Georgia District Adds IBM Analytics to eCLASS Initiative

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 10/30/12

A district near Atlanta will be introducing new applications from IBM to help its students succeed. Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), the largest school system in Georgia, has already launched eCLASS, a digital curriculum and instruction initiative. Recently, the district said it would be using, among other tools, a combination of IBM Cognos and SPSS software to help guide its interactions with students to improve early intervention and assist overall student achievement. The Suwanee, GA district has about 161,000 students.

eCLASS, a multi-year initiative, brings together curriculum and instructional resources, assessment items, professional development, student information, and gradebook functions in one place for instructors and administrators.

"Imagine a time when a teacher can enter eCLASS through the employee portal and access instructional calendars, resources for lessons, assignments for students who need enrichment or extra help, quizzes and tests that automatically populate the gradebook, analytics that show the teacher how students are doing on specific AKS, and much, much more," stated a flyer on the district Web site. "Imagine students being able to access assignments and academic help anytime, online. Imagine a classroom that allows technology to permeate the education of learners and where digital tools expand the walls of the classroom, fostering collaboration and nurturing creativity and innovation in students and teachers. This is the vision for eCLASS once it is fully developed and implemented."

A pilot was set to begin this fall in multiple schools.

"Together with Gwinnett's existing student applications and learning management solution, we are positioned to use analytics to quickly recognize students who need help, identify potential interventions, and ultimately track student success over time," said district CIO Scott Futrell.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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