Post on 27-Jul-2020
Fran Simon, M.Ed.
Digitizing your program's operations:
How to choose software for✓ program management✓ family communications ✓ and documentation
111.22.2019Survey design and analysis in collaboration with Steve J. Dick, Ph.D.
Download Handouts and Slides
• Slides from today’s session
• 2019 List of Available Software Products
• NAEYC 2018 SlidesDirectors as Fearless Consumers of Early Childhood Software
• 2018 Profiles of 19 Products (Excel)
• Product comparison charts- 19 ECE Software Products 2018
EngageStrat.com/ece-software 2
B.A. & M.EdEarly Childhood
Education
Child Care Administrator
15 years
VP of Marketing & Tech Initiatives
Teaching Strategies
Chief of Family Engagement
NACCRRA(Child Care Aware)
Biz Consultant to NPOs &
Companies in ECE
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Just
1 objective for this session
Become empowered to select software for the professionals
in your early childhood program.
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Categories of products
• Comprehensive• Family Communication• Family Engagement• Documentation• Assessment
• Customer Relationship Management
• Enrollment• Nutrition/Accounting
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• Back office
• Child data management
• Family Communication
• Assessment
Products that combine features administrators use to manage programs and
features used by teachers
Include some constellation of these
features:
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• BrightWheel• ChildPlus• COPA• Daycare Works• Ezcare (3)• HiMama• Jackrabbit• KangarooTime• Kinderlime• Lifecubby• Procare• PROMIS• Sandbox• SchooLeader• Smartcare 10
Comprehensive
Comprehensive products are the result of scope evolution
Family Communication
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Insight on comprehensive products
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MOST HOOK CUSTOMERS WITH
FAMILY COMMUNICATION.
ALL “ALL-IN-ONE” PRODUCTS DO NOT THE
HAVE THE SAME FEATURES.
EACH IS DEEPER IN THE PRODUCT EXPERTISE FOR WHICH IS WAS
LAUNCHED.
Products that automate two-way Family/School communication
• Photo/video sharing
• Daily reports
• Messaging
• Calendar
• Reminders
Include these features and more
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• Bloomz• Class Tag*• ClassDojo*• KidReports• Learning Genie• MyKidzDay• Parent Square*• Remind*• SeeSaw*• Tadpoles• Daily Connect
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Facebook | Pinterest
• 1 class or program at a time
• Not designed for ECE
• No admin insight
• Limited functionality
• Privacy & security concerns
SeeSaw, Remind, Class Dojo
• 1 Class/teacher for free
• Not designed for ECE
• No admin insight
Family Communication products
FREE
FRFREE!
You get what you pay for!15
Products that deliver activities to help families facilitate engagement
with their children at home
• Activities and/or modeling for parents
• Sent by text/email
Include these features
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• Ready Rosie*• Vroom
*Now includes family communication, too!
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Tracking technology used to manage interactions with families considering
enrolling.
• Intake from phone calls & emails
• Contact form on website
• Tracking emails
• Waiting lists
Include these features and more
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Customer Relationship
Management
• ChildCareCRM• Intellikids
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Products that automate pedagogical documentation and planning. Include these
features and more
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• Open fields / prompts for potentially detailed notes
• Photo/video/audio file sharing
• Portfolios
• Documentation sharing
• Planning tools
• Family communication features
• Educa• Kaymbu• Storypark
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Systems used to capture information, monitor, and report about children’s development.
• Curriculum or development objectives
• Progress monitoring checkpoints
• Open fields for observations to support checklists
• Videos, photos and file sharing
• Child portfolios
• Alignments to State Preschool/HS Standards
• Parent communication features
Include these features and more
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• COR Advantage• GOLD• Work Sampling Online
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Gaps or difficult to find functionality
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Support for multiple
languages
Forms management
and Electronic signatures
Regulatory compliance
(Readily available for head start)
Accreditation support
Automation of health records (Somewhat
covered for Head Start)
2018 and 2019 Study FindingsProducts and User’s Responses
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Preliminary ResultsEarly Childhood Education Institutional
Software Product Survey, 2019Fran S. Simon, M.Ed. Steven J. Dick, Ph.D.Publication Pending
Survey design and analysis in collaboration with Steve J. Dick, Ph.D.
Shout out to another study
Technology in the Lives of Educators and Early Childhood Programs: 2018 Survey.
Evanston, IL: Center on Media and Human Development, Northwestern University.
Pila, S., Blackwell, C. K., Lauricella, A. R., & Wartella, E. (2019).
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https://cmhd.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NAEYC-Report-2019.pdf
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1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Accounting and nutrition Assessment
Comprehensive Customer Relationship Management
Documentation Enrollment
Family comminication Family engagement
Pedagogical Documentation
Software launch date by type
Program Administration |Child Data Management
27Preliminary Results, Early Childhood Education Institutional
Software Product Survey, 2019, Simon and Dick, Pending ©copyright 2019
Historical: Introduction of software titles by year
Tried refined and deep Innovative, not as deep
Steeped in understanding of ECE Still learning
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2
3
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5
6
7
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1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Under reported due to acquisitions, exits and speed of new entrants
Preliminary Results, Early Childhood Education Institutional Software Product Survey, 2019, Simon and Dick, Pending
©copyright 2019
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Proportion of available
products
2019
29Preliminary Results, Early Childhood Education Institutional Software Product Survey, 2019, Simon and Dick, Pending
©copyright 2019
2%
67%
25%
3%
3%
3%
50%
37%
3%
7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Assessment
Comprehensive
Family Comm
Family Engagement
Documentation
Teachers Administration
Percentage using each
of the categories
4.2 4.1 4.14.0 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7
3.6
3.8 3.9 3.9 4.03.8 3.7 3.7 3.7
3.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
PK-K+ Early HeadStart
State-run Campus Private Child care Head Start Family Special needs
31Preliminary Results, Early Childhood Education Institutional
Software Product Survey, 2019, Simon and Dick, Pending ©copyright 2019
Product Ratings by Type of Program 5 point scale
Product Satisfaction 5-point scale
4.0 4.03.7 3.8 3.9 3.9
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
Features Reliability Enhance Value for cost Delivers on promises
Summary
3.9 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.8 3.8
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
Speed correcting
issues
Technical support
On-boarding or initial training
Ongoing training
Self-help options
Summary
Product offerings Support and training
32Preliminary Results, Early Childhood Education Institutional
Software Product Survey, 2019, Simon and Dick, Pending ©copyright 2019
The top products
consideredby
administrators
HiMama27%
BrightWheel24%
Seesaw5%
Storypark8%
Procare11%
EZcare9%
Smartcare9%
Sandbox7%
33Preliminary Results, Early Childhood Education Institutional
Software Product Survey, 2019, Simon and Dick, Pending ©copyright 2019
47%
62%
55%
36%
50%
42%
19%
61%
35%
2%
50%
6%
21%
60%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Family communication
Attendance
Billing and payment collection
Documentation
Enrolment management
Family check-in/out
Photo and video sharing
Teachers Administration 34
Features considered most important in comprehensive
software by role
Users who use one or two products
Top 12 first software vs. Top 12 second software
by type of product
First Software Second Software
Procare 19 % Assessment 16 %
HiMama 12 % Procare 11 %
BrightWheel 8 % ClassDojo 6 %
Seesaw 7 % ChildPlus 6 %
Tadpoles 6 % KidReports 4 %
EZcare 4 % Tadpoles 4 %
KidKare 4 % Remind 3 %
Bloomz 4 %Learning Genie 3 %
Storypark 4 % Seesaw 3 %
Kaymbu 3 % HiMama 3 %
ChildPlus 3 % Kaymbu 3 %
Ready Rosie 3 % KidKare 3 %
Assessment Comprehensive DocumentationFamily Communication Family Engagement
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Communication challenges
Administration processes
Programmatic or pedagogical
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Main Office
Regional Admins
Site 1
Teachers
Classes
Children….
Parents
Child(ren)
Site 2
Teachers
Classes
Children
Parents
Child(ren)
Superuser Access
Site AccessSite access
Authorized Access
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How does the company provide technical support?
• Onboarding training included
• Phone or chat support 24/7
• Phone or chat support 9-5
• Onsite support INCLUDED
• Onsite support for Fee $$
• Online knowledge base
• Webinars, videos
• User's Manual
Passive,but immediate
Interactive,but NOT immediate
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• In-app prompts & help• Online coaching• User groups (live/online)• Monitored online forum• Assigned account manager
How does the company provide implementation support?
Interactive and personal
Immediate
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• Where is the data hosted? Is it on a dedicated server?
• How is it monitored?
• How is the system encrypted?
• What are the sign-on, access and authentication policies?
• What is the backup and recovery plan?
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(And, are your processes compliant?)
HIPPA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act includes:
National standards for the protection and confidential handling of protected health information.
FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act includes:
Federal privacy laws that gives parents certain protections regarding their children's education records.
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Does the product connect to others? How?How accessible is your data?
Option 1: API Application Programming Interface
Allows separate software systems to interact with one another, to sync data. Enter once and it stays up to
date.
Option 2: ManualExport/Import
Manually export data from one system and import it into the
other. This process may have to be repeated routinely.
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Is the product as inclusive as possible?
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Languages Accessibility Availability
Section 508
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# 1!
Best selling!
The only
Top Rated!
Save Time!
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The first
Intentional, inclusive,
methodical, and
collaborative
1. Assign a project leader
2. Gather a team & identify needs
3. Identify functions & prioritize
4. Gather a list of products (next slide!)
5. Select 2-3 products to review
6. View a demonstration
7. Participate in a trial/pilot
8. Use real data in real scenarios
9. Score with rubrics & select 47
Time to Shop
• Search the Internet • Visit conference exhibits• Check software review sites
(next slide)
• Ask for recommendationso Use NAEYC’s Helloo Contact respected colleagueso Post questions in LinkedIn and
Facebook Groups
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Ratings. Grain of salt…
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What to ask your colleagues (and what to think about when you talk to salespeople)
• Is the company responsive to customers?
• Do they seem to understand ECE programs’ needs
• Is the product reliable? (Uptime/Downtime)
• Is it easy to use over time?
• Does it deliver what is promised? (Or does it seem too good to be true?)
• Is it sustainable?
• Do the staff, families, and children benefit?
• Do the staff and families like it?
• Does it solve the administrator’s problems?50
Tips for Product Demos
• Private vs. group demos
• See a demo of the functionality for all types of users
• Review the apps as well as the desktop version
• Have all user types participate in demos: Admins |Teachers |Parents
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Desktop & mobile interfaces should…
REQUIRE 3 CLICKS OR FEWER GET TO
ANY FUNCTION
INTUITIVE TO NAVIGATE
HAS ON-SCREEN PROMPTS AND
HELP
OFFERS CLEAN DESIGN
LOADS QUICKLY OFFER CLEAR ERROR MESSAGES
BROWSER /OPERATING SYSTEM CONSISTENCY
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PROVIDES ACCESSIBLE HELP
Software Trials
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May cause product
misevaluation
On the other hand…
No $kin in the game = No
use
FREE trials are controversial for product vendors
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Use real data.
Don’t just play.
Evaluate using a scoring rubric
Include testers with different roles
Follow a testing plan.
Access available support.
Trials and pilots and very
worthwhile for customers andvendors when
used with intention.
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Demonstration or contact withsalesperson required first in some cases.
to get the most from your investment
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Monitor use of the system by all.
Plan for coaching and mentoring
Get onboarding support
Ensure staff have basic skills needed
Develop a rollout plan
Get buy-in before the purchase
Ready, set, go…
Maybe, Maybe not.
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Is this the right time?
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Thank you!
Good luck with your search!
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Fran Simon, M.Ed.
Fran.Simon@EngageStrat.com
EngageStrat.com
Data, analysis and collaboration
Thanks toSteven J. Dick, Ph.DModernMetricsBarn.com
Questions?
Thanks for joining me!