. Students from all over the world with different cultures and learning styles would be members of the group. An interactive education with them helps to have a wider exposure to different cultures and they can grow up as better individuals who respect everyone and treat everyone equally. This is promoted through online meetings and collaborations. The websites such as Glovico are providing students with options for global learning where they can set up videoconferencing with native speakers for language education.

12. Efficient administration: The advanced school software makes it possible to maintain all records of the institution in one place thus making its access and management really easy. The administration is now a hassle free job with minimal paper works. The EYFS management software makes use of a user friendly interface to make student data collection and sharing much easy with data syncing, reports generation and sharing as well as smart search options.

13. No more lost data: The advanced software even proposes options to store information on cloud. This in fact helps with data management with a better back up option instead of the tedious paper works. This web based storage assures more precision in the data tracking and the concerned people can access, share and retrieve data more effectively. When used in the right manner, there would be no more problems of lost data.

14. Enhanced parent-teacher communication: The novel smart software has applications to improve the communication between the teachers and parents in which collecting student data and sharing it with them is a simple deal. The parent portal app is designed to help parents to be updated on the students’ activities within the campus and learn about their progress. The web based applications such as MyClassCampus takes the role of a link between student, parent, teacher & admin. ClassDojo is a classroom management app with special emphasis on improving parent-teacher communication.

15. All in one tool: Many advanced smart school apps are in fact multipurpose tools that are designed with several modules that effectively handle diverse sectors of school operation from one place. The most modern tools cover diverse areas such as admission, exams, attendance, exam results, school calendar, hostel, transport, clinic, enrolment, HR, assessment, behaviour management, enterprise document management, cafeteria and payroll. In addition to the basic operations, innovative smart school software such as School SAAS features online examination, e-library, and stock/ store tuck shop management. Moreover, the tracking of student activities in real time within an institution is possible with smart card solutions.

Unlike in the old times when the audience of students was just their teachers, parents or friends, the impact of smart schools has changed the whole scenario. Students are now more competitive and career focussed right from the early days as they have a wider exposure of audience through social media platforms. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Blogging, Web 2.0 tools like Glogster or similar online platforms, the expanded audience are giving students a new definition to their thirst for knowledge.

Education is of no exception when it comes to the areas that are impacted or influenced by the advanced technologies. Students have a true learning experience outside the four walls of the classroom. The benefits offered by smart classrooms to our education sector are endless and the innovation in technologies are giving way for more to come.

School should be a place where children love to go. To make it lovable and stress-free we can do something.

1. Make an order and rules from the very beginning:

Having a classroom routine from the very first day of their school life will enable the kid to understand that school is somewhat a systematic place and this is how it is going to work. Setting up a classroom routine, with pre-school or lower primary children is very important in this aspect. Once the ways are carefully established, the children understand how to be a part of it.

One thing we must keep in mind is that the children should never feel that these are rules. Surely they will love following routines since they are not bothered about time at this early age. Saying ‘good morning’ or a Morning Prayer can be a part of this routine. The teacher should also follow the same.

Edsys introduces Smart cards for schools. It can be used for registering their entry and exit time, school bus attendance etc.

2. Bring novel thoughts and have enough fun:

Always bring some new thoughts or ideas for the class. Children love variety. If every day the teacher comes and lecturing, then evaluates and leaves the class, there is nothing new in it. The ability to learn is different in different students. So we have to bring new ideas every day. It will be a great blessing for those who have different learning abilities.

Some students like to learn things as stories, some other as rhymes and some others with pictures or drama. These are interesting methods that provide them with imagination and pleasure.

Fun can be created in the class in so many ways. It is not always singing and dancing. Saying stories, quizzes, games and chants everything can create fun in the class. This will help to make a Stress Free School Environment.

3. Always give surprises, praises and make fair evaluation:

Let them expect something that is really amazing every day. Give them gifts for their achievement and give surprises in different ways. For example, before they get into the class make some models or pictures in the classroom related to the new topic that is about to begin that day.

Also Read13 Innovative Trends in Educational Technology

Prepare for all the special days in every month and do activities related to that particular instant in that week. Encourage them to put forward their ideas and promote them to share it with the class.

Everyone likes positive feedback and respond well to a job that is well done. Surely the children surely the children will be pleased to hear positive comment from the teachers. Always praise them for their good deed and behavior and we can see many of the students trying to copy the same.

Make the classroom evaluation accurate and impartial. It is necessary to win the heart of the students. Tests are a part of teaching and it is to be conducted regularly but not constantly. It is to be evaluated in detail. Don’t trouble them with so many questions and test papers; let them relax and enjoy their childhood.

4. Teachers should be enthusiastic and stay motivated always:

It is really to be enthusiastic always but the smile on the teacher’s face will make the students enthusiastic. Letting them to guess what the teacher is about to begin. Catch their attention with a whistle or clap. Fast and smart movements will make them enthusiastic and energetic too.

Always try to know what the student hood feels. Refresh your mind and be a student by attending refresher courses and classes. Update our skills always and remain motivated for new class.

5. Know the students personally and be in touch with the parents:

It is a must thing to avoid stress in the classroom. If any student has any problem in following the classes or attending the classes the teacher must know it. The teacher must be aware of any kind of challenges the students facing, physically or mentally and should give an extra attention for them.

The parent-teacher communication is very important for a stress free classroom. Both teachers and parents can make use of Parent Portal for effective interaction between parents and teachers. If the children are having a troublesome family background, the teacher must know it and avoid situations in class that make the particular child miserable.

If a student is weak in any subject or there is a decline of grades for him the teacher must talk to the parents and find out the reason for it and should overcome that condition by giving him special attention.

The teacher should always be a good friend to the students. Then only they will feel free in the classroom. Otherwise, they may feel classroom as prison cell which suffocates their childhood.

6. Promote positive feeling towards school in students

When it comes to kindergarten, the students being relatively new to the school environment, find it little tough to fit in. Therefore, the first step you must take as a teacher, is to make them feel safe and comfortable. Academics is not the priority at the moment. The teachers must utilize the initial years of students in school to nurture positive feeling in them towards the school.  Organize group play and other collaborative activities to develop socio-economic skills of the students. Also, teachers can utilize the time to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the students and make plans to help them improvise. This will indeed contribute to a stress-free school environment for the students in future.

7. Tackle bullying

Bullying happens in schools and may even continue through college, thus emotionally breaking the students. Besides setting up rules to address bullying, it’s important to encourage students to brave up and report in case they are bullied. Also, schools can hold classes or sessions to help students to identify the different signs of bullying and to make them aware of its bad effects. Schools should also appoint a team to counsel the bullies and victims to maintain a stress-free school environment.

8. Encourage physical activities

As the famous proverb goes, ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’  When it’s about studies alone, students feel stressful. Therefore, it’s important for them to indulge in some kind of physical activities in school. Not every student will be interested in athletics and sports. But, the physical education teacher can encourage the students to exercise by making them understand the benefits of being physically active. It’s always best if the students get to interact with nature. But, most schools lack a playground or greenery these days. If you can provide one to your students, it will be great. In case, you cannot do that, include dance, aerobics, yoga or tai-chi to their usual academic schedule so that students get enough time to relax after a day’s studies.

9. Improve the potential of students

It’s a usual scenario where schools categorize students on the basis of the grades they score during exams.  However, this cannot be seen as a true determining factor of a student’s potential as there might be some valid reason for his/her low  performance in the exams. If you do so, it can even restrict the students from trying further. Instead, you can try to identify the areas the students need improvement and help them perform better. This support will indeed boost their confidence and they’ll feel at ease.

10. Personally connect with students

If teachers can try and make personal connections with the students, it really helps. Teachers can hold interactive sessions and seminars to build the bond. The closer you get to your students, you’ll have a better understanding of your students in terms of their abilities. Teachers can then put this information to use to help the students perform better. Let the students set their own rules when it comes to academics, with your approval. You can then supervise to ensure that the students are performing as planned.

11. Prepare staff and students to adapt to difficult situations

Stress is inevitable. Though you give your best shot, you cannot actually build a 100% stress free school environment. Therefore, the best thing you can do, besides all other destressing measures, is to train the students and staff to maintain and to tackle the tense situations they get to face in school. If a student performs low, the teachers should be careful not to say anything negative. Instead, the teachers can ensure their students that the failure is temporary and that they should forget this, and move forward to score better in future. Also, the students and teachers together can sit together and make plans to improve. This helps the students to be confident about themselves and to bounce back in case they perform poorly in future.

The parent-teacher communication is very important for a stress free classroom. Both teachers and parents can make use of Parent Portal for effective interaction between parents and teachers. If the children are having a troublesome family background, the teacher must know it and avoid situations in class that make the particular child miserable.

If a student is weak in any subject or there is a decline of grades for him the teacher must talk to the parents and find out the reason for it and should overcome that condition by giving him special attention. The teacher should always be a good friend to the students. Then only they will feel free in the classroom. Otherwise, they may feel classroom as prison cell which suffocates their childhood.

School management is not an easy task. A person doing it single-handedly deserves much appreciation. Majority of the schools have tried many alternatives to reduce the efforts and they were successful only to some extent. But there is one thing that they can do for better school management-to have an HR department!

You might have seen an HR department in almost every office. The HR is responsible for the creation of a work force and its management in a company. Then why not have one in school? No one has really thought about this so far, may be because you are not sure how having an HR department can make school management an easy affair.

Here’s how an HR department can help in an effective school management:

Recruit employees

Identifying skills of the candidates and hiring them to work for an organization is indeed a very tough process. In most schools, those who interview the candidates may not have received any training in recruitment and therefore, they fail to understand the potential of the candidate and may end up hiring the wrong person for the job.  An HR department can save you from this dilemma. They are professionally trained to recruit an employee and therefore, capable of choosing the right candidate for the job, keeping in mind the long-term goals of the school.

Manage student related tasks

Managing student details is no child’s play; same applies to the management of admission procedures. Student management as a whole requires taking care of the admission procedures of a student, documenting all data related to the student and analyzing their performance and identifying their skills. It is not an easy task since an average school would have more than 1000 students. Who else could take care of things better when it comes to student management, other than HR personnel?

Payroll management and calculation

To calculate the payroll of the employees of a school, it is necessary to calculate the number of leaves taken, number of working hours and many other details of that sort. Recording all these details is indeed a laborious task and you, having other duties in the school, may find it difficult to do. Having the HR department to manage payrolls can be of great advantage since they will update all the necessary details, with less paper work while providing accurate reports.

Performance analysis of teachers

In most schools, contribution by teachers go unnoted mainly because the school authorities are not aware of how the teachers perform in various areas, apart from teaching. If you have an HR department in your school, they will assess the teachers’ performances and bring the best out of them. The HR department can do that in the following ways:

  • Evaluate the performance of teachers based on performance of students, professional knowledge and commitment towards work.
  • Assess the performance of teachers based on certain criteria and then, record the details, which can be used to improve the performance of teachers.
  • Help the teachers in recognizing their potential and help them improve their performance and thereby, enhance their professional qualities
  • Identify the areas where teachers need to improve and train them to perform better in those areas

Secure school environment

News of student abductions, student bullying, harassment of students by teachers and the sort fill newspaper columns every day. This has led to the assumptions that school is no longer a safe place for children. As a school authority, you may not be able to keep a complete check on the security arrangements in school. Having an HR department is a boon then. HR department can play a major role in ensuring safety to students and employees of a school. They are capable of keeping every member of the school united, thereby, providing a harmonious school environment. HR department can ensure a peaceful environment by making necessary security arrangements, thus ensuring the safety of students and employees of a school.

HR department, like they contribute to the working of any other organization in a well integrated manner, can help in the working of schools as well. Therefore, yes! School management can definitely be made much easier by HR recruitment.

KHDA is the educational quality assurance and regulatory authority of the Government of Dubai, which monitors the quality and development of private schools in Dubai. To ensure the quality of these schools, KHDA conducts inspections every year and the ratings would later be published in the KHDA website. This gives the parents an insight of the quality of their kids’ schools. It also helps those parents who are searching for a school to put their kids in.

The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) is part of KHDA, which conducts inspections and assesses the private schools in Dubai. The inspectors at DSIB evaluate the schools and rate them on the basis of a four-point scale.  The four levels in the scale include:

  • Outstanding– This rating is given to those schools that perform exceptionally well, fulfilling all the criteria put forward by KHDA
  • Good – Every school in Dubai is expected to perform at this range
  • Acceptable – This is the minimum level of acceptability at which the private schools in Dubai are expected to perform. The performance of schools shouldn’t be lower than this level.
  • Unsatisfactory – Schools of which the performance is ranked unsatisfactory lack quality and hence are expected to take necessary steps to improve the quality in terms of performance or practice.

KHDA has recently published the ranking of private schools for the year 2013-2014 in their website. Only 12 out of the 140+ schools inspected have been ranked outstanding for their performance. Those schools include:

Kings School Dubai

Curriculum: UK

Located in Umm Suqeim, Kings’ Dubai is a private school that provides education to both boys and girls aged between 3 and 13 years.

At the time of the inspection, there were 870 students in the school, representing 46 countries altogether. Majority of the students were from the United Kingdom. There were 29 Emirati students, comprising 3% of the total students in the school. Also, there were 27 students in the school with special educational needs. The staff consisted of 90 teachers and 36 learning assistants, where all teachers had prior teaching experience.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Marvelous staff-student coordination leading to a good work environment and high levels of engagement
  • Outstanding performance by students in English, mathematics and science in the Foundation Stage and primary
  • Easy-to-follow curriculum which develops students’ talents
  • Independent learning through critical thinking and enquiry across all phases
  • Good infrastructure facilities that give a better learning experience to students
  • Excellent leadership and supervision to bring the best out of both staff and students

Dubai College

Curriculum: UK

Situated in Al Sufouh, Dubai College is a private, not-for-profit school that follows a selective intake policy. Every year, only one-fourth of the applicants are enrolled into the school.

At the time of inspection, there were 826 students overall, aged between 11 and 18 years. Out of these 826 students, just over a half were from the United Kingdom while Emirati students consisted of only 1% of the total number of students.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Teaching approaches in Islamic Education have been improved tremendously
  • Outstanding performance by students in English, mathematics and science as a result of good teaching methods
  • Students’ mature attitude towards social and global issues combined with strong work ethics
  • Attention given to students to the fullest in terms of  healthy lifestyles, safety and support in their academic and personal development
  • The strong vision and leadership values exhibited by senior staff and governors, thus setting up a good learning environment to take the school forward

Dubai English Speaking College 

Curriculum: UK

Situated in Al Ruwwayah, Dubai English Speaking College was opened in 2005.

At the time of inspection, there were 950 students, aged between 11 and 18 years, out of which 10 students were Emiratis.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • The highly motivated leadership team, including the governance, committed to improve all aspects of the school at all levels
  • Self-evaluation approaches help to improve performance
  • Students perform exceptionally well in all subjects
  • Students’ commitment towards solving personal, social and environmental issues
  • High quality infrastructure facilities to meet the needs of all students

GEMS Dubai American Academy 

Curriculum: US/IB

Situated in Al Barsha, GEMS Dubai American Academy was opened in 1998.

At the time of the inspection, there were 2,285 students, aged between 3 and 18 years, who represented 99 nationalities. There are 124 students in the school having a special education need.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Guided by teachers who implement outstanding teaching techniques, students have made tremendous progress in subjects such as English, mathematics and science, their performance meeting international expectations
  • Pleasant school atmosphere as a result of impeccable behavior and positive attitude of students
  • Performance evaluation to assess students’ progress and challenges set persuaded students to fare well in all subjects
  • Parents’ confidence regarding their children and the school in providing quality education to students added to the strength of the school
  • School leaders and governors work hand in hand to churn out the best results from the students and staff

GEMS Jumeirah Primary School 

Curriculum: UK

GEMS Jumeirah Primary School provides education to students belonging to the age group of 3-11 years.

At the time ofinspection, there were 1,415 students in the school, representing 70 nationalities, out of which 100 students had special needs.

 Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • The speedy progress made by students by scoring well in English, mathematics and science
  • Students’  personal development including their good and mature behavior and their desire to learn
  • High quality teaching that inspired students to learn more and to be independent and flexible
  • Interesting and engaging curriculum that played an important role in the academic and personal development of students
  • The school addresses all concerns regarding the safety and well-being of students and provides support to students, especially those with special education needs

GEMS Modern Academy 

Curriculum: Indian (CISCE)

GEMS Modern Academy had 3,289 students enrolled at the time of the inspection, the majority of whom were Indians. There were under 10% of the students having special educational needs.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Excellent performance by students in academics
  • Students who are well disciplined, modest and always stick to their principles when it comes to studies
  • Efficient teaching that persuades the students to perform well in studies
  • Importance given to the safety and welfare of students, especially those having special educational needs
  • Commitment and passion mixed with leadership qualities of the staff in creating an engaging learning environment for the students

GEMS Wellington International School 

Curriculum: UK/IB

GEMS Wellington International School is located in the Al Sufouh district. At the time of inspection, there were 2376 students enrolled in the school, majority of whom belonged to the British background while other students belonged to India, Pakistan and the USA.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • The school continues to maintain its record in outstanding performance by students in academics
  • The personal and social development of the students are at such a level that they have clear understanding of Islamic values and local, cultural and global awareness
  • Performance evaluation combined with teaching technique that is praiseworthy boosts confidence in students
  • Flawless curriculum design
  • School provides immense support to students in terms of their security and academic performances
  • Unmatchable leadership and management remain the ingredients to the school’s continued success

Horizons English School

Curriculum: UK

Situated in Al Wasl, Horizon English School provides education for boys and girls aged between 3 and 11 years. At the time of inspection there were 498 students enrolled in the school of which 41% came from the United Kingdom and 12% from Australia. Also, there were four Emirati students.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Excellent performance by students in academics and other activities
  • Cordial staff-student relationship and attitude of the students to stick by their morals and to exhibit good behavior
  • Well-designed curriculum suitable for all students, inspiring them to work hard and produce great results
  • Efforts by staff and students equally to improve the school

Jumeirah College 

Curriculum: UK

Located in Al Safa, Jumeirah College had 1,100 students on roll at the time of the inspection, aged between 12 and 18 years, majority of them belonging to UK. Out of the 1,100, three students were Emiratis.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Students scored well in external examinations
  • Students’ positive attitude towards learning and other activities
  • The students’ maturity in terms of behavior and relationships
  • The school provides great opportunities in terms of academics and extra-curricular activities
  • Students and staff are equally committed towards betterment of the school

Jumeirah English Speaking School 

Curriculum: UK

Located in Al Safa, Jumeirah English Speaking School provides education for students aged between 3 and 11 years of age. Majority of the students are of UK background while the other students come from around 40 different countries.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Excellent leadership qualities exhibited by students and staff at all levels
  • Students, teachers, non-teaching staff and parents join hands to create a lively environment, thus providing a better learning experience
  • Remarkable progress by students in their academics and other activities, including the development of their personal, social and learning skills
  • Well designed curriculum apt for all the students, which includes exceptional use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and development of enquiry and critical thinking skills
  • The belief of the school that every child is special, thereby providing splendid care and support to students in terms of academics and well-being
  • The outstanding infrastructure facilities that inspire students to reach the highest standards of achievement

Jumeirah English Speaking School (Br) 

Curriculum: UK /IB

Jumeirah English Speaking School is the sister concern of Jumeirah English Speaking School in Al Safa. More than half of the students from the school are from UK, while other students come from more than 20 countries across the world.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Leadership skills shown by students and staff at all levels
  • Curriculum that is updated every year and is suitable for all students
  • Outstanding performance by students in academics and other activities
  • Infrastructure provided by school to maintain a safe and vibrant environment for the students
  • Good environment that provides a better learning experience to students

The Indian High School 

Curriculum: Indian (CBSE)

The Indian High School is situated in Oud Metha. At the time of inspection, this school had 5,866 students enrolled, out of which 23 students are having special needs.

Why did they get the “outstanding” rating from KHDA?

  • Students display outstanding progress in mathematics and science
  • Students’ commitment and personal, social development
  • The efforts taken by governors, leaders and teachers to support the students and to help them out in academics and other activities

Congratulations to all those schools that earned an ‘outstanding’ rating! It’s time for other schools to consider the schools listed above as examples and to come up with new ideas to improve their KHDA rating.

If you are looking at technology to lend a helping hand, Edsys’ Real Time Institution Management System (RIMS) has inbuilt modules that help you to stay updated with the latest KHDA regulations. Also, when your school is not keeping up with the regulations, you will get notified. Thus helping you to secure an “outstanding” rating.

Parents rushed to school to get their children after learning that five students may have had contact with the Ebola patients of Dallas hospital. It was only after the confirmation of governor that there is no reason for alarm that things got normal. Two parents removed their children from school due to the fear of Ebola transmission at Texas. Ebola has created a general havoc among people and has evolved itself as the most powerful life-threatening disease since its outbreak in West Africa. One of the first outbreaks was at Democratic Republic of Congo near the Ebola River; hence the name of the river was given to the disease as well.

Ebola doesn’t seem to consider age; it is consuming every age group and the current Ebola outbreak is worst in the world history. Effective systems like parent portal, school bus tracking software and smart card solutions are entertained for the better safety of students but what about their health issues? Preventing the virus should be the top most health priority. Over the concerns about the virus many schools have cancelled classes. Combined efforts with the help of health care organizations, a better tomorrow can be gifted to the world

  • More than 13,700 confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola have been reported by World Health Organization (WHO). In the largest Ebola outbreak, more than 4,900 people have died.
  • An estimation of 10.3 million children and adolescents under age 18 are directly or indirectly affected by Ebola virus, across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia
  • According the United Nations there are at least 3,700 children who lost one of their parents due to Ebola virus from the beginning of the crisis.

 Some important facts about Ebola 

  • Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, transmitted to people from wild animals and then to human from human.
  • The first EVD outbreak occurred in the remote villages neat tropical forests of Central Africa
  • No licensed Ebola vaccines have been discovered yet.
  • You can’t get Ebola through food, water and air.
  • Symptoms appear 8-10 days after the exposure of the virus but it can extend up to 21 days
  • Ebola virus is easily killed by the contact with bleach, sunlight and soap or drying
  • Most people are infected Ebola by taking care of the already infected person.

Role of HR

HR departments play a crucial role in school improvement. They determine whether qualified teachers and eligible candidates are recruited without fail. Their service is not limited to the recruitment process. From the evaluation of staffs to the crucial decision making regarding the growth of school, HR functions are appreciative. The vital decision making at the crucial time is their admirable capability. HR departments hold a prominent role in during disastrous situations too. There is a role of HR department in keeping your schools safe from Ebola virus as well, wonder how?

  • Most of the symptoms of Ebola are same as that of ordinary diseases, a careful observation and handling of things are required. This is where the requirement a special team is necessary; HR department for schools can help with this. The management of students becomes easy. Medical camps could be conducted by the department, not like the once conducted when some disastrous disease spreads but a regular peep in to health matters of children.

Happiness is good health 

  • Centre for disease control and prevention has advised the school managements to contact appropriate state and local health officials on Ebola related issues. The right handling of the issue is unavoidable. Why not make things safe in the hands of a right management team?

Make a right plan and execute it effectively for a better tomorrow. 

  • Taking special care of hygiene is equally important. The students as well the teachers should follow methods of taking care themselves from infectious diseases. Staff members, handling canteen and school premises should be evaluated as well. Hire an HR department to honestly evaluate things around. Careful investigation of whether the right kind of hygienic measures are followed is necessary.
  1.   Avoid handling items that may have come into contact with the affected person (like clothes, medical equipments, medicines)
  2.   Keep away from bats, monkeys, baboons and dead animals. (animals should be handled with gloves and protective clothes)
  3.   Make sure animal products are thoroughly cooked before consuming.
  4.   Even the pets need special consideration.

These are some of the common preventive methods from Ebola, which must be carefully followed regularly. All these prevention need specialized supervision and guidance. Rely on an effective method for carrying out effective prevention

Prevention is better than cure 

  • When a person is diagnosed with Ebola, the affected person requires special attention and intensive care. The person should be given medical care as soon as possible. The diagnosed person should be shifted from the contact of others also. Necessity based action should be carried out without wasting time.

Right move at the right time, does matter

  • Along with dangerous diseases, spreads various rumors regarding the same. It is important to know what the causes of a disease are but it is equally important to eliminate wrong information. Taking the right precautions does matter. Go for a special team that manages the school activities from student selection to student protection; hire an energetic HR team to handle the issues effectively. Keep your students and teachers regularly updated with the right information.

Always remember: Safety doesn’t happen by accident.