Introduction
K. International School Tokyo (KIST) was founded in 1997 as a private, co-educational, non-denominational day school serving the international community of Tokyo from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12.
Consultation
KIST were already using Moodle, however the management and IT teams felt that more could be done with the platform, both in terms of functionality – particularly integration with other software in use at the school – and in terms of user engagement, ensuring the platform was well used by staff and students.
“We had two main priorities – the first was to integrate Moodle with PowerSchool and Office365 and the second was to make our Moodle offering more visually appealing and user friendly. Titus looked like they could offer a way to accomplish both these objectives.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
The Titus Learning team met with key staff at KIST for a consultation to design a possible solution. In collaboration with the KIST team we drew up a plan to implement a bespoke, remotely managed Moodle installation with a new user-friendly theme which would seamlessly integrate with the other software packages in use. The project overview comprised:
- Designing a bespoke theme/layout suitable for all ages, fully responsive for optimised use across mobile devices, with a focus on user experience.
- Setup and configuration of the Moodle platform on a school-based hosting environment, allowing optimal performance on site.
- Integration of the Moodle platform with the school’s PowerSchool and Office365 installations
- Bespoke training, to ensure all staff are confident and comfortable in the use of the new platform prior to launch.
- Provision of a tailored implementation plan to support the launch of the new platform and ensure adoption and engagement from staff, students and parents.
- An unlimited support programme, providing on-tap advice, guidance and consultancy to ISB for the life of the learning platform.
“We found the consultation process very useful. Titus representatives came in to meet the management and IT teams, where we shared ideas and determined our initial needs. This was useful in setting out our aims for the development.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
Action
Once the blueprint was in place work began on building and configuring the new Moodle. With a tight deadline in place, we were able to utilise the summer holiday to complete much of the development and testing work to allow training to take place at the start of the new term.
“Much of the development happened over the summer break. Teachers were given a few weeks after summer to become accustomed to the new format and organize their course materials before launch.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
With the platform complete and teaching staff confident and comfortable using it, we launched the new Moodle to the whole school community.
“The launch itself went smoothly and according to the planned timetable, and since then Titus has been very willing and able to quickly resolve any issues that have arisen.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
Results
With the new platform launched and promoted to staff, students and parents, KIST have really hit the ground running, using Moodle extensively to foster better home-school links.
“This year we have used Moodle heavily as a communication tool with parents – especially in the Elementary school. These class blogs have been exceptionally useful for parents and teachers in sharing the progression the class is making. This format allows parents to have a real insight into what is going on in the classroom every day.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
As well as improving communication, the new Moodle has shown tangible benefits to the teaching staff, in terms of greater efficiency and reduced administrative workload.
“We have set up both shared grade and individual class resources, saving a great deal of teacher time and avoiding unnecessary duplication.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
Looking to the future
Since launch day Titus Learning has continued to work closely with the team at KIST to support and monitor the platform, as well as managing patches, infrastructure and upgrades as necessary. We’re delighted to see that KIST is keen to continue developing the platform and further embedding it into school life.
“Going forward we would like to increase awareness of what Moodle can do, to utilize more of its capabilities. We are interested in increased functionality – for instructional purposes, explore the potential for digital portfolios, and how we could integrate Moodle more into the secondary school.” – Dominic Arnold, IT Support, KIST
We’re pleased to be supporting the whole KIST community in building a successful, motivated and engaged e-learning community, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.
To learn more about the work we’ve done with Moodle, or to find out how we could help your organisation improve engagement, communication and learning outcomes, book a short online demo with one of our team.
