Individual attention in secondary education

Several factors result in teachers having limited (effective) time. Somtoday aims to reduce teachers’ workload by reducing administrative work, leaving more time for quality lessons and insight into the development of the student.

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More time and attention for the growth and development of the student with Somtoday

Nowadays, secondary school teachers have to register an enormous amount of information, leading to a loss of valuable instruction time. In addition to this general registration requirement, an immense shortage of teachers is putting even more pressure on the already-overworked secondary school teachers. Supplementary work, such as grading homework, eats up even more precious time. This all adds up to less effective time for quality lessons and individual attention for students. How can IT be used to reduce the workload of teachers in these times of teacher shortages?

Assignment for Topicus

Help us simplify and digitise student administration, reducing manual work and saving time for teachers. Make sure that the information can be secured easily and quickly, that the system can provide the necessary insights into individual student developments and allow for chosing of different subjects and courses.

Over 699,000 teachers, students, parents, and caregivers benefit from Somtoday.

SomToday

Over 699,000 teachers, students, parents, and caregivers benefit from Somtoday.

Our approach and solution

This school has three locations. That called for a broader approach, in which we mapped out all the locations and the future users. We started with intake interviews at the various schools to get an idea of the software support needed for which users, at which locations. After an extensive introduction and inventory, we began the interpretation and implementation of our solution: Somtoday. Somtoday is the student monitoring system with which schools can easily register students, direct them and enable them to learn. Some examples include individual timetabling, regristration of attendance and absence, reporting, assignment preparation, and organising elective work time.

Based on the technical intake during which all wishes and existing systems were mapped out, we developed a read-only environment for the schools. This included a test environment based on our own data, used mainly for training purposes. That way, the future users can learn how to work with the software. This was followed by the actual implementation, in which we also linked with systems already in use (such as the timetable system) and with the Dutch government body responsible for education (DUO). When the system was fully integrated and personalized, the other target groups and users such as teachers were trained before going live.

Impact with IT

More time, creating more room for quality education, is the biggest impact. Somtoday also provides better insight into the individual progress of students. As of 2022, 242 schools in secondary education are using Somtoday, meaning more than 699,000 teachers, students, parents and caregivers benefit from the software.

More information?

Check the website of Secondary Education for more information or contact Maaike Goemaat