Technology has reached an unprecedented level of accessibility in the classroom, resulting in a wealth of educational software solutions for students and teachers to use to their advantage. But, how do you navigate all of the options available and find the perfect educational software that works best for you?
What software does Intellischool provide?
Intellischool provides educators and learners with the best data analytics software that uses intuitive interfaces, automated configuration and provides educational institutions with real-time, relevant data for every member of their learning community.
Albitros is one of the best online analytics platforms that can be utilised by teachers, students, school leaders, wellbeing teams, parents/guardians, data analysts, IT admins and school systems. It provides valuable insights into learning, behaviour, business operations, and more.
Its features include:
- A holistic view of academic growth, thanks to its ability to consolidate data sources including NAPLAN, ACER, AAS / Allwell, and teacher input to visualise student aptitude, achievement and progress.
- Pulse, an automated early warning system that monitors and notifies important parties regarding areas of concern, whether it's student truancy, behavioural issues or overall academic performance.
- The ability to gain an understanding of the conditions that students flourish best in; based on factors such as; different types of assessment, learning tools, and even teachers.
- A simple yet powerful interface that anybody can use, regardless of their previous experience with analytics.
Albitros is hosted on the Intellischool data platform which provides some of the best comprehensive data management tools available today. These tools simplify and automate data processes such as cleansing errors, warehousing data on the cloud for querying and analysing, distributing data between apps and services and auditing what apps access and interact with data.
The data platform provides:
- Easy data unification so institutions can collate data from a student information system (SIS), learning management system (LMS), Google Office 365, etc.
- Security protocols that allow your data to be accessed and protected based on parameters that you set.
- Workflow automation, integrating tools such as Microsoft Flow or Zapier to allow actions to be automatically triggered.
- Cloud data synchronisation, which synchronises cloud apps with up-to-date data with some of the best programs such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365.
Why do classrooms need education software?
While it is perfectly possible to conduct classroom activities without specific software, it can be an invaluable resource towards aiding students in a classroom environment.
There are many reasons why educational software should be used in the classroom, such as;
To present smarter content
One of the major advantages of using educational software is that it is easy to update. Not only does this mean that lesson plans can be easily amended to respond to the needs of certain students, but these amendments are easy to distribute and track.
To encourage communication
Educational software provides many different ways for students to contact their teachers, such as video conferences, audio calls, forums, chat boxes, intranet portals, etc. This makes it easy for students to contact their teachers outside school, in a way they feel most comfortable.
To consolidate information
As storage size increases, it is possible to contain large amounts of information in easy to access repositories. These resources can be made accessible for students, allowing them to find educational references at their own discretion in convenient ways that aren’t possible otherwise.
To create a more efficient learning school environment
Not only is education software easy to use, but it can be customised in order to streamline the learning process. The amount of control that educational software provides, makes the learning process easy as teachers can directly influence where a student’s attention is drawn at all times.
To ensure a more effective learning environment
Educators have access to a wide range of educational applications that offer the tools necessary to create a stimulating, effective teaching environment. All students learn in different ways and technology can accommodate such needs, allowing them all the opportunity to learn.
Types of Education Software
There are many different kinds of educational software, such as:
Authoring Systems
This kind of software is used to create content. Students can exercise their artistic passions while teachers can create engaging learning materials to use in the classroom. The most prominent example of this software would be the Adobe Creative Suite, which contains several products such as Audition for audio editing, Photoshop and Illustrator for graphic design, InDesign for print media, etc.
Presentation Software
Presentation software, as the name suggests, provides teachers with different tools to present the curriculum to their students. These include applications with different levels of customisability such as Google Slides, Microsoft Powerpoint, Canva, etc.
Reference Software
Reference software is used to aid students when researching subjects to complete assessment tasks. Wikipedia as of late has monopolised reference software, as opposed to older programs such as Encyclopedia Britannica.
Assessment Tools
These applications, such as Cloud Assess and Award Force, allow teachers to grade the assessments of their students, keeping track of their overall performance through calculated and curated data.
Gamification Tools
Gamification tools offer the same kind of experience brought from video games, but in an educational context that provides students with new ways to learn. From games such as Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing to software such as Classcraft, the line between video games and education software has blurred, resulting in all new learning opportunities for students.
Simulations
With VR software becoming more prominent, thanks to hardware such as the Oculus Quest, there are many virtual reality solutions available to demonstrate all kinds of concepts to students.
Assistive Software
Assistive technology is used to aid students that have conditions that impact their learning capacity in a standard classroom. Programs like Text to Speech Software and Word Prediction Software address student disabilities so that they can participate within the classroom without being left behind.
Utility Software
Utility software is the kind of software that is pioneered by Intellischool. This kind of application aids teachers in crafting the perfect curriculum for their students through a variety of features such as the consolidation of student data and the facilitating of student/teacher communication.
If you have any questions, contact us so we can provide you with the best education software possible.
Cover photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash.