Something important for schools to consider is the ability to streamline platform usage so that staff and students aren’t constantly toggling back-and-forth from one platform to another. Especially during the adoption of a new initiative or the renewal of a platform that has minimal functionality, it’s critical to do an inventory of the necessary solutions to find a singular platform that covers everything. 

For example, elementary schools often provide core content intervention when students are falling behind. It’s also true that many of the students who fall behind in mathematics are the same who fall behind in reading. There are plenty of great math and reading intervention products that do one or the other; but, it’s far better to consider a platform that covers both so that students become proficient in the use of one platform, focusing their attention on the lessons rather than navigating multiple systems. 

Another example is in high schools where many students are studying for SAT and/or ACT. Although there are great products that can help students make gains on either test, there are also products that allow students to study for both exams on the same platform. The key is that schools narrow the number of platforms needed by students and staff to be able to save time, money, and stress. 

Save Time

Using multiple platforms for different functions and features can take time away from the actual benefits of the platforms themselves. When students and staff are logging off of one platform to enter into another portal, there’s time lost in simply making the switch. Time is also wasted when students forget login information and passwords that are needed for multiple platforms. Having one platform to solve multiple problems increases the amount of time that students can spend learning and exploring. 

Another time intensive aspect of teaching and learning is the need for staff to be trained in the use of new technology, curriculum, and other resources. Streamlining the use of platforms helps to save time in training staff on one or two platforms versus the use of five, six, or seven. The time that is saved on training staff to use multiple platforms can be spent on training them for deeper and more meaningful use of a singular platform. 

Save Money

Sometimes it’s necessary to have two different products that solve two separate problems. But, there are often products that can save money because they solve a number of related problems that would typically necessitate multiple tools. Going back to the SAT/ACT example, what if the test preparation tool could also do high school ELA and math intervention. That means that students are not only familiarizing themselves with the test prep tool starting in 9th grade rather than 11th, the school or district is saving money by not having a tool for test prep and another one for academic intervention.  

Saving money using fewer platforms that can solve more than one problem at a time requires school leaders and staff to do an inventory of all of the products they pay for and what other capabilities those products have beyond the way that they’re being used. It should also be noted that some platforms change fees for additional features so it’s important to know what those features are and how much more the product would cost by enabling them. Either way, it almost always makes more sense to use one product rather than multiple. 

Save Stress

One thing that is consistently stressful for staff are all of the things that they need to know and be able to do in a day. It seems like we’re piling new things on and never really taking anything off of the plates of our educators. That said, whenever we can streamline the use of platforms and give teachers fewer places to go for resources, we’re saving them stress and reallocating their efforts to the main focus–student success and well-being. 

Beyond eliminating multiple platforms, which is always the goal, one key to saving staff the stress of using numerous products is to assign an internal expert to each of the tools. This can help when staff need someone on site to train them or provide a quick tutorial. It can also aid with a more comprehensive understanding and usage of the tools we have because someone is in charge of knowing them more comprehensively. It can diminish educator stress just knowing that someone is available to come to the rescue–whether it’s internally or the customer success team of the product–when things go awry. 

Platforms that Support College and Career Readiness 

When it comes to using a platform to support college and career readiness, we see many products that can do one thing or another. Some products are good at career searching while others are dedicated to document sending. Some platforms can be used for reverse admissions but not work-based learning. College and career readiness is an important domain for a singular platform that supports everything from assessments to a digital profile. The more that students can focus their attention in one space, from as early as kindergarten to years after they graduate, the better off and more prepared they’ll be for their postsecondary life goals. 

If you want to see a platform that can do it all, schedule your demo with MaiaLearning.