Schools Technology Update

Since the Faria Education Technology Conference in April 2022, the Schools Technology team has been bolstering our ongoing support for leaders in educational technology. These initiatives include introducing a brand new Systems Map, a Help Centre with articles devoted to advanced use cases, improved technical documentation, and more. We are thrilled to be supporting our community leaders throughout Faria's services, including a sponsorship of a leading podcast.

Systems Map

Here at Faria, we are committed to working closely with schools to ensure continuity of services. To that end, we are proactively engaging School Technology Leaders in discussion about your medium and long-term strategic plans, using a brand new ‘Systems Map’. This interactive tool provides a framework for discussion, and acts as a “miniature audit” to inform further development, in partnership with your Faria Account Manager. The new Systems Map is available to all Administrators via Settings > Services Manager, from your ManageBac, OpenApply or SchoolsBuddy accounts. Navigate to 'Analysis' to try out this helpful tool and get on top of your strategic plan for next year!

The Systems Map asks a few questions regarding which platforms your school uses for different functionalities. Once this data is collected, the Systems Map provides a clear visualization of your school's infrastructure to help you with gap analysis and systems planning.

Since your answers are stored in Services Manager, you can return to the Systems Map at any time to update it. And, of course, if you find any Faria services you would like to try out, you can enable these directly through Services Manager while you are there! If you are interested in having a discussion with our team about how to use the Systems Map as a part of your strategic plan, please contact your Account Manager. We can then involve specialists as we develop a common understanding of your schools' strategic goals.

Schools Technology Help Centre

Our Schools Technology Department has been talking to education leaders about some advanced use cases, and, in parallel, developing Open Source tools to assist with various projects. We have developed a knowledge base of information, which we publish in the Schools Technology Help Centre. We launched this Help Centre to support customers using advanced technologies to extend the functionality of Faria Products; for example, you will find a range of articles detailing solutions that make use of the public APIs.

Also featured are articles in support of Technology Directors and other Implementation Specialists covering key trends and best practices. The Schools Technology Help Centre also hosts archives of recordings from our Professional Learning Community events. We are pleased to host an article by Ryan Tannenbaum in our "Thought Leadership" section entitled "Making Data Work". There, you will find an in-depth, but accessible, approach to extending the functionality of Faria platforms with innovative technology. The Schools Technology Help Centre also includes recaps from our Professional Learning Community events.

Faria Technical Professional Learning Community

Faria Education Group further supports life-long learning by providing a platform for connecting and gaining insight into how others approach shared challenges. While this community's intended audience is those who are using Faria platforms and services, we often discuss broader topics, such as visualization of the SIS in systems plans, managing permissions, and other related workflows. Join the conversation on Discord where technical issues such as APIs, connections to other platforms, and other common challenges are discussed. In addition to the Discord interactions, we have an exciting new series of virtual events planned for the coming academic year, focusing on "Supporting Innovative Technologies in International Education". Following the feedback of our Professional Learning Community, we plan to host events around the following key themes:

• Leadership
• The Role of the Technology Director
• Innovative Technologies

To register your interest in attending or receiving recordings of this free monthly offering, please refer to the events page.

Sponsorship of The International Schools Podcast

We are delighted to announce our sponsorship of The International Schools Podcast – a fortnightly programme which explores all aspects of technology and life in international schools. We have all benefited from the breadth and depth of conversations happening in conferences, podcasts and social media, and, here at Faria, we recognise the value of supporting and facilitating these initiatives. We are proud to be connected with Dan Taylor and John Mikton and the content they provide to our shared communities. Check out the International Schools Podcast directory, where you can listen to past episodes on topics such as trends in the industry, interviews with technology leaders, and discussions with authors about their latest publications.

As the year draws to a close, you may be planning what the future looks like for your school, and how to give your team the best skills to push forward. We hope you find our latest Schools Technology initiatives valuable. If you have any questions about the above, please reach out to Adam Morris, Schools Technology & Integrations Director.