In serving schools and districts around the world, we know that Hāpara customers sometimes choose to integrate with other tech tools, one of those being Google Classroom. We believe that Google + Hāpara is better together, and if a district or school chooses Google Classroom and Hāpara, we can make sure they have a better learning experience by using both tools to serve learners. As one Hāpara educator describes it, “it’s like Hāpara fills in all the learning gaps in the G Suite ecosystem.”
We knew we wanted to bring value to learners with Hāpara and Google Classroom, so in 2019 we began an intentional conversation with learners to better understand their interactions with these tools and what learning looks like from their perspective. They have a lot to say! They told us they wanted less noise from alerts and notifications in the digital classroom, and a better way to organize Google Classroom assignments and prioritize their school work.
We were also looking at ways to promote student agency (because we are big believers in student agency) by helping students proactively manage their school day and class work. We were eager to see with a student’s lens what students would find valuable in their school day to help them with their workflows. What did they need in order to be successful in school?
So we asked questions around things like an average day and week in the life of students, their class workflows and what kind of a dashboard would help them keep on top of things and self-manage any distractions.
So that’s how Student Dashboard came about.
The Product team went through many iterations and two major versions of the tool, because getting technology just right to meet learners’ needs is a continuous journey–it’s never really done.
Now that learners have been using Student Dashboard in its most recent form for about a year to organize Google Classroom assignments, we asked learners how it’s going. We thought the best way to do this was to share their message with you in their own words. Keep reading to learn more about what learners think of Student Dashboard and how it has affected their learning.
“Super easy to use, so much better organized than Google Classroom [alone]. I love the big open space where I can see everything. I love being able to change the colors.”
Sarah, middle school student
Virginia, USA
“I like that I can personalize my colour, how well organized it is, and how I can see when assignments are due.”
Bryanna, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“I love the way Student Dashboard lays out my assignments and keeps everything organized.”
Charleah, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“It is very organized and keeps all my assignments in an accessible place.”
Isaac, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“I do like the way it looks, I think it’s very personalized to me with the option of choosing my own colour background. I enjoy the layout of the columns so I know that all my assignments are here and my notes are here.”
Bryanna, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“I think the presentation of my dashboard is great! My assignments and notes always look very organized and pleasing.”
Charleah, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“The layout is very accessible and easy to find.”
Isaac, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“I think that Student Dashboard has helped me because if I am to miss something in school I can go into my dashboard and it’s right there for me to view. I also like how my teachers can put a digital textbook on there so I don’t have to take it home everyday.”
Bryanna, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“The way my dashboard is organized has definitely made doing schoolwork a lot easier on most occasions. I can find certain links that I probably would’ve missed on other platforms and having access to all of my notes at once definitely helps with studying.”
Charleah, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“It has kept all my assignments together and given me more time to work on them from home.”
Isaac, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“It has kept me organized. I had one email chain that was over 21 emails long and because of Hāpara I was able to keep up with all of them.”
Sarah, middle school student
Virginia, USA
“I think that Student Dashboard has changed the way I learn because of how organized it is and that my teachers can add additional resources to the workspace so if I am struggling with a subject I can go on to my dashboard to see extra videos and examples.”
Bryanna, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“Student Dashboard has definitely made my education more organized and easily accessible. I never thought I would end up liking online learning more than paper but it is much better in my opinion.”
Charleah, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“Yes. I learn more online and get more done.”
Isaac, high school student
Alberta, Canada
“In school everything has always been all over the place, go here, go there, do everything in this way. Now with Hāpara everything is in one place, streamlined, and helped me learn how to be organized in school and at home. It kept me going during the spring when we went virtual and it is helping so much since we are hybrid and I am only at school two days a week.”
Sarah, middle school student
Virginia, USA
Overall, Student Dashboard is helping students stress less and learn more with easier access to assignments, a simple interface free of distractions and options for personalization to each learner’s needs. The feedback is promising and we will keep improving Student Dashboard to meet and grow with the needs of learners.
