The time has come, awaited by many and feared by others: The evaluation boards. How to execute one successfully?

As education professionals, we know how important learning assessment is. It not only reflects the growth that our students have had during a certain period of time; but also a compass that will help mark the path along which we want to guide each one of them. 

For this reason, assessment boards represent a huge opportunity to go beyond the number or the hard mark, and engage in discussion on student development. However, the challenge is to ensure that this valuable time is used in an efficient and enriching way; resulting in real discussions about education in them. 

We have prepared a quick guide on some actions you can take before, during, and at the end of the meeting to get the most out of them.

BEFORE

First of all, it is important to make sure that all teachers have entered the grades and comments for each student. This will avoide hindering the meeting if there are any items to be included yet; encourage them to use the comment area, as it will enrich the conversation. In addition, board members should read and review the specifications for each student beforehand, so that they arrive at the event prepared to talk and no time is wasted. Fortunately, there are programs and platforms like Classlife, that allow you to complete these tasks quickly and to share the data with all participants immediately.  They’ll make your job easier and open up space for longer, richer conversations. 

DURING THE MEETING

One of the keys to a successful evaluation meeting is that it flows smoothly, starting with consideration of time. Time is a very important resource, especially when the groups to be evaluated are large; try to start promptly to take advantage of every minute. Similarly, having an overview of the group and starting with discussion of general observations will help each board member get into context and quickly shift to discuss individual cases.

The conversations generated within the evaluation board are of great value and can be decisive for the future of the students; taking notes on the spot will help not to lose important data. The “Board Meerting Act” section within Classlife allows you to perform this task, as well as to modify each student’s notes on the spot; facilitating this work and speeding up the session.

AT THE END

Finally, once the board members agree with what was discussed in the session, they must sign the evaluation minutes. This is usually a tedious process because the agreed-upon changes will have to be made, and board signatures obtained; so the more that is accomplished without leaving the classroom, the better.  Classlife’s on-the-spot editing and finalizing features, plus digital signatures, will make this process more agile and allow attention to set to new important issues. It also provides greater security since digitally signed documents cannot be modified or altered.

Conclusion

Therefore, evaluation meetings are an opportunity to generate constructive conversation around learning. Taking care of the time and optimizing the processes involved in this session will be decisive for each of the board members to contribute with  what is relevant, to focus on education, and to achieve a successful evaluation meeting.

Nowadays, connecting teams around the world is not a trend, but a necessity.

As time goes by, the globalized world has taken over every sector that impacts our lives. Education is no exception. We have reached the point where talking about a campus that is not interconnected with the world is like conceiving a Formula 1 racing car running at 1 km/h on a racetrack. Can you imagine? That car with parts and processes carefully designed to get the driver to the finish line in less than the blink of an eye, overlooking its potential. Certainly, this analogy falls far short when considering the changes that several educational institutions have undertaken. Many have begun by expanding their boundaries and using technology to blur them. 

However, this widespread growth represents a great challenge for administration, monitoring and communication; a task that may seem disastrous if we consider the different processes, languages and cultures that come into play. That’s why choosing the right tool to connect your teams around the world is crucial for success in this growth. The following list of features will help you choose the technology solution that meets your needs and helps you in this task.

1. Flexibility

Each country has its own legislation on education issues and requires different documentation from each student. In the same way, communication within schools, with students and with families is carried out differently in each place. It is very important that the tool you choose allows you to personalize not only the data and content, but also the processes; so that they can be adapted to the specific needs and challenges of each team.

2. Systematization

Having a tool that allows you to organize processes and homogenize the forms of reporting and communication of each of your teams will help you document what is critical so that important information is not lost along the way; as well as to establish more effective communication between teams. It will also help each member, including new comers, to be able to adapt quickly to the centre’s way-to-play

3. Language

It is essential to ensure that all members of each team understand the information in the same way. This is why one of the features you should consider when choosing a technology solution is its ability to present information in different languages. This will allow you to establish a direct and effective communication channel.

4. Simplicity

Making things easy and simple for everyone allows us to focus our efforts on what is truly a priority. So having a space that contains all the tools, reports, and information located in one place will allow each team member to meet their daily needs in an easy way.

5. Communication

Distance often makes it difficult to create a sense of teamwork and collaboration. You should consider a tool that leads you to build communication and collaboration channels naturally, and that allows you to monitor meetings and the constant flow of information between teams.

Conclusion

Connecting your teams around the world is a challenge when dealing with different cultures, processes and ways of working. The challenge now is to choose a technological tool that truly responds to your needs. It must be simple, flexible, allow you to systematize processes, present information in different languages and help you build channels of communication and collaboration. With all this in order and taking technology as your ally, you will be able to dedicate your time to what is really important: education.