Schools face numerous challenges when it comes to managing their facilities and resources effectively. This is why they need a room and resource booking system to manage the scheduling of rooms and resources.
Imagine this:
Case 1
Florence, a teacher at one public school walks into the IT department’s office. She borrows a few IPADs that the school had recently bought to show some videos of plants to her students. She logs her request in a typical loan register book and takes out the tablets. As the day passes, she becomes so busy that she forgets to return it on time, leaving other potential borrowers stranded.
Case 2
Patrick is the IT manager of another school. Although he is supposed to take care of IT for the school, he often gets dragged into activities related to managing classroom schedules for the upcoming term, handling resource allocation requests, and coordinating activities for PTA using a variety of tools like outlook calendar, google forms, and spreadsheets. This process is fraught with miscommunication, conflicts, and re-preparation that takes up a lot of his time.
The above-mentioned problems can be averted by using a room and resource booking system.
Take a look at the following statistical data:
- Over 10,000 schools worldwide use room and resource booking systems.
- 95% of schools that use the room and resource booking system have reported an increase in efficiency.
- 90% of schools that use the system have reported a decrease in double bookings.
- 85% of schools that use the system have reported an increase in communication between staff and students.
- The average amount of time saved per week by staff using the room and resource booking system: 2 hours.
- The average amount of money saved per year by schools using room and resource booking system: $10,000.
In this article, we will highlight some of the unique benefits that schools can gain when using such a system.
Scheduling Of Classrooms
With the implementation of a room and resource booking system, scheduling classrooms in a school becomes streamlined and efficient.
There are special rules that apply to the booking of classrooms. For example, priority is given to scheduling classes for the terms before allowing staff to book ad hoc schedules for other purposes.
Moreover, the system should be able to communicate with the class scheduling system used by schools to create the term calendar. The ability to upload the schedule into the system can help reduce errors during double entry.
Controlling Labs & Special Rooms
Labs and Special Rooms like music rooms, robotics labs, and photography rooms have expensive equipment that need to be protected and access to them should be regulated.
Some rooms and resources may also require a user quota system so that all staff and students get equal opportunities to use them, like the indoor sports room.
Some rules such as approval workflow for reservation confirmations and group-level viewing and booking access rights provide much-needed control over these precious assets.
Resource Allocations
Resource management and allocation is a problem area for many schools.
Schools usually employ a register-like log book to track check-ins and check-outs. However, there is no automated way to tell when an item is to be returned, and going back in history means flipping through the pages to search for a particular item.
A resource booking system is needed where resources can be checked out by the staff or students with the ability to get notified when items need to be returned. The check-out process can be simplified by using a standard barcode scanner to scan the items like staff and student cards.
An automated email or SMS notification can greatly improve the return of the items. Prevention of loss of items will greatly reduce the need to re-purchase those items and also makes stock-taking and auditing easier.
Event planning
Schools also find managing events such as meet-the-parents sessions, open houses, field trips, and other activities taxing. These events require a lot of planning in terms of manpower, venues, resources, communication, and coordination.
A system that can capture the quantity reserved and deduct it from the total quantity will provide information on the balance available so that other users can plan their resource needs appropriately.
A single platform that can handle all the room and resources can greatly increase visibility into what is available and what requires ordering from external sources if the required quantity is not available.
Larger schools with a dedicated events coordination team can have simple workflows that allow proper coordination and sequencing of activities.
Final Thoughts
With growing pressure on staff to better manage their existing assets, it is important to have complete control and visibility into existing resources.
Implementing a room and resource booking system not only saves time and effort but also contributes to a conducive learning environment where resources are utilized to their fullest potential in a controlled manner.
Embrace the power of technology and unlock the unique benefits that this system brings to your school.
Cheers!
