Its mid-city location means that students are never far from the hustle and bustle of the modern world – they have ringside seats on what the future workplace will look like. St Andrew’s Cathedral School (SACS) prides itself on ensuring students are prepared to fully participate in that world.

Technology has played a significant role in teaching and learning at SACS for several years with the school previously operating a Bring your Own Device program. Every student had a digital learning platform – the problem was, not every student had the same learning platform.

It was challenging to manage from an IT perspective as the devices were owned by the students; it introduced complexities for teachers if their class didn’t all have access to the same features, functions and apps.

After scouring the market for different devices, and testing how they would perform in the often-unforgiving world of a high-rise school where students go up and down stairs between lessons, and can’t easily charge their devices during the day, the Microsoft Surface emerged as the clear winner. According to Lyle Corvisy, ICT Manager, it proved to be high quality, lightweight, robust within its protective case, with a long battery life and is well supported.

At the start of 2020, SACS rolled out Microsoft Surface devices for students in years 3-10. Teachers also have a Surface device. SACS worked with CNS Australia to prepare the Surfaces in time for the start of term, and used Intune and Autopilot to preload and configure the devices for each student.

It transformed the school, teaching and learning.

Corvisy explains; “The enrolment was really important. The students on day one of term came to school, picked up a device and turned it on. Everything was installed and ready to go.

“It was easily the best result we have ever had in any roll out,” he says. During the BYOD era, by comparison; “Everything was chaotic, everyone was rushing around trying to install apps, the network was smashed, wireless was struggling – we were holding back on some apps telling people do it at home.

“This was seamless …I have done this a lot of times and it was easily the smoothest run through we have had,” says Corvisy.

By standardising on Surface for students and teachers, SACS has a unified and streamlined teaching and learning environment, with Office 365 as the software foundations.

As the first school in Australia to have adopted Surface devices end-to-end, SACS is also a beacon for the entire sector – revealing the benefits of a more streamlined approach to technology than previous BYOD programs allowed.

Corvisy acknowledges that for the IT department, the shift to a cloud-based management platform took a little getting used to. Now though Intune and Autopilot ensure that any upgrades, patches or additions can be managed centrally and securely with staff freed for other more value adding work.

“It exceeded my expectations – I did have doubts – but this by far exceeded them, it has been a very reliable solution for us.”

Teacher productivity is also improved because they no longer have to spend time helping students to update apps and laptops. The consistency across the classroom has been a further benefit, and restored confidence that every student has access to the same tools and functionality. OneNote is used widely- and again the teacher knows that they and their students can all access the same content.

To ensure students gained the most value from the new technology SACS started the 2020 school year with a half day training course for every Year 3-10 student. They learned how to use the laptop, the stylus and digital inking – which has proven particularly valuable in music, Chinese and maths lessons – and teachers showed classes how they could write on their laptop during lessons, rather than on a whiteboard, with all the content instantly available to students.

Completed well ahead of COVID-19 school shutdowns, the Surface-based transformation meant that when students undertook lessons from home, they were familiar with the fully featured device allowing them to participate in remote classes. Teachers also used Microsoft Teams to allow them to collaborate with one another.

Pip Hoermann, head of innovation and enterprise, SACS, says that the technology has been invaluable; “To teach enterprise skills – teaching students to use innovation and think creatively about solutions for the world around them.”

She says that moving to a unified and streamlined technology platform for the entire school has demonstrated to the entire SACS community how computers can support learning in and outside of the classroom.

“It has moved us three to five years along our technology journey in the space of nine months”

It has also delivered students with an invaluable opportunity to develop important digital skills and understanding, priming them for an even brighter future when they step outside their city school and into the Big City.

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*To qualify, students & teachers need a valid school email address. Eligibility requirements

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Until recently it also wrangled a huge array of disparate customer relationship management (CRM) systems that had been implemented across the University over many years and for different purposes. While they each served their purpose at the time, the University recognised the benefits that would accrue from building a single source of truth and transparency about its engagements with multiple stakeholders; it would ensure efficiency – and also enhance the experience for students.

Working with KPMG the University is undertaking a university-wide CRM transformation, with Dynamics 365 providing the digital foundations for a reimagining of the way that it engages with stakeholders.

Chad Coutman, is Capability Lead in the University’s IT Services team and acknowledges that at the start of the transformation; “We’d had numerous CRMs in place across the University, purchased independently over time, and being supported independently.” It is an expensive approach and imposes a significant management burden.

Determined to consolidate and streamline its CRM portfolio, the University has commenced adoption of Dynamics 365; chosen given the University’s existing use of Microsoft platforms such as Microsoft 365, meaning that personnel were comfortable with Microsoft solutions already.

Given the scale of the transformation the University launched a tender process for an external specialist to partner with them. KPMG was the successful tender and began working through a strategy and roadmap in 2018 – with the first pilot solution deployed at the end of 2018.

Since then says Coutman; “We’ve taken an iterative approach to the program, so we’ve tried to bite off particular business processes, one chunk at a time.” Where the new platform replaces an existing CRM the transition has been straightforward – where it has been implemented as a first time staff have needed additional support in terms of change management. Since the initial pilot the University has gone live with a major release every six months.

We now have much greater visibility of where prospective students are in their journey with the University. For example, we know how many active inquiries we have at any point in time and how many, and when, people are converting from the inquiry to applicant stage. All the different stages that a prospective student would work through, we can see that in Dynamics.

Chad Coutman, Capability Lead in the University’s IT Services team

One of the marquee users of the CRM is the University’s international student office where just about the entire team uses Dynamics 365 in their daily role.

Coutman explains; “Inquiries from international students are captured in CRM, as well as applications for admission. This has really streamlined the process for the team managing this process and the feedback has been positive.”

It has also improved the student experience as efficiency has soared and applications and inquiries are dealt with much faster than was previously possible. Dynamics 365 has also streamlined the University’s engagement with overseas education agencies which act as the front door for many international students.

“Implementing a more efficient approach to managing international inquiries and applications has improved the University’s interactions with overseas agencies, which enhances our reputation in this competitive market,” says Coutman.

Shane Parsons, Director, Microsoft Business Apps, KPMG says, “Dynamics 365 has delivered to the University much needed transparency about student applications, and the ability to act much faster and to move swiftly and efficiently through the application to acceptance process.”

While the initial focus has been on streamlining engagement with international students the University is now extending Dynamics 365 into other areas such as recruitment, admissions and higher degree by research applications.

For the University, having access to a central source of information is proving very useful, with much more granular understanding of who is applying for which courses, and providing the university a real opportunity to identify and create valuable international strategic partnerships. The system also helps to identify any bottlenecks in the process that it can then address.

It means, says Coutman, that; “We now have much greater visibility of where prospective students are in their journey with the University. For example, we know how many active inquiries we have at any point in time and how many, and when, people are converting from the inquiry to applicant stage. All the different stages that a prospective student would work through, we can see that in Dynamics.

“The management team can then use this information for analytical purposes and to identify opportunities for improving the student journey. “

Coutman stresses that the focus has been on achieving both efficiency for the University and a better experience for the student.

“It was about having visibility, that single view of customer, and the data available in one place to be able to provide a higher level of service to our stakeholders.”

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The Microsoft team of education experts will meet with your school and through a series of online workshops and meetings we will deliver a comprehensive professional learning strategy which leverages the Microsoft Education Transformation Framework (ETF).

Uncover answers to questions your school may be asking:

• Are our school leaders and teachers equipped to deliver high quality educational opportunities for each and every child in a rapidly-changing world?
• Are we best leveraging technology to make our school a more equitable and inclusive community?
• Are we getting the most out of our existing Microsoft 365 technologies?

Take the next step on your digital transformation journey. Applications are now open for Semester 1, 2021.

Register your interest

Email your interest

Catholic Education VIC Schools: v-troywaller@microsoft.com

QLD Schools: v-amfram@microsoft.com

WA Schools: steven@standouteducation.com.au

SA DfE Schools: Cindy.Dennison@sa.gov.au

SA Catholic Education Schools: v-troywaller@microsoft.com

TAS Schools: v-troywaller@microsoft.com

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The choice of subjects available to them is immense – 350 courses across 19 career areas.

Navigating all the options, both physical and online, as an incoming domestic or international student could be daunting – but a new digital platform developed using Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement is streamlining student engagement and providing richer insights to the university.

An older legacy CRM had been used at CSU – but it was limited in scope, hard to update and wasn’t as secure as the University wanted. CSU instead sought a platform capable of growing with it and able to drive transformational change in terms of the way the University engages with students and alumni.

Phil Roy, CSU Project Director explains that; “One of our short-term objectives is to build more of a 360-degree view of our students, whether they are a student studying by distance or an on-campus student.

“We’re very diverse in terms of our geography as well as our modes of study. We’re naturally a deliverer of online education so we’ve been doing online education for a long time now, and that’s part of our DNA, part of our nature.”

“The platform has allowed us to improve the environment with which we engage students and makes it easier for the students to ask things of us, to seek out support. It makes it more efficient for us to provide that support for students and hence improve their experience that they’re getting from the university.”

It’s been a particular boon during the COVID-19 pandemic when students have been able to use the system to get instant advice about how courses or timetables might be affected. And while change management and training of staff using the system needed to be tweaked when the university moved to remote working, the ease of use of the Dynamics 365 platform meant there was no delay in its continued deployment.

Microsoft partner KPMG helped CSU develop its technology strategy and priorities roadmap, and then partnered with Microsoft in a successful tender to deploy Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement as the core CRM across the University.

Over 18 months KPMG has supported CSU through multiple releases and phases in the project and has proved itself, says Roy, “a trusted delivery partner.”

Shane Parsons, Director, KPMG said; We have worked together to create a student engagement platform for CSU that meets the University’s current needs – but also has the flexibility and agility that it will rely on in the future.

“CSU has been able to leverage the broader Microsoft Azure ecosystem to deliver the security and data governance that it required, as well as to handle identity and access management. Power BI meanwhile has supported reporting requirements to provide transparency to executives and academics about the student body.”

Roy explains that the vision is to use Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement to support the full student lifecycle from applications to alumni. “Our next and final phase will be looking at student recruitment, so the whole marketing phase.

“At the moment, the work that we’ve done supports campaigning and communications around admissions, and the engagement of students. Then through to things like orientation when a student comes to the university.”

The system also manages student services such as changes of grade, appeals and special consideration requests through a specially designed student dashboard that has had very positive reviews from undergraduates.

Additional support channels and chat features has improved the efficiency for students and the 450 University personnel with access to Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement. By integrating the CRM into other systems used across the University, Dynamics 365 has become CSU’s service portal.

Complimenting data integrated into Dynamics 365, CSU has worked with KPMG to develop a series of Power Apps to surface more information needed to help a student

“One Power App for example, displays financial information; another displays a students on campus residential status.”

Power Apps are also being used to automate workflows and processes associated with some of the dashboard request processes and to manage access to sensitive personal data

Having that information surfaced in one place considerate of data privacy needs, with workflows streamlined means that “When someone is supporting a student, they’ve got the information that they need in front of them in one system,” says Roy.

The Dynamics 365 dashboard used by staff reveals a wealth of useful information about the student that they are engaging with – what subjects they enrolled in, who their course coordinator is, what textbooks they need for each subject. Staff can see when students have submitted work and what work might be outstanding so there is a clear audit and compliance trail to help a staff member support the student.

“We can look at their history as a student, what mode of study they’re in, of course the program that they’re studying, whether they live up on campus or not. All those things, staff would have to look up different systems to find in the past,” says Roy.

It’s proven more efficient for everyone and the quality of advice is enhanced because there’s a far more comprehensive understanding of the individual student.

Roy doesn’t consider student engagement as a destination – rather it’s an ongoing journey for CSU with Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement providing the platform for continuous enhancement and innovation. Leveraging the Azure ecosystem will, for example, allow AI infused chat bots to be implemented in the future.

It’s yet another fresh option for students and points to additional efficiency for the University.

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Anchored in this year’s National NAIDOC theme, ‘Always Was. Always Will Be’, the Challenge invites students to look back (Always was) by researching and learning about Indigenous knowledge, histories, and creation stories unique to their local area.

Supported by community Elders, teachers, and experts in Indigenous education, students were then encouraged to look forward (Always will be), and using Microsoft Paint 3D and Minecraft: Education Edition, they were asked to create mixed reality characters and Minecraft worlds, in response to the question: ‘How might we build sustainable schools, cities, towns or communities in 2030 using Indigenous science, technology, engineering, arts and maths?’

The results were exceptional, students collaborated on rich virtual Minecraft worlds, creating a futuristic interpretation of cultural knowledge, language and ways of knowing, being and doing.

Even after the Challenge itself has drawn to a close, the enthusiasm of students to continue to use technology to celebrate Indigenous culture, language and knowledge is undimmed.

The Minecraft Education Challenge is an initiative of Microsoft partner and Indigenous edu-tech company Indigital, and Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX) – an initiative co-founded by the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) and the Telstra Foundation. The challenge has also been supported by the National Library of Australia, which has hosted part of the challenge, and Microsoft.

Indigital founder and CEO Mikaela Jade designed the initiative around NAIDOC’s 2020 theme – Always Was. Always Will Be.

John-Paul (JP) Janke, co-chair of the National NAIDOC Committee says that it is important to remember; “Aboriginal people were the first footprints on this country. The first astronomers, the first bakers, the first engineers. The first diplomat. The language is the first language of this country, so we wanted to say that that always was and always will be part of this history of this country.”

“NAIDOC was extremely honoured to be part of a wonderful partnership that engages the younger generation to celebrate their languages, customs, knowledge and ceremony using the most modern and exciting platforms and technologies.”

Students participating in the Challenge were encouraged to research and learn from Indigenous knowledge, history and creation stories in their local area. Using Microsoft Paint 3D and Minecraft: Education Edition, students then created mixed reality characters and a series of richly featured Minecraft worlds.

According to Jade; “Together, we can use digital technologies to express 80,000 years of human knowledge for generations to come and enable Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids to connect with and learn from Elders about cultural knowledge, history and language, while learning digital skills in cutting-edge technologies like augmented reality, animation and coding.”

The participating schools stretch as far north as Erub (Darnley Island) in the Eastern Torres Strait Islands, and as far south as Bruny Island in Tasmania.

NCIE Operations Manager John Leha says that the Challenge is particularly valuable as it helps Indigenous and Torres Strait Island students to develop the skills and knowledge needed for future success.

“The Challenge has allowed us to create a space where Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people can come together, create, explore and learn with technology, as well as connect with our cultures, and learn from those who have come before us,” he says.

Kayti Denham, Middle Years Teacher at Yirrkala Bilingual School says; “The NAIDOC Week Minecraft Challenge has been an intense learning curve for both the staff and students here in North East Arnhem land.

“On taking up the challenge our students have little familiarity with urban landscapes but strong connections to their homelands and the cultural stories that connect them to their long history with beautiful coastal environments.

“Technology challenges arrived in the form of unreliable internet and firewalls that cropped up like Minecraft Monsters, however the resilience of the students and their patience with something they wanted to achieve meant that they appeared early at school requesting to take on Minecraft Challenges and even asked to be excused from sport to continue designing their worlds.

What we were able to observe as teachers was the subtle learnings, the sequential following of English language instructions and the guided development of creative curiosity that contributes to the building of transferable skills and there was a real sense of ownership and pride when goals of both Maker’s Empire and Minecraft creation had been achieved,” says Denham.

Shining a light on Indigenous knowledge

Located in the night sky, close to what we know as the Southern Cross, is Dhinawan, the emu. Unlike the Southern Cross, Dhinawan isn’t represented by a constellation of stars, but has its outline revealed by the stars. It is Dark Emu, and once it’s pointed out to you, it’s as clear as any other feature of the night sky. But you have to be shown.

Working with young students, Indigenous Elders have shared their knowledge, culture and language. Bruce Pascoe’s best-selling book, Young Dark Emu, has inspired lesson plans, with Elders augmenting the lessons’ impact by using a local lens to share local knowledge and stories with students.

Students then used the Indigenous insight, Minecraft: Education Edition and Paint 3D to create sustainable cities in Minecraft, incorporating Indigenous knowledge of food and water management, structural design, fire management, arts and language.

What truly sets this Challenge apart from other digital skills programs is the opportunity it creates for students learn about and explore their local Indigenous cultures, setting the foundation for the next generation of Australians to embrace Australia’s Indigenous culture.

Annie Butler a teacher from Plumpton Primary School says; “Honestly this has been the best program I have ever taught, the kids were screaming with excitement and their knowledge and research into indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing was incredible. The kids loved it and Indigital has been so helpful and supportive”.

According to Sam Ephraim from Kalkie State School; “I am having trouble getting the kids to leave the class to go to other subjects. it has been amazing to see the kids actively looking for more knowledge in both Indigenous and tech skills.

“The kids noticed it was hard to find information on Indigenous culture in their area so reached out to university lecturers and all kinds of people to find out why, we found out this was a meeting place and the river rocks held important cultural significance… the children were sad to learn these rocks were taken away to be displayed in museums and places like that. We focused on these rocks because it highlights how once culture is removed… it is lost”, says Ephraim Allison Matthews, Executive Producer, Minecraft Education, says that the opportunity to use digital technology alongside Indigenous knowledge aligns with Microsoft’s core strategy to empower every person on the planet to achieve more, and to ensure that no-one is left behind.

“The NAIDOC Minecraft Education Challenge is a beacon for the entire world as it reveals how it is possible to bring together Indigenous knowledge and modern technology, to engage children and accelerate their learning opportunities – and also to equip them with skills they will need when they leave school.”

“The Minecraft worlds and content that has been built as part of this first NAIDOC Minecraft Education Challenge provides a rich foundation for the future and for First Peoples around the world to use as a model to engage and inform their young people.“

According to Janke this is critically important for current and future generations of school students. “You know every day, I think back to when I was at school. And probably you’re the same. You know, we learned more about overseas cultures than we learned about Indigenous cultures. We learn more about the pyramids, but we had the first engineers on the planet here in this continent.”

He notes that the NAIDOC Minecraft Education Challenge, which brings together knowledge about the world’s oldest technology and modern, cutting edge technology; “Reshapes that narrative. And I think if we can do that as a nation, the future is endless.”

The Challenge has been carefully designed to support the development of critical 21^st Century skills such as creativity, problem solving, research, collaboration and communication.

It aligns with the existing Indigital Schools Program – a proven platform for Indigenous engagement with technology practices that respects and values Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP), with lessons that are mapped to the National curriculum.

Jane Mackarell, K-12 Director, Microsoft Australia says that while this is the first year of the Challenge, the initiative has been designed to be sustainable.

“It’s tremendously important that Microsoft supports Indigenous-led initiatives that develop 21st century skills for all students. For these schools, accessing the Indigital platform, where students are engaged using cutting edge technologies alongside rich connections to culture – make this project unique.

“The program supporting the Challenge is also sustainable – encompassing curriculum that can be taught in schools nationally and ensuring that teachers and the community are involved and supported. We hope that by embedding this capability in Australian schools, generations of students will benefit from learning about the nation’s oldest living cultures while developing the skills that allow them to thrive in modern workplaces.”

Students at St Peter’s Primary School (NSW) designed and animated a numbat, which they named Maant Ngaagk (moon sun), that narrated the Minecraft world they had designed, explaining to visitors features of the landscape and the Indigenous knowledge that students had learned.

This brought together a diverse array of skills including communication, collaboration, coding and design thinking – demonstrating the deep engagement of students, and their grasp of both Indigenous learning and modern technology.

Working towards a brighter future

Indigital and IDX have been working in 31 rural, remote and urban communities all around Australia to provide training for teachers in schools engaged in the Challenge.

They have provided face to face training to remote communities including Erub (Darnley Island) and Eidsvold in QLD, and also online training to teachers in schools around Australia covering issues such as cultural storytelling, how to use the Paint3D program to create 3D mixed reality characters, Minecraft: Education Edition Training, access to the Indigital platform, how to record stories in language and create augmented reality from student’s work.

According to Jade; “Indigenous Australians make up approximately 3 per cent of the population, but are barely represented in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce.

“As part of the challenge we ask participants to dream what a sustainable world would look like in 2030. By then – just ten years from now when these children become adults – we want to see more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples studying, working and leading in STEM related fields.

“We believe that by developing culturally responsive curriculum and teaching approaches, integrating Indigenous knowledge, and developing community outreach, we can help establish real-life pathways to a job.

“There’s been enormous enthusiasm everywhere we have been – the kids have been coming early to school because they’re excited by the opportunity to learn more about their culture and then use technology to bring that to life. In the local communities there is enormous pride in what the children are achieving and the enduring impact this learning will have.”

Tianji Dickens, Philanthropies Lead, Microsoft Australia adds that the enthusiasm of Elders has been vital to the success of the initiative. “It’s been incredible seeing the response from the Elders in the community. Elders are working with students to share their knowledge and apply it to new contexts in the future.

“We are also proud to be working with the NAIDOC committee who are so supportive of providing opportunities for communities to really celebrate their language and culture and history through technology. Microsoft is delighted to support this initiative in Australia, and to offer a foundation for similar ventures supporting First Peoples around the world.”

The schoolchildren participating in the Challenge developed STEM skills, honed 21^st Century capabilities with Minecraft Education Edition combining with Paint 3D in a platform for creativity and problem solving. They learned from Elders and used that knowledge to create virtual worlds that offer a fresh vision of the future.

Minecraft Education Challenge Entries

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It was based on the gut feel of the teacher at the time – but nevertheless almost always resulted in a parental lecture and the occasional reminder to ‘pull up your socks.’ Not very scientific, not very strategic.

But what if it was possible to use data to predict for a primary school child in Year 5 a defined range for possible achievement in Year 12 exams? How incredibly valuable this would be to motivate the child to aim for the top of the range.

What if gifted children were more easily identified and less at risk of falling through the cracks? What if data could identify a specific learning deficiency for a child, where this factor was the road block to further academic growth? A timely, targeted, evidence-based intervention could be life changing. Armed with such insight parents and teachers could focus their efforts more acutely, supporting all students to achieve much more of their potential.

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is confident all of this is possible – and also believes data plays an important role in ensuring optimal outcomes across a slew of different areas. In response, it has undertaken a significant digital transformation with data at its core, as well as working toward user directed analytics to ensure evidence-based insight drives action.

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, serves a community of 150,000 Catholics in the mid north of NSW providing pastoral support, health care, social welfare and educational services. Just shy of 20,000 students attend its 58 schools spanning Newcastle as well as the Lake Macquarie, Hunter, Upper Hunter and Manning areas.

Chief executive Sean Scanlon explains that the decision to set up a data and analytics capability for the Diocese was born of a desire to improve educational outcomes for its students. “It needed to be something where we had evidence and rational data, and analyse that data to understand how we were performing, particularly in the education space so that we could target each and every child’s education,” he says.

Data was always collected about student performance, but it was often siloed, difficult to access and scattered through an array of disparate source systems and spreadsheets. It provided an incomplete picture of student performance and progress and as Scanlon notes; “Without measuring those things, you couldn’t hold people accountable and we couldn’t see what we were achieving, and we couldn’t set targets for improvement.”

The same held true for the Diocese’s work in social services, supporting people in need or vulnerable. “How can we measure how we’ve improved their lives or done things that target the need, but also allow us to then go to the government and say, ‘Look, here’s the evidence. Here’s the data that we’ve analysed and looked at, that shows that what we’re doing works’.”

Working with Microsoft partner Insight and under the leadership of Zanné Van Wyk, Head of Data and Analytics for the Diocese, the organisation has deployed Azure Data Service foundations. Data from individual schools has been ingested and Power BI for self-service analytics has been rolled out, with access to data governed through Azure Active Directory.

Paul Greaves, assistant director of the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools Office and project sponsor for the data and analytics student intelligence project says; “Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools system has set some specific targets around improving student academic achievement. The creation of a ‘Leading Learning Collaborative,’ which integrates the work of world-leading education researchers such as Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan, is the vehicle we have designed to carry this initiative and the fuel in the tank is data mixed with self-service analytics.

“The Student Intelligence Project is changing the way our system leaders, Principals and middle leaders interact with data and analytics as it addresses a number of pain-points we were previously experiencing. For example, ingesting and storing a multitude of data in a data lake from which we can draw specific dimensions for analysis means leaders no longer have to navigate a plethora of siloed data sources – each with its own usernames, passwords, formats, reports and often limited capacity to interact with data. Typically, if triangulation of data was the aim, it inevitably meant export into Excel and required time-intensive data manipulation and high-level technical skill.

“In Power BI we now have an environment where data sources are integrated and readily accessible. We have a consistent platform where educational decision makers can now focus on data as it relates to educational outcomes for students, rather than being limited by the aforementioned data processing tasks.“

Single source of truth

The benefits were expected immediately because everyone in the organisation would have access to a single source of truth, one comprehensive data source to support decision making and drive efficiency.

Care has also been taken to incorporate as much context as possible into the multi-dimensional data model that is being built in Azure. This will help identify problems, find solutions and stage appropriate interventions.

Van Wyk says; “We believe that we will be able to predict for a primary school child in year five, how they will do in HSC in year 12, using the datasets that we have available. If we have that prediction online and we can see that someone is below what we feel they can achieve, we can then already in primary school start those targeted interventions to ensure we prepare that child for HSC and improve what we at this point are predicting as maybe lower than the norm.

“Also, what we’re working now is in-depth analysis about gifted education children. We know who the gifted education children are in the schools.

“Now that we’ve got a broader context around other tests, we realise there’s children being missed as gifted, just because their marks don’t show it. The work that we’ve done just around having a better understanding of what defines a gifted child in the schools over the last six months was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.”

Greaves adds that;

“Our most impressive example we can cite thus far in our journey is that of our Gifted Education Leader at a system level. Weeks of downloading data from a variety of sources into spreadsheets, where further complicated matching and manipulation had to occur, would finally allow an educational lens to be applied to the data.”

The work of the Student Intelligence Project in creating the dimensional model now allows our Gifted Education Leader to readily surface the required data and engage in analytics which drive action in the form of targeted and appropriate interventions.

Van Wyk is expecting the data also to reveal some interesting patterns about the impact that remote learning has had on students as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly the data should help shed light on student progress despite the lack of NAPLAN testing in 2020.

Generally, NAPLAN tests provide a level-set for schools to see how their students are going, and whether they need extra help. This year no NAPLAN tests have been taken.

Van Wyk says however that the student data collected by the Diocese provides an alternative measure of student progress.

It means says Scanlon that: “You’ve got an opportunity to bring kids back on track if they’re falling behind or if there are other issues. We’ve got more dimensions to this than NAPLAN has targeted, the wellbeing aspects and students missing school could be a dimension.

“This allows us to have greater insight and therefore to act more quickly to deal with any issues that might arise or to look at what’s happening in the students’ life and drill down to the individual student rather than looking at a class or even a school and seeing how it’s performing. That’s the expectation,” he says.

It will also help schools meet their obligation under the memorandum of understanding with the State Government that children achieve appropriate growth in their education. “That’s the requirement, so we need to be able to measure and check that, and see that we’re on track,” adds Scanlon.

Schools are also required to report on student attendance – not an easy task when some children are in the classroom and others are remote learning. Van Wyk says that by pulling the Diocese’s Office 365 data, including Teams use, into its data lake it was possible to see easily which children were attending lessons – even remotely.

Predictive analytics

The Diocese has developed a three-year strategy for its data and analytics transformation and is now at the mid-way mark.

Its goal is not to deliver predesigned dashboards and reports – rather to offer self service analytics and predictive analytics to ensure maximum impact, “That’s why we have a data scientist as part of the team,” says Van Wyk. While she herself developed the strategy, she engaged Microsoft partner Insight to validate it, and help develop and deploy the Azure based solution.

That solution leverages Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, Keyvault, Storage account – Data Lake, Azure SQL DB, Azure Analytics Services, Logic Apps, Azure Data Catalogs, DevOps – Repos and Pipelines. The governance surrounding the system is critical with access to often sensitive data managed through Active Directory.

Working with Insight the Diocese is now refining its understanding of business processes across the organisation and building a multidimensional data model. From that new key performance indicators are emerging that will be used to steer the business.

Van Wyk’s goal however is to make more use of predictive analytics. “Previously, for example, finance will come in and they will say, ‘Let’s put 10 per cent on this year’s budget for next year.’ We believe we can use predictive analytics to either seek targets, benchmarks, or baselines, for example, for KPIs or budgets and that can be productionised back into your dimensional model.”

The predictive analytics approach can also be applied to learning. According to Khaled Auf, Data & AI Practice Lead, Insight; “They are extracting data collected across the learning lifecycle and applying it into the development of predictive models for targeted ‘interventions’ in time to make a difference, not months downstream of an issue.

“With Azure, they are looking to have a deep understanding of business problems; build trust of decision makers; effectively leverage data and analytics – explaining results in simple, powerful ways; and establishing a data and analytics governance framework.”

The partnership with Insight has been exceptional, says Van Wyk, resulting in a solution that aligns with her goals, and came in on time, and in budget.

She says; “It’s about time, cost, and value. They got it. Within a week, we had an architecture. The consultants that they gave us were incredibly knowledgeable and they had a very practical plan on how to implement this, very organised and structured. We delivered this within the timeframe that we discussed, within the budget that we discussed and the business value that we discussed.“

Greaves says that; “Having education leaders spending a majority of their time collecting and manipulating data is never a good investment. We have recently developed a ‘Data Framework’ for our system where the application of ‘Data-Cycles’ in Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) is at the heart of activity to improve student academic outcomes. The Student Intelligence Project is critical in creating the conditions where integrated data is accessible in a platform which allows us to ask questions of the data in a timely manner and thus allows our investment in educational leaders to be better realised.

“Our pressing leadership challenge at a system level is how do we now engender shared beliefs and understandings amongst our system and school leaders around data and the Power BI platform? Recently we have delivered Data Literacy Professional Development workshops to over 150 system leaders, Principals, Assistant Principals and data leaders in schools where our focus was to simply introduce them to the Power BI tool. The fact that so many volunteered to participate in the workshops indicates a clear desire to become more data literate. Our approach has certainly piqued interest and is driving a desire for many to further explore possibilities.

“Our approach in the workshops in the future will continue to be the presentation of actual examples of ‘Data-Cycles’ at work where student outcomes have been impacted in a positive manner. This is what will get our leaders onboard, rather than technical descriptions of how to use the software. If leaders think it matters, they will cause themselves to become familiar with these more technical aspects. Bringing about intrinsic self-actualisation in our leaders should be our own leadership focus.”

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The modern equivalent is a classroom of students armed with computers – only some of which have been updated with the latest software and content.

For the 196 public schools in Tasmania it was a real issue; while students had modern technology a legacy device management system had become unreliable – teachers would walk into a classroom and not know how many students had the right software and content on their devices.

To remedy the situation Microsoft Endpoint Manager has now been deployed and is streamlining device management ensuring everyone has access to what they need to optimise teaching and learning.

Tasmania’s Department of Education (DoE) manages around 50,000 devices or endpoints on its school and library network. That includes around 40,000 Windows devices and 10,000 iPads.

Myles Bingham, Manager End Device Services, says that while the DoE had a legacy mobile device management system it proved unable to manage the growing technology collection across the network. “It was meant to scale but it didn’t. It was slow, would fail, there would be time outs and then it would crash.”

It meant that when teachers asked for an app to be deployed on student iPads; “After a day 10 per cent would have it – then at two days it would be 40 per cent. Teachers couldn’t teach effectively because they couldn’t guarantee that all the iPads in the classroom would have the app or work in the same way,” says Bingham.

The IT team meanwhile was constantly having to tinker with the device management software – and might have had to wipe and restart an iPad three or four times before updates completed.

To ensure a better student experience and reduce the stress on teachers the DoE sought a replacement.

It analysed a range of mobile device management systems on the market and settled on Microsoft Intune for Education, recognising its ability to simplify and streamline endpoint device management and to scale. Since it integrated with all the other Microsoft systems in use across the DoE network, it also promised the centralisation, standardisation and ease of management that the Department favours.

Universal school support

Tasmania’s Kings Meadows High School has more than 600 students and is mid-way through a program to roll out iPads for all students in Years 7-10 which will be complete by 2022.

Assistant Principal Katie Wightman said that in the past the system did not keep up with the demand for updates and requests for access to apps, this impacted teaching and learning, and as a consequence teachers and students could not rely on the technology.

“In the past Teachers would request an app to be pushed out to all iPads and this could take minutes, hours or days to reach all student and staff devices. The slow and random way the apps would update impacted teaching and learning. Students were increasingly frustrated when their device was not updated. We did not understand why some devices would update quickly and others took a very long time,” says Wightman.

Previously to try and ensure all students had access to an updated app, teachers felt they had to give the IT team as much as a week’s notice in order for all children to have the appropriate content or app on their device. All too often some students would have the updates or app while a classmate sitting next to them would not – and there seemed to be no reason as to why a device was updated first; it wasn’t just that children with a surname starting with A were updated ahead of those at the end of the alphabet – some would get updates immediately, some after a short wait – and some would be delayed for hours or days.

That lack of certainty that the app would be available led to delay and frustration for both teacher and students, and eroded confidence in the value of technology. Most worryingly says Wightman; “Not having equitable access created a disparity in learning.”

Adopting Microsoft Endpoint Manager had an immediate and obvious effect. According to Wightman;

When we moved to Intune it was remarkable – the swift and prompt change. IT Jobs were logged and the apps were updated. It was immediate. It was exactly what we needed to ensure confidence from teachers and it meant we can concentrate on teaching and learning.

Public schools, like Kings Meadows, across Tasmania select student computers from an approved pool of devices that the DoE recommends. This allows schools a degree of autonomy in terms of selecting devices that best support the way they teach students, and the demographics of the community, but ensures that the DoE is able to provide proper IT support.

Bingham says that it is critical that DoE IT is able to deliver each school the same level of technical support – regardless of the device they have selected.

Intune plays an important role in achieving that goal.

Before rolling out the system DoE worked with Microsoft on a proof of concept. This proved that the system was up to the task – and also provided an opportunity for DoE IT personnel to get to grips with the platform.

According to Grant Mannix, senior IT consultant, the experience was invaluable; “The engagement covered off in five days would have taken me 12 months to learn on my own.”

Armed with that understanding the DoE deployed Intune –first to manage the iPads across the network, which had represented one of the biggest pain points Bingham says. The Department is now also using Intune to manage its 75 Surface Hubs.

Bingham says that; “The next step is to enable Windows devices to be brought in and we are looking to deploy Autopilot in the next six months to allow management in an easier, more hands-off manner.”

Already, he says, Intune has helped restore schools’ and teachers’ confidence in DoE IT because updates and device management are assured. “When tech gets a request to push something out to 100 iPads it just works. The platform is just stable,” he says.

Microsoft Endpoint Manager also provides the IT team with much more transparency about how the network and devices are operating. According to Bingham; “The desktop analytics are pretty amazing. We are identifying issues with devices before there is an issue. It means we have got visibility ahead of doing upgrades of Windows devices.”

This means, says Bingham that; “The confidence in IT out in the field is higher – they can rely on this product.” Instead of teachers wondering if an upgrade or content load had gone to plan when they entered the classroom; “It just works.”

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This post was originally published on this site.

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EduTECH 2020 Expo and Conference has gone virtual this year!

Running over two days on November 9 & 10, the EduTECH Australia 2020 Virtual Expo will bring together educators, leaders and futurists to share, discuss and learn about the latest developments in education and technology, from wherever they are in the world.

There’s so much to see and do all from the comfort of your own home or school. Kicking off at 9:00am (AEDT), catch the Plenary, and then tune in to a Roundtable discussion, take a Certification with our partners Prodigy Learning, join our educator sessions, get involved in our competitions to win great prizes and network with the Microsoft team.

For the latest updates follow along on our socials on Facebook and Twitter and join the conversation with #EduTECHAU and #MSFTEdu

Next step, register to get your virtual pass for EduTECH 2020!

Now that you’ve registered, come and visit us virtually at the Microsoft Education virtual booth! We’re so excited to show you the latest from Microsoft and help you achieve better learning outcomes in your classroom with the help of technology.

Plan your virtual visit to EduTECH 2020

Plenary

Catch the Plenary on November 9 at 9:00am AEDT.

‘Education Reimagined’

Presented by: Travis Smith, K-12 Education Industry Lead, Microsoft Australia

While 2020 has been a challenging year for many in the education sector, it’s time now to reflect on some of the positives to emerge from the impact of the global pandemic. Increased skills of educators, speed of innovation by large educational jurisdictions and IT vendors and the possibility of a new alternative model for education moving forward are all examples. The possibilities for the future of education globally are bright, as long as we take time to learn from the year that was. Let’s celebrate some successes and look to the future.

Microsoft in Education Channel Schedule

Day 1: Monday 9 November, 2020

Day 2: Tuesday 10 November, 2020

Roundtables on November 9 at 2:00PM AEDT

‘ICT education transformation: from recovery to reimagine’

Presented by: Dan Bowen

‘Education transformation: from recovery to reimagine’

Presented by: Jane Mackarell

Breakout Seminars on November 10 at 12:10PM AEDT

‘Reimagine your Digital Classroom with Microsoft’

Presented by: Amanda Frampton

Over the past year the importance of technology in delivery student centered deep learning has been heightened. During this session, some of the key findings of the “Education Reimagined” by Michael Fullan & Co will be reflected on.

Microsoft technologies including some of the latest features of Microsoft Teams and O365, will be showcased to provide an example of how you can draw on this research to create the ultimate digital classroom for deep learning.

‘Modern School Device Management’

Presented by: Scott Breen

The last year has given school IT admins a lot to think about. Many schools are looking for an agile and easy to use technology to manage their school devices on and off the school network to support hybrid learning. Join Scott to hear about how Intune for Education can help you manage your devices.

Free Microsoft Certification Exams from Home

In partnership with Prodigy Learning, we are excited to offer a free Virtual Microsoft Digital Skills Certifications Testing Lab at EduTECH.

All EduTECH Virtual attendees can sit Microsoft Certification Exams for FREE from the comfort of their own home! Candidates can choose as many exams as they wish from the Microsoft suite:

• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) employability
• Microsoft Certified Fundamentals for cloud-computing
• Microsoft Technology Associate for technology
• Microsoft Certified Educator for educator CPD

Virtual Testing Centre seats are going to be hot ticket items, so book now before they sell out! You will be sent your link to your virtual exam testing machine 24 hours in advance.

Book your virtual exam now:

We can’t wait to see you virtually at EduTECH 2020. Grab your ticket now and tune in for our latest updates on Facebook and Twitter or join the conversation with #EduTECHAU and #MSFTEdu

The post Join Microsoft at the EduTECH 2020 Virtual Expo first appeared on Microsoft EDU.

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When hit with the cold reality of COVID-19, universities scrambled to provide online learning. How it was achieved wasn’t as important as how fast, leaving many institutions with a jumble of tech and ad hoc approaches.

It’s time to tear off the band-aid solution

Many academics feel ready to implement a serious online lecturing solution. With a fresh intake of students for 2021, there are concerns whether current online lectures can justify the fees, let alone recreate the rich university experience.

“Students used to walk into half million-dollar lecture theatres, designed by architects, with professional acoustics, AV equipment and microphones,” says Dr David Kellermann, who teaches engineering at the University of New South Wales. “Now that half million-dollar facility has been replaced with a $49 webcam. It’s not fair and it’s not even close to parity.”

Education consultant Dr Ruben Puendetura agrees we need to move beyond “technology access as a direct substitution [for real-world lectures] with no functional change” and toward a model that can modify and even redefine what it means to teach online.

So what does work when it comes to online lectures?

Thankfully, a new paper published by Richard Mayer and Andrew Stull of the University of Georgia, and Logan Fiorella of the University of California, found ways to increase the effectiveness of online instructional video. These include:

• Dynamic Drawing: Students learn better when the instructor draws diagrams on a board, rather than referring to pre-made diagrams.
• Gaze Guidance: Students learn better when the instructor shifts their gaze between the audience and board while lecturing, rather than staring solely at the audience or the board.
• Perspective: Students learn better when the video is shot from a first-person perspective — i.e., the instructor looks at the audience as if they are there.

How can technology support these techniques?

Choosing the right technology platform is vital. “I saw this as an opportunity not just to survive remote teaching, but to make it better,” says Dr Kellermann, who decided to build his own ‘lecture studio’.

To do this, he positions a laptop at standing height in front of a Microsoft Surface Hub 2S interactive whiteboard. This allows him to deliver a dynamic lecture to the laptop, while engaging with the faces of his students on the whiteboard. “It’s great because I’m actually looking at my students on a screen behind my camera,” he says. “It’s just like having them there, and it improves both their engagement and mine.”

Dr Kellermann can still use physical props, while jotting formulas in real-time on the Surface Hub screen. With one tap, he switches the Hub to full-screen mode so students can see his digital inking, and he swaps the in-picture presentation to the Hub’s camera, so the students can still see his face as he teaches. That’s Dynamic Drawing, Gaze Guidance and Perspective all in one setup.

He also uses a Surface device to display Microsoft Teams chat, where his students post questions and often chime in with answers. This way, Dr Kellermann can keep an eye on the conversation, and answer any difficult questions or bring students back on course.

Creating a ‘lecture studio’ with Surface

Dr Kellermann’s redefinition of online lecturing is an exciting strategy for universities looking to attract and retain students — not just locally, but virtually, worldwide.

“I have $35K of equipment in my lecture studio,” Dr Kellermann admits, “But in the context of value, I think universities could set up ten of these lecture studios in the same floor space and cost of one lecture theatre, then deliver this kind of experience to every online student.”

For more on online learning, take a deep dive with EDU trainer Megan Townes & Collabtech.

The post How can universities fix online lectures after the ‘pandemic scramble’? first appeared on Microsoft EDU.

The post How can universities fix online lectures after the ‘pandemic scramble’? appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

A Year 5 Teacher at Queensland’s Marshall Road State School, Tindle teaches an integrated design technology and media arts course, and asked her class to use Minecraft: Education Edition (EE) to design and build an animal enclosure. The term before, as part of a science project, students had learned about the animal they would design along with the type of enclosure it would need.

Students then designed their animal and enclosure, using environmental data to justify its structure and climate. They also planned for and explained the health and safety risks and solutions for animal keepers and visitors to the enclosure.

When the student who struggled with traditional assignments presented his Minecraft: EE based work, and an audio track that accompanied the walkthrough of the enclosure it was clear to Tindle that this was a mode of learning that resonated for the student. He was able to go into great detail, and convey to her that he had fully understood the work and significantly advanced his learning.

The icing on the cake was when Tindle 3D printed the enclosures that her students had designed, then showed completed designs to people familiar with the real-life enclosures. She learned that the Minecraft models were very very similar to what you would find in the real world – this was learning in action.

This year Tindle has repeated the project, but instead of 3D printing the models, she has exported the students’ 3D files from Minecraft to Adobe Aero which allows the design to be blown up and used for a walk-through experience.

Brisbane based, Marshall Road State School turns 60 in 2020 and has just over 500 students. All classes in years 4-6 user BYO devices and Tindle has been running a series of professional development initiatives for other teachers at the school so that they can also use Minecraft: EE in their lessons.

Students at Marshall Road are first introduced to Minecraft: EE in Year 3 and the system is used across the curriculum in science, maths, design technology, media and arts, English, history and social studies.

Year 6 students for example use Minecraft: EE to build power stations when they are learning about different power options such as solar and wind power, while other classes have used it to model the solar system or design built environments to explore how they respond when a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption occurs.

Year 4 students meanwhile are using Minecraft: EE to create a virtual walkthrough for the Emily Rodda novel, Rowan of Rin.

According to Tindle all students are very keen to use Minecraft: EE;

It opens the door for kids that might find traditional written assessments a challenge. This helps them to put their thoughts out there.

Tracy Tindle, Year 5 Teacher

Minecraft: EE also provides a route to entry level coding, she adds. For example, when Tindle’s class was using Minecraft: EE to build a scaled solar system they were able to use Minecraft co-ordinates to calculate the diameter of each planet and its distance from the sun, and then use some basic coding to construct the planets.

“The kids were doing all the maths for how wide, how big the planets need to be, how far from the sun – and the coding around building spheres,” she says.

Minecraft: EE assignments, she says, often allow students to shine who might be less forthcoming in more traditionally structured lessons and empowers them to also support their peers.

Tindle adds that they also learn soft skills such as communications, collaboration and how to fairly divide tasks in a group project.

Students also have to take on board the ethics associated with using Minecraft: EE. “We always set some quite strong rules – we don’t want people to be blowing things up or randomly destroying things. So we tell them ‘don’t set off a million blocks of TNT, or spawn 50 million chickens.’ When something does happen then we get the community to fix it.”

Acknowledging that parents can sometimes perceive Minecraft as a game rather than an educational tool, Tindle says that with Minecraft: EE; “When they look at what the kids have done, they really quickly see this is fantastic.”

Our goal at Microsoft is to empower every student to achieve more and to do this we have a range of resources available to support educators in achieving better learning outcomes for all students. Find the right Windows devices for your students, deploy Office 365 Education with ease, join our Educator Centre for free training and connect with others, or attend one of our MS Edu Meets or IT IQ Edu Meets workshops.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for our latest updates.

The post Minecraft: Education Edition transforms teaching and learning at Marshall Road State School appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

The project wasn’t prompted by COVID-19, but its timing was fortuitous. In the past when people wanted information, they had to go searching for it – often a time-consuming task – or they leaned over to ask a colleague sitting next to them where to find it; with everyone working from home that simply wasn’t possible. The intelligent intranet has instead become a virtual colleague, quickly taking people to the information they seek.

It has already had a major impact on Deakin staff productivity; faster access to information means the time taken to complete tasks has dropped by an average of 23 per cent and there has been a 67 per cent boost in user satisfaction. Task completion rates have soared 106 per cent and the overall information governance of the university has been enhanced.

The core challenge that the intelligent intranet addresses is that although Deakin always had a lot of content, it wasn’t always well maintained or easy to find. The intelligent intranet is designed to deliver to staff all the information they need to do their jobs in one coherent location.

Deakin employs close to 10,000 people spread across 188 departments, who use multiple different applications, who write reports, policies and documents. Deakin Hub is designed to collate that material and make it accessible.

The University has built the first iteration of the intranet using SharePoint Online and LiveTiles’ Wizdom Intelligent Intranet software. LiveTiles’ Wizdom platform was used to prioritise and organise Deakin’s information; integrate all content into a single corporate dashboard; and capture and consolidate news and information from 188 teams.

Deakin collaborated with Engaged Squared on the design and deployment using Microsoft Teams to run the project.

Using trusted and established platforms – SharePoint and Wizdom – as the foundations for Deakin Hub means that the focus has been on configuring a solution rather than building a bespoke system which would not have been as sustainable or scalable over the long term.

Deakin will also be able to immediately leverage any future capabilities added to SharePoint – particularly new and emerging search capabilities – to enhance the user experience without needing to change any of the underlying technology.

According to Alister, manager of Deakin’s Digital Workplace; “Previously staff needed to understand the internal structure of the university to find the information. We have spent a lot of time breaking that down – now it’s look for information, find information – without reference to the university structure.”

Thousands of staff who once had no way of searching for data across 70 different corporate applications now have rolling news, updated documents, and multiple information sources at their fingertips.

Owen Brandt, Senior Vice President of LiveTiles Asia Pacific

The intelligent intranet also helps to break open siloes of information which have developed over time across Deakin. As information is brought into SharePoint Online it becomes searchable and usable.

To build momentum Deakin has taken a deliberately iterative approach – focusing initially on the information needs of 900 corporate staff. Over time it will expand the collection of information available through the Intranet to serve other stakeholders.

Its approach to change management has been similarly gentle. While Deakin’s Intelligent Intranet will eventually replace an existing portal, that won’t be decommissioned until later in 2020. Until then the portal will co-exist with Deakin Hub – where information has been transitioned to the Hub it won’t be deleted from the portal – but a link will nudge people to Deakin Hub.

It’s a softly softly approach says Lisa Corker, Director of Channels and Experience at Deakin; “By the end of the year we will have migrated more content and people will have come into contact with it. There will be a bigger push towards the end of the year when we get toward turning that portal platform off.”

The change management piece of the transformation has been critical, and Air and Corker both thanked Engage Squared for its ability to deal with ambiguity and willingness to collaborate with the University – particularly to engage with Deakin’s end users to understand what they need as the intelligent intranet takes shape.

James Di Blasi, chief technology officer of Engaged Squared agrees that; “A key contributor to the success of this project was the strong working relationship we developed with the Deakin project team. Engage Squared and Deakin were able to operate with a genuine ‘one-team’ approach, sharing a vision and collaborating day-to-day through Microsoft Teams.

“Deakin had a very user-focused attitude, which meant that testing with users and iterating as the project progressed were important to their vision of success. This strongly aligned with our project methodologies and philosophies and was made possible because of our very flexible and consultative approach to working with clients, as well as the combined commitment to working as one integrated team, with a clear vision.”

Corker adds that the project was designed with efficiency and productivity at the core, with the side benefit of creating a more socially connective framework able to align people to the overarching strategy of Deakin.

“The Uni is a big place and we have something like 10,000 staff – academics, professionals, researchers, teachers, casuals permanents. Being able to pull that information together and engage with it will help align people to who we are as an organization, what are we trying to achieve and how are we tracking.”

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