It is a cliché to say that technology has revolutionized the way we manage our schools. But every revolution brings its own specific set of challenges that need require a fresh approach and novel solutions. Data management, storage, preservation, and recovery is one such challenge that has become exponentially more complex with the advent of new technology, tools, and software for schools.
Data makes the world go round. It is critical for any technology to work. It is also extremely crucial for institutions like schools that hold personal information and sensitive data about thousands of students, parents, and teachers. We have already touched upon the importance of data protection and ways to ensure it. But there is another massive issue when it comes to data that has been a niggling pain point for school management.
The Problem
With innovations and increasing options in the ed-tech industries, it is predictable and understandable that schools may sometimes want to switch software or technology products and opt for something other than what they have been previously using. While the switch itself is simple enough, it is the data that creates the problem.
As per the usual industry practice, most ed-tech tools, software, and technology products provide the schools with raw data files as well as a window of one to three months to recover, backup, and secure their data. In theory, this seems simple and reasonable. But practically, this poses a massive problem.
Firstly, if during the transition the school happens to need any data, the raw data files are largely useless for them. And because the backup is a long-drawn process, there is often no way they can access the required data during the transition period. Secondly, a period of one to three months may not be enough for properly recovering, backing up, securing, and storing the data because in all such cases the data itself is massive and scattered, which makes the whole process extremely cumbersome and problematic. This becomes a major issue for schools that have been using a particular product for 5-6 years and then have chosen to switch. In such cases, the task of systematically backing up the entire data in a tiny span of time is a massive challenge.
The Solution
At Schoolpad, given the frequency of this issue, we have instituted a policy that we think is a great, healthy practice when it comes to maintaining data and ensuring that it remains secure and accessible even in the event of a switch. As per this policy, we encourage schools, especially the ones that are using data-oriented technology products, to set aside a certain number of days every academic year for a data audit along the lines of financial and academic audits which is a norm in most schools.
While this is a Schoolpad policy, we encourage all the schools to consider this as a regular, essential data practice. The audit days allow the schools to not only review their data but also backup important stuff like outcomes for that academic year, reports, report cards, and critical transactional data. This data can be backed up in easily readable formats using accessible mediums like Excel, word, emails, cloud drives, local servers, and so on. This data includes not only personal information and report cards, but also PDFs of receipts, and tabular transactional information that can be backed up on Excel.
Also Read: How To Use A Data-Driven Approach To Make Better Decisions and Drive Your School’s growth Story
Preferably, the data should be stored on both the cloud as well as a local machine or hard drive, and it must be ensured that the data is stored in a way where it can be referred to and accessed at any point in time. This is the reason why we insist that this particular backup should always be in easily readable and accessible formats. A yearly process must be instituted and strictly adhered to by schools to ensure their data is backed up annually, and there is no hotch-potch of several academic years’ worth of information should they ever need to switch from one technology product to the other. Even otherwise, this backup will help schools keep functioning smoothly in case of technological glitches or any minor issue that may arise with the product.
This is a much more manageable approach as backing up data every year allows the management to store it systematically, avoid confusion and prevent situations where massive amounts of data are suddenly needed to be recovered, backed up, and stored at very short notice. In our humble opinion and Schoolpad’s on-ground experience, a yearly data audit is the easiest way to ensure that a school’s data is always recoverable and there is no fear of losing records in the case of any eventuality like switching the technology product or shutting it down.
Want to learn more about data recovery and management, and how Schoolpad can help you keep your data safe, secure, and accessible? Please write to us at connect@schoolpad.in . You can also click on the request a demo link and one of our coaches will get in touch with you.
