LMS/SIS Integration

PowerSchool Dashboard Helps Teachers Track Student Online Participation

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/18/20

One education technology company is using the data generated by online student activity to try to help teachers keep their kids on track. PowerSchool announced "Unified Insights Student Learning," a program that combines data from its student information system, PowerSchool, with its learning management system, Schoology. The dashboard offers educators a bigger view of student behaviors and interactions with their online classes.

According to the company, the Schoology LMS has seen a 400 percent increase in student interactions--more than a trillion--in the last seven weeks, compared to last year. That included 145 million assessments, as well as more usage of course materials, assignments and discussions. Overall, however, just over half of students (52 percent) have participated in those online activities run through the LMS.

The new dashboard is intended to show LMS adoption levels, engagement and the effectiveness of distance learning initiatives at a district, school, grade, course and student level.

The company said that the integration with the SIS data will help district officials identify gaps in equity, access or distance learning engagement by demographics, socio-economic level and special education status. The goal: to identify at-risk students and do intervention planning.

"We've never before had the ability to combine LMS data with core SIS data in this way including ethnicity, attendance, [individualized education program] status, health information, standards mastery and more. Being able to visualize these trends in the data...will be critical as we close this academic year and look toward the next, ensuring we keep kids on track," said Tony Harvey, CIO of Muncie Community Schools, in a statement. "This is data I need and would use all the time to help students reach their potential, not just in this time of the COVID-19 crisis."

PowerSchool Unified Insights Student Learning will be available initially on Jun. 1, 2020 to customers who have both Schoology Learning and PowerSchool SIS. A demonstration of the new dashboard is available with registration on the PowerSchool website.