A school can have several platforms while teachers still enter the same information repeatedly, learners remain unsure where to submit work and parents receive competing messages. Digital change should prompt a practical question: whose difficulty is being reduced, and whose is merely moving onto a screen?
The starting point may be one important process rather than another system. The 90-day plan below is an editorial trial structure, adaptable to the school calendar. It is not a certification standard or a guaranteed outcome.
1. Choose a problem users can recognize
Listen to teachers, learners, parents and administrators. Describe a difficulty in the language of work: “Students cannot identify the latest assignment file” is more actionable than “We need a modern platform.” “Teachers record the same result in three places” reveals duplication that can be examined.
Select a recurring problem with an owner and a manageable pilot group. Follow one actual example through the current process: who supplies information, through which channel, and where does it wait? Do not design only from an administrator’s desktop. A learner’s experience on a phone may be very different.
2. Decide what will stop as well as what will start
A new system often adds work during transition. Without a decision about retiring the old process, staff may continue both indefinitely. Agree the authoritative record, editing responsibilities and the evidence required to end the transition.
For example, a hypothetical school might consolidate assignment submission for one subject. Its first goal could be fewer questions about where to submit and a clearer view of missing work. Extra rankings and unrelated data collection would not necessarily help that goal. Review the trial before extending it to other subjects.
UNESCO recommends considering appropriateness, equity, evidence and sustainability, with teachers and learners at the center of educational technology decisions. [1] For a school-level project, this is a useful reminder to examine everyday use and long-term workload alongside new features.
Before adding a system, ask which duplicated work should stop.TIIS Insights
3. Plan for unequal access
A working link does not mean everyone can use the activity. Try a small-screen phone, an unreliable connection and keyboard navigation. Check whether instructions are understandable, essential video information has a usable alternative and downloaded material can actually be used later.
W3C describes web accessibility in terms of enabling people with different abilities and needs to perceive, understand and use digital services. [2] Include users likely to encounter barriers early in a pilot. Arrange appropriate alternatives for receiving material and submitting work without unnecessarily reducing the quality of their learning experience.
| Possible barrier | Question to investigate | Option to discuss |
|---|---|---|
| A device shared at home | When can the learner use it? | A suitable submission window and reusable files |
| Intermittent connectivity | Which steps genuinely require a connection? | Lightweight documents and offline activities |
| Incomplete access to audio or text | Which information cannot be reached? | Captions, text and alternative formats |
| Unclear instructions | What is the next action and where is help? | Short directions, examples and an obvious support route |
4. Put decision points into the 90-day plan
Treat each period as a question to answer, not simply a deadline. If access barriers or workload problems emerge, revise the approach before expanding. Holding a rollout to solve a real problem may be more valuable than meeting the original launch date.
| Proposed period | Work | Decision before continuing |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–30 | Observe work, choose a problem and record the starting point | Are users, ownership and constraints understood? |
| Days 31–60 | Trial one group with support and issue recording | Can users complete core tasks and use a fallback? |
| Days 61–90 | Review workload and learning evidence | What should expand, change or stop? |
Account counts and logins tell only part of the story. Add measures related to the original problem: duplicate submissions, document-handling time or learners still needing help. Consider them alongside the quality of the work. A process is not better merely because it saves administrative time by removing necessary feedback.
5. Plan ownership before procurement
Clarify who manages accounts, what happens when a teacher leaves and how access is reviewed. Test a sample data export before making a long-term commitment. A download button is useful only if the resulting records remain readable and usable.
Include renewals, training time, equipment support and migration work in the operating plan. Collect learner information for a clear purpose and ask the school’s responsible staff to review the actual service terms and data practices. Copying another organization’s notice does not establish how your system operates.
6. Connect assessment with improvement
An assessment should help a school identify readiness, support needs and the evidence to collect next. It should produce more than a score or photographs of equipment. Explore SCEE and its project website for the context of this work.
Where the problem concerns teaching practice or capability, EICD Office is a starting point for discussion. Where shared classroom content is relevant, TIIS BOARD is one tool to consider against an already-defined need. Each tool should have a purpose and an ongoing owner.
Before a school-wide rollout
Progress may begin with a small task that becomes easier without leaving learners behind. Understanding what works in the school’s own context creates a stronger basis for expansion.
References and further reading
Use these primary sources to check the supporting information. Examples, tables and trial plans in this article are editorial proposals.
- UNESCOGlobal Education Monitoring Report 2023: Recommendations ↗
Appropriateness, equity, evidence and sustainability in education technology.
- W3C Web Accessibility InitiativeIntroduction to Web Accessibility ↗
Access to digital content and tools for people with different needs.
Explore SCEE and learning-development approaches
Start with the service information, then discuss a scope suited to your setting, users and goals.
Explore the related service
