Running Head: SBISD UTILIZES INFORMATION SYSTEMS AMID C-19 PANDEMIC

Case Study - Spring Branch ISD & Information Systems

Esther Lambert

Louisiana State University Shreveport

ISDS 705 – 42003

Dr. Harshali Sadhya

August 16, 2021

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Abstract: At the height of the fervor surrounding the global pandemic caused by Covid-19,

beginning in March 2020, schools across the nation and the globe shuttered as a means to flatten

the curve in order to stop the transmission of the potentially deadly virus. School districts were

facing the difficult challenge of protecting the health of their students and staff, while attempting

to continue following previously written lesson plans in order to educate their students. Nowhere

was this challenge more deeply felt than at the high school level as high school seniors engaged

in their final high school year before college. One organization, Spring Branch Independent

School District (SBISD) pivoted quickly to adopt and utilize the Learning Management System

(LMS), “Its Learning”, in conjunction with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) & Student

Information System (SIS), “Skyward”, during the critical emergency situation resulting from the

disruptive event of the global pandemic caused by Covid-19.

I. Introduction

1. Organization: Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD) is a public school

district located within the Memorial Villages in Houston, Texas. It provides educational

services to approximately 35K students in grades Kindergarten through 12th. SBISD has

4 high schools, 7 middle schools, 25 elementary schools, 5 early learning schools, and 2

charter schools, which include an International Baccalaureate International Studies

program, and a gifted and talented program offered at the Spring Branch Academic

Institute (SBISD, 2021). Many of the schools within the district are recognized by the

Texas Education Agency (TEA) as “Exemplary” and “Recognized”, which signifies the

schools meet the qualifications for designation and maintain academic excellence. The

district is nationally recognized for Best High Schools and Science, Technology,
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Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) High School Programs (SBISD, 2021). SBISD’s

Memorial High School is the alma mater of Dell Computers founder, Michael Dell. All

high school students at SBISD’s Memorial High School were issued a Dell Chromebook

for use throughout the school year in 2019-2020. My autisic son attended SBISD’s

Memorial High School, and his education was greatly improved by early access to

technology. Without the benefit of a benefactor such as Michael Dell, who put computers

in the hands of students, it would not have been possible for SBISD to respond so quickly

and move seamlessly it a fully virtual online learning environment, while losing no days

of instruction at the height of the pandemic onset in March 2020.

2. Disruptive event: The outbreak of the infectious disease, now known as Covid-19, was

originally reported in December 2019. The disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus

and can be fatal (WHO, 2021). The outbreak originated in the province of Wuhan, China,

and quickly swept across the globe. Within the United States, major cities were the first to

report cases, with the initial US case occurring on the west coast in Washington state

(Bloomberg, 2021). The first diagnosed case, in January 2020, was in an individual who

had recently flown into Seattle airport from Wuhan, China (CIDRAP, 2020). The Covid-

19 virus is highly contagious and spreads quickly. Once the virus reached the US, the

Department of Defense Education Activity opted for a complete closure of all school

buildings in March 2020, in an attempt to slow the spread of the deadly disease (Education

Week, 2020). This unprecedented move was a mass disruption of 50.8M students’

education, it included closing all schools within the 48 contiguous US states, D.C., and 4

US territories. The school closures affected the quality of education and resulted in 56% of
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school districts being unable to provide online instruction and monitoring of attendance

(Brookings, 2021).

II. Information System

1. Its Learning: “Its Learning” is a multi-national company that began in 1999 as a

technology startup based in Bergen, Norway (ItsLearning, 2021). “Its Learning’s” mission is to

“improve education through technology” (ItsLearning, 2021). They developed a namesake

software application called “Its Learning”, which is a Learning Management System (LMS) to

help accomplish their corporate mission. A Learning Management System (LMS) is a type of

Information System that is utilized by teachers, administrators, students, and parents to

communicate and collaborate in real-time. The advantages of an Learning Management System

are centered on accessibility, durability, inoperability, maintenance ability, and maintenance

adaptability, and reusability (Long, 2004). Utilizing a LMS requires a computer-based

infrastructure, although “Its Learning” is a cloud-based application that offers Software as a

Service (SAAS). Software as a Service (SAAS) is delivered online in a cloud-computing

environment, and replaces traditional packaged software, generally offered in a subscription

based model (ISMG, 2015).

2. Skyward: “Skyward” is a Student Information System (SIS) that was founded in 1981,

and incorporated in 1984 as “School Administrative Software, Inc.” (Skyward, 2021). Skyward

launched an online version of their School Management System (SMS) in 2009, and became the

Texas Education Agency (TEA) preferred provider in 2011. “Skyward” also offers an Enterprise

Resource Management (ERP) software application for school districts to perform financial
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management, human resource, asset management, and payroll and time-clock functions.

“Skyward” was named Company of the Year by EdTech Digest in 2019 (Skyward, 2021).

III. Components of Information System

1. Five Components of Its Learning: The components of “Its Learning” Learning

Management System (LMS) are the same as the components of an Information System, which

include hardware, software, data, people, and process. An Information System is a group of

interrelated components utilized by an organization to coordinate, collect,visualize, store,

process, and analyze in order to distribute information that aids in decision-making (Bourgeois et

al., 2019). “Its Learning” utilizes all 5 components: hardware is servers maintained by the

company; software is intellectual property developed by the company; data is generated by users;

people are educators, administrators, as well as corporate software engineers, and business

developers; and the process is a succession of steps leading to a specified goal. “Its Learning’s”

process includes 6 steps: plan, engage, teach, assess, reflect, and report (ItsLearning, 2021).

2. Five Components of Skyward: The components of “Skyward” Student Information

System (SIS) and Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) are the same as the components of an

Information System, which include hardware, software, data, people, and process. The hardware,

software, and data represent the technology components of the Information System. While

people and process are the 2 components that separate Information Systems from being solely

Information Technology. “Skyward” utilizes all 5 components of an Information System:

hardware is tangible components operated by the company; software is intangible property

created by the company; data is created by users; people are administrators, educators, business
Running Head: SBISD UTILIZES INFORMATION SYSTEMS AMID C-19 PANDEMIC
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managers and software engineers; and the process is a succession of tasks leading to a specific

goal. “Skyward’s” values are: collaborate, communicate, creative, reliable, focus, and fun.

IV. Effects and Alternative Solutions

1. Long Term Effects of Adopted Information System: Among the many benefits of utilizing

“Its Learning” Learning Management System (LMS), as well as “Skyward” Student Information

System (SIS) and Enterprise Resource Management (ERP), in the future SBISD will be able to

reduce the number of school closure days, occurring from hazardous weather conditions or

natural disasters, that result in loss instructional days. Particularly in Houston, Texas which has

seen its fair share of natural disasters in the past 4 years, including several 100 year events,

including Hurricane Harvey 2017 with historic flooding, and Snowstorm 2021. Now, students

can attend virtual classes and have a combination of synchronous and asynchronous days,

resulting in no loss of instruction in the educational setting. These educational information

systems in a cloud-computing environment allow students to stay on task, by providing access to

assignments, as well as submission portals to submit completed classwork.

2. Alternative Solutions for Future Crisis Events: The alternative for a crisis event would be

school closure, or requiring students to make-up the missed days of school , including repeating

a year of school in some cases. Since implementation of “Its Learning” Learning Management

System (LMS), as well as “Skyward” Student Information System (SIS) and Enterprise Resource

Management (ERP), requires every student and teacher to have access to a computer, and

internet access, it would be in the best interest of the public education system if a program

subsidizing access to these technologies was implemented by the US federal government. As

only 44% of US school districts were able to utilize Information Systems for educational
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purposes during the Covid-19 pandemic (Brookings, 2021). This clearly illustrates that there is a

digital divide within the US, and that it affects a students ability and right to access a free and

appropriate public education. A digital divide is the separation between those individuals who

have access to the internet, and those individuals who do not (Bourgeois et al., 2019).

V. Conclusion

1. Moving forward, more school districts across the US and the globe should seek to

implement Information Systems based learning. Primarily because it offers students access

to educational material even during a disruptive crisis event. Further as with any automated

system there is consistency in the programming, which could help bridge the gap of

educational disparity within the US and around the globe.

2. While Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD) successfully pivoted and was

able to quickly implement technology in order to adopt and utilize the Learning

Management System (LMS), “Its Learning”, along with “Skyward” Student Information

System (SIS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), during the global pandemic caused

by Covid-19, SBISD should continue to seek innovative technology, and cloud-computing

solutions in order to further improve the educational services it provides to students.

(Word Count: 1564)

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