SmartSchool won't get you smarter.
Jan. 24th, 2012 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
franceslievensSome time ago the Powers That Be at school decided we'd all use the SmartSchool web-application to streamline communication. I'm all for easy communication and having an inbox that's nearing zero because all the school spam has disappeared. What I don't like are people making a total mess of intradesk, so I can't find the notes The Head has put on there, because frankly I can't find where he put them.
Nor do I like that the settings of this molloch are buried somewhere deep down, so I can't be bothered to look how to tweak the settings. The settings aren't tweakable anyway. What I get is an overstuffed opening page that is unable to give me instant information. I want sleek, easy, accessible design that's not crowded with widgets and stuff. No wonder the computer-fearing gentleman who teaches fifth grade wishes to have nothing to do with SmartSchool.
On top of that it dislikes my OS. Many times I can't read documents online, but will have to download them. Yesterday I spent a good hour trying to link my three different SmartSchool-accounts from three different schools. It's a nice little feature that ensures you can switch between accounts so you only have to log into one. If only it wanted to stay logged in. Whenever I entered one account, it ended up in another.
Most of all it feels forced upon us. It was Big Boss's decision and headteachers didn't have a say in it. Instead of showing the positive, we got whining and pointing up. I can't help to think there must be better software out there than this poorly wrought platform, but no-one bothered to look or test this one thoroughly before deciding. This is software for which teachers don't have time to learn to use it. Then why does it cost so much time to understand?
Nor do I like that the settings of this molloch are buried somewhere deep down, so I can't be bothered to look how to tweak the settings. The settings aren't tweakable anyway. What I get is an overstuffed opening page that is unable to give me instant information. I want sleek, easy, accessible design that's not crowded with widgets and stuff. No wonder the computer-fearing gentleman who teaches fifth grade wishes to have nothing to do with SmartSchool.
On top of that it dislikes my OS. Many times I can't read documents online, but will have to download them. Yesterday I spent a good hour trying to link my three different SmartSchool-accounts from three different schools. It's a nice little feature that ensures you can switch between accounts so you only have to log into one. If only it wanted to stay logged in. Whenever I entered one account, it ended up in another.
Most of all it feels forced upon us. It was Big Boss's decision and headteachers didn't have a say in it. Instead of showing the positive, we got whining and pointing up. I can't help to think there must be better software out there than this poorly wrought platform, but no-one bothered to look or test this one thoroughly before deciding. This is software for which teachers don't have time to learn to use it. Then why does it cost so much time to understand?
